Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/WereWolf/Archive

Evidence submitted by Dabomb87
AcrossTheOcean, created today, appears to be a sock account of WereWolf to alter the outcome of a Featured list candidate, Featured list candidates/List of Pearl Jam band members/archive2. He was welcomed by WereWolf, the nominator of the FLC, before he had made a single edit, and immediately supported (his comment about the list "meet[ing] the criteria" indicates possible prior knowledge of the FLC process). A subsequent edit made five minutes later cited WP:PUNCT, part of the Manual of Style, also indicating excellent prior knowledge of Wiki processes. Dabomb87 (talk) 20:37, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I have notified the accused parties. Dabomb87 (talk) 20:46, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * This comment could be considered a rebuttal of some sort. Dabomb87 (talk) 20:59, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm far from certain that WereWolf is a sockpuppet here, but something fishy is going on. Since my last comment the editor has made two edits to an article, demonstrating knowledge of the Manual of Style (note the en dash and the correction of the birth- and death-date format) and mastery of a somewhat-complex template such as death date and age. Of course, those edits could be the result of observing the formats of other biographies. FWIW, AcrossTheOcean's edits do not overlap with WereWolf's at all, although that does not prove anything. Dabomb87 (talk) 23:27, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

Comments by accused parties

 * ...I honestly am speechless. I'm offended. I've been editing here on Wikipedia for four years. I would never do anything like sockpuppetry. I'm ashamed at this investigation. All I was trying to do was to be a good Wikipedian and welcome a new user. I don't know what to say. I honestly don't. WereWolf (talk) 22:49, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * You guys are out of your minds. I am NOT an owner of a sock puppet. I have been editing Wikipedia for FOUR YEARS. Don't you think I know the rules and would happy obliged to them? This is just a MASSIVE coincidence, and I am extremely offended by everything since this case began. I am very displeased with the bad faith that has been shown here, and I honestly don't know what to do. I don't want to be banned or blocked from editing. I love Wikipedia, but I cannot stand the bigheaded editors who mistreat others. If you cannot understand that, then... I don't know what to say. This is really, really upsetting to me... I can't believe this is happening.... WereWolf (talk) 00:36, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I've been surfin' around Wikipedia for the last year. I've been too afraid to create an account though, and didn't make any edits using my IP address. That's how I know about the death templates and WP:PUNCT.  And the List of Pearl Jam band members?  Pearl Jam is one of my favorite bands, and I've been lookin' at that list even before I joined this site.  That's why I said it was "a pleasure to read".  It was just a coincidence when I realized that User:WereWolf had nominated it for a FLC...   Regarding that User:WereWolf and I have made no "overlaping edits", does this and this refute that?  I wanted to get a feel for the site before I joined it... And honestly, I don't like how it feels what-so-ever right now...  I don't appreciate the bad faith and the rude assumptions at all, and I don't think I want to be a part of a site run by paranoid freaks... Oh, and by the way, I'm female. AcrossTheOcean (talk) 03:55, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Clerk, patrolling admin and checkuser comments

 * I'd like to await comments from either of the accused, particular WereWolf. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 20:42, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * After reading the commentary, I'm not really sure what to make of this. WereWolf welcomed AcrosstheOcean at 21:10, and the support vote is added at 21:11. That leaves a very short gap for the user to 1) read the welcome message, 2) find the FLC in the contributions and 3) add the support complete with comment. "A pleasure to read" would either suggest it hasn't been read, or has been read previously, as there's no way the article could've been studied in that one minute gap. What do other clerks make of this? Peter Symonds ( talk ) 21:13, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Just a couple more observations with regard to timing (still not fully decided where to go with this just yet; will await further clerk input). WereWolf makes an edit at 21:10 (welcoming AcrossTheOcean). AcrossTheOcean then makes five edits between 21:11 and 21:20, the first two of which were to the FLC, and then three more to mainspace articles. In the fifth edit, he used the wikilink and abbreviation WP:PUNCT, which (although this isn't exclusive), isn't so common with new users (please excuse my generalisation here). WereWolf then makes his next edit at 21:28. I think something is up here, but I haven't made up my mind as to exactly what it is. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 21:51, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * @WereWolf: There's no need to take offence. As I said, I think there is something going on here, but I don't know what. At no point did I say you created a sockpuppet, so if you're innocent, you have nothing to worry about. I am still interested in hearing back from AcrossTheOcean, though. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 22:54, 1 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I'd like to thank you both for your patience. No other clerks have commented in the 24 hours I've left this open, so I will be adding a few more comments tomorrow evening, after which I'll decide how this case should be handled. Apologies for the delay. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 21:06, 2 August 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm going to ask for a checkuser to have a look at the comments here. Aspects of this case simply don't add up. While there is a possibility of coincidence, both have edited the same articles. WereWolf does not have a habit of welcoming users, but made an exception for this user, who has exactly the same interests and had not yet previously edited. Both users have edited mutual pages (Marilyn Manson and Korn-related pages, two separate areas). Furthermore, AcrossTheGlobe has demonstrated familiarity with wiki processes (referencing WP:PUNCT as a shortcut in one of his first edits). I don't believe either is telling the whole truth here. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 18:11, 7 August 2010 (UTC)
 * I guess that we'll need the two editors to explain how User:AcrossTheOcean was created at 20:07 on August 1 on the same IP and likely the same computer that created User talk:AcrossTheOcean three minutes later. Or, to make it clearer, ✅ that these are either the same person or are two people working in close conjunction. --jpgordon:==( o ) 23:15, 8 August 2010 (UTC)


 * The technical evidence now makes this connection clear. I have asked WereWolf to be honest about his connections to this account, either by e-mail to a CheckUser or here on the SPI page. Clerks: Please leave this open for a short while so we can await any response. If no response exists after a day or two, I'll close it. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 19:41, 9 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Neither WereWolf nor AcrossTheOcean have come forward about their connection, despite opportunities. WereWolf has been blocked for two weeks; AcrossTheOcean has been indefinitely blocked. Peter Symonds ( talk ) 17:41, 10 August 2010 (UTC)