Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/Scubadiver99

User:Scubadiver99

 * Suspected sockpuppeteer


 * Suspected sockpuppets


 * Report submission by

Delicious carbuncle (talk) 22:08, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

All edits were related to the same articles Keratoconus, LASIK, and Brian Boxer Wachler (and a couple of edits to Santa Baby, but that's not related). External links to commercial sites related to Brian Boxer Wachler and his clinic were repeatedly added by these accounts.
 * Evidence

The user was warned about WP:SPAM in September 2007, but continued to add the links. Note that User:71charger blanked the page, even though the notice was on User:71.160.148.228. Note also that User:67.113.220.102 signed a comment as User:Scubadiver5.

User:Scubadiver5 has admitted that the accounts all belong to the same user but that passwords were forgotten and new accounts created. To me, it seems like a pretty clear pattern of using sockpuppet to hide the pattern of external link adds (plus fairly clear COI), but I don't know how to proceed with this.


 * Comments
 * Just to add - there's an active discussion about adding Boxer Wachler references to the Keratoconus article, which is being clouded a bit by the apparent sockpuppetry and the possible COI. Boxer Wachler is definitely involved in keratoconus treatment, but the line seems to be a bit fuzzy on how prominent that credit should be. Advice welcomed. Delicious carbuncle (talk) 22:38, 23 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Support Given the admission that he controls all these, all users but the master account should be indef blocked. The IPs should also be blocked, but given an expiration date (1 week?). This appears to be a first offense, I recommend some leniency (24 hours for the main acount). If the disruptive pattern continues, it can quickly be escaleated. — BQZip01 —  talk 23:48, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

The IPs haven't edited within the last 30 days, and the alternate accounts do not seem to have been used at the same time, nor for any particularly nefarious purposes. Blocking is unnecessary. The extra accounts have been admitted, which is not something a bad faith user would do. We should assume good faith. The user has little experience and has not been counseled about conflict of interest editing. I have left a uw-coi warning on their talk page.
 * Conclusions

The correct strategy here is socialization. If the user continues causing problems, report them at WP:COIN. The article Brian Boxer Wachler has no references for verification. This could be reported as a COI issue, though it has survived one poorly attended articles for deletion discussion. Jehochman Talk 04:41, 24 January 2008 (UTC)