Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/69.122.145.251/Archive

23 September 2012

 * Suspected sockpuppets




 * User compare report Auto-generated every hour.

During a content dispute at East Germany (with 3RR warning for 69.122.145.251), the other two have shown up to defend those edits. All three are at the same location. 173.56.118.88 and 69.122.145.251 have both edited Geronimo. I have requested semi-protection on East Germany. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 16:21, 23 September 2012 (UTC)  Sum mer PhD  (talk) 16:21, 23 September 2012 (UTC)

Comments by other users
''Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.''
 * I checked the WHOIS reports and believe that the suspected sockpupeteer and 68.195.233.122 are the same person, as the ISP is Optimum Online, they both have a broadband connection, and they both use static IPs. Both of those IPs come from the Long Island region (additionally, Optimum Online is only available, as far as I know, in the Tri-State area). The other IP uses Verizon. I don't believe that making several edits to East Germany is enough to constitute WP: DUCK, and that IP has also edited several other articles, as well. Additionally, per Meta Privacy Policies, checkusers will not connect IPs. Electric Catfish2 00:40, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Geolocate puts all three in East Northport, NY. 173.56.118.88 and 69.122.145.251 both edited East Germany and Geronimo on the same day. Unless there is some confluence of East Northport, NY, former European nations of the 20th century and a 19th century Apache leader that I don't know about, this is the same person. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 01:06, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
 * A checkuser will not comment on whether the two are connected, so we need to make a case for a block per WP: DUCK. I presume that he went over to someone else's house to make the edit using 68.195.233.122, as that is the only edit that account has made. 173.56.118.88  is probably a community center, such as the local library, as it has a extensive edit history and uses a different ISP than the other two (it uses Verizon, while the other 2 use Optimum). Electric Catfish2 01:17, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Three possible explanations come to mind: #1 The IPs are one user (whether using a friend's computer, a smartphone, access at a library, a connection at Starbucks/Burger King/Barnes & Nobel/where ever, a local school, his older brother's apartment, his parole officer's house or whatever is immaterial) or a meatpuppet. #2 By a remarkable set of coincidences, more than one editor in East Northport, NY, on the same day, happens to take a interest in the same POV edits for East Germany while making a few tweaks to Geronimo as well. The edits just happen to "nest" time-wise. No one else in the world is paying any attention to those two articles at the time, just these remarkably similar, random editors, who happen to live in East Northport, NY. #3 Involves advanced alien beings (disguised as ducks) from another planet, hacking Wikipedia to play some complex joke on us. I would suggest that #2 and #3 are VERY unlikely. The parsimonious answer is #1. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 02:04, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
 * 173.56.118.88 made 5 edits to Geronimo on 22 September then stopped editing
 * 19 minutes later, 69.122.145.251 arrives to make 2 edits to Geronimo, and numerous disputed edits to East Germany. After 19 edits over 4 hours, receiving a 3RR warning and making several edits to my talk page defending those edits (ignoring repeated requests to take it to the article's talk page), 69.122.145.251 stops editing.
 * 19 minutes later (again), 173.56.118.88 reappears makes one unrelated edit and disappears.
 * 23 minutes later, 68.195.233.122 appears to make its only edit (removing the dubious tags added in response to the dispute) and disappears.
 * 2 hours later, 173.56.118.88 reappears to make several edits furthering 69.122.145.251's agenda at East Germany, disappearing after 3 edits.
 * 13 minutes later, 69.122.145.251 reappears to make similar edits at Stasi and East Germany.
 * If these three IPs are not the same editor (or meatpuppets of one editor), I'm the pope. - Sum mer PhD  (talk) 03:51, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments
— Berean Hunter   (talk)  12:53, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I agree that these are the same editor but now with three days gone by and no further editing from the IPs I don't see how blocking would help at this point. If they reappear, please refile and drop me a note on my talkpage.