Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Spam/Paid editing

1-10


Sounds like a job for User:Zithan
 * That's not going to happen. MER-C 13:07, 22 June 2009 (UTC)







... content and behavioural guidelines, perhaps? Nah. US$ 120.


 * The rest of the post goes "...requirements and be fully professional.". MER-C 13:07, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * User:Cinagua/Technology Sales Leads. MER-C 04:53, 25 June 2009 (UTC)



Email marketing software... heard that one before.
 * CANCELLED. MER-C 07:29, 1 July 2009 (UTC)



Revert? Don't you mean report?
 * CANCELLED. MER-C 04:53, 25 June 2009 (UTC)



US$ 50.00.




 * See WP:COIN. MER-C 06:35, 24 June 2009 (UTC)
 * DELETED. MER-C 06:23, 30 June 2009 (UTC)



US$ 50.00. See





O RLY? US$ 70.00.
 * Kaki West. MER-C 04:53, 25 June 2009 (UTC)



Zithan is bidding on this one. Looks like a new sockpuppet coming.
 * Addendum: Googling the URL fragment points to.
 * It's been deleted once four times before. MER-C 09:02, 15 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Zithan was the successful bidder. US$ 130.00 MER-C 03:30, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
 * It's been deleted once four times before. MER-C 09:02, 15 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Zithan was the successful bidder. US$ 130.00 MER-C 03:30, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

11-20




US$ 270. Zithan got this one, definitely another sockpuppet. MER-C 07:19, 15 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Now spying at Elance. Fifteen queued tasks is dangerous enough. Alexius08 (talk) 12:57, 15 June 2009 (UTC)
 * This task is likley related to Icontrol/NetworkD/Sparxent. Hipocrite (talk) 16:39, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Warning: a wave of weakly-sourced biographies is coming within three days, as per my espionage at this request.

Looking for writers who can create wikipedia entries for high profile individuals. The project is being undertaken by an alumni association to profile the achievements of its successful alumni population.

Writer will be provided with a list of names - roughly 100 to start with and then more on an ongoing basis. Writers job would be to research the person (LinkedIn, profile details on corporate web site etc) and write + post a wikipedia profile on that person.

Looking for a bid per profile creation. Initial bid can be for 100 profiles. We should search for these articles through our logs at Special:Newpages. Any article that would cite a LinkedIn profile and/or a corporate web site as sources should be tagged with db-bio. We should exterminate all of them. Alexius08 (talk) 11:42, 16 June 2009 (UTC)




 * CANCELLED. MER-C 04:32, 25 June 2009 (UTC)
 * CANCELLED. MER-C 04:32, 25 June 2009 (UTC)





Can't guarantee that. Sorry (or not). MER-C 11:57, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
 * CANCELLED. MER-C 08:29, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

See also User:Ha!/paid editing adverts. MER-C 14:12, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Identified another one from here: I need somebody to write and submit an article to wikipedia about my website. It is http://www.marketresearchagencies.eu, an online directory of market research agencies. Please apply only if you have wikipdia editing experience. Awaiting your proposals,

Regards, Geza Submitted on July 1, 2008. Deletion logs found at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=&user=&page=MarketResearchAgencies.eu&year=&month=-1&tagfilter=&hide_patrol_log=1 (Ranging from July-August 2008). Relevant pages found: User:Kerekesg/Marketresearchagencies.eu and User:Kerekesg/MarketResearchAgencies.eu (Created June 14, 2009). I suspect this is an attempt to restore the speedily-deleted page. Alexius08 (talk) 15:25, 19 June 2009 (UTC)





Ha, ha, you've already been noticed!



Related:





Tayzen is bidding on this one. One more sockpuppet from him and I will propose a community ban.

For Elance, I also noticed you can tack on a referrer string (e.g. &rid=18J3T) and get the whole posting without registering, so I completed the above snippets. MER-C 13:07, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Found two more. MER-C 02:46, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

Buyer was dpatel799 =>.

Spammers so far:

US$ 1800.00 to Tayzen. Will the banhammer come down in time? MER-C 13:05, 9 July 2009 (UTC)







21-30




Spammers so far:

MER-C 10:08, 1 July 2009 (UTC)




 * Bosko already exists, maybe or similar.
 * Bosko already exists, maybe or similar.

Groan, not more band vanity. MER-C 08:02, 2 July 2009 (UTC)







By posting that request, you and your freelance writer are spamming. MER-C 06:58, 3 July 2009 (UTC)





Finally - somebody that recognises that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia! This one might be acceptable. MER-C 09:25, 4 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Buyer was BKelson, bkelson => => Brian+Kelson =>.
 * ... or maybe not. MER-C 07:52, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
 * ... or maybe not. MER-C 07:52, 7 July 2009 (UTC)



Tayzen
This stuff corresponds to Elance user Tayzen.

Elance job #17066545
 * Spam pages and sites spammed

Elance job #17194393

Elance job #16233022
 * zh:CozyCot
 * fr:CozyCot
 * es:CozyCot
 * fr:File:CozyCot logo.jpg
 * Citation spamming: ,
 * fr:File:CozyCot logo.jpg
 * Citation spamming: ,
 * Citation spamming: ,

Elance job #17095851

Elance job #17148585

Elance job #17023988

Why have I labelled Punta del Diablo and Boutique hostel as spam? Because El Diablo Tranquilo is a boutique hostel in Punta del Diablo. I suspect both pages were created for the purpose of housing links to eldiablotranquilo.com (the links probably will be inserted when the article goes live).

Elance job #17074602

Elance job #16181621 and #16275596
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,

New: It seems to fit, but why is Southerntulip in the Netherlands when I suspect he's this guy?
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,

New: and. Profile says company is "bakkenrunning". Google points to:
 * Spam addition
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Spam addition
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Spam addition
 * Citation spamming:, , ,

New: and. Buyer was knowaboa => => www.goodtherapy.org/about-us.html.
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,

New: Examples are basketball coaches. Could be:
 * es:Ben Thomas
 * ro:Ben Thomas (deleted)

New: Elance job #16785420
 * Major spam addition
 * Major spam addition

New: Elance job #16359187
 * Spamming:.
 * Main Page history
 * Main Page history


 * See here for related domains. Something to do if you have more free time than I.


 * Stuff not matched up yet
 * - apparently cancelled
 * 
 * - looks dead (see )
 * - dead

Pattern 1: Article created to house link to spammed site.
 * es:Grand Hotel (Isla Mackinac)
 * Citation spamming:, , ,
 * Citation spamming:, , ,

Pattern 2:
 * Citation spamming:, , and.
 * Citation spamming:, , and.

Pattern 3: Again, articles created solely to house links to the spammed site.
 * Incorporation aux Canada
 * Citation spamming: ,
 * Spamming:, ,
 * Citation spamming: ,
 * Spamming:, ,

Pattern 4:

Pattern 5:
 * fr:SunGlassesUK.com
 * es:SunGlassesUK.com
 * fr:Image:SunGlassesUK.com logo.gif
 * Citation spamming:, ,
 * fr:Image:SunGlassesUK.com logo.gif
 * Citation spamming:, ,
 * Citation spamming:, ,

Pattern 6: Once again, articles created to house links to the spammed site.
 * es:Tenjiku
 * es:Tenjiku Tokubei
 * Dummy text addition
 * Citation spamming:, ,
 * Citation spamming:, ,

Pattern 7:
 * "Copyright © 2008 Nebraska Cultures, Inc."
 * "Copyright © 2008 Nebraska Cultures, Inc."


 * Major spam addition
 * Citation spamming: =>
 * Major spam addition
 * Citation spamming: =>
 * Major spam addition
 * Citation spamming: =>

Pattern 8 (?):
 * 
 * 


 * Spammers
 * Cross-wiki spammer, see.
 * Cross-wiki spammer, see.


 * Cross-wiki spammer, see.
 * Cross-wiki spammer, see.
 * Cross-wiki spammer, see.


 * Spammed on the Portuguese Wikipedia.
 * Spammed on the Portuguese Wikipedia.
 * Spammed on the Portuguese Wikipedia.





MER-C 13:07, 22 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Other notes
 * Articles for deletion/GoodTherapy.org: sockpuppetry to influence outcome - /
 * Amalgamated duplicate report. MER-C 08:07, 1 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I've checked the English Wiktionary for external links matching the patterns given. Only one page matched, and that was a transwikified Wikipedia article, which I've deleted. Uncle G (talk) 04:28, 2 July 2009 (UTC)

Additional spammer. MER-C 08:07, 3 July 2009 (UTC)

Compromised "round-up"
There are already some weeks of "rounding-up" and, by now, some conclusions may be drawn. As a result of the lack of real interest in addressing the issue of paid editing, this "round-up" became just a vehicle for incompetence, power abuses, personal vendettas, free speech suppression and suspicions of vested interests. The main problems (mostly inspired by the article 2009 Paid Editing Investigations on Wikipedia):

-selective round-up resulting in the rigging of the bidding process on online marketplaces

The "round-up" is not focused on actually dealing with the paid editing input, it is only focused on boasting and parading a few "bad guys". The indirect result is an influence in the bidding process, favoring the non-hindered people. The Wikipedia jobs keep coming on the Internet, only that other people win them. Those who do the round-up simply end up having a role in the bidding process of the marketplaces, raising suspicions about vested interests.

-bias against non-Western users, with "outsourcing" backgrounds

The first person considered as an easy victim was an Indian student. The second Elance account spotted, of John Bulten from USA, although possessing an impressive Wikipedia history of jobs on Elance, did not provoke any reaction besides a few tags on his articles. The next Elance account targeted by the round-upists, Tayzen, is too much a non-Western one.

-the hysteria around paid editing produced a favorable environment for making "perfect crimes" and personal vendettas

...also the case of Desiphral, named for days a paid spammer, without any proof (in fact, even at the moment of writing this text, in the above "round-up", Desiphral figures as "spammmer"). The user was not active on Wikipedia for a lot of time and he was not announced by e-mail about the public shaming.

-suppression of free speech

...and the case of Desiphral

Cinagua (talk) 20:21, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

The reason that you and Nichalp were "targeted" is because you abused multiple accounts in an attempt to spam, and further you and Nichalp grossly abused the community's trust and your power for your own profit (Desiphiral is the only admin on the vlax romani wikipedia). Please stop spamming Wikipedia... you are aiding and abetting those who would shamelessly use wikipedia to promote themselves.  Triplestop  x3  21:28, 15 July 2009 (UTC)


 * ...and now a sample of the "round-up spirit". No intent to assume responsibility for the damages, the answer confines itself to even more personal attacks, including an user who is out of this issue and went through checkuser to prove it. Who is damaging Wikipedia here? Regarding the "aiding and abetting" part, there is a discussion, where you can post your views for the public scrutiny. As one can see there, the issue is certainly not painted in black and white. If you have extremist views and if you consider it is up to you to decide right from wrong, the result is this "funny" round-up, with no possible results from the start (as long as only a few are targeted, it would simply help those not targeted) and prone to abuses and hijacks of the cause for personal vendettas and other muddy things. And, by now, these are the serious problems created for Wikipedia, with a long-term discrediting potential. Cinagua (talk) 14:02, 16 July 2009 (UTC)


 * My personal views are not the issue here nor are they relevant. Spamming/advertising is one of the most annoying problems on Wikipedia. Paid editing does raise issues such as conflicts of interest and advertising. Did I try do decide what is right or wrong or act on my personal views? And I also find your accusation of racism disgusting... Wikipedia is an international project with users from all races and backgrounds, and to say that we are targeting you because of your race is beyond absurd. Please stop trying to distract from the real issues at hand, which such as Conflicts of interest, advertising, abusing multiple accounts, using the free encyclopedia for profit, etc.  Triplestop  x3  18:23, 16 July 2009 (UTC)


 * You may say the personal views are not relevant, but in reality, it happens. And it should not happen. If a round-up would be considered, given the context, as a matter of principle, it would be necessary to target everybody involved, not only a few "chosen". But... even so, if a round-up is considered, it creates a totalitarian culture, where tipping the "enemies of the people" makes the easiest way to smear somebody and to do other dirty things. This while the edits under scrutiny were unfairly judged, the focus was on the conflict of interests and paid editing, instead of the actual quality or lack of quality of the edits. My opinion is that in this way it is made impossible a future disclosed paid editing, as it is suggested by many users in the RfC. Those who would do this would be fools, seeing what happened already. Another user who opted for non-disclosed paid editing, "for the obvious reason that I wish not to feed those who seek revenge on me". Cinagua (talk) 19:23, 16 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I explained why you were "targeted" already. I am sure there would be less "scrutiny" for users in good standing.  Triplestop  x3  21:14, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

For the "free speech" thing - such a right does not exist on Wikipedia. See WP:FREESPEECH. GARDEN says no to drama  19:07, 16 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm sure the kind of suppression of actual talk about such a serious issue, like the cases enumerated above, is a bad thing, in fact the acceptance of this suppression would be damaging. Cinagua (talk) 19:42, 16 July 2009 (UTC)