Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Eleutherius/Archive

Suspected sockpuppets
Introduction

It is hypothesised that Eleutherius is the master account for Ardenssedvirens and a number of IP users apparently operating within the same geographic range (e.g. 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:8CE:E582:231:D2B2, 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:F845:9F6A:EA58:BE59, 109.255.55.253, 2A00:23C4:F9A3:7901:55C:C9E6:5652:5D7E and 94.11.125.79). The edits relate primarily to the article on Union Theological College and an employee therein. However, other users seem to have a related pattern of activity that may point to particular motives, especially insofar as they appear to be employed by the same underlying organisation. Details of such other users, most of which no longer appear to be active, are therefore nevertheless included in chronological order where possible, insofar as they may reveal a wider motivational context to patterns of activity.

Mogadorable

This user had made a grand total of 130 edits between February and June 2018, including a remarkable number of 63 edits to the article on Union Theological College ‎between 8 February 2018 and 12 May 2018, as well as the creation of an article on Martyn C. Cowan and 33 subsequent edits to this particular member of faculty at Union Theological College (which contains unreferenced details of early life that hint at a close connection between the author and subject of the article), as well as one edit to an article on John Owen (a theologian whose writings are a declared research interest of Martyn C. Cowan). The same user also made 15 edits to an article on Stafford Carson, the former principal of the college. Although this account no longer appears to be active, such that connecting any associated IP address would be more challenging, the overwhelming interests of this user relate primarily to concerns raised in turn by ReformedTexan and latterly by Ardenssedvirens, especially in relation to concerns of the latter regarding the inclusion of GIF images in associated articles on Union Theological College and Martyn C. Cowan (subsequently removed), suggesting a tentative connection that might in turn help to identify either Ardenssedvirens or connected users.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Mogadorable

82.33.248.188

This IP address made only two edits to Wikipedia in total but appears to be associated with "PRESBYTERIAN-CHURCH-IN-IRELAND" and the associated user described the former inclusion of details relating to a lecture addressed to an Orange Lodge by a member of faculty at Union Theological College as "potentially misleading" when such information was previously included in the article on Martyn C. Cowan, albeit without indicating how this content in itself might be in any way misleading or incorrect. Whereas subsequent editors (firstly Beeblebrox, followed by ReformedTexan) pointed out that the source of such information was not considered reliable as it apparently came from Facebook, it appears that the primary objection raised by this IP user seemed to relate to other concerns, possibly related to the possibility of any direct association of a member of faculty at Union Theological College with the Orange Order. It is speculated that there may be a connection with subsequent attempts by Ardenssedvirens to remove all trace of the Orange Order from the article on Union Theological College.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/82.33.248.188

ReformedTexan

This user appears to have pursued the primary interests of Mogadorable, with edits exclusively focused on articles about Union Theological College ‎and Martyn C. Cowan. Despite this user's choice of name, no edits have apparently been made by this user to anything even vaguely Texan and nothing else that might be described as Reformed, instead raising objections primarily to the inclusion of particular images from Facebook (no longer accessible) in articles on Union Theological College ‎and Martyn C. Cowan. This was subsequently pursued by Ardenssedvirens on 4 April 2022‎ who referenced comments by an apparently independent user (Fyrael) for support but curiously neglected to similarly mention more recent remarks by ReformedTexan, hinting at possible recognition by Ardenssedvirens of the non-independence of ReformedTexan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/ReformedTexan

Blame Constantine

This user has made only three contributions to Wikipedia, including a message describing content on the page about Union Theological College as "purposely inaccurate" (reverted on 26 February 2022‎ by Sea Cow) and a specific objection to suggestions of a relationship between the college and the Orange Order. The stated objections on the basis of purported inaccuracy (albeit without demonstrating what specifically might be inaccurate) appear to reflect a pattern of claims later employed by Ardenssedvirens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Blame_Constantine

Ardenssedvirens

The user page for Ardenssedvirens describes how this individual began editing Wikipedia upon seeing what they depicted as "a number of inaccuracies in the article for Union Theological college" and further indicating an intention to be "a good citizen now by loading up the occasional random article". Subsequent editing activity reveals an overwhelming interest in Union Theological College, accompanied by mounting of investigations into other users whose edits have variously been considered objectionable, albeit seemingly without demonstrating any obvious factual inaccuracies (nor generating fresh content as new articles in the manner suggested by the associated user page). Ardenssedvirens had been intensively active from 15 March 2022 to 14 April 2022, then apparently silent for almost an entire year before apparently coming out of retirement between 7 April 2023 and 3 May 2023, initially to delete the entire section entitled "Orange Order use of premises" in the article on Union Theological College on the alleged basis that the content is considered trivial and later claiming that such deletion represents a consensus. In an apparent edit war with suspected sockpuppets, Ardenssedvirens appears to have been asked on the talk page for Union Theological College to clarify the nature of any possible relationship with each of the three IP users (109.255.55.253, 2A00:23C4:F9A3:7901:55C:C9E6:5652:5D7E and 94.11.125.79) but on 1 May 2023 stated in reply "I have not claimed responsibility for anything other than my own contributions."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Ardenssedvirens

109.255.55.253

This IP user (seemingly based in Cork, County Cork, Ireland) appears to have acted out the intentions of Ardenssedvirens regarding the article on Union Theological College but using rather more incautious language in associated comments, making otherwise unexplained remarks such as "really? administration procedures? not relevant" and "Someone clearly has an axe to grind!!". In particular, this user sought to delete the entire section entitled "Orange Order use of premises" from the article on Union Theological College with the otherwise unqualified claim "This whole section is very tenous!" but this was described as "Unexplained content removal (RW 16.1))" and accordingly reverted by Tommi1986 at 10:56 on 15 April 2022. It would appear that this user is either working very closely with Ardenssedvirens, or both together may represent "Good hand" and "bad hand" accounts (using one account for constructive contributions and the other one for vandalism or other types of disruptive editing).  This IP user appears to be linked to 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:8CE:E582:231:D2B2 and 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:F845:9F6A:EA58:BE59 based on the geographical location associated with these three IP addresses as well as common preoccupations in editing preferences.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/109.255.55.253

94.11.125.79

Initial deletions of sections in the article on Union Theological College by this IP user were reverted in turn by Ingenuity (at 15:37 on 15 July 2022), an established user who has been awarded Barnstars for fighting vandalism. This IP user then claimed to be "Removing inaccuracies and biased claims" (language otherwise characteristically associated with Ardenssedvirens) when removing entire sections entitled "Breaking of links with Queen's University Belfast". "Diversity of staff", "Dismissal of a professor", "Orange Order use of premises" and "New partnerships with St. Mary's University and the Kirby Laing Centre". This was reverted by Meters on 15 July 2022‎, who instructed this user to "take it to talk please", though neither of two IP users active at the time (94.11.125.79 or 2A00:23C4:F9A3:7901:55C:C9E6:5652:5D7E) apparently did so. The close timing of deletion of material by these users on purportedly similar grounds but without associated discussion of rationale as requested suggests that they had been operating closely together.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/94.11.125.79

2A00:23C4:F9A3:7901:55C:C9E6:5652:5D7E

This IP user removed large chunks of material from the article on Union Theological College with the claims of "Incorrect information" and assertions that the article was then "Fixed" by further wholesale removal of content without any apparent justification, followed only a few minutes later by further deletion of content by another IP user (94.11.125.79). Notably, the section of the article on Union Theological College previously entitled "Orange Order use of premises" was then removed by this IP user (2A00:23C4:F9A3:7901:55C:C9E6:5652:5D7E) at 15:50 on 15 July 2022 and immediately reverted by another user called Wesoree at 15:51, describing the previous edit as "Vandalism (RW 16.1)". This IP user seemingly then engaged in an edit war by deleting even more material, with such edits also reverted by Wesoree (at 15:51 on 15 July 2022‎) and accordingly described as "Unexplained content removal (RW 16.1)". The same sections were again removed by yet another IP user (94.11.125.79) at 15:55 on 15 July 2022‎, who claimed to be "Removing inaccuracies and biased claims". This was in turn reverted by Meters on 15 July 2022‎, instructing this user to "take it to talk please", though it seems that neither IP user (94.11.125.79 nor 2A00:23C4:F9A3:7901:55C:C9E6:5652:5D7E) did so.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/2A00:23C4:F9A3:7901:55C:C9E6:5652:5D7E

115.99.221.227

This user sought to remove sections entitled "Dismissal of a professor" and "Diversity of staff" from the article on Union Theological College, with the purported justification "removed this section as it is not a promotional page", ironically after having added a promotional section entitled "Accreditation" that merely duplicated information elsewhere in the article. Aside from four edits to the article on Union Theological College, of which the latter two involved blanking of entire sections, the only other edit made by this user was to an article of the University of Madras, which was promptly described as vandalism and accordingly reverted by Neurofreak on 1 September 2022‎. As the associated IP address appears to be based in India, the apparently overwhelming interest of this user in a small college in Northern Ireland seems rather remarkable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/115.99.221.227

2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:8CE:E582:231:D2B2

This IP user (apparently located in Cork, County Cork, Ireland) seems to have been solely concerned with a section of the article on Union Theological College ‎entitled "Further Partnerships" and appears to be linked to 109.255.55.253 and 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:F845:9F6A:EA58:BE59 based on both editing preferences and the geographical location associated with these three IP addresses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:8CE:E582:231:D2B2

Eleutherius

Based on the close timing and similar nature of successive edits to the article on Union Theological College, this user appears to be the same user as IP user 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:8CE:E582:231:D2B2. The particular interest of this longstanding user in the small rural district of Donoughmore ‎(having created and regularly edited this entry) appears to be remarkably revealing. Although minimal information is provided on this person's User Page, it would not be unreasonable to speculate from apparently similar interests and previous newspaper content that this user might be an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland based in Cork and who originally hails from Donoughmore. Although admittedly speculative and without making any definitive identifications, this might then provide a clearer basis for a possible motive regarding edits to the article on Union Theological College. It is further hypothesised that this user is the same person as Ardenssedvirens, though no connection between these different accounts has been declared on the respective user pages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Eleutherius

2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:F845:9F6A:EA58:BE59

This user (apparently based in Cork, County Cork, Ireland) only made a single edit to the article on Union Theological College and no other contributions, reverting in turn the reversion by another user pursuant to wholesale deletion of sections, yet it is remarkable how this user was then quick to suggest "possible vandalism by sock puppet" on the part of a single edit by an IP user. This IP user appears to be linked to 109.255.55.253 and 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:8CE:E582:231:D2B2 based on both editing preferences and the geographical location associated with these three IP addresses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:F845:9F6A:EA58:BE59

Notable diffs revealing common concerns about previously described Orange Order use of premises and associated vandalism:

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1098385858&oldid=1098385839

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1098399947&oldid=1098386597

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1082833329&oldid=1082832558

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1148639980&oldid=1082832558

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1148639980&oldid=1143551533

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1143551533&oldid=1082832558

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1098385839&oldid=1098385772

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1098399947&oldid=1098386597

Notable diffs revealing common concerns about previously described Dismissal of a professor and undiscussed blanking of sourced content:

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1107964388&oldid=1107907662

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1152975943&oldid=1107907662

Notable diffs revealing closely coordinated deletion of related content and unsupported claims of inaccuracies:

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1098386597&oldid=1098385899

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1098386597&oldid=1098386203

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1098385899&oldid=1098385858

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Theological_College&diff=1143552230&oldid=1143551893

The above selection of diffs is just a short sample of some of the available evidence regarding latterly active users, which may be explored further by comparing user edit histories as described above. Rich cheek roan inn (talk) 07:52, 17 June 2023 (UTC)


 * Hello Dreamy Jazz, I have provided notable diffs above to highlight some of the most salient parts of the available evidence. Other than that, the common threads appear to be geographical proximity of those making edits (especially where this is tied to County Cork as with 109.255.55.253, 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:8CE:E582:231:D2B2, 2001:BB6:4E3B:C458:F845:9F6A:EA58:BE59 and seemingly both Eleutherius and Ardenssedvirens) and clear links with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (82.33.248.188 and Ardenssedvirens). Rich cheek roan inn (talk) 21:55, 30 June 2023 (UTC)

Comments by other users

 * Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * - Please highlight the most important part of your evidence to assist in evaluating this case. Dreamy Jazz talk to me &#124; my contributions 12:02, 22 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Closing with no action taken. Most of these accounts are long stale, so no point in worrying about them.   other than to note that most of these geolocate to Ireland or the UK, which is no surprise given the subject is a school in Ireland.  I'm also curious how a brand new account finds their way to SPI on their very first edit. RoySmith (talk) 16:26, 6 July 2023 (UTC)