GuildWiki talk:Sock puppetry

Call for votes (veterans only)
No article exists here yet (though see User:Arrowsmith/Sock puppetry), but that shouldn't stop us from having a vote on what to do about sock puppetry. Enough discussion has happened in GuildWiki talk:Community Portal, so it is time to coalesce the various opinions into policy. Please cast your votes in the abstract, with no reference to the specifics of the recent war on the wiki.

Note: this vote is only open to verified and long-standing contributors to the wiki, to minimize the chances of it itself being swayed by sockpuppets. You may only vote here if you have had over 500 edits in your account name or have had your first registered edit over 100 days before. Furthermore, you may not vote here if you are currently under suspicion of sockpuppetry. (Interestingly, this disqualifies me, the writer of this call for votes, from voting.)

Item 1: Should covert sock puppetry be tolerated?

 * Covert sock puppetry : when one editor uses two or more account names to edit the wiki without clearly stating the link between the two accounts.

Assume, for the purposes of this item, that the sock puppetry, although covert, is not malicious. This means that the multiple accounts have not been used to vandalize, stage disputes, or sway consensus or votes.

Yes, benign sock puppetry is harmless.
 * 1) (your vote here)

No, there is never a good reason for covert sock puppetry
 * 1) --[[Image:Gem-icon-sm.png]]  I think that another user name should only be used with a good reason, (eg. a guildwiki bug) and there is no need to hide the use of a new user name in any case. Even when it really doesn't matter, having a note/redirect on the user pages in question is necessary for the other contributors.

Item 2: Discovery of sock puppets
The nature of a wiki makes it very hard to detect sock puppets. There are easy ways of changing one's IPs through open proxies on the Internet. IP-based checks can never disprove sock puppetry, but can often be used to confirm or give a strong indication for suspected sock puppetry.

I have proposed that Help:CheckUser be installed on the GuildWiki. This extension allows querying the recent changes table in the database to find out
 * Which IPs were used by an account name.
 * Which account names were used by an IP.

There are several opinions to be had on this proposal; vote support or oppose for all relevant points.

Add this extension to the GuildWiki.
 * 1) Support --[[Image:Gem-icon-sm.png]]  (This will make some people happy)

Allow anyone to request a CheckUser for suspected sock puppets.
 * 1) Support, but not without good reasons --[[Image:Gem-icon-sm.png]]

Allow only sysops to request a CheckUser for suspected sock puppets.
 * 1) Support, but not without reasons --[[Image:Gem-icon-sm.png]]

Allow all sysops to perform a CheckUser themselves.
 * 1) Oppose --[[Image:Gem-icon-sm.png]]

Item 3: Should malicious sock puppets be blocked?
If an account is found to have a sock puppet in violation of the policy on multiple accounts, what should be the remedy. Assume for the purposes of this item that the sock puppets have been used to stage fights or sway consensus, but, save for the fact that they are controlled by one master, they have not otherwise violated the policies of the GuildWiki.

This list of possibilities is not complete, so feel free to add others and vote for all choices you approve of.

Only warning -- no bans
 * 1) (your vote here)

Block the sockpuppets but leave the "puppetmaster" account untouched
 * 1) --[[Image:Gem-icon-sm.png]]

Block both master and puppet accounts
 * 1) (your vote here)

Item 4: Rigor of the penalties
Assuming the consensus is that some blocks have to be used for sock puppets, the question then is how sever to make the blocks. This list is not complete. Feel free to add your own suggestions.

Temporary block: 6 months
 * 1) (your vote here)

Temporary block: 1 year
 * 1) (your vote here)

Permanent block
 * 1) --[[Image:Gem-icon-sm.png]]  If we are blocking a user name for being a sockpuppet, what reason would there not to put a permanent ban. The situation doesn't change in 6 months, the user name is still a sockpuppet, it can't turn into a real contributor in some magical way.