Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Bobmack89x/Archive

Evidence submitted by Zink Dawg
User:Ecosciences editing patterns is quite similar to User:Bobmack89x.

User:Bobmack89x was indefinitely blocked on November 30, 2009 and User:Ecosciences was created on October 23, 2009.

I am requesting a CheckUser to verify this sock.-- Zink Dawg  -- 18:01, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Comments by other users
User:Ecosciences seems to have very similar interests and edit patterns to User:Bobmack89x, now indefinitely blocked (his 5th block). Their common interests include crime, gangs, gangsters, and federal agencies.

FWIW, User:Bobmack89x seems to have edited as User:74.105.219.17 and User:74.105.212.17, both Verizon accounts in Livingston, NJ, before he registered. These accounts edited some of the same articles, and share his pattern of overlinking and adding unrelated or borderline subjects, often government agencies, to see-also sections.

Ecosciences here adds unsourced crimes to a list of crimes, one of the practices that got Bobmack89x blocked.

Here and here he adds some of Bobmack89x's favorite police agencies to see-also lists (note the addition of the abbreviation '(ATF)', also a Bobmack89x practice.

Here he Americanizes the spelling of 'organized', something Bobmack89x does here and as I recall has done in other articles.

I could dig further, but I see Ecosciences has been blocked even as I typed. Good work, all. --CliffC (talk) 20:53, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

CheckUser requests
Requested by  Zink Dawg -- 18:01, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

– Behavioral evidence clearly indicates that we have a sock here (see WP:DUCK). No CU necessary. MuZemike 20:28, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

Conclusions
Blocked and tagged. MuZemike 20:30, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

Evidence submitted by CliffC
New IP that first edited 6 December, after Bobmack89x and Ecosciences were blocked. Has similar interests (crime and criminals) and edit patterns.
 * Here and here adding unsourced crimes to an infobox list
 * Here making the same change to Tom Petters that Ecosciences made here
 * Here making sure that FBI gets linked, a Bobmack89x tipoff
 * Here changes 'drug dealer' to 'drug trafficker', another Bobmack89x tipoff
 * Here adding a criminal to a list (of con men in this case) by doing a cut-and-paste from the criminal's own article and adding 'con man' to make the addition look constructive, a Bobmack89x specialty

FWIW, the following are accounts that Bobmack89x seems to have used earlier this year, these are Verizon accounts in Livingston, NJ, the same geographical area as the subject of this report.

CliffC (talk) 04:17, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Request for CheckUser

 * - Self endorsing to check if a rangeblock is possible and look for sleepers. Tiptoety  talk 06:42, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * let me know if it continues. Also, Personally ✅ to be a sockpuppet. Dominic·t 06:43, 8 December 2009 (UTC)
 * let me know if it continues. Also, Personally ✅ to be a sockpuppet. Dominic·t 06:43, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Conclusions

 * blocked and tagged. Tiptoety  talk 06:49, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Evidence submitted by CliffC
Similar interests and edit patterns.


 * Here adds confidence game/con-man tag to Petters Group Worldwide
 * Here adds some of the law-enforcement agencies favored by Bobmack89x
 * Here and here overlinks "FBI"

Admin User:Dominic has blocked his school's IP as noted here

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Conclusions
Blocked and tagged. MuZemike 01:50, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Evidence submitted by CliffC
Same interests as User:Bobmack89x, including crime, gangs, gangsters, and federal agencies. The 12 January and 13 January edits follow his classic pattern of overlinking and adding unrelated or borderline subjects, often government agencies, to see-also sections. Adds his trademark overlink to the FBI. If a scan of the 12 and 13 January edits doesn't make it obvious, let me know and I'll make up some diffs. Thank you, CliffC (talk) 05:13, 14 January 2010 (UTC)


 * This person claims on my talk page here to have responded, but his contribution history shows otherwise. What next?  --CliffC (talk) 18:00, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments
On the face of it, seems quite likely without need for a CU. I've alerted the accussed on their talk page of this report and it may (or equally may not) be appropriate to wait for their defence before blocking for block evasion. NJA (t/ c)  10:24, 14 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Thank you. I'm wondering, if sockpuppetry is the case here, if there is some sort of automated tool an admin can run to roll back the puppet's changes.  I and other interested parties have done this manually for past Bobmack89x sock accounts, but I'm hoping there's a better way.  Thanks, CliffC (talk) 16:37, 14 January 2010 (UTC)
 * User:John254/mass rollback.js. Use with caution, though, just in case you revert a good edit. Timotheus Canens (talk) 16:46, 14 January 2010 (UTC)


 * This person is still editing but has offered no defense to the sockpuppetry accusation on his talk page. I suggest it is time to shut him down.  --CliffC (talk) 18:54, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Blocked and tagged. –MuZemike 01:49, 20 January 2010 (UTC)

Evidence submitted by CliffC
New user appeared 22 January, three days after most recent puppet Scottrothstein was blocked. At the time of this report it appears to me that every edit by Ronjermany has been to an article edited in the past by Bobmack89x or a puppet. Both the style and content of his edits are similar to edits by Bobmack89x et al. He is active at this moment, let me know if I need to add to this. Thanks, CliffC (talk) 00:59, 25 January 2010 (UTC)
 * here his first edit is to reinstate this edit by puppet Scottrothstein
 * here he changes 'felonies' to 'federal crimes', a Bobmack89x marker
 * here he adds a federal agency's acronym to its entry in a see-also list, as often does Bobmack89x. The list itself is mainly a collection of overinks created by Bobmack89x way back here
 * He fiddles with Tom Petters, often a Bobmacl89x target, then adds a Petters entry here to List of Ponzi schemes.

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments
Blocked and tagged. –MuZemike 20:20, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Evidence submitted by CliffC
Appeared right after User:Ronjermany was informed of an accusation of sockpuppetry. Similar interests (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, gangs Russian criminals) and pattern of overlinking.

Please let me know if you need more. CliffC (talk) 22:05, 1 February 2010 (UTC)
 * here adds a BobMack89x favorite category
 * here another favorite
 * here links Bobmack89x's favorite federal agencies in an edit that seems to be a combined cut-and-paste of at least two copyvios
 * here another cut-and-paste crime-story copyvio, stuffed into the middle of cited material

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments
Blocked and tagged. –MuZemike 01:57, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Evidence submitted by CliffC
Account appeared three days after most recent puppet User:Vory v zakone was informed of a sockpuppetry accusation. Similar interests to previous Bobmack89x accounts - racketeers and crime, Russian criminals; pattern of overlinking and adding see-alsos for federal law enforcement agencies only remotely related to the subject of an article.


 * Here first edit is to add an unnecessary see-also agency along with its acronym, example similar edit by puppet User:Ronjermany here


 * Here updates an 'as-of' date in List of smoking bans, as did Bobmack9x here


 * Here adds a see-also for Tom Petters, a favorite edit target


 * Here changes 'felonies' to 'federal crimes', a Bobmack89x marker


 * Here adds mobster Semion Mogilevich, whose article has been a favorite of puppet User:Scottrothstein

Please let me know if you need more. CliffC (talk) 23:08, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments
Self-endorsing for CheckUser attention. This user has been socking quite enough recently, and it's time to check for sleepers and hardblock some IPs. –MuZemike 23:40, 10 February 2010 (UTC)
 * ✅. IP range blocked. Dominic·t 05:34, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Evidence submitted by CliffC
Same behavior and interests as previous instances of Bobmack89x, classic example here, adding a favorite category here. Let me know if you need more. CliffC (talk) 03:08, 21 February 2010 (UTC)

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments
Blocked and tagged. –MuZemike 05:07, 22 February 2010 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets

 * - reported in past but no block indicated on user page
 * - reported in past but no block indicated on user page

Evidence submitted by CliffC
User exhibits interests and behaviors similar to Bobmack89x and socks. Whois indicates this user is located in the Livingston, NJ area, from which Bob's other IPs have edited. CliffC (talk) 04:00, 26 February 2010 (UTC)
 * Here adds two copies of a not-quite-related-to-the-article See-also. Article added is one favored by Bob; sock Ecosciences adds the 2009 version of the article here.
 * Here adds an unsourced crime to a list of criminal activities, a Bobmack89x specialty

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments
173.63.223.133 blocked. I'm not going to bother blocking the other IP (or rangeblock yet) as the other IP hasn't had an edit in over two months. –MuZemike 02:06, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets
Related IP history:
 * - reported 26 February 2010, blocked as a sock for 55 hours
 * - reported 8 December 2009, no block

Evidence submitted by CliffC
Interests and behaviors similar to Bobmack89x and socks.
 * Here adds unsourced crimes to a list of criminal activities in Soprano crime family, as did another Bobmack89x sock here.
 * Whois indicates this user is located in the Livingston, NJ area, from which Bob's other IPs have edited. CliffC (talk) 03:56, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Comments by accused parties
See Defending yourself against claims.

Comments by other users
Decline as the supposed allegations are not considered sockpuppetry. I see only one account listed here and you have no evidence of deliberate deception, so even if all those edits were done by the same person it does not constitute sockpuppetry under WP:SOCK. Also, all the IPs and the account have mostly edits that look constructive, so there's no blatant vandalism at all. Even if all your assumptions prove correct, someone forgetting to login while editing from a work, school or university PC is far more likely. Smocking (talk) 15:56, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but I beg to differ for two reasons. First, from looking at the archive, it seems that Bobmack89x has used this IP range before. Second, this person is forgetting too many times to log in to dismiss as coincidence. –MuZemike 16:01, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * The main account seems to be blocked ... so he couldn't really log into it anyway.  —  Soap  —  16:03, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Endorse block of IPs for block evasion of account. Sorry, I seem to have overlooked that there was an archive of his socks. Smocking (talk) 16:25, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments
173.63.223.0/24 blocked 1 week. –MuZemike 03:22, 3 March 2010 (UTC)