Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

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Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by Jake Is A Sellout » Wed Oct 20, 2021 9:40 am

This is pretty hilarious.

Icewhiz, who in the view of the wikishits, is rightfully globally banned, someone whose "unique combination of deep knowledge and total lack of integrity made him an extremely dangerous editor" and who has caused "real harm to real people", is also Eostrix, who this week was on the verge of becoming a Wikipedia Administrators after a cake walk of an interview process.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... ip/Eostrix

He was stopped in his tracks by the almighty ArbCom. Although do you look all that powerful when you are reduced to such obviously panicked moves? Clearly the debate over whether to block was raging behind the scenes throughout the RfA, and its looming closure as a success, the interview process having objectively failed to spot a returning customer, was what forced their hand. He was going to be an Administrator, unless they acted.

Let's take a moment to ponder the broader issue of what happens when you get so desperate for warm bodies to fill vacant seats in the ever dwindling ranks of the Administrator ranks that you don't even for a second start to wonder about people who just seem too perfect?

After all, they were dealing with a user here whose only actual conflicts on Wikipedia seemed to be of the "if I have a flaw, it is that I am too self critical" type. And whose case for needing the tools quite handily checked all the positions wanted at Wikipedia, without there being any real reason given to understand why someone would want that job, rather than be taking it as a necessary evil.

I have never been a fan of the whole Administrators must be content creators position, but neither have I ever said that you shouldn't be REALLY suspicious of someone who doesn't have a plausible reason why they seemingly only want to be a janitor on Wikipedia, especially in the more stressful areas. Nobody is that altruistic. Nobody.

There have been quite a few walkthroughs in recent years. I wonder how many were Icewhiz socks?

Something for the wikishits to ponder. I say that only out of devilment, knowing as we all do, how incapable they are of such ponderings, least of all bringing them to a useful and actionable conclusion. And of course, the very last thing anyone wants to do on Wikipedia, is have a root and branch review to see if Administrators are abusing their power.

As Beeblebrox reminded everyone on Wikipediocracy recently (and it will become apparent later how fucking hilarious this is), the Arbitration Committee doesn't "go after" people, they only investigate Administrators that are reported. You might rightly ask yourself then, who brought Eostrix to their attention? If this wasn't a proactive act, a rare example of ArbCom being self starters, what was it?

There is lots more to specifically say about this block in the arena of the usual bullshit, but you can find all that noise on Wikipediocracy. Insider baseball is their specialism after all. That forum is the natural home for people who want to track and do battle with Icewhiz in some pathetic belief Wikipedia and its community are not rotten to the core. Beeblebrox is their kind of people. Scumbags.

What you get here, is the high level analysis. The view from fifty thousand feet. The study of the maze, not the dirty stinking rats.

To wit, I am interested in why there is so much lingering doubt over the case for the block.

I am also wondering, given that doubt, why they weren't prepared to extend good faith to Eostrix and wait until they actually did something wrong. They have already admitted that Eostrix was being closely monitored as a suspected Icewhiz sock.

They had already let them be an editor for two years, so I hardly think the extra reputational damage of having let them become an Administrator too, would have justified blocking before they were a hundred percent sure.

I suspect the answer to all those questions lies with who placed the block, and who was monitoring Eostrix with their suspicions. That person being Beeblebrox in the former, and likely the latter too.

As we all know, because it is our business to know, Beeblebrox is everything you wouldn't want in a high level Wikipedia functionary with this sort of power and influence. He is immoral, he is untrustworthy, and he is not very bright (but he thinks he is very bright).

I think it says it all that on the one hand we're meant to believe that to further protect Wikipedia and because the evidence was "private" we aren't going to be told any of the specifics of this case so that we might satisfy ourselves it is a sound block, and yet on the other there's apparently no issue with Beeblebrox going around both Wikipedia and Wikipediocracy flapping his chops just enough that to a seasoned observer, including Icewhiz, you can probably figure out what has happened.

Here's the lilely 411....

1. CheckUser results that at least confirm Eostrix and Icewhiz are in the same locale and share the same basic tech and common setup (e.g., an iPhone). Granted, you can spoof even these things to create the appearance of dissimilarity, but it is a pain in the ass and not really necessary.

2. Behavioural evidence that at least confirms Eostrix and Icewhiz have the same sleep cycle and language traits.

3. A handful of more specific behavioural matches in the area of typography, such as a fondness for numerical bullet lists. Just enough to satisfy confirmation bias.

4. Probably some off wiki evidence that shows Eostrix and Icewhiz are the same person, but which could have easily been faked by Beeblebrox and necessarily has to be taken on trust. And as we know, who trust him more than his friends at Wikipediocracy.

5. Probably evidence collected from some of that new fangled tracking technology that the WMF has, and are very secretive about, only even allowing its results to be used in cases where the benefit of catching a globally banned sockmaster about to unleash hell, or at least create a huge PR nightmare, outweighs the risk of its awesome power becoming known to the wider community

That last one is important, because it was of course recently revealed by the WMF that the Chinese Communist Party had infiltrated and taken over Chinese Wikipedia. It was of course the case that people believed that such a thing could never happen on English Wikipedia, because they're so smart and so numerous in comparison.

Well, if this block is sound, it proves they're not so smart, and that not even over a hundred Wikipedia editors, mostly Admins or seasoned veterans, could spot when they were about to hand Icewhiz of all people, a walk through.

They're breathing a massive sigh of relief now, those who know anyway, because those in the know have the terrifying (and often first hand) knowledge of their susceptibility that most even in the Wikipedia community do not.

Given the utter dysfunctional system of governance on English Wikipedia, with its burgeoning beaurecracy and counterintuitively their resulting heavy reliance in the controversial topics areas on undocumented culture and soft power rather than clear written rules and hard power, it hardly matters that they have hundreds of active Administrators and thousands of active editors.

The terrifying truth is, if you actually wanted to see effective results in skewing the neutrality of a topic like Isreal-Palestine, you really do only need a handful of Administrators who have put their time in and appear knowledgeable and trustworthy. Safe pairs of hands existing above the fray, with only the good of Wikipedia in their hearts. People like Eostrix. And Esotrix 2. And Esotrix 3. You get the idea.

That's all it takes.

The vast majority of other Administrators are more than happy to hand off the whole shebang, if it looks like NAME1, NAME2 and NAME3 have got shit under control. And in that scenario, the average editor, even grizzled veterans, are of course, powerless.

Such a strategic advantage is clearly easily achieved by Icewhiz, as we can see now, and whose grievance with Wikipedia and certain Wikipedia editors is clearly enough to motivate him to such great efforts.

After all, its not like he wanted to take over the whole encyclopedia. Just a significant chunk of it. Some might say the only part of it that has any capacity at all to shape world events, given the geographical and societal disconnect between those who know the facts and those who sign the cheques.

I am amused that there are those who, despite living and breathing that filth in the daily, are still incapable of understanding that the level of corruption and abuse of power on Wikipedia is such that it really does drive people to such extraordinary acts of revenge.

Cold.

Ice cold.

Would that we were all so dedicated and righteous. ;)

Protect the innocent. Punish the guilty.

This has been a message of The Resistance.

HTD.

:flamingbanana:

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by Jake Is A Sellout » Wed Oct 20, 2021 2:41 pm

By my count, at least three ArbCommies didn't think this case was proven. Bradv, Barkeep and Worm.

The way Beeblebrox is bullshitting his way through the inquest, is a big red flag for a potential mistake here.

https://www.wikipediasucks.co/forum/vie ... =32&t=2255

Obviously it was highly significant that Eostrix hadn't yet acknowledged the block, but now he has, and he has done so in a way that quite expertly puts Beeblebrox and Co. in a tough spot....
I have had some off-wiki communication from Eostrix, who denies flat out that he is Icewhiz, who he calls a "despicable person". However, he is stuck on what to write as an appeal, as he has enough experience of SPI cases to know that simply saying "I'm not Icewhiz" won't work and hasn't got a clue how to prove his innocence to the satisfaction of Arbcom.

Eostrix, the only way to appeal is to email arbcom-en@wikimedia.org and give as much information as you possibly can. I can't help you. It has been further suggested that it may be possible to appeal to Jimbo Wales. I'm not sure that'll be successful, but just putting this out there as a further option. Ritchie333 (talk) (cont) 13:30, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
I hope the wikishits are smart enough to know how hard it is to get unblocked when they are innocent, but where the decision was made to block you before you were even invited to have your say.

Triple that level of difficulty when your only audience are ArbCom, the VERY people who blocked you.

Questions need to be asked here, before the community just brushes this under the the carpet with an assumption everything is above board and Bristol fashion and ArbCom knows best.

The very fact Beeblebrox may have led this thing, is reason enough to wonder.

1. An explicic clarification (or denial) that Eostrix's public posts played no part in the case.

People have a right to know if they were genuinely duped by a really good act of deception, or were simply inattentive at an RfA.

2. A statement of when exactly this investigation was begun (weeks ago, months ago), whether they had left it on the back burner, and whether the investigation was concluded faster than it would have been due to the impending RfA closure.

It cannot be denied that there was either a rank disrespect of the community if they let an RfA begin with suspicion present, or a clear risk of an error if they felt the need to pretty much start and conclude it within 6 days.

3. A clarification as to who initiated this investigation and how many people were actively involved.

It cannot be denied that it sounds like confirmation bias if not outright harassment could have played a key role, or that for selfish vote grabbing reasons Beeblebrox has tried to massively overstate both the level of certainty and reliance on CheckUser proof, while also trying to big up how big a win this is for CSI:Wikipedia given the dearth of evidence and the complexity of its chain from Eostrix to Icewhiz.

4. A clear accounting of voting numbers.

Perhaps the community can live with even three ArbCom members not being convinced that blocking a two year almost Admin was necessary. They probably shouldn't. But if its more, if this ban only squeaked through, people need to be told.

5. A clear statement of how and where the allegedly private evidence can be reviewed for confidence.

It isn't healthy to have one body being the investigative unit and marking their own homework. We already know other CheckUsers aren't convinced, and therefore this was most likely a case built on other private evidence, or an ArbCom review of their own potentially inexperienced CU findings, or as is claimed, both.

And the community needs absolute reassurance that no part of the evidence, certainly not a crucial part, could have been fabricated by an enemy of Icewhiz. Because he has a heck of a lot of those, and Beeblebrox is the exact sort of person who would feel no shame in deceiving his own colleagues. Highly pertinent if he is indeed the person who initiated, conducted and lobbied for this outcome. If he wasn't, he is sure as shit stealing the limelight off someone.

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by Jake Is A Sellout » Wed Oct 20, 2021 2:45 pm

How the heck is Icewhiz able to create & use sock puppets, if he's globally banned? GoodDay (talk) 14:37, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
:lol:

How has this dumbass never got a COMPETENCE block in all these years of making these exact sort of extremely stupid and yet wholly distracting comments?

Wikipedia is not therapy, right?

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by Jake Is A Sellout » Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:17 pm

One of the major problems is that Icewhiz and NoCal100 have taken the piss out of the community for so long now that any new-ish account with a certain POV (especially if they get involved with ARBPIA-related issues) is assumed by many admins to have a high probably of being their sock. Black Kite (talk) 17:54, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
Ha. "Problem?"

No problem that I've seen. They do it without shame.

This fucker is one of the worst. Proper insider/outsider mentality. Probably can't even remember what it was like not knowing his curly brackets from his magic words.

No surprise that he is a Wikipediocracy regular, and not even in the top fifty of Admins under threat of desysop. What a cultural ambassador. Old school, but second generation, unsurprisingly.

Spoiler alert. Toxifying entire areas of the wiki for innocent new users, is one of the most rewarding parts of being an agent of chaos.

These fuckers are comical at times. Playing chequers, while their enemies are playing chess. Still, if they were smart, they wouldn't be Wikipedians I guess.

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by ericbarbour » Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:36 pm

The Bird has no right to complain about your posts. He didn't catch this Eostrix crap.

The book wiki has a rather long article about sockpuppeting admins. It is a commonplace thing and has been, going back to the medieval times. I suspect ALL of those "sitting administrators" have multiple sock accounts. And NONE of them will ever admit it.

And some of those socks managed to pass RFAs. No one remembers Law? Or Alison Wheeler's admin sock VampWillow? Or Slimvirgin's Royalguard11? Or "Unrepentant Vandal", or Phil Hall's "Pastor Theo", or Uncle G, or Cool3? Or about 20 others that I won't bother to list?

Anyone remember that B was accused of being a sock admin? He's still an admin and still poking WP today. This happens OVER AND OVER, and no one on Wikipedia wants to discuss it openly. BECAUSE THEY ALL DO IT.

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by Jake Is A Sellout » Wed Oct 20, 2021 8:41 pm

It's the fact it was a walk through of a relatively new and all too perfect account, that is the hilarious part. Plenty of recent RfAs of that nature the last few years. They're so desperate for admins, any admins, they have completely stopped thinking about how many people out here deeply, deeply, hate Wikipedia and everything it stands for, and are smart enough to know how to properly (ab)use an Admin account.

As if ANYONE would spend two years to become an admin, and then barrel straight into an edit war. Fuckwits.

The long game. Use the one thing they value most, edit count & service, against them.

No fucker checks what Admins do if it doesn't directly affect them or theirs. The place is ripe for taking over a specific topic with admin puppet assitance. Controversy persuades most of them to steer clear, so it's common for there to be a single go to admin.

The governance of Wikipedia is properly fucking stupid when you examine it in detail.
That's the terrifying part. Our policy (somewhere, can't remember where) tells those accused not to panic, that if they aren't a sock not to worry, we seldom get this wrong. But how do we know how often we get it wrong? —valereee (talk) 20:32, 20 October 2021 (UTC)
:lol:

Don't pull at that thread!

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by ericbarbour » Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:05 am

as a reminder to our readers (and we know goddamn well that half the admins on en-WP are reading this).....Icewhiz was deeply sucked into the Israel and Eastern Europe mess as a pro-Israel extremist, and fought with Volunteer Marek. Lots.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... _in_Poland

THAT is today's Arbcom. Too stupid and argumentative to be corrupt. No wonder they are frequently sniped at by people like Fram.

You could be right: Beeb might have fed them phony "dirt" and they swallowed it. Still think Beeb is an aging former BBS or forum troll. This is "fun" for him.

Icewhiz showed up in 2017 and promptly started fighting over Israel content. Eostrix has a thing for owls. If Icewhiz was socking, he/she/? went to extreme lengths to cover it up. Beeb could have just chosen any random GLOBALLY BANNED EDITOR and waved it in Arbcom's collective stupid face. Seems likely.

From the book wiki's Israel-Palestine file section "about the UK Labour Party apparently sending "operatives" into Wikipedia in an attempt to delete one article. Pro-Israel types showed up to KEEP" and suchlike. This was the article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemit ... bour_Party
Major editors calling for deletion included "The Four Deuces", "Slatersteven", and "This is Paul". Keep supporters included the long-notorious Brewcrewer and "Icewhiz", who openly admits being an editor on Hebrew-language Wikipedia. Malik Shabazz called for deletion on the grounds that the article was forked off from Chakrabarti inquiry -- Malik has been an important Israel critic on WP for many years and probably has no connections to the Labour Party. Still, it was obvious that pro-Israel and pro-Jewish editors wanted the article kept at all costs. Much idiotic squabbling ensued.
Hey, Arbcom asswipes, wanna know more about Icewhiz? Hope you can read Hebrew.
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7 ... A9:Icewhiz

Encyclopedia? What "encyclopedia"? Who gives a shit about an "encyclopedia"?

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by CoolDucktest » Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:47 pm

2 years for that. Bruh

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by Jake Is A Sellout » Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:02 pm

Eostrix did contribute a GA and about two years of seemingly decent work at UAA, CSD and AfD, so for every cloud... – Teratix ₵ 07:31, 22 October 2021 (UTC)
:lol:

"Seemingly"

You mean nobody has checked them thoroughly?

Properly, forensically.

Nah.

Too much like hard work.

Which Icewhiz would know, and probably want to have some fun with while he pretended he was a good little soldier.

Consider the real world equivalent. You spend two years pretending to be a hard working and dedicated McDonald's employee, when in reality you've been sent by Burger King to work your way up to Manager, so you can do some real damage.

You're not telling me you don't piss in the odd McShake in the mean time? Maybe once a week? Just for fun.

:?

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Re: Globally Banned user nearly made it to Administrator

Post by Jake Is A Sellout » Fri Oct 22, 2021 10:24 pm

Wikipediocracy are on the case.....
I feel discouraged at the possibility of success if even in a forum for banned editors my evidence is not convincing.
I feel compelled to point out that this isn't a forum for banned editors. I'm not even sure that any of the regulars here are actually banned, although I could be wrong.
:lol:

The poster literally three posts before this one? Wikipediocracy regular and long banned Wikipedia editor Hillbillyholiday. Perhaps this goes unnoticed because he is allowed to post as "Smiley".

By my count there are at least three other regulars posting, who are banned.
Yes, banned editors post here sometimes but so do blocked editors, editors "in good standing", admins, and even ArbCom members. One of the mods claims that he doesn't edit Wikipedia at all, but he is well-known as a sell-out, so that may not be true.
By my count, there are actually MORE Wikipedia Administrators and Arbitrators who are WO regulars posting in that thread, than any other kind of regular poster.

So yes, thank you for proving so well, that anyone who goes to Wikipediocracy thinking they'll get a different perspective than the official Wikipedia line, is a fool.

Sellout is as sellout does.

Jake knows the only way he can get what he wants, page views, is by making sure his forum's content closely mirrors the drama factory that is Wikipedia.

I mean, fuck, what else is he gonna do?

Allow people to post about how the famous Wikipedia editor Jess Wade is routinely, knowingly, and with the full acquiescence of the governance system, violating the BLP policy?

What use would that be to Wikipediocracy!??!?!

The preeminent Wikipedia criticism site.

Allegedly.

Sell-out mother fucker.

:oops:

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