Anonymous Editing for Administrators Only: Data Point 8

[Mutineer]

On some Wikipedia fansite today, Beeblebrox says this:

Re: Geogene smears a blocked user (me)

Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:13 pm

Just to re-iterate. TOR nodes that edit Wikipedia are always blocked, regardless of who is suspected of using them. Even admins and users with IP block exemptions can’t use TOR to edit Wikipedia without a specifc user right, “torunblocked” and they would need to provide a very compelling reason to do so. (Actually, I can’t even tell where you would even ask for it.)

I'm a little surprised, assuming that Beebs speaks accurately, that Tor editing is handled differently than general IP block exemptions. My understanding is that any administrator can hand himself or herself (or any editor) an IP block exemption. Beebs is saying Tor requires more.

So, who then would approve Tor editing? Is Beebs saying with "I can’t even tell where you would even ask for it" that he doesn't know, or that this information is privileged? How's he know the other stuff if he doesn't know that?

On a related note, I vaguely recall reading about some administrator taking the renegade action of canceling the IP block exemptions of a large number of administrators that had accorded it to themselves. Anyone recall that or have records of it. I might be remembering it wrong because I only brushed across it, thought "hey, I should have a look at that," but then never got back to it. That was like, 2 and an half years ago?

EDIT: Added last sentence, only.

[badmachine]

On some Wikipedia fansite today, Beeblebrox says this:

Re: Geogene smears a blocked user (me)

Sun Jan 28, 2018 11:13 pm

Just to re-iterate. TOR nodes that edit Wikipedia are always blocked, regardless of who is suspected of using them. Even admins and users with IP block exemptions can’t use TOR to edit Wikipedia without a specifc user right, “torunblocked” and they would need to provide a very compelling reason to do so. (Actually, I can’t even tell where you would even ask for it.)

I'm a little surprised, assuming that Beebs speaks accurately, that Tor editing is handled differently than general IP block exemptions. My understanding is that any administrator can hand himself or herself (or any editor) an IP block exemption. Beebs is saying Tor requires more.

So, who then would approve Tor editing? Is Beebs saying with "I can’t even tell where you would even ask for it" that he doesn't know, or that this information is privileged? How's he know the other stuff if he doesn't know that?

Apparently the IP-block exempt right is assigned by a "functionary" whatever that is. Fewer than 300 accounts on Wikipedia have IP block exemption, and there doesn't appear to be any way to list the users with the "torunblocked" right, possibly by design. I would hazard a guess that Tor editing is allowed from individuals in countries with repressive governments. :shrug:

On a related note, I vaguely recall reading about some administrator taking the renegade action of canceling the IP block exemptions of a large number of administrators that had accorded it to themselves. Anyone recall that or have records of it. I might be remembering it wrong because I only brushed across it, thought "hey, I should have a look at that," but then never got back to it. That was like, 2 and an half years ago?

EDIT: Added last sentence, only.

That would be worth reading. (:

[Kumioko]

I think that was Mike V that did that. He went through and cancelled a lot of them and took a lot of heat for doing it unilaterally and without any discussion.

[ericbarbour]

I think that was Mike V that did that. He went through and cancelled a lot of them and took a lot of heat for doing it unilaterally and without any discussion.

Welcome aboard K, and I suspect you're right. But damned if I can find more info. The Mikemikev mess happened around the time I was getting really sick of documenting Wikipedia squabbles so I didn't take it all down. His battles with Mathsci were about all the crap I could handle.

Apparently the IP-block exempt right is assigned by a "functionary" whatever that is. Fewer than 300 accounts on Wikipedia have IP block exemption, and there doesn't appear to be any way to list the users with the "torunblocked" right, possibly by design. I would hazard a guess that Tor editing is allowed from individuals in countries with repressive governments. :shrug:

Special block exemption-things are one of their darkest areas. Like oversighting, they absolutely will not discuss this with outsiders. Merely wanting to discuss it on a noticeboard is enough to get your account blocked by assholes (such as Beeb, actually).

I can guarantee that every abusive admin today has sock accounts, and a few of them have admin socks. Still, even after all these years and hundreds of scandals.

[badmachine]

I think that was Mike V that did that. He went through and cancelled a lot of them and took a lot of heat for doing it unilaterally and without any discussion.

Omg it sure was! 214 in one day... I bet the natives were pissed.

PS to Eric: Mike V, not Mikemikev. :3

(edited)

[Kumioko]

The problem is he deleted his talk page and userpage when he left and along with it the history of the discussion. There were several related discussions on the Village pump and ANI and at least one RFC about it, so there is plenty out there about it, but the discussion on his talk page is gone.

[badmachine]

The problem is he deleted his talk page and userpage when he left and along with it the history of the discussion. There were several related discussions on the Village pump and ANI and at least one RFC about it, so there is plenty out there about it, but the discussion on his talk page is gone.

You might be mistaken about his talkpage. I am reading it now, and yep the Wikipedians were mad as fuck. See the ones after February 19.

If you have the stomach, here are a couple of the conversations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... e_IPBE_RFC

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

(edited)

[ericbarbour]

PS to Eric: Mike V, not Mikemikev. :3

ouch and thanks. I dunno why I keep conflating those two. The whole Rambling Man thing was so disgusting I blocked it out of my memory

You might be mistaken about his talkpage. I am reading it now, and yep the Wikipedians were mad as fuck. See the ones after February 19.

If you have the stomach, here are a couple of the conversations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... e_IPBE_RFC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia ... n_removals

They still have learned NOTHING from thousands of "sockpuppet investigations" and years of Grawp and Willie on Wheels. Anyone with half a brain can evade a punitive block, and Glorious Checkuser is USELESS in such cases. They can block all TOR IPs, for a while, but some will change. And blocking every VPN on earth is impossible. Both are especially true now that we have IPV6. You see Ivan, the fools are still back in the 1990s mindset, and the shark is eating the submarine. Ha ha.

[Kumioko]

You know whats funny about Grawp and Willie on Wheels? As irritating as they both were, neither is WMF banned. That shows that the WMF doesn't block problematic people, the block people they fear or that they want to use to send a message to the community.

[Strelnikov]

You know whats funny about Grawp and Willie on Wheels? As irritating as they both were, neither is WMF banned. That shows that the WMF doesn't block problematic people, the block people they fear or that they want to use to send a message to the community.

By banning me on-sight in 2016 they (in essence) said, "We do not understand journalism that doesn't come from an Unwritten List of Publications, and anyway, we are right to keep undercover jurnos away, they might Ask the Ultimate Question and the entire WikiSystem might implode-explode like both Death Stars and Starkiller Base. Thus it is better to act like the 'Church' of Scientology and keep the press at arm's length." The US Army treated the Press better during the Korean War peace talks (they were openly hostile and close-lipped and the only people transmitting the truth were two British correspondents working for Socialist newspapers who were talking with the North Koreans and the Chinese; those two guys became "confidential sources" for the entire US press pool covering the talks.)

Paranoia only works if you aren't in media.