Gary Weiss started this fight, I'm just here to finish it Options

[WordBomb]

The discourse on Mantanmoreland's RfAr has veered into the realm of importing real world fights into WP. I thought it would be useful to review how things actually began.

Gary Weiss started his blog on January 19, 2006.

His first few posts were about general business topics, but on January 22, he changed course.

Beginning that day, Weiss's blog transformed into a vehicle for attacking critics of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's (DTCC) role as an enabler of illegal naked short selling -- Patrick Byrne in particular.

I can tell you with certainty that prior to that time, Byrne had never even heard of Gary Weiss.

On January 26, 2006 Weiss, editing as IP 70.23.85.112 made sweeping changes to the article on Naked short selling.

• His first edit removed several external links to media sources that cast Byrne in a positive light (including podcast interviews created by me).
• His sixth edit added a link to a two-year-old BusinessWeek column, espousing the virtues of naked short selling, written by...guess who...Gary Weiss.
• His seventh edit added a link to a press release issued by the DTCC three days before...the same release that, three days before, Weiss dedicated a blog post to praising.
• His 11th edit claimed that Patrick Byrne is the subject of "widespread derision" for his stance against naked short selling.
• His 15th edit added a link to a press release issued by the DTCC the day before...which Weiss also blogged about.
• His 17th edit added a link to the DTCC page dedicated to obfuscating that organizations' responsibility for empowering criminal naked short sellers.

After edit waring with a handful of IPs and encountering 3RR trouble, Weiss discards 70.23.85.112 and creates Mantanmoreland. That account's first act was not to delete vandalism, as he claims, but to revert the article to how 70.23.85.112 left it.

From that day forward, roughly 90% of Weiss's blogging has focused on attacking Patrick Byrne and Overstock.com, while defending illegal naked short selling and promoting Weiss himself. Similarly, 90% of edits by Mantanmoreland, Samiharris, Tomstoner and Lastexit have attacked Patrick Byrne and Overstock.com, while defending naked short selling and promoting Weiss himself.

And to think...there are people out there who claim that I am responsible for bringing a real-world conflict to Wikipedia.

At this point, the obvious question is how to explain Weiss's motive.

I believe the answer can be found in this edit history. Keeping in mind the substance of Weiss's first several edits on Wikipedia, I challenge you to look for yourselves and tell me what you can deduce from it.

[jorge]

At this point, the obvious question is how to explain Weiss's motive.

I believe the answer can be found in this edit history. Keeping in mind the substance of Weiss's first several edits on Wikipedia, I challenge you to look for yourselves and tell me what you can deduce from it.

Is the fact that the anon ip that edited that article traces to :

The Depository Trust Company
55 Water Street 19th Floor
New York
NY 10041
US

of relevance?

[WordBomb]

Is the fact that the anon ip that edited that article traces to :

The Depository Trust Company
55 Water Street 19th Floor
New York
NY 10041
US

of relevance?

Bingo.
09:38, 22 January 2007 Mantanmoreland
09:36, 22 January 2007 Mantanmoreland
11:39, 19 January 2007 Mantanmoreland
11:38, 19 January 2007 Mantanmoreland
10:57, 19 January 2007 207.45.43.68 <-- I believe this was an unintended IP edit by Mantanmoreland
09:05, 25 December 2006 Mantanmoreland
09:04, 25 December 2006 Mantanmoreland
09:03, 25 December 2006 Mantanmoreland

That Weiss was using a DTCC computer might not immediately strike anybody as telling, but you need to know that the place is secure like Fort Knox, and not the kind of place an unauthorized person is going to be able to access...much less use a computer.

I asked the DTCC about this, but was told (in a really strange way) that nobody there had even met Gary Weiss.

Well, one of the things we know from the 1,800 emails is that indeed, they've certainly met Gary Weiss.

I believe I can prove that Gary Weiss's blogging and Wikipedia editing were motivated primarily by a professional relationship with the DTCC.

[jorge]

I see.....