Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/GBAlph4/Archive

Suspected sockpuppets
Digitslain12 account was created on 18 April 2023, after AncientMinister2008 was blocked on 25 March 2023 (who as I understand is a sockpuppet of some other editor, because the account was created on 22 March 2023). Both editors have same interests – primarily Major League Soccer (MLS) and also National Hockey League (NHL) season or team season pages. It is impossible that a completely new editor went straight to editing MLS-related pages (this is the most obvious hint). The editing pattern is updating game logs at MLS and NHL pages.

Meanwhile, Digitslain12 and 76.166.183.180 have edited a huge number of same pages (mainly MLS-related content and venue pages).

Examples:
 * 2023 LA Galaxy season – AncientMinister2008 (25 March 2023) versus Digitslain12 (8 June 2023)
 * 2023 New York Red Bulls season – AncientMinister2008 (25 March 2023) versus Digitslain12 (18 April 2023)
 * Different pages but exactly the same editing pattern – AncientMinister2008 (24 March 2023) versus Digitslain12 (25 October 2023)
 * Also adding an IP editor who was blocked on 20 March 2023. So showing what Editor Interaction Analyzer says about all three editors:
 * 76.166.183.180 and AncientMinister2008
 * AncientMinister2008 and Digitslain12
 * 76.166.183.180 and Digitslain12 (obviously the same person)
 * 76.166.183.180, AncientMinister2008 and Digitslain12

Evidence of diffs is probably not the most convincing, but the editing pattern (AncientMinister2008 and Digitslain12) and and the number of same pages edited by both editors (including the IP) raises concerns. – sbaio 14:32, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

Update. The explanations by reported editor are reminiscent of those made by at User talk:Gymrat16. In addition, the editor claims that since I had previously viewed those pages and their codes and formats and tested it out in the sandbox., but in reality User:Digitslain12/sandbox redirects to United States v Jamaica (2002 FIFA World Cup qualification) for some reason (the history of that page shows that WP:R should be done since that is a bad WP:PAGEMOVE was to be done, which I did). – sbaio 20:49, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

Comments by other users

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

Hello, this is Digitslain12. I have no idea who AncientMinister2008 or GBAlph4 are but I can assure the moderators that I am not either user and that my account has no affiliation to either users. Prior to my account creation, I was a viewer of Wikipedia but I wanted to edit to help get involved on the site. I also have an interest in sports (mainly football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer) and their venues as well as events in the United States as many other users do, so I edit those pages often and started with those first since I had previously viewed those pages and their codes and formats and tested it out in the sandbox. The only reason our IPs are the same is because I also live in the same area of Southern California that their IP points to, so my geolocation defaults there. The only other place I edit from is my college, which has an IP address of 159.115.9.45. In both cases, many other unregistered users use the IP addresses of both locations, so I many not be the only one editing in that location. Both IPs are also not blocked either, so if my account logs out, then it will show up. I only use two devices to edit pages, my personal phone and my personal computer and both are usually in my house or in my college. This account only belongs to me and is not being used by anyone else to bypass blocks. The only issues it seems that I have ran into is either formatting errors, lack of sources, or minor disputes with the way I write things. Often many editors that criticise my edits or point out mistakes leave messages on my talk pages, and I am very understanding of their criticisms so that I avoid edit wars. For example, SounderBruce left me a message about goal templates and I stopped creating the template over and switched to including multiple parameters afterwards. I also stopped using time on ice to determine decision thanks to Canuckian89 and understand how the reference titles are formatted thanks to sbaio. I also include sources whenever I am asked to and most of my edits are also grammatical and wording edits. Thank you for your understanding. Have a great day. Digitslain12 (talk) 14:57, 8 November 2023 (UTC)

Addendum: I apologize for the large amount of edits in my response, but I did want to explain everything clearly. Digitslain12 (talk) 19:04, 8 November 2023 (UTC)


 * I cleared a lot of my sandboxes. They were only for testing and visual purposes to see what the formatting would look like. The article I did make has been abandoned and if you want to delete it, go ahead, I'm not very proud of it and it is quite amateurish, though I would like to help assist or learn to create quality pages that are up to Wikipedia's standards. But to answer to your claim of the response, these are my own words and nobody else is speaking for me nor have I copied anyone else's writing style. I am a legitimate editor who really hasn't done anything wrong apart from making small mistakes that other users including you have pointed out on several occasions, which I often learn from and correct afterwards. The only thing that appears to be wrong is that I have the IP of a very densely populated location in Southern California, which has around 20 million people. The logs you provided show a three week difference, and it's more likely someone different than the offending users created the account rather than the same user. Some of the things on my talk page are disambiguation notices. I understand why you are launching this investigation, but many users often copy the formatting that other users have left behind, and many users also have similar interests as well. This is the case with many of the MLS, NHL, and NBA page editors that I have collaborated with since they also use the same formatting I used. The guides specifically mention that the investigations are IP or meat puppet related, which I have had no violations of. I did look at that IP and while it was blocked previously, the block expired all the way back in September and as such is not a violation if it's used by myself or anyone. In all of our conversations we have had here, I have had no animosity towards you or the other moderators and often apologize for my personal mistakes such as the hockey references example I mentioned earlier. If you or other users have issues with me on something in terms of editing, please leave a message on my talk page and I'll be happy to chat with you. I will cooperate with this investigation, and if there is proof that I am a sockpuppet, I will admit my wrongdoing and do whatever is necessary to return back to Wikipedia. Digitslain12 (talk) 21:24, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Please read WP:BLUDGEON, because that is what you are doing. In addition, you must show your sandboxes, because your editing logs just point to lone sandbox that I mentioned above. – sbaio 04:22, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * - Please move to . Bbb23 (talk) 14:55, 8 November 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅  Vanjagenije  (talk)  16:29, 9 November 2023 (UTC)
 * This user matches the historical data associated with the AncientMinister2008 account. With the overlap in topic area, I have blocked. . Izno (talk) 05:46, 13 December 2023 (UTC)