Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Geekyhistorian/Archive

Suspected sockpuppets



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User:Geekyhistorian is a WP:SPA, used exclusively in Talk:John Laurens to WP:PUSH a theory that Laurens was Alexander Hamilton's gay lover. The suspected socks are also SPAs, each used WP:BRIEFLY, and created immediately before their first edit. The user is believed (per WP:BADSOCK) to be using the first 2 socks to create an illusion of support by contributing to the same talk page discussion with multiple accounts, and using each of the other socks to make an edit or two to the article John Laurens, consistent with the pushed position.

User:Geekyhistorian and seven of the suspected socks were all created within a recent 60-day period starting December 10, 2017: Two suspected socks were both active for a single day in December 2016, one year earlier:
 * MaryFrancesWoods, active Jan. 25 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, matches writing style of Geekyhistorian
 * Ninja 26, active Feb. 12 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, newly created account provides a reference for Geekyhistorian
 * AKfreakin47, active Dec. 17–18 only. Edits to John Laurens: diff1, diff2
 * Hamilton010604, active Dec. 16 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * EmyBondevik13, active Dec. 13 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * User:45.17.24.38, active Dec. 17 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * User:96.27.220.198, 1 unrelated edit before Dec. 17. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * A.Burr, active 2016-12-10 only. Edits: diff1, diff2 to John Laurens, diff3 defending the edits after rv
 * Cyanide42, active 2016-12-10 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff (a tweak to A.Burr's edit) Lwarrenwiki (talk) 06:48, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Comments by other users
''Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.''
 * this is my only account, but good try i guess Geekyhistorian (talk) 23:19, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * The following accounts are :
 * The following accounts are ✅ to each other only:
 * The following accounts are very to each other only:
 * Ninja 26 and AKfreakin47 are ❌.
 * Blocked the four confirmed/likely accounts without tags.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:56, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Accounts tagged. Closing. Sro23 (talk) 04:15, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * The following accounts are very to each other only:
 * Ninja 26 and AKfreakin47 are ❌.
 * Blocked the four confirmed/likely accounts without tags.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:56, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Accounts tagged. Closing. Sro23 (talk) 04:15, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Blocked the four confirmed/likely accounts without tags.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:56, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Accounts tagged. Closing. Sro23 (talk) 04:15, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets



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User:Sonofhistory is a SPA with a total of 3 edits, who has essentially admitted to being a sock. Notice that this edit comment states "I changed, yet again, for the third time, the pronouns for this page... I will continue to change it." This was the account's second edit, so the edit comment can only be referring to a different sock.

The first group of suspected socks (almost all SPAs) have a substantially similar editing history at Albert Cashier. Representative among these:
 * User:RuthJaxom (contribs) – Cashier SPA, 7 edits all on 2/8/2018)
 * User:Kachiga my Nibba (contribs) – 6 Cashier edits all on 10/13/2017, followed by hard block here
 * User:SuzukiStrings (contribs) – Cashier SPA, 8 edits all on 10/7/2017
 * User:Kmsinger (contribs) – Cashier SPA, 5 edits all on 10/4/2017, followed by 72-hour WP:AN/3 block here.

User:Sonofhistory also edited Talk:John Laurens to make a semi-protected edit request for the purpose of civil POV pushing, in a fashion very similar to some suspected and identified socks in a recent SPI concerning User:Geekyhistorian. Lwarrenwiki (talk) 16:25, 21 February 2018 (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

 * Only the master and two accounts are not, and ❌. -- Amanda  (aka DQ) 20:33, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Closing with no action. TonyBallioni (talk) 15:18, 22 February 2018 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets



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 * Editor interaction utility

User:Geekyhistorian is a WP:SPA, used exclusively in Talk:John Laurens to WP:PUSH a theory that Laurens was Alexander Hamilton's gay lover. The suspected socks are also SPAs, each used WP:BRIEFLY, and created immediately before their first edit. The user is believed (per WP:BADSOCK) to be using the first 2 socks to create an illusion of support by contributing to the same talk page discussion with multiple accounts, and using each of the other socks to make an edit or two to the article John Laurens, consistent with the pushed position.

User:Geekyhistorian and seven of the suspected socks were all created within a recent 60-day period starting December 10, 2017: Two suspected socks were both active for a single day in December 2016, one year earlier:
 * MaryFrancesWoods, active Jan. 25 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, matches writing style of Geekyhistorian
 * Ninja 26, active Feb. 12 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, newly created account provides a reference for Geekyhistorian
 * AKfreakin47, active Dec. 17–18 only. Edits to John Laurens: diff1, diff2
 * Hamilton010604, active Dec. 16 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * EmyBondevik13, active Dec. 13 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * User:45.17.24.38, active Dec. 17 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * User:96.27.220.198, 1 unrelated edit before Dec. 17. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * A.Burr, active 2016-12-10 only. Edits: diff1, diff2 to John Laurens, diff3 defending the edits after rv
 * Cyanide42, active 2016-12-10 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff (a tweak to A.Burr's edit) Lwarrenwiki (talk) 06:48, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Comments by other users
''Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.''
 * this is my only account, but good try i guess Geekyhistorian (talk) 23:19, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * The following accounts are :
 * The following accounts are ✅ to each other only:
 * The following accounts are very to each other only:
 * Ninja 26 and AKfreakin47 are ❌.
 * Blocked the four confirmed/likely accounts without tags.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:56, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Accounts tagged. Closing. Sro23 (talk) 04:15, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * The following accounts are very to each other only:
 * Ninja 26 and AKfreakin47 are ❌.
 * Blocked the four confirmed/likely accounts without tags.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:56, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Accounts tagged. Closing. Sro23 (talk) 04:15, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Blocked the four confirmed/likely accounts without tags.--Bbb23 (talk) 23:56, 14 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Accounts tagged. Closing. Sro23 (talk) 04:15, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets



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 * Editor interaction utility

No evidence submitted Isananni (talk) 08:16, 27 February 2018 (UTC) Adding evidence

User: Rainyquill is a WP:SPA, used exclusively in Talk:John Laurens to WP:PUSH a theory that Laurens was Alexander Hamilton's gay lover. The suspected socks are also SPAs, each used WP:BRIEFLY, and created immediately before their first edit. The user is believed (per WP:BADSOCK) to be using the first 2 socks to create an illusion of support by contributing to the same talk page discussion with multiple accounts, and using each of the other socks to make an edit or two to the article John Laurens, consistent with the pushed position.

User:Rainyquill and nine of the suspected socks were all created within a recent 70-day period starting December 10, 2017:

Two suspected socks were both active for a single day in December 2016, one year earlier:
 * Geekyhistorian, active since Jan 2018 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, was blocked indefinitely for sockpuppetry and user Rainyquill was created immediately after the unblock request was declined. Writing style matches that of Rainyquill.
 * Sonofhistory, active since Jan. 6 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, matches Rainyquill’s and Geekyhistorian’s pov pushing methods
 * MaryFrancesWoods, active Jan. 25 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, matches writing style of Geekyhistorian
 * Ninja 26, active Feb. 12 only. Edit to Talk:John Laurens: diff, newly created account provides a reference for Geekyhistorian
 * AKfreakin47, active Dec. 17–18 only. Edits to John Laurens: diff1, diff2
 * Hamilton010604, active Dec. 16 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * EmyBondevik13, active Dec. 13 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * User:45.17.24.38, active Dec. 17 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * User:96.27.220.198, 1 unrelated edit before Dec. 17. Edit to John Laurens: diff
 * A.Burr, active 2016-12-10 only. Edits: diff1, diff2 to John Laurens, diff3 defending the edits after rv
 * Cyanide42, active 2016-12-10 only. Edit to John Laurens: diff (a tweak to A.Burr's edit)

Comments by other users
''Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.''
 * The list of suspected accounts and IPs in the present case is probably overlong, and definitely includes duplicate entries copied and pasted from two previous SPI requests (Geekyhistorian and Sonofhistory, SPIs archived here and here). The present list of suspects includes 4 known socks identified in the Geekyhistorian SPI, but many of the other accounts and IPs listed above were previously checked by CU and cleared (or found to be stale) in those investigations.
 * I note that the accused account Rainyquill (contribs) began editing on Feb. 25 with an edit request (diff), shortly after Sonofhistory made the same edit request (diff) on Feb. 20, which followed the blocking of Geekyhistorian for sockpuppetry on Feb. 14, 2018. Like the known socks, Rainyquill is a SPA editing the same talk page (Talk:John Laurens) to WP:PUSH identical points. Lwarrenwiki (talk) 15:01, 27 February 2018 (UTC)


 * [reply to Bbb23] : The problem is, we suspect Rainyquill was created by the person behind Geekyhistorian and/or the other users after Geekyhistorian was blocked indefinitely and the unblock requests were denied in order to continue disrupting the same articles, especially John Laurens. Isananni (talk) 15:39, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Again not sure if I'm editing correctly or if I'm meant to edit here, let me know if I am not in either case, but I am not sockpuppeting and do not have have other accounts. Any accounts made before mine with similar requests are coincidental.

I first attempted to create this account after seeing a post on Tumblr that the "Friendship With Hamilton" section of John Laurens' page had been edited and the person posting about it couldn't get to it to fix it. I replied to that post, with the same username of Rainyquill, stating that I would look into it. As you will see on that very post, I could not make the account from my school's IP. As I understand it, many school IP addresses are blocked. So I tried again from home, to find that the IP was still blocked. At which point I requested one be made for me. When it was, a few days after because I did not see the email, I logged in and requested the changes. I know of sonofhistory, but as you can see we are clearly not the same person. Will gladly provide all my other blogs if this isn't convincing enough.

Here is the post in question: https://lafaynoot.tumblr.com/post/170271250146/emergency — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rainyquill (talk • contribs) 21:45, 27 February 2018 (UTC)


 * Thank you. That certainly does explain a lot. The increased activity from single-purpose editors on the John Laurens page was only caused by people on Tumblr bringing like-minded editors into the dispute, including you and Sonofhistory. And if you don't know, now you know. Lwarrenwiki (talk) 22:20, 27 February 2018 (UTC)


 * Admins may want to look at user Justanotherhistorybuff too. Quite interestingly created in the same days as Rainyquill which correspond to the time of the Tumblr post mentioned by Rainyquill calling to action against "straights" editing on Laurens page, with exactly the same like-minded attitude and motives regarding the John Laurens article where Justanotherhistorybuff just attempted a major disruption of a long established consensus among other editors, a consensus on respecting wiki policies including especially WP:NEUTRAL. Isananni (talk) 06:02, 1 March 2018 (UTC)


 * I've come across rainyquill, justanotherhistorybuff, and sonofhistory via Tumblr history tags. They are all separate people though similar viewpoints on the topic and I have also seen the post that specifically calls for edits to the Laurens/Hamilton relationship section.Roving Ginger (talk) 15:09, 1 March 2018 (UTC)


 * There is more than one such post on Tumblr. It is now clear that there's a long history, at least two years, of Tumblr posts intended to organize or solicit like-minded people to edit or disrupt the Laurens page on Wikipedia, including one from early 2016 titled "The Official Post of John Laurens Wikipedia Improvements." Lwarrenwiki (talk) 16:43, 1 March 2018 (UTC)


 * Please consider reevaluating the position of user Geekyhistorian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Geekyhistorian. This SPA has just been unblocked after successfully appealing a case of sockpuppetry, but now we know we are facing a different, though similarly forbidden case of organised disruption on the part of a group of like-minded SPA editors with a single agenda working on the prompts of Tumblr posts. Isananni (talk) 04:37, 2 March 2018 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments
This is a mess. There are at least two existing cases that include many of the accounts listed: Sockpuppet investigations/Geekyhistorian and Sockpuppet investigations/Sonofhistory. In my view, even those two shouldn't exist as separate cases, but we are not going to have a third case. Unless there's something I'm missing, this case should be merged with Geekyhistorian as they are slightly older than Sonofhistory. I realize there are older accounts but no one has seemed to care about that.--Bbb23 (talk) 15:27, 27 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I'm closing this case given the difficulty of working out what's going on. If there are accounts believed to be socks with recent (the last month or so) edits please refile an SPI case, under this title, with the names of those accounts (or IPs) and evidence. Callanecc (talk • contribs • logs) 00:10, 11 March 2018 (UTC)