Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/Pope Barry George

''The following discussion is preserved as an archive of a Request for checkuser. Please do not modify it .''

Pope Barry George





 * Code letter: C
 * Supporting evidence: Provided in Detail Below.
 * See also the following ANI threads:
 * ANI
 * ANI

This case involves an editor who claims to be an admin and proceeds to disrupt the project. Of particular concern are the following actions, common to most of the socks listed above:


 * Closing AfD debates as Delete or Speedy Delete, as with PBG here, Swirl Face here, and Andrew Craigie here.
 * Removing AfD tags from articles closed as per above, by PBG here, Swirl Face here, and Craigie here.
 * Reviewing unblock requests, as with PBG here, accepting an unblock request for the indef blocked User:Confederate till Death, and Swirl Face here declining an unblock on the same user, and with Oli Mitchell here.
 * Threatening to continue sockpuppetry and impersonation of administrators, as with PBG here and Oli Mitchell here, at ANI, and Nick White's Virgins here, also at ANI.
 * Tagging userpages as Blocked, as with Allen Lee Remis here.
 * The image Image:Hurleylost.PNG has also been involved here. A version of this image was uploaded by Bob from lostpedia here (which was reverted), was used as a photo by PBG on his userpage, and later was replaced with a false version by Silly Face here and here.

In each case, the user formatted his User page using the User page of another Wikipedian:
 * Pope Barry George copied the format of his user page here, using a fair use image as a photo and changing the e-mail address to one beginning with "olim", matching Oli Mitchell. This format is identical to that of User:Nburden, whom PBG then accused of being a sock here. The talk page was the same, even retaining a link to edit a new section on Nburden's talk page (as seen here).
 * Silly Face chose User:Durova's page, thus, adding the Administrator template later.
 * Oli Mitchell used an experienced Wikipedian's page, though I'm not sure whose. The user in question is an administrator, though, as shown here, in a userbox which Oli failed to remove.

I'm filing this request to ensure that these users are indeed related, and are thus sleeper socks (given the close proximity of user creation dates on 19 November 2007), or that they are unrelated and indicative of a larger problem. I stress for the record that the impersonation of admins can have significant collateral damage, as indicated by the unblock requests of User:Confederate till Death, whose puzzlement at sort-of-not-really being unblocked (seen here) must have been bothersome. UltraExactZZ Claims~ Evidence 14:47, 28 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Note that this all appears related to a previous sock farm uncovered last summer. See Category:Wikipedia sockpuppets of Pope Benjamin Lister and Requests for checkuser/Case/Pope Benjamin Lister for links and details. - TexasAndroid (talk) 15:16, 28 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Other socks are appearing: and . The second of these has made vandal edits almost identical to those of  and others on Orangemike's userpage a few days ago. --Snigbrook ( talk ) 16:00, 28 March 2008 (UTC)


 * These accounts are mostly all tied to a known vandal from a particular IP. That address is already blocked anon only/ACB but these accounts were all created before the block.  Some new accounts were created at an internet cafe, now blocked.  His main address is a firewall for a large institution with many good users, so there is a problem with stronger blocks. Thatcher 16:05, 28 March 2008 (UTC)


 * There may be more "Pope" usernames, of the five names beginning "Pope" registered on the 19th Nov 2007, four were blocked recently, including the subject of this checkuser, other more recent ones may also be related (use an API query to find a list of them). For example, I would guess that, registered on 22 January, probably is. --Snigbrook ( talk ) 16:17, 28 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Good catch, 5 more sleepers blocked. In general, though, unless they have recent edits, we can't spot them until they activate.  The vandal here should probably read m:Privacy policy, especially #5. Thatcher 16:46, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

''The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the Request for checkuser. Please do not modify it. Subsequent requests related to this user should be made above, in a new section.''