Sam Blacketer Options Rating

[tarantino]

Are there any of you Wikipedians out there who have met the most secretive of the current arbs, Sam?

It's probable that he's using a pseudonym. Though he used to sign his emails "Sam Blacketer London E15", all the phone books and people directories I checked show no instances of that name anywhere in the UK. Additionally he is the only one out the 13 who does not have either the CU or oversight tools and has not verified his identity with the WMF. I thought there was a requirement that you must be at least 18 to be an arb. How has he proven this?

This post has been edited by tarantino: Wed 12th November 2008, 3:32am

[One]

No, it seems that verification was not formalized before. FT2 brought this up in October, and the requirement was added in:

There is a good chance that any person wishing to sit for Arbcom may need to identify to WMF. Of course the majority of Arbitrators do, but at present it is not a requirement that a user will do so. I think this is unavoidable, and worth raising prior to nominations. I've raised it on arbcom-l also.
... FT2 (Talk | email) 16:31, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

I guess Sam was just grandfathered in.

Incidentally, is this really important? I don't think there was a reason to out NYB, for example. On the other hand, I guess Sam is different because even the Foundation doesn't know. With his non-privileges he might be able to...learn something private on the Arb list, maybe.

I dunno. I'm just tired of outing.

[tarantino]

I dunno. I'm just tired of outing.

How is this outing? He signed his emails to the public wikien-l "Sam Blacketer London E15". E15 is the postcode district for Stratford.

I suspect most people assume it's his real name. If it's a pseudonym, as he sort of alludes to here, it should be made clear.


Don't you find it slightly intriguing that he shows up in Dec 2006, makes over a thousand edits in his first ten days, and a year later he's an elite member?

He has access to confidential information on the arbcom wiki and mailng list. He should be verified.

[Knight]

I don't think that http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Identification_noticeboard is an exhaustive list of people who've identified to the WMF. Take for example this user who it would seem has identified but is not listed on the ID noticeboard. Perhaps someone should ask Sam on his talkpage to clarify whether he has identified given that this is now a requirement for ArbCom candidates?

[One]

I don't think that http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Identification_noticeboard is an exhaustive list of people who've identified to the WMF. Take for example this user who it would seem has identified but is not listed on the ID noticeboard. Perhaps someone should ask Sam on his talkpage to clarify whether he has identified given that this is now a requirement for ArbCom candidates?

If he were some random steward, I would agree. But I don't think it's coincidence that he's the only one night identified and the only one without tools. FT2 was clearly talking about someone. I think tarantino has made a good conclusion here.

But, I guess someone can ask.

Tarantino: I don't assume people use their real names. "Blacketer" is a fairly uncommon name, and I think it is a pseudonym.