Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Ylevental/Archive

12 January 2016

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Two highly suspicious edits on Jonathan Mitchell and Aspies for Freedom by the IP. The most obvious one one is on the former page here. The IP has removed both a COI tag which has been admitted to by the sockmaster, and the neutrality tag which is also primarily aimed at the sockmaster from what I can tell from the talk page (the IP reporting it being labeled a sock I think isn't relevant in this SPI). The sockmaster has previously removed the COI tag here, here and here. The edit on the latter page added a citation needed tag, consistent with Ylevental's edits removing information that already had the tags added here and here. It appears that Ylevental may be attacking articles that hold the opposite views to that of Jonathan Mitchell and using his IP to try and not be detected. Please investigate, especially as the sockmaster has identified as a subject of COI. Check user is requested to verify socking. 1.136.97.87 (talk) 10:48, 12 January 2016 (UTC)

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 * There's another sock that I have just added. See the edit here. Another attempt to remove the tags as mentioned in the report above. 1.136.96.17 (talk) 22:31, 13 January 2016 (UTC)

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 * I've declined the CU request. We rarely disclose the IP(s) of named accounts.--Bbb23 (talk) 15:37, 13 January 2016 (UTC)
 * The IPs are probably connected, but they are stale and I am not going to block them. I don't see strong enough evidence to connect them to the master, so I'm closing this with no action.  Vanjagenije  (talk)  00:52, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

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The sockmaster created the article Matthew Belmonte here. When another IP added a notability tag here the IP in question on this investigation came in and attempted to add material to counter it through six edits here. Now while that by itself may seem not enough I would add the following evidence. The sockmaster added these two edits to History of Asperger syndrome. Another IP reverted it as opinion here but the IP in question put it back. This is more suspicious. There is more proof but it is subject to oversight I believe as it involves the WHOIS of the IP and the off wiki identity of the sockmaster, so it can't be added here. This sockmaster has been previously investigated but the investigation went stale. 101.182.161.253 (talk) 23:24, 10 November 2016 (UTC)

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This is true, but how are trying to revert a couple edits on History of Asperger syndrome only once and adding more notable sources to the Matthew Belmonte article as requiested considered problematic, which is what sockpuppet investigations are about? Ylevental (talk) 00:15, 11 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Please note that the user has admitted to socking. Whether or not it's problematic is irrelevant. 101.182.161.253 (talk) 00:35, 11 November 2016 (UTC)
 * According to WP:SOCK, socking is only considered to be unethical when the purpose is improper. There are no unethical edits in this case. Ylevental (talk) 01:05, 11 November 2016 (UTC)
 * But it doesn't make it right. Whether or not it is unethical is again irrelevant. 101.182.161.253 (talk) 01:22, 11 November 2016 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments
Ylevental is incorrect. Their edits without logging in did in fact constitute socking because they avoided scrutiny of their named account. I have therefore warned the user on their Talk page. Closing.--Bbb23 (talk) 15:20, 11 November 2016 (UTC)

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Logging out to edit articles of people he has noted conflicts of interest with.


 * https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manuel_Casanova&action=history
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Jonathan_Mitchell_(writer)&diff=prev&oldid=905706557
 * https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jonathan_Mitchell_(writer)&action=history

WP:DUCK... anomalapropos (talk) 17:09, 9 August 2019 (UTC)

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 * The IPs haven't been used in quite some time. Closing. Bbb23 (talk) 12:44, 4 September 2019 (UTC)

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In the discussions at Articles for deletion/Shain Neumeier (2nd nomination) and WP:ANI Special:Permalink/962393327 Ylevental admits to hiring Podcaster7. WP:MEAT & UPE. Cabayi (talk) 20:35, 13 June 2020 (UTC)

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We are not the same person for sure. Our IP addresses are very different, as we are in different locations, and we edit very different articles. Our contribution histories are very different, and I am not sure if she would be considered to be a "new editor". I simply asked this individual to remove excess article details, since most sources were clearly first person/passing mention Talk:Shain Neumeier. I just didn't want to wait too long for someone else to do it voluntarily, and wanted someone more skilled than me. This person accepts most projects; I never told her about my intentions. I can provide more details about the contracts and other things if needed. Ylevental (talk) 21:22, 13 June 2020 (UTC)


 * I can tell you that this person, at one time, used the account User:TP495 Ylevental (talk) 22:13, 13 June 2020 (UTC)
 * When I said "a couple others", I was thinking of account names she may have mentioned, but I couldn't find them. Again, I didn't know about the previous investigations.  I have made mistakes before, but I think all this recent tension is clouding my head.  Part of it is that I am really disconnected because of the quarantine.  I removed the AFD, which I didn't even know I could. Ylevental (talk) 22:37, 14 June 2020 (UTC)

, The pages that I was involved in that were edited were Jonathan Mitchell (writer), Shain Neumeier, and Draft:Thomas Clements (writer) under Special:Contributions/79.168.223.246. However, for her other accounts, it does seem that they are connected to Sockpuppet_investigations/Safaque socks, which I had no idea about. Ylevental (talk) 12:42, 14 June 2020 (UTC)
 * , The only ones I can honestly identify on the articles that I edited are Special:Contributions/79.168.223.246, User:TP495, and User:Podcaster7. I thought Podcaster7 was a different person entirely at first.  I had no idea about the Sockpuppet_investigations/Safaque situation. Ylevental (talk) 21:05, 14 June 2020 (UTC)

, I am not a sockpuppet of as I was hired by him. I did my paid disclosure on the article talk page while editing the Shain Neumeier page. Every single paid work that I have done, has been declared on Wikipedia (either article talk page or my user page). I want to let you know that User:TP495 was my old account but I forgot its password, the last edit requested by TP495 was in September 2019. Podcaster7 was created in June 2019 but started editing only in February 2020. I have never used multiple accounts at one time and have not breached the policy on WP:MEATpuppet. The accusation of being a sock puppet of Ylevental is completely wrong as he had just hired me to reduce the overall size of the page by removing redundant information, while staying aware that removing referenced content is considered vandalism in Wikipedia. I don't know why he wanted the page deleted. It was incorrect of Ylevental to include a link that revealed personal information about me, as per WP:PRIVACY.--Podcaster7 (talk) 17:33, 15 June 2020 (UTC)
 * , Sorry about that, I wasn't sure what he was looking for. Why did you switch to a different account this time?  I think Wikipedia usually recommends one account only. Ylevental (talk) 18:50, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

, as requested, my previous account was TP495, which I stopped using for the reason mentioned above. --Podcaster7 (talk) 20:54, 15 June 2020 (UTC)

Clerk, CheckUser, and/or patrolling admin comments

 * -, given your two statements...
 * "I paid a skilled editor to reduce the article size by half"
 * "I didn't want to clean it up myself since it would be indicative of bias"
 * and the definitions of sockpuppetry at WP:ILLEGIT
 * Creating an illusion of support: Alternative accounts must not be used to give the impression of more support for a position than actually exists.
 * Contributing to the same page or discussion with multiple accounts: Editors may not use more than one account to contribute to the same page or discussion in a way that suggests they are multiple people.
 * How is Podcaster7 anything other than a WP:MEATpuppet? How are you not a puppet master?
 * Podcaster7 has only 57 contributions to the wiki. Either you hired a newcomer (implausible) or you hired someone using multiple accounts - what are they? Are there more sleeper accounts available to your employee?
 * A full disclosure is (in my opinion) the only way to qualify for more lenient treatment. Cabayi (talk) 21:57, 13 June 2020 (UTC)
 * , following some time spent on Google, I think it's highly likely that Podcaster7 is a sock account for a long-term UPE editor and would recommend we go for checkuser on them. Not going to endorse myself since you're already working this and I don't want to step on your toes. creffett (talk) 01:22, 14 June 2020 (UTC)
 * Oh, it looks like there's already an SPI for it - based on Ylevental's comments above, I think that TP495 and Podcaster7 are Sockpuppet_investigations/Safaque socks. creffett (talk) 01:44, 14 June 2020 (UTC)
 * , "There are a couple others, but I don't remember." Here's a list of the articles you've edited in order of the number of edits you've made to them. That should help prompt your memory so that you can identify the socks who have edited on your behalf. Cabayi (talk) 08:43, 14 June 2020 (UTC)
 * , You seem to have missed the point. The objective was for you to "identify the socks who have edited on your behalf", not just confirm which articles were involved. Confirming three articles and an IP who has edited just one of them is hardly full disclosure. Cabayi (talk) 19:54, 14 June 2020 (UTC)
 * , please list all of your previous accounts. creffett (talk) 17:35, 15 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I've filed a case for Podcaster7, TP495, and 79.168.223.246 at Sockpuppet investigations/Safaque. While Podcaster7 may have abided by the UPE rules they're still blocked as socks of Safaque.
 * Which leaves Ylevental. This is the fourth SPI report for Ylevental. There's no scope for ignorance of the rules after three previous visits here. The commissioning was done with the intent of reducing the article size while concealing Ylevental's role as the motivating mind behind that reduction. I'll leave it for another clerk/admin to assess the contrition and cooperation against the intentional deception - I'm too close to the probing to be impartial at this point. Cabayi (talk) 21:13, 15 June 2020 (UTC)


 * After four SPIs and multiple warnings, Ylevental's account at the bank of AGF is badly overdrawn. Indef and tagging. closing.  Maybe Podcaster7 needs their tag updated to include an alt-master, but I'll leave that to somebody else if they feel so inclinded. -- RoySmith (talk) 18:28, 20 June 2020 (UTC)

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Pro forma report. See below. Mz7 (talk) 07:43, 26 September 2020 (UTC)

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 * This is based on a combination of technical and behavioral evidence. Back in March, the master floated the idea of nominating the Media coverage of Bernie Sanders article for deletion . Among Atdevel's first edits were to nominate this article for deletion . There are a few other peculiarities here., closing. Mz7 (talk) 07:43, 26 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Note: more information about these blocks is available to checkusers at . Mz7 (talk) 09:23, 26 September 2020 (UTC)

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Editor states on their User page that this is their current account. I guess it could be a joe job but why would anyone do that? They must not realize that they are guilty of ban evasion because they are very open about using a new, different account. Liz Read! Talk! 03:51, 16 February 2022 (UTC) Liz Read! Talk! 03:51, 16 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Okay, thanks for the explanation. Liz Read! Talk! 06:30, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

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 * Yes, I blocked this account for that a while ago, and it was subsequently unblocked in an unblock request. Please see  and Special:Permalink/1032367489. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 09:22, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

Suspected sockpuppets

 * ( originally filed under this user)


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Evidence is primarily edits at Shain Neumeier. It speaks to block avoidance. SVTCobra 04:10, 16 February 2022 (UTC)


 * Sorry, I reversed the accounts: the primary is supposed to be User:Ylevental with the puppet account as User:Yleventa2 which is still editing despite the "retired" tag. --SVTCobra 05:19, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

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 * Please see and Special:Permalink/1032367489. NinjaRobotPirate (talk) 05:09, 16 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Moved case from Sockpuppet investigations/Yleventa2. Spicy (talk) 10:52, 16 February 2022 (UTC)