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> Oops, Durova's Mea culpa
Bob Boy
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:16pm
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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=173120937

Giano posts the e-mail! OMG, it's even better than I thought.
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jorge
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:18pm
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Giano has now posted Durova's "top secret" evidence:

'''OK Jimbo. You want a loving encyclopedia''' - So do I but I don't find the paste below from Durova which constitutes her "evidence" as particularly loving - do you? I would advise everyone to be very careful of making even the most innocent edit. [[User:Giano II|Giano]] ([[User talk:Giano II|talk]]) 16:59, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

So here it is the diffs are pathetic the narrative describing one of our respected editors, who I know well, repulsive. Happy with that are you Jimbo, you think an Admin like Durova will foster your happy loving encyclopedia?"

QUOTE

Durova's Evidence

Nobody's put their finger on this yet in a systematic way. Maybe it's for lack of time; maybe people's brains are wired differently. I need to show you not just what Wikipedia Review is doing to us, but how they're doing it.

And I'm setting this forth as a brief seminar so you can do more than recognize when it's presented to you; you can find these signs yourselves.

The one thing I have to ask is that you all be very tight lipped about this.

First, the good news:

1. They're working from the same playbook.
2. They don't know this list exists.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=167325471

Now, the case study:

Here's a troublemaker whose username is two exclamation points with no letters. !!

It's what I would call "ripened sock" - a padded history of redirects, minor edits, and some DYK work. Some of the folks at WR do this to game the community's good faith. I can tell immediately that it's not the user's first account. Soon you'll see the telltale signs as quickly as I do.

A. In their efforts to deceive us, they forget that new users haven't learned edit summaries and wikimarkup.

Edit summary on the first edit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=141874955

Correct use of page links on the second edit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=141877151

Knows how to create line references on the third edit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=142914869

Creates an appropriately formatted stub on the fourth edit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=142927003

B. They do wikignome work far too early in the account history to be genuine wikignomes. The purpose is to pad the account history with a track record of positive contributions that will insulate them against the banhammer later on.

Redirects a page on the seventh edit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=144015208

This user favors redirects and stub creations. Others do RC patrol or copyediting. They continue for days, weeks, or perhaps a few months playing "useful editor."

C. Many of them tip their hands occasionally during the preparation phase.

Obscene trolling; knows German:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=156788817

This user slips for the joy of trolling. Others let down their guard momentarily for WR-related incidents. Look for behavior that seems out of character such as a sudden cluster of talk page posts or odd edit summaries.

D. They are team players.

Here's the sock moving all of Giano's talk archives. No stranger is this much of a good Samaritan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=162747326

Now the moves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062162
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062161
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...ve_6_%282007%29 &diff=prev&oldid=163062164
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062163
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062167
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062166
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062248
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062247
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062253
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062252
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062257
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062256
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062262
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=163062263

E. They grow bold when they believe the account has ripened into the appearance of a legitimate editor.

I doubt Bishonen knew what this account really was. By now it looks legit to most editors. The nasty side shows itself, though:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=162335262

F. When the sock is fully ripened it heads over to disputes and takes extremist positions for no apparent reason.

This rocket-to-the-sky pattern among ripened socks contrasts against sincere but troubled editors, who follow an arc with some visible cause and effect.

For contrast:

A regular problem editor will decide Wikipedia has problems after breaking 3RR and getting turned down for an unblock request.

A ripened sock heads doesn't need to be coaxed to the dark side; it just heads over to a discussion and screams foul while its own reputation is clean as a whistle.

So by the time Jimbo does something controversial, most Wikipedians don't get more than a sense of vague unease about this account's behavior. The sock is fully ripened, the account well established, and the troll has teammates to create or obstruct consensus if anyone intervenes. I have a hunch the skilled trolls wait for events that they know will cause a lot of flurried attention onsite so the sudden launching of full implementation is less likely to be noticed in the crowd.

Here's the sock helping the team, along with some free range sarcasm and troublemaking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=168176874
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=168213973
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=168209114
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=168487235
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=168631084

G Many trolls can't resist the temptation to gloat.

Still doubt me?
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=168171012

Looking ahead:

Foremost, please keep mum! Many of these mistakes can be corrected and these people are very patient. They will change tactics and get even more careful if they realize how we spot them.
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Aloft
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:29pm
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Oh man, that's classic.

I hope someone takes that as a cue to review every block Durova has ever placed.

Incredible.

This post has been edited by Aloft: Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:34pm
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Jonny Cache
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:32pm
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Okay, Dudes and Dudesses, we can close up shop now.

Madame Durovary's rabid WikiParanoia is doing a far better job of amplifying our effects to viral proportions than the whole sad lot of us could ever have dreamed up on our own.

Our legacy is secure, even if it's 99.44%™ Pure WikiPhantasy.

Jonny cool.gif

This post has been edited by Jonny Cache: Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:34pm
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jorge
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:33pm
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QUOTE(Aloft @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:29pm) *

Oh man, that's classic.

Knows German! ohmy.gif
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Jonny Cache
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:36pm
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QUOTE(jorge @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 1:33pm) *

QUOTE(Aloft @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:29pm) *

Oh man, that's classic.


Knows German! ohmy.gif


Knows German, Mein Arzt.

Jonny cool.gif

This post has been edited by Jonny Cache: Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:40pm
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Moulton
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:40pm
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QUOTE(jorge @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 12:33pm) *

Schadenfreude?
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Jonny Cache
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:42pm
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QUOTE(Moulton @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 1:40pm) *

QUOTE(jorge @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 12:33pm) *

Schadenfreude?


Ja, Schaden Freud, Mein Arzt.

Jonny cool.gif
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dtobias
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:43pm
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What list exactly is it that "they" (the enemy) don't know exists? Sounds like whatever it is, it might just be a major locus of the alleged Clique / Cabal.
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Bob Boy
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:45pm
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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...ablished_editor

Heh. Guy rides to the rescue by deleting the page! Good thing we already have a copy here.
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Aloft
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:47pm
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She has an email list of perceived fellow sleuths, no doubt. The WBI.

QUOTE(Bob Boy @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:45pm) *
Heh. Guy rides to the rescue by deleting the page! Good thing we already have a copy here.


Typical JzG: "I have to do something, even if it's totally ineffective and stupid! Look, I did something!"

Are you really that stupid, JzG? Where do you think curious Wikipedians will go now to read the secret email you just deleted?

This post has been edited by Aloft: Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:50pm
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Derktar
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:49pm
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Too bad, Guy was a bit too slow on the draw.

So come one, come all to those who didn't see the truth!
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jorge
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:49pm
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QUOTE(Jonny Cache @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:42pm) *

QUOTE(Moulton @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 1:40pm) *

QUOTE(jorge @ Thu 22nd November 2007, 12:33pm) *

Schadenfreude?


Ja, Schaden Freud, Mein Arzt.

Jonny cool.gif

So is it all German speakers that Durova considers a threat, or just ones that like Mozart?
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Aloft
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 5:53pm
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Giano just re-added it. Prediction: JzG goes batshit, blocks Giano. Let's watch!
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everyking
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 6:00pm
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Mercury has protected the page.
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Moulton
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 6:04pm
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Schadenfreude Theatre Presents: Fear and Loathing in Lost Vagueness

This case exemplifies how Identify Friend or Foe morphs into Identify Fiend or Foof.
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Bob Boy
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 6:06pm
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http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...r_talk:Giano_II

Go, Guy! Get that genie back in the bottle! biggrin.gif
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Aloft
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 6:10pm
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And now JzG is deleting revisions from Giano's talk page. Keep it up JzG; You're just piquing everyone's interest.

Someone go post it on ANI. I wanna see the database lock up when JzG tries to delete it.
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Moulton
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 6:11pm
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Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, the egg on your face cannot be airbrushed out of your navel lint trap.
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Derktar
post Thu 22nd November 2007, 6:14pm
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QUOTE
You've made your point, the people at Wikipedia Review now have the full details of how to evade detection in future, for which I am sure they are most grateful, but posting the contents of private emails without the sender's permission is a pretty low blow and has resulted in ArbCom sanctions before now, not that I guess you give a damn.

I know you are upset and I know !! is upset, but seriously this has escalated out of all proportion from a 75 minute block for which the blocking admin has apologised. Guy (Help!) 18:07, 22 November 2007 (UTC)


Because we really needed Durova's SUPER-SLEUTHING-SKILLZ to not be found out, right?

What a fool.
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