Wikipedia talk:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Race and intelligence/Review

Amendment request: R&I review (Mathsci)
Initiated by  Mathsci (talk) 19:31, 17 May 2012 (UTC) 'Amendment enacted on 26 May 2012.

"Mathsci has engaged in borderline personal attacks and frequent battleground conduct in respect of editors he perceives as ideological opponents."
 * Clauses to which an amendment is requested

to be amended to:

"Mathsci has engaged in borderline personal attacks and battleground conduct towards editors whom he perceives as being engaged in proxy editing"

(or any minor variant containing the phrase "proxy editing").


 * List of users affected by or involved in this amendment

Statement by Mathsci
This proposal is a minor change, resulting from a very late change in the emphasis of the R&I review. Tabling a request for amendment of this kind was suggested to me by the drafting arbitrator, Roger Davies. Although my intention is to stay away from matters connected with WP:ARBR&I, this rewording would prevent any possible misunderstandings concerning any possible future reports of sockpuppets (or, in circumstances which I think now would be very rare, proxy-editing). At the time the case closed, this FoF did not look likely to pass. I had already recorded my uneasiness with use of the wording "perceived ideological opponents" a while back. The new findings on proxy editing changed in a radical way the emphasis of the case and my actions or reactions under consideration in this review should probably be considered within that context. The proposed rephrasing accurately reflects what happened since December 2010 and takes into account the views expressed in the three oppose votes (I note that Newyorkbrad has not been available for comment on wikipedia for some time now).

In slightly more detail: On 6 May 2012, while I was occupied in professional matters in the USA (which continued until my return to France on 12 May 2012), the thrust of this review changed radically: new findings and remedies were added supporting a long-standing charge of proxy-editing, which Shell Kinney had suggested from long back. Aside from my evidence in this review based on on-wiki conduct in October-November 2010, on 26 November 2010 and 30 November 2010 I passed on evidence in private to Shell Kinney which unequivocally confirmed SightWatcher and TrevelyanL85A2 as proxy-editors. With my permission, she passed that evidence on to arbcom. Having contacted Captain Occam, she later commented on this proxy-editing on wikipedia, as reported in my evidence. Almost 18 months later, following further edits in the topic area by SightWatcher and TrevelyanL85A2, arbcom once again examined this so-far unresolved issue. They confirmed Shell Kinney's conclusions, but this time, instead of contacting Captain Occam, they conferred directly with Ferahgo the Assassin. She supplied relevant off-wiki information. These new developments fundamentally changed the direction of this case, in line with the evidence I had presented. That in turn forcably affected the previously posted findings and remedies. As I have written to Roger Davies in private, this is a grey area. There are few precedents and my own unwillingness to let the matter drop, knowing about the unambiguous off-wiki evidence, could be taken as either a vice or a virtue. That is reflected in the modified statement above. In the end I acknowledge my persistance here. I also very much appreciate that arbitrators came round to this particularly tough decision in what were very difficult circumstances—very much untrodden ground. Their decision provides a useful precedent and hopefully also a guide for the future. Mathsci (talk) 19:31, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

@ Roger Davies: That change would also be OK, although, as others have written, it still omits the context. At this stage I hope that the opinions of those arbitrators active on the review that opposed the finding, particularly Newyorkbrad, can be heard, even if that means waiting one month.

@ Jclemens: The identification of SightWatcher and TrevelyanL85A2 was not guess work. It was confirmed by Shell Kinney and all the on-wiki and off-wiki evidence passed on to the arbitration committee. It was not very different from what arbcom has looked at second time round with their off-wiki investigations. Shell Kinney described the first round findings on wikipedia in December 2010. (She already said some time back that her correspondence with me could be passed on to the arbitration committee: arbitrators will have already seen an excerpt from an email from September 2011.) Shell Kinney thanked me several times for my help in working out what was going on and she had no doubts about the identification. At no stage did she make any suggestion that my help might be motivated by some kind of ideological differences. Is Jclemens sugesting that now? The two people who have made outspoken statements of that nature, on-wiki and even more vociferously off-wiki, have been Occam and Ferahgo. In the last diff Occam refers to "the root problem of Mathsci’s behavior towards everyone he hates" and wrote that "Mathsci is always going to be up someone’s ass". My editing history does not show any ideological stance. It shows that I approach proxy-editing no differently from sockpuppetry. It just happens to involve more people and be several orders of magnitude harder to fathom. Many times it relies on on-wiki mistakes. Neither type of editing is permitted on wikipedia. I hope that as Shell Kinney did, arbitrators will use that as their frame of reference. Proxy-editing is almost invariably reported in private. My email correspondece with Shell Kinney started in mid-October 2010 when I pointed out to her to the anomolous editing of SightWathcer and Woodsrock and suggested possible sockpuppetry. Shell Kinney had already independently run a checkuser on the two accounts, so had already ruled out sockpuppetry at an early stage. SightWatcher was identified a month later because of logged-off edits from Houston, Texas, and because he added the same information on films to his WP user page, his DeviantArt page and his amazon.com review page. Very recently he has started using his WP username elsewhere. TrevelyanL85A2 has written his real life name and AIM account on his wikipedia userpage. This mess was created by Occam and Ferahgo. I noticed it and reported it. No different from noticing and reporting the sockpuppetry of Mikemikev. If arbitrators want to use language that is neutral, they should take a refresher course in User:Newyorkbrad/Bradspeak. I don't think it is reasonable of Jclemens to make any comparisons between me and the DeviantArt tag team. They have indicated their own ideology, but I have said nothing either on-wiki or off-wiki. These are users who have been involved in a calculated act of deception. I have been involved in no such acts, either on-wiki or off-wiki, so please WP:AGF. Yes, I dispprove of their acts of deception, continuing even now through SightWatcher (see below). Many thanks, Mathsci (talk) 09:00, 18 May 2012 (UTC)

Comments on SightWatcher's sudden reappearance following Ferahgo's site ban
Re DeviantArt team: I am not sure any good faith can be directed towards SightWatcher. after months of silence he has now miraculously found his tongue and become the spokesperson on wikipedia for two site-banned users. If he persists in proxy-editing like this, employing the same loopholes and wikilawyering as Ferahgo and Occam to circumvent his topic ban, then probably the site-bans of Occam and Ferahgo should be extended coterminously to him. At no stage, in particular below, has he accepted any responsibility for his own role in this calculated long-term act of deception, which has wasted hours and hours of time.

SightWatcher's comments seem confused but seem to be his first public admission to arbitrators that he was involved in the off-wiki attack pages and fake account for Mathsci and Muntuwandi on FurAffinity. The fake account for me was registered on 26 November 2010, but unused until 1 April 2011. By a strange coincidence, his DeviantArt identity was discovered by me on exactly the same day and emailed to Shell Kinney. She graciously thanked me for that information and, having asked my permission, forwarded that message on to the arbitration committee. The event SightWatcher is referring to is the off-wiki joke/attack page on FurAffinity on 1 April 2011. He seems to be identifying himself as one of the perpetrators, unless I have misunderstood what he wrote. SightWatcher has evidently been in contact with Ferahgo, otherwise he would not know the about content of the single wikipedia email I sent her in May 2011. Is there any other vaguely plausible explanation? After all, according to SightWatcher's version of events, he only became aware of the discussions of his own proxy-editing very recently. That version of events is not credible at this juncture. My on-wiki evidence shows collusion with Ferahgo and Occam, that cannot be explained otherwise. Off-wiki evidence provided to Shell Kinney in November contradicts SightWatcher's version of events. His account adopts the same tone as Ferahgo's statements on-wiki and also in the small amount of private "evidence" that I was shown at an extremely late stage. The names of SightWatcher and TrevelyanL85A2 have been mentioned in AE requests (January), requests for amendment (January-March) and on the evidence page of the review (since 25 March). Knowing that the arbitration committee is aware of his friendship with Ferahgo, does SightWatcher think it is reasonable to expect arbitrators to believe that he was unaware that his editing was being discussed? A more likely explanation is that Ferahgo preferred to be the sole spokesperson for the DeviantArt crowd while she still could, to maintain consistency. With SightWatcher's comments here, there is no longer any consistency. Mathsci (talk) 07:04, 18 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Apart from acting as the mouthpiece of the site banned users Occam and Ferahgo, SightWatcher does not seem to be here to improve this encyclopedia. I have had almost five months of my time wasted because of behind-the-scenes lobbying and WP:gaming the system by Ferahgo. Her repeated claims that her real life has been affected were not accepted by the arbitration committee; after that disruption, where she acted as a proxy for the site banned user Occam, it will be a little while before I resume my normal editing patterns. In the most recent SignPost article, there are quotes from Roger Davies giving some indication as to what Ferahgo has been up to behind the scenes. SightWatcher's version of events here has serious inconsistencies and, because of the timing of his first appearance on wikipedia in October 2010—with all the views of Occam at his fingertips—and his miraculous reappearance on wikipedia, it has zero credibility. It is the same worn out old yarn that Ferahgo has been telling, namely that his real life has been affected in some way that he cannot quite articulate. The majority of arbitrators active on the review found that he had been involved in proxy editing with Occam, Ferahgo and TrevelyanL85A2. He seems to be denying that here. In view of the findings there seems to very little doubt that the detailed RfC/U on WeijiBaikeBianji that SightWatcher produced in one single edit in his userspace was prepared by Occam and Ferahgo. His postings here continue the pattern started by Occam (interrupting threads where he is not really concerned). I think, in the circumstances, there is very little doubt that he conferred off-wiki with Occam and Ferahgo before commenting here. That seems to have been the way edits were coordinated in the past. One of the arbitrators active on the case privately informed me that if there is continued harrassment by any of the DeviantArt team, as seems to be the case here, then that should be brought to the attention of the arbitration committee. Mathsci (talk) 05:33, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Incidentally SightWatcher's second of set of comments is a very good illustration of how a disruptive user, in this case SightWatcher, can misuse the FoF that is being discussed for possible amendment here. In addition, why does he talk about re-opening the case when, as stated in the original request, it was Roger Davies who suggested that I request an amendment in this way? Is that what Ferahgo told him to write? Why is he even bothering to comment here? Topic ban appeal is thataway, third door on the left. Please wait at least one year and knock before entering. Mathsci (talk) 06:36, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Inactive arbitrators
Sir Fozzie was inactive during the case and. from what I can tell. he has not been following it. I understand that he has not been in the best of health and I sincerely hope that he is on his way to a full recovery. In the circumstances, however, it is not clear why he is commenting here.

Please could arbitrators wait for comments from arbitrators who have been active during the case, like Newyorkbrad. Knowing wikipedia, that will probably not happen overnight. During the review, as Roger Davies has explained, Ferahgo the Assassin was granted a large amount of latitude in presenting her case—far more than is usual given the circumstances. In the end it was not justified by the outcome. I saw only tiny snippets of her "evidence" and at a very late stage. For that reason, there seems to be no need to rush to a decision particularly before established arbitrators active on the case have had a chance to respond. Mathsci (talk) 17:07, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Boothello, also apparently a proxy-editor for Ferahgo the Assassin

 * Boothello/David.Kane has been warned on previous occasions that commenting here breaks the terms of his extended topic ban. Here is a previous warning he received from Aprock and pointedly ignored; and here is an explicit warning from Timotheus Canens about a similar intervention when he violated the terms of his topic ban. Boothello/David.Kane is under stringent arbcom restrictions; he is prohibited from commenting on wikipedia in matters related to WP:ARBR&I unless his own actions are being discussed. That is not the case here, where he has attempted to hijack this request for amendment. His latest request for a repoening of the review or a new case would appear to be similar to the disruptive conduct of Ferahgo immediately prior to her site ban. It is a stunt aimed at WP:gaming the system. Boothello could theoretically make a separate request for an arbitration case on the request page if he believes he has any new evidence or diffs to present. That would seem ill-advised given the nature of his current topic ban which resulted from "tendentious editing" and being a "single purpose account".  Mathsci (talk) 00:13, 22 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Update Boothello's insistance on a request for a new case, following the same lines as Occam and Ferahgo, seemed very fishy indeed. It made me look a little more closely into his edits, to compare his style with that of David.Kane. While puzzling over that, I discovered one diff by chance where a stray piece of text "ixerin:" had accidentally crept in. That stray text shows beyond any reasonable doubt that he was editing the article Race and intelligence and its talk page while communicating on his computer with Ferahgo the Assassin. I have passed on that information with a more detailed explanation by email to arbitrators. I was very surprised to find it, but it fits into the general picture of "calculated deception" which appears to have been taking place on a larger scale than first imagined. Whether or not Boothello might be a sockpuppet of David.Kane (still a possibility) seems irrelevant now that this new evidence has come to light. Mathsci (talk) 03:03, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

Vecrumba and Biophys's grudges already dealt with in original case
The last case WP:ARBR&I has come and gone. Vecrumba started editing R&I during that case, so any discussion ended with the close of that case on 25 August 2010. If Vecrumba wants to re-submit evidence that he already presented during that case, he is two years too late. His friends Occam and Ferahgo proxy edited through at least three known accounts (SightWatcher, TrevelyanL85A2 and Boothello) and that seems not to have registered with him. Given the campaign of off-wiki coordination in WP:ARBR&I that has been finally acknowledged by the review coupled with Vecrumba's own prior involvement in other off-wiki coordination, the timing of his comments here is quite unfortunate in the circumstances. Whether prompted or not, Vecrumba's edits are hyperbolic drama-creating rhetoric after the review has closed and proxy editing has already been identified by evidence gathered by the arbitration commitee themselves. If he now has gripes about that, WP:VPN or WP:ACN are thataway. Mathsci (talk) 07:44, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Now Vecrumba has to keep him company. Please could an arbcom clerk remove Biophys's trolling image? If they want to make experimental edits, please could they use a sandbox instead of this arbitration committee page? Thanks, Mathsci (talk) 21:33, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Biophys/Hodja Nasreddin keeps changing his name, so it's hard to follow his edits. As Biophys he contributed 19 times to the talk page of the PD at WP:ARBR&I in July-August 2010, inserting himself into that case without any prior involvement, like Vecrumba. He commented on the talk page of R&I during the case, started editing other race-related articles and made some very late submissions to the evidence page, which he misused for airing his own personal point of view, after the PD had been posted. Mathsci (talk) 06:24, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Statement by SightWatcher
Since this request mentions me by name, I hope it's okay that I comment. I've just noticed I'm topic banned now, and I don't understand why. I understand what the accusation is, what lead to it, and how it might be considered questionable, but directly I fail to see how I acted improperly. The arbitrators are right that I got involved in R&I articles because of a discussion in Ferahgo's blog, but she didn't ask me to. Silktork said here that there's nothing wrong with getting involved in Wikipedia because of a discussion somewhere else. I don't care about R&I anymore and haven't for several months, but as a matter of principles I believe that I shouldn't be punished if I didn't do anything wrong. Has anyone here even considered that I didn't want my friends and family to know I was editing R&I articles? I didn't want Ferahgo to know who I was, and I picked a name she wouldn't recognize. But when Mathsci figured out my off-wiki identity, he emailed Ferahgo about it right away! I stopped editing the articles after Ferahgo got suspicious about who I was and because I couldn't deal with the stresses of dealing with such a heated argument. But for more than a year after that, Mathsci kept talking about my off-wiki identity, without any thought about how it affects her friendship with me. It's bad enough that nobody thought I wouldn't want my friends and family to know I was involved here. But calling what I did "proxy editing" is just a terribly false accusation. Proxy editing would be if Ferahgo asked me to get involved and told me what to post. I chose to get involved, and all posts I made I did by my own choice. Mathsci it would seem can't tell the difference between proxy editing and what actually happened. I will not sit down and allow my integrity to be put under attack simply because of who I choose as my friends.-SightWatcher (talk) 03:15, 18 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Mathsci's trying to reopen all of these issues after the review is closed seems to show he hasn't changed his battleground attitude. I understand Mathsci was admonished because his dispute with Occam and Ferahgo got so personalized, and he spread it to other areas of the project after they left the R&I topic. His comments above suggest he's going to do this to me next. I don't want to have to leave the project to get away from him, but I also know I shouldn't try too hard to stop his behavior, because trying too hard is why Ferahgo and Occam got banned. Can arbitrators please give an opinion about how to deal with Mathsci's continued battleground behavior, after an admonishment wasn't enough to stop it?-SightWatcher (talk) 03:31, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Statement by Professor marginalia
Not again!!

SightWatcher was topic banned by arbcom, not by Mathsci. It is worth noting that SightWatcher's re-entry to the conflict piggy-backs Mathsci's seeking to reword his own sanction, and that SightWatcher framed his response as seeking remedy how to deal with "Matschi's continued battleground behavior". Here Mathsci's simply citing the arbcom findings to back his argument how his sanction should be worded. While SightWatcher's response seeks a return to Day One: "Make Mathsci keep his nose out of it and allow me and/or my proxy-of-the-week to return to R/I". This solution made little sense in the first arbcom go-round, and makes demonstrably less sense now.

If SightWatcher wishes to Amend his sanction, I believe it warrants a separate filing. But I think it's best for everybody involved (especially SightWatcher) to just move on. Professor marginalia (talk) 07:52, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
 * @Krod Mandoon-thanks for so beautifully demonstrating the fun and games genuine editors must field to endure here. Professor marginalia (talk)


 * Meet our latest clown puppet to fail hard. Professor marginalia (talk) 19:26, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

Statement by Boothello
Why is the committee turning a blind eye to Mathsci's continued battleground behavior? He's just added over 2,000 words of text attacking other editors, including some of the arbitrators who aren't giving him what he wanted. After the review closed, he only stopped for long enough to make 3 inconsequential article edits before launching into this. It's abundantly clear that being admonished for his battleground behavior is causing more battleground behavior from him, not less of it.

This isn't only a nuisance, it also disrupts the functioning of the project. It means none of the editors he regards as adversaries can ever make a request related to R&I without the discussion being bogged down by Mathsci's walls of text. It means I can never appeal my topic ban unless I want to endure this again, and neither can anyone else. If you want to restore normalcy to the topic, or if you want to reduce the amount of drama plaguing every discussion about it, the problem is staring you right in the face.Boothello (talk) 02:43, 20 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Re this: I want to point out that Mathsci has never made an SPI report about me. He eschews the proper channel for accusing me of being a sock, in favor of trying to prove it to other editors on various pages where I comment. This principle seems intended to address this behavior, but Mathsci is disregarding it. Less than a week after the end of the review, does arbcom intend to let him show he will continue all of the same behavior he was admonished for?Boothello (talk) 05:28, 20 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Yes, in the AE diff you posted, in lieu of starting an SPI you researched Ephery's real-life address and brought it up in public. And now, you continue linking to the comment where you did that to try and prove your accusation about me. Do you really still think there was nothing wrong with doing that?Boothello (talk) 06:52, 20 May 2012 (UTC)

Request
If Mathsci's continued battleground behavior can't be addressed in this thread for procedural reasons, I'd like to request that another case or review be opened. If that also can't be done in this thread, I can make a separate arbitration request for it. Two factors have led this:

A: It's become increasingly clear since the review closed that arbcom's admonishment is not changing Mathsci's battleground behavior.

B: It's also clear this issue can't be handled by the community. If it could, it would have been addressed in any of the 20 or so AN/I reports about Mathsci since 2008 (not all of which involve race and intelligence).

I should point out that the whole time I've been registered at Wikipedia, Mathsci's battleground behavior towards me has made my involvement so frustrating, I no longer have any interest in staying part of the project if the problem isn't addressed. This is why I'm semi-retired now. So I'm not afraid of my own behavior being examined in a review. The best-case scenario is that the situation improves, while the worst-case scenario is that I have to leave the project, which is what I'd be doing anyway if the problem can't be resolved.Boothello (talk) 22:54, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

comment by Aprock
I can only highlight Boothello's statement above: "the whole time I've been registered at Wikipedia, Mathsci's battleground behavior towards me has made my involvement so frustrating". That a topic banned proxy editor finds enforcement "frustrating" is a good thing, and is evidence that wikipedia process is active. Suggesting that this frustration is due to the battleground activity of Mathsci and not the product of biased proxy editing is just another example of disruptive behavior. The idea that proxy editors (like Boothelo) are not the primary cause of disruption is ludicrous. Per the requested amendment, I support removing the word "ideological" from the sanction. Pursuing enforcement against proxy editors is not an ideological position. aprock (talk) 15:35, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

Statement by Vecrumba
When I first arrived at R&I, Mathsci assaulted me for no reason whatsoever. I can dig up the diffs. I see no reason to limit Mathsci's combativeness as applying only to perceived proxy accounts. Every editor Mathsci doesn't agree with is a proxy for some enemy editor. Just watching from the sidelines, I'm exhausted by Mathsci's endless conspiracy theories and attempts to turn R&I into a Mathsci police state. VєсrumЬа ►TALK 04:15, 22 May 2012 (UTC)

Comment by My very best wishes
Mathsci asks to amend decision that he "has engaged in borderline personal attacks and frequent battleground conduct", but unfortunately his amendment request has became just that. This reminds me famous Brer Rabbit. Everyone, do not do it please.My very best wishes (talk) 15:27, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
 * @Re. I never had (and still do not have) any grudges or disputes with Matschi. This Rabbit story is about many people here, including myself and Vecrumba, and I thought it would be helpful for everyone to think about this. I am sorry if it did not work. My very best wishes (talk) 02:07, 23 May 2012 (UTC)


 * @Mathsci. Yes, I made this comment, but it had nothing to do with you. Yes, I tried to fix article Race (humans), but without any success, and this page still contains a number of truly wrong claims, e.g. that subspecies = biological races, or even more important, that certain basic concepts of population genetics are not applicable to humans. But I am not going to fix these problems because of the continuous battleground in this area. My very best wishes (talk) 17:52, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Further discussion

 * Statements here may address all the amendments, but individual statements under each proposed amendment are preferred. If there is only one proposed amendment, then no statements should be added here.

Clerk notes

 * This section is for administrative notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).

Arbitrator views and discussion

 * I don't think that the difference is material enough to be worth changing. You believe them to have been engaged in proxy editing? Fine. They're also editors with whom you've disagreed.  The nuanced version that you prefer seems to enshrine your view of the facts in the committee's findings.  The intent of "ideological opponents" was to be neutral: they don't see things your way, nor your theirs, and we're not taking sides in the finding on who is right or who is wrong, in large part because the issue isn't about the disagreement, but the conduct surrounding it. Jclemens (talk) 05:27, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Substantially per Jclemens, though if there is consensus to modify this, I'd support it being cut right back to just read: "Mathsci has engaged in borderline personal attacks and frequent battleground conduct"  Roger Davies  talk 06:10, 18 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Agree with Jclemens - this isn't a substantial enough change to be worthwhile. Otherwise, I'd be ok with Roger's suggested amendment. PhilKnight (talk) 09:27, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I think it's minor quibbling (either change) and wouldn't be willing to support any change. SirFozzie (talk) 14:51, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Support Roger's suggested amendment which cuts to the essential point and avoids speculation regarding motive (which we can't really know, only attempt to surmise from the actions).  SilkTork  ✔Tea time  22:58, 19 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I was inactive on this case and will leave the decision to my colleagues. AGK  [•] 10:44, 21 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Per Roger, that's likely the cleanest. Courcelles 03:20, 22 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Amendments to the texts of decisions in closed matters should be reserved for substantial matters. This is probably borderline in terms of being a substantial matter, although I can understand the reasons for Mathsci's concern. Perhaps the version of the finding suggested by Roger Davies would make the most sense. Newyorkbrad (talk) 23:05, 23 May 2012 (UTC)

Motion (Mathsci amendment)

 * With Xeno and Hersfold inactive, AGK inactive on this case, and Risker recused, that leaves 11 arbitrators. A majority is therefore six.  Roger Davies  talk


 * That FoF 2.5 in the Race and intelligence review be amended to read: Mathsci has engaged in borderline personal attacks and frequent battleground conduct.


 * Support:
 * There seems to be sufficient general support above for this,  Roger Davies  talk 05:16, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
 *  SilkTork  ✔Tea time  10:39, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
 * PhilKnight (talk) 12:41, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Noting though, that this should be a very, very rare event, and requests for minor copyedits to FoF's should not become commonplacel the benefit will very quickly be drawfed by the time required. Courcelles 22:36, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
 * While I both emphasize with SirFozzie and like the original wording for reasons I went into above, I am OK with modifying this per Roger's suggestion, since it seems to bother MathSci in a manner which was completely unintended by the original wording. Jclemens (talk) 00:31, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:02, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
 * I find this version acceptable - it is perhaps better generally not to attribute motives to actions unless one can point to statements espousing those motives. Elen of the Roads (talk) 16:13, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Der Wohltemperierte Fuchs ( talk ) 20:27, 25 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Oppose:
 * I don't think that the effort and time spent in changing this is worth it. SirFozzie (talk) 05:27, 24 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Abstain:


 * Comments:
 * I opposed the original finding, umm...not sure what to do with this really. Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:05, 24 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, I expect all that's necessary to participate in the vote is to decide if you like the modified wording better than the original wording--I wouldn't interpret a vote one way or the other as anything other than weighing the relative superiority between the two. You could also abstain. Jclemens (talk) 05:01, 25 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Ok Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:02, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

Amendment request: Race and intelligence
Initiated by  Mathsci (talk) at 04:42, 10 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Case affected : Arbitration/Requests/Case/Race_and_intelligence/Review


 * Clauses to which an amendment is requested
 * 1) Finding 2.5)
 * 2) Remedy 1.1)
 * List of users affected by or involved in this amendment


 * Information about amendment request


 * 1) Finding 2.5) Mathsci has been involved in borderline personal attacks and frequent battleground conduct towards those he perceived as editing in proxy and in concert with Captain Occam and Ferahgo the Assassin
 * 2) Finding 2.6) Mathsci has been harassed by sockpuppets  of banned editors, including sockpuppets of Mikemikev and Echigo mole
 * 3) Remedy 1.1) Mathsci is admonished for engaging in battleground conduct towards those he perceived as editing in proxy and in concert with Captain Occam and Ferahgo the Assassin

Statement by Mathsci
In the review, harassment was mentioned explicitly in the first question, "Has Mathsci been harassed by socks?", which was answered comprehensively, but there was no finding. That has led to a number of anomalies. A change was proposed to remedy 1.1 in a previous request for amendment, specifying exactly the context of the battleground behaviour. That change was not adopted at the time. Subsequently the finding and remedy have been misused to imply that the harassment or wikhounding is somehow my own fault and that I deserve it. The changes in phrasing show a recognition of the wikihounding and harassment that was part of the focus of the original review. By more careful phrasing it avoids the problems caused by the misuse of the findings and remedy in dealing with harassment and wikihounding by banned editors, including most recently the first identified sockpuppet,, of the site-banned editors Captain Occam and Ferahgo the Assassin. Until the outcome of the review is amended in this way—in particular removing the implication that my reporting of sockpuppet accounts of Echigo mole is undue—I cannot edit wikipedia (its failure to value or protect academic contributors is disappointing). This request for amendment was precipitated by a portion of the arbitration committee attempting to impose sanctions on me without evidence of misconduct. It was an attempt to control harassment caused by banned editors by sanctioning their victims. It was enacted while I was known to be very ill and, by being passed on a whim without evidence, has unwittingly created a precedent which could cause future problems, in particular for administrators helping out on WP:AE.


 * Since the motion is not passing now, things have returned to stable equilibrium. Noone is disputing that WP:AE works in requests concerning WP:ARBR&I; and the majority of arbcom has reasserted its trust in the discretion of administrators there. None of those administrators have misinterpreted the outcome of the review in the way described above. As Newyorkbrad and Casliber have commented, in these circumstances any amplification of the outcome of the review is unnecessary. I therefore withdraw the request.

Statement by {other user}
{Other editors are free to comment on this amendment as necessary. Comments here should be directed only at the above proposed amendment.}

Clerk notes

 * This section is for administrative notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).

Arbitrator views and discussion

 * The motion to which Mathsci refers in his request for amendment, which I opposed, is not passing. I understand that Mathsci disagrees with some of the findings and remedies we adopted in the review case, and I opposed some of them myself, but after the unnecessarily long time we have taken to deal with the current case request, I think the best course of action is to get this topic-area off the arbitration pages (other than enforcement if it becomes necessary which I hope it won't) for awhile. Thus I am not inclined to favor formal action on this request at this time. Newyorkbrad (talk) 20:49, 10 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Request noted as withdrawn. I'm not sure whether this should be archived or just deleted; I'll leave that for the Clerks to decide. Newyorkbrad (talk) 21:57, 10 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Mathsci, the presence of this on arbitration-related pages is a magnet for drama. Recent developments mean the motion is not passing and hence we have a pathway to clearing the decks. I fear and strongly suspect examining things further at this time would prolong unpleasant interactions. Casliber (talk · contribs) 21:25, 10 November 2012 (UTC)
 * Agreed with NYB and Cas, this case and topic area needs a rest, and I see no value in re-examining the Review items questioned here at this point in time. Courcelles 21:33, 10 November 2012 (UTC)
 * It was a mistake for Mathsci to submit this request. Unless any arbitrator disagrees, I echo my colleagues' calls for this request to be delisted by a clerk. AGK  [•] 22:00, 10 November 2012 (UTC)