Wikipedia:Arbitration Committee/CheckUser and Oversight/2011 CUOS appointments/CU/Mentifisto

Mentifisto

 * Nomination statement (250 words max.)

Hi! I have considered applying for the checkuser tool on the English Wikipedia, as it would serve most useful. As part of my global steward work I encounter vandals, often recurrent potential socks, from across all languages and projects; this wiki, being the largest, inevitably gets the most activity. As such, I was regularly having the need to consult local checkusers, primarily to verify the presence of sleepers.

I utilize checkuser for mostly the same reason on simplewiki, although to a lesser degree (most disruption tends to aggregate here). In that position and as a steward I am already identified, and have been following the relevant (privacy) policies - therefore I feel that that won't be a problem here.

Thanks.

Standard questions for all candidates
Please describe any relevant on-Wiki experience you have for this role.
 * A: For the past half a year I've assisted, along with the rest of the steward group, with mostly routine vandal sockpuppetry. I do not normally handle the most intricate cases, but checkuser could still be useful for blatantly obvious vandals (whose names I think will be better omitted). The editing patterns and behaviours may be easy to determine in such cases, but it's usually even more destructive than other sockpuppetry (especially one case that affects public perception greatly).

Please outline, without breaching your personal privacy, what off-Wiki experience or technical expertise you have for this role.


 * A: I have a personal interest in computer networking, which has helped me in my work on wikis. I became more familiar with the checkuser tool ever since I could first use it in an active wiki environment, on simple, and more so since using it routinely as a steward (although, there it is mostly used just for finding out vandals' IPs for global blocking). I do have a basic knowledge of CIDR, but I'm still in the process of understanding all of the mathematics concerning it. Otherwise, I do know how IPv4 mostly works.

Do you hold advanced permissions (checkuser, oversight, bureaucrat, steward) on this or other WMF projects? If so, please list them. Also, do you have OTRS permissions? If so, to which queues?
 * A: Steward, checkuser on Simple English Wikipedia, and bureaucrat on Meta. I have access to the info-en, permissions, photosubmissions, and stewards queues (mostly work on info-en).

Questions for this candidate
Being a new checkuser (to enwiki), would you be willing to help with the Checkuser backlog at WP:ACC as there are usually up to 6 requests waiting about 5 days+? -- DQ  (t)   (e)  19:33, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * A: I would be willing if I'm knowledgeable and confident enough about the cases, but as I'm not very familiar with ACC I will probably require some time, I must admit.

Would you be proactive in looking at the open cases at SPI to see if they could use a checkuser? -- DQ  (t)   (e)  19:33, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * A: For now, until I'm more certain about specific cases, I plan to use checkuser (as mentioned above) more as an assistance to my steward work, in a similar manner as I do now on small wikis with no checkusers (and just like in my requests to current checkusers). But, if in the future I naturally end up investigating the persistent cases (this tends to happen as I learn more about cross-wiki ones) I will be proactive in aiding with the day-to-day backlog at SPI - hope that's acceptable.

As a CheckUser, you will likely, from time to time, coordinate and communicate with the Stewards. What cross-wiki experience can you bring that can help out not only the Stewards, but editors, administrators, and CheckUsers on other wikis? –MuZemike 21:37, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * A: Well, as a steward I've already spent some time editing in different environments on other wikis, and I'm aware of the importance of collaboration. I've frequently asked functionaries on other wikis for help with cross-wiki problems (as we need to rely on locally active users, if they're available, especially if we lack knowledge of the language).

In your own words, what are the main differences between the WMF's CheckUser policy and the privacy policy? –MuZemike 21:37, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * A: The checkuser policy specifically tackles the usage of the checkuser tool, what is acceptable or not, while the privacy policy handles all the privacy implications that usage of the checkuser tool, or oversight might have.

Under what circumstances do the above policies give on the release of CheckUser data? –MuZemike 21:37, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * A: These circumstances rarely occur, and no information should be released at any other time, but generally if the foundation receives a subpoena, or if ISPs could be willing to prevent abuse of their services (if their clients are disrupting wikis), information can be released to the relevant people. Mostly these are exclusively legal circumstances, but others allow release if the users being investigated give their consent.

Give some examples on when CheckUser requests of a sensitive nature or discovered CheckUser results of interest that would not be posted on-wiki. –MuZemike 21:37, 26 September 2011 (UTC)
 * A: Generally, as above, the actual checkuser results should not be published on-wiki, but they could be discussed on the mailing list etc. In circumstances where a long-term established user is found to be a banned user, the case is referred to the Arbitration Committee.

Checkuers are often relied on to determine whether someone is using anonymising proxies to perform their sockpuppetry. Please describe your general experience in this area. Please also describe, preferably with an example, how you (would have) suspected, identified, confirmed, and blocked a socking open proxy on Wikipedia. -- zzuuzz (talk) 17:20, 28 September 2011 (UTC)
 * A: I've dealt with quite a few open proxies, especially on simplewiki. I think the most basic way to identify one, and what normally proves reliable is simply to try to access the IP through HTTP, as OPs often seem to have web servers installed (either for the control of the proxy itself or for some obscure private usage). Other than that, if that fails or more accuracy is desired (especially with regards to what other ports are potentially open) a port scanner could be used. There are also various lists online that compile such IPs that may be used for confirmation.


 * Other than that, the checkuser results may attempt to check for some proxies by using XFF data.

Comments

 * Comments may also be submitted to the Arbitration Committee privately by emailing 


 * It's admittedly disappointing that I'm the only one who got no feedback or commentary here, and at the very least frustrating, as I always try to invite feedback and never (to my knowledge) reacted negatively to anything that has been said in the past few years.


 * As I wrote in my editor review (not that I expect anyone to remember about that from so long ago), I can only improve by taking into account people's concerns. If there weren't any 'approvals' in this nomination, then logically some people must have had concerns, or perhaps doubts (I'm very doubtful myself about a lot of things! Though, mostly things that are of a philosophical nature.) Even if the expression of such doubts is a meta-reflection on that very state - I think that could still be better than nothing.


 * I am expressing this myself, of course, with the view that Wikipedia isn't some solipsistic universe-system that is merely a fragment of my dreams, and the lack of commentary stemming from the fact that I cannot, ultimately, comment with any sort of objectivity about myself. But, if that was true then all existence would probably self-destruct in about... now. (Due to excessive self-analysis.) :-P


 * But seriously, for anyone who is possibly reading this: please don't hesitate to say what concerns you may have, maybe next time. Thank you. -- Menti  fisto  18:03, 14 October 2011 (UTC)