Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Mors3953/Archive

19 February 2012

 * Suspected sockpuppets




 * User compare report Auto-generated every hour.

This concerns edits to the University of Idaho article between http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=University_of_Idaho&oldid=477445527 and http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=University_of_Idaho&oldid=477669734 (and possibly also some later edits which haven't yet appeared). The apparent abuse by the suspected sock is repeated expungement of a supporting cite re removal of the University's designation as "Flagship" by the State Board of Education, and repeated reinsertion of that designation into the article. Diffs can be seen at, , , , , , ,. Examination of edit summaries in intervening edits may also be useful. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 07:47, 19 February 2012 (UTC)


 * (by case submitter) I'm an admin, but have no experience in sockpuppet investigations. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 07:48, 19 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I note that another 76.178 IP has been heard from. See this edit by . Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 00:47, 20 February 2012 (UTC)

Comments by other users
''Accused parties may also comment/discuss in this section below. See Defending yourself against claims.''
 * I have one and only one user account, and do not know any of the other contributors to the "flagship" discussion. I've attempted to resolve the dispute through rewording the disputed text and providing citations, as well as through discussion on the talk page.  As my contribution history shows, I'm an infrequent contributor, but do occasionally edit articles related to northern Idaho.  I did inadvertently also perform one minor update to the University of Idaho page without logging in, but that was a minor change in a different section of the article, and my IP is not one of the other IP addresses referenced in this investigation.  Coul2888 (talk) 23:10, 22 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I too have been very careful to only provide edits and talk page contributions using my user account of hosl9595 and unfortunately do know personally know the other parties listed here. I am pretty new as a WP editor, but worked to ensure all of my edits included proper cites to supporting material.  Also, I have included talk page contribution to this discussion as well and believe that the discussion between coul2888, wtmitchell, elkevbo, and myself have allowed us to arrive as a reasonable state where the "flagship" claim is included with supporting cite as an unofficial designation.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  P.S. - wtmitchell and elkevbo, thanks you guys for all that you do to keep WP looking great and being an incredibly valuable tool for society! Hosl9595 (talk) 02:05, 23 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I am not guilty of this accusation of Sockpuppetry. I have edited this page from a home computer in Northern Idaho. The reason that all these changes to the University of Idaho came together in a short period of time was a response by people who felt passionately about a recent change to remove the term "flagship" from the University of Idaho. I went looking for the evidence of the history of the U of I and realized that the Wikipedia entry did not have the historical reason why the University of Idaho as Idaho's Land grant university was located in the North instead of its original designation of Idaho Falls. I provided source material and presented the facts. My designation mors3953 is my old email system address provided by the University of Idaho. These very designations show a difference amonst the people who recently posted to present an accurate depiction of the University of Idaho from people who attended and cared about the institution. This accusation of sock puppetry may just be someone overzealously protecting the system. However, I want an investigation into the regional location of our accuser. This could easily be an attempt to silence accurate changes to the wikipedia page using technicalities of wikipedia rules.Mors3953 (talk) 06:22, 23 February 2012 (UTC)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.87.248.238 (talk)
 * If it'll help, I'll volunteer the information that I'm located on Boracay island in the Philippines. I've lived here 15 years or so, and have never been to Moscow, Idaho. I did drive through the northern part of Idaho once on I-90 about 20 years ago. If there's no sock/meat puppetry here, great. The confluence of these edits, though, looked to me like something that deserved a look. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 05:55, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * I suspect it. Check for sleepers and confirm this is socks, not meat. NativeForeigner Talk 00:48, 22 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I think meatpuppetry would actually be a better explanation that sockpuppetry, however I would make a general reminder that meatpuppetry is generally considered in the same light as sockpuppetry, and users are much better off discussing their edits on talk pages to gain support for their changes, instead of constantly reverting other people. WilliamH (talk) 05:46, 22 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Unless you have reason to believe that someone has been abusing multiple accounts, such accusations of bad faith will not be entertained here so please do not make them. WilliamH (talk) 18:23, 24 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Since this case was opened everything has quieted down. As it's meatpuppetry, I'm mildly inclined to let it go for now. —  Hello Annyong  (say whaaat?!) 01:08, 29 February 2012 (UTC)