Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement

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TrevelyanL85A2

Attention: This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below.

Request concerning TrevelyanL85A2

User who is submitting this request for enforcement

Mathsci (talk) 19:52, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

User against whom enforcement is requested

TrevelyanL85A2 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Sanction or remedy to be enforced

WP:ARBR&I. The only appropriate remedy here appears to be an indefinite site-ban. That could happen here or could be enforced, even without a motion, by any member of arbcom.

Diffs of notifications or of prior warnings against the conduct objected to (if required)

Not applicable. This user is banned in absolutely crystal clear terms from making arbcom requests of the kind he has is attempting to make, particularly even the slightest thing which mentions my name. He has no idea what he's doing and his "activities" have no place whatsover on wikipedia.

Additional comments by editor filing complaint

TrevelyanL85A2 is topic-banned from starting any kind of arbcom case involving me. He is doing so now on behalf of his friends, two site-banned users Captain Occam and Ferahgo-the-Assassin. This editor is hot off a one month AE block and has now apparently set his sights on creating maximal disruption on wikipedia. From statements on the arbitration committee talk page, he has been chatting with his DeviantArt friends (two of whom are arbcom site-banned users, both highly disruptive and neither of them particularly honest). TrevelyanL85A2 seems to be out to make mischief on their behalf. TrevelyanL85A2 has shown no interest whatsover in being involved in even the tiniest weeniest way in building a high quality encyclopedia to promote human knowledge, which is the main purpose of wikipedia. He should be site-banned from wikipedia. (That should apply equally well to any editors that arbcom have deemed to be associated with him and who choose to support his frivolous request there.) An administrator unconnected with arbcom should simply block the account indefinitely without allowing this to proceed further. Mathsci (talk) 19:52, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

TrevelaynL85A2 cannot mention me anywhere on wikipedia. What is it that he doesn't understand about that? Mathsci (talk) 20:37, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

How far does TrevelyanL85A2 think he can go? [1] He and his DeviantArt friends are making a mockery of wikipedia. Mathsci (talk) 21:43, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

As MastCell can confirm, I did not communicate with him about TrevelyanL85A2 in this context, and I have stated this explicitly on wikipedia. If TrevelyanL85A2 wishes to continue presenting his own very particular take on this on wikipedia, that is his own responsibility. If he does not retract his claims and make a public apology, why should he be allowed to continue editing here? As far as I am concerned, this is clearly a disrutption-only account at the beck and call of two highly disruptive site-banned editors. The proof of that is not the gratuitous attack on me but on MastCell. Mathsci (talk) 21:56, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

TrevelyanL85A2 has made the following set of edits on User talk:The Devil's Advocate.[2][3][4] In the second diff he has encouraged others to start an RfC/U on me. He is presumably aware that such a suggestion is yet another serious violation of his extended topic ban. Given the recent information provided on-wiki about off-wiki contacts amongst the DeviantArt group, there seems to be little doubt that TrevelyanL85A2 has been in contact with the two site-banned editors, Occam and Ferahgo, and is now continuing their own campaign as a proxy. Indeed, as Courcelles has pointed out on another arbcom page,[5] that seems to be all he is doing at the moment. Mathsci (talk) 21:27, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

TDA appears to be trolling here. Mathsci (talk) 22:09, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

If TDA disagrees with the results of the WP:ARBR&I review, he had the opportunity in May to express his objections. He did not do so. If he now feels that there should be an amendment or clarification of that review, this is not the correct venue. TDA will probably receive a an official logged warning if they continue making unhelpful remarks here. A sock troll of Echigo mole set up an abusive RfAr which was instantly removed by Courcelles and the sock CU-blocked. The trolling notifications were removed from all the user talk pages. Describing that as disruption is singularly unhelpful and clueless. Mathsci (talk) 06:59, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

The purpose of this page is to enforce arbcom sanctions, not to question the validity of those sanctions. The response of wikipedians to the edits of Keystone Crow are not remotely relevant here (or anywhere on wikipedia). He was blocked by a checkuser as an obvious disruptive troll sock of a community banned wikistalker. Mathsci (talk) 09:57, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Update The RfAr of TrevelyanL85A2 has now been declined as numerically impossible.[6] Shortly after that posting of Roger Davies, TrevelyanL85A2 asserted that he was withdrawing the request.[7] In that diff, he still does not seem to be heeding the warnings that have been given to him and/or his friend SightWatcher. They apply equally well to both. As MastCell has carefully explained,[8] his failed RfAr relied on an extremely bad faith assumption which was demonstrably false. It involved casting aspersions on both MastCell and me; he repeatedly made those claims during his unsuccessful appeal and continued to do so after his one month block ended with this RfAr. The name "Mathsci" appeared multiple times throughout the request, despite TrevelyanL85A2's claim that it primarily concerned MastCell. (There is an unsurprising similarity with the aspersions cast by Occam back in December 2010 concerning Roger Davies and me.)

Following his unblock, TrevelyanL85A2 has given every appearance of continuing the dispute/campaign of Occam and Ferahgo as a proxy. SightWatcher has disclosed on-wiki that the DeviantArt group has been conferring off-wiki during TrevelyanL85A2's block. TrevelyanL85A2's most recent diffs still show that he has not yet relinquished the idea of encouraging wikipedia processes that will affect me and my editing directly and adversely. That is completely at odds with his extended topic ban and the advice and warnings he has received from multiple editors, administrators and arbitrators. In the last diff, instead of heeding those warnings, he has preferred to listen to The Devil's Advocate, who has stated several times now that the arbcom sanctions were not appropriate. The Devil's Advocate has no authority to misguide TrevelyanL85A2 in this way. In the diff above, TrevelyanL85A2 writes about "mixed messages" when everybody except The Devil's Advocate is telling him exactly the same thing. Mathsci (talk) 10:27, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

MBisanz, EdJohnston and others commented on the problematic posts of SightWatcher (easy enough to find) and both gave warnings to him. One of the posts was even redacted by AGK. Presumably TrevelyanL85A2 read all those posts since they related directly to him. Despite that, he apparently took no notice of them. Mathsci (talk) 18:47, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

• Silver seren This editor has already received a logged warning under WP:ARBR&I. [9] Otherwise what he has written below seems unrelated in any way to wikipedia policy. If Echigo mole, a serial long term wikistalker, serial puppetmaster and community banned user, adds trolling and disruptive content anywhere on wikipedia it can be removed immediately per WP:DENY. Johnuniq has already described the incident involving the abusive RfAr made by the sock troll Keystone Crow, all of whose trolling notifications were removed by me.

TrevelyanL85A2 has been warned by arbitrators about his recent edits following the arbcom review. They include (a) giving the appearance of editing on behalf of site-banned users to continue their disputes (e.g. the meritless RfAr) (b) relying on the disruption of sock trolls of Echigo mole to "get at me" and (c) "getting at me" by repeatedly casting false aspersions concerning MastCell and me. TrevelyanL85A2 is under a clearly worded topic ban. He is not allowed to mention me or seek litigation against me on wikipedia in the ways that he has now done repeatedly. He was blocked in June for one month for mentioning me in connection with the removal of edits of Echigo mole elsewhere on wikipedia. Over a month ago he unsuccessfullly appealed that block here at AE. Is there a particular reason that Silver seren is coming here one month late to produce WP:LAME arguments concerning that appeal? Mathsci (talk) 05:28, 12 July 2012 (UTC)

• The last time Collect started using the words "battleground behaviour" on this page, he got a logged warning at WP:ARBR&I. The same thing might very well happen to The Devil's Advocate. He should also probably bear in mind that the purpose of this page is for reports about those sanctioned under WP:ARBR&I (there are three topic banned editors) or those who have contravened the editing restrictions on articles or their talk pages covered by WP:ARBR&I. I do not fall into either of those categories, so taking cheap pot shots at me is undoubtedly counter-productive. Mathsci (talk) 15:57, 13 July 2012 (UTC)
• Salvio giuliano has made the extraordinary statement that "my hands are not clean" without any justification. I don't believe in fact that he can justify that extraordinary claim in any reasonable way.

In this case, when an RfAr was opened in bad faith (based on innuendos about secret subterfuge involving MastCell and me and the trolling edits of my own creepy wikistalker), that must surely have rung alarm bells with all administrators, including Salvio giuliano. Several warnings were issued by arbitrators and administrators to SightWatcher that applied equally well to TrevelyanL85A2. Despite that advice, as soon as he was unblocked TrevelyanL85A2, presumably guided by Occam and Ferahgo, went out of his way at the first possible opportunity to propose a bizarre and meritless RfAr. Contrary to his explicit and unambiguous topic ban, my username appeared in a significant number of lines in TrevelyanL85A2's request. No matter how he represents himself, this is a repetition of the conduct patterns that were described in my evidence for the arbcom review and subsequently appeared in the final decision. TrevelyanL85A2 did not accidentally slip up: he deliberately misconstrued the advice he was privately offered by arbitrators and attempted, as Occam and Ferahgo have done in the past, to exploit loop-holes in topic bans to continue a long term campaign of harassment. The RfAr was turned down very rapidly. During TrevelyanL85A2's AE block, SightWatcher repeated exactly the same innuendos and showed some eagerness to start an RfAr similar to that of TrevelyanL85A2. Neither SightWatcher nor TrevelyanL85A2 are permitted to start or encourage proceedings on wikipedia which centre round me. The RfAr, with my username omnipresent, was exactly such a process. Perhaps it might be useful for Salvio guiliano to reread the advice and warnings offered to both SightWatcher and TrevelyanL85A2 before making further comments with gratuitous insults. Thanks, Mathsci (talk) 00:51, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

• Salvio giuliano I am not upset by TrevelyanL85A2 or SightWatcher mentioning my name. These users are simply not allowed to mention my name because that is the explicit nature of their arbcom sanctions. That is why TrevelyanL85A2 was reported here. That does not seem to be particularly hard to understand.

In December 2010 Captain Occam disrupted wikipedia on several project pages by making the suggestion that Roger Davies and I had been involved in cronyism. Now both users, both "best friends" of Ferhago, have made similar suggestions concerning MastCell and me. They are known to be in contact by instant messenger, etc. That this conduct repeats itself with such predictability is just tiresome disruption. As Shell Kinney wrote privately to me in 2011, this DeviantArt crowd showed their true colours a long time ago. They are not entitled to get endless second, third, fourth or fifth chances when an administrator comes along who has not acquainted himself with the well-documented history. By now there is an established long term record of proxy-editing/gaming the system. That was their conscious choice. They have also chosen to spend disproportionate amounts of their time in project space trying to "write me out of the equation", as Roger Davies puts it. When false accusations (in this case innunedos about MastCell and me) are presented on wikipedia, all I can do is respond. I am surprised that Salvio giuliano has chosen to take the side of the user making those accusations, which were not accepted by arbitrators nor during the appeal at WP:AE, where the innuendos were first made. Otherwise on wikipedia I am steadily trying to improve the quality of articles on modern and classical analysis. Thanks, Mathsci (talk) 14:54, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

• As far as WP:ARBR&I is concerned, the only purposes of this page are (a) problematic edits to articles and their talk page in the subject area broadly construed and (b) editors under topic bans and extended topic bans. Neither applies to me, but TrevelyanL85A2 has been discussing both me and SightWatcher. He is not allowed to do either. The misuse of this page by The Devil's Advocate over the last week merits a formal logged warning at WP:ARBR&I together with instructions not to intervene here again when editors related to the DeviantArt group are being discussed. Mathsci (talk) 07:58, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested

Here is the diff for the record. [10]

Discussion concerning TrevelyanL85A2

Statement by TrevelyanL85A2

I'm following the advice I was given by ArbCom as well as I know how to do. I was told at AE to request arbitration on the mailing list, and when I did so, I was told by ArbCom to make a public arbitration request after my block expired. I'm simply following the instructions I was given by ArbCom. They knew what knew what my request was about when they told me to make it in public, and I don't believe they would have told me to do this if they meant to disallow it.

Re to Courcelles: I don't think my request is commenting on Mathsci's conduct. I'm not criticising Mathsci's behaviour, I'm only referring to him in order to criticise MastCell's behaviour. My understanding was that there's a difference between "referring to editor X" and "commenting on editor X's conduct", and this is why it wasn't a contradiction for ArbCom to tell me I should make my request in public even though I couldn't comment on Mathsci's conduct. Did I misunderstand that?--TrevelyanL85A2 (talk) 21:28, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

Re to MBisanz: Before I withdraw my request, I would like to clarify with ArbCom (via e-mail) what they wanted me to do when they advised me to make the request in public. I thought I was following their instructions, but I must have misunderstood them. Please give me time to discuss it with them and understand their instructions to me before I withdraw it.--TrevelyanL85A2 (talk) 01:24, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Re to EdJohnston: I was told by Jclemens here that I'm allowed to restore Echigo Mole's comments in my user talk, and other editors like Collect and Nyttend have also been allowed to do this.  I'm defending my own ability to restore his comments, not his socking itself.  I'm also defending my right to allow people to post on my talk page without others editing parts out of it without my consent.  However, why would I be prohibited from talking about Echigo Mole?  As far as I know he's never edited R&I articles.--TrevelyanL85A2 (talk) 05:37, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Statement by The Devil's Advocate

From my reading, Trev is allowed to comment when his conduct is raised as an issue and to engage in dispute resolution. The arbitration request to me seems evident of the editor's lack of experience with the practice, but points to obvious issues with the restrictions. Mathsci has repeatedly edited Trev's user talk page against Trev's explicit request that he cease. His request for arbitration deals directly with that issue of Mathsci's conduct towards him and, as such, would seem completely valid under the wording of the topic ban. I think an arbitration request was the wrong way to go, but the restriction was terribly worded and seems too much like a one-way interaction ban with a vaguely-defined group of users, which is destined to fail.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 21:59, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

Math, I am simply concerned at what appears to be a poorly-worded and poorly-considered restriction on an editor and your frequent use of it to push for this editor to get site-banned, something you were flat-out demanding before the restriction was enacted. While I have only a little knowledge of this dispute and the situation in the R&I topic area, it is not difficult to figure out that there would be considerably less drama if you would just stop provoking Trev. Edit-warring with him on his talk page over those comments even after his repeated requests that you stop, something you only did with Trev, is obviously going to create friction and you clearly have not made any effort to defuse the resulting tension. Rather, you have only heightened it by repeatedly demanding a site-ban over his complaints about your actions on his talk page. For heaven's sake man, Trev is topic-banned. Should he edit the R&I topic area repeatedly despite the ban, you will get the site-ban you desire anyway and should he stay away from the topic area and you then why the hell does it matter if he keeps editing articles about video games and Indian warships? Demanding a site-ban every single time he utters your name reeks of a vendetta, especially when you are making a point of maneuvering yourself into disputes with him in the first place.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 23:58, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

I assure you Math, had I known such a bizarre restriction was being imposed I would have objected. The disruption does not come from removing the comments the first time, but from how you responded to Trev restoring them. When he asked you not to continue editing his talk page, you should have stopped. Instead you repeated the act several more times. Did you expect Trev to just be quiet about your conduct as you repeatedly jumped into his userspace to do something there he expressly asked you to stop doing? Obviously, Trev's RFAR is prompted by all that since it is what led to Mast blocking him and removing his talk page privileges so I fail to see how it is not relevant that you are the one who started all that and are now demanding he be site-banned for mentioning your unavoidable connection with the situation.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 09:18, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

The response is relevant if your response in particular is provoking the actions you are using to push for a site-ban. If you are actively picking a fight with Trev because you want him site-banned, I don't see why an admin should indulge your demand that he be site-banned for responding to your provocations.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 16:10, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Well, MBisanz, if that is the case then the restriction is even less clear than I thought. The wording is as follows:

TrevelyanL85A2 is indefinitely banned from editing and/or discussing the topic of Race and Intelligence on any page of Wikipedia, including user talk pages, or from participating in any discussion concerning the conduct of editors who have worked in the topic. This editor may however within reason participate in dispute resolution and noticeboard discussions if their own conduct has been mentioned.

The wording technically restricts him from participating in said discussions if his conduct is not mentioned. No explicit prohibition on commenting about any specific editor is mentioned. My understanding of bans is that the exemption for dispute resolution and noticeboard discussion does free them up to comment about editors and subjects they are otherwise restricted from mentioning so long as it is relevant. In other words, the comments at the Arb case request are normal as part of an attempt at resolving a conduct dispute over administrative actions taken against Trev by an admin regarding Mathsci. Should Math be in private communication with Mast and the two of them have a close friendly relationship, it does raise questions about his use of admin tools against editors such as Trev in support of Math, including where he has used them at Math's apparent behest. Were Trev to say, "MastCell deleted the pages at the request of another user" and did not provide the diff that would show it was Math or make any mention of who that user was, then there would be immediate demands that he name the user in question and provide evidence to establish the relevance.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 01:03, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Your example points to the problem. If someone is defacing your property by proxy you should not be restricted from noting this fact. That is the problem with one-way interaction bans. Suggesting that Mathsci can repeatedly engage Trev in a disruptive manner with Trev having no ability to complain about this behavior leads to obvious problems. It only creates a recipe for further disruption to the project, not the opposite. We can't really know what would have happened had Mathsci let the comment from a sock on Trev's page slide, or if he had been consistent with his behavior towards other editors by not edit-warring with Trev over the issue, but that is not what happened. All I can say is that Trev was not editing Wikipedia at all for months before this happened, and after Math edit wars with Trev over the user talk comments this stuff happens. Cause and effect.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 06:19, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

Cailil, as I have been trying to point out repeatedly, this is not a matter of Trev following the topic area and inserting himself into this situation for no apparent reason. The timeline leading up to the recent incidents goes like this:

• 17:41, 6 January 2012 Trev is formally notified of the discretionary sanctions. Trev makes no further R&I-related edits in articlespace after this talk-page discussion.
• 21:31, 8 January 2012 Ferahgo requested an amendment to ARBR&I and mentions Trev. At no point does Trev appear to be notified that the case has been initiated and makes no comments on the request.
• 22:35, 17 January 2012 EdJohnston leaves a comment notifying Trev of an AE discussion. He does not comment there either and Ed notes that he was not proposing sanctions because had stopped editing the topic area. Furthermore he suggests Trev refrain from getting involved in the topic area further.
• 23:39, 5 May 2012 The first notification Trev receives about the amendment case that ultimately leads to the ban we are discussing, but again he appears to make no comment and the case is closed about a week later with the topic ban issued.
• 06:07, 26 May 2012 Trev is notified of an amendment to the case. All of that constitutes the background. By this point no edits had been made by Trev to the topic area in close to five months.
• 10:58, 27 May 2012 An IP sock, apparently of Echigo, commented at Trev's topic page the day after the review was amended. This sets off the period of edit-warring. Up to that point all indications are that Trev was staying out of anything involving the topic area, including an apparent lack of interest in commenting in his own defense. However, the situation in his userspace forces the matter.

Did he have any need to "track" the topic area or the editors in question to find out the information listed on the case request? No. Anyone taking a cursory glance at Mathsci's contributions surrounding his edit-warring over the banned editor's comments would become immediately familiar with all the shenanigans Trev noted.

So, I fail to see the legitimacy of your accusation that Trev was somehow not constructively staying out of the topic area. Trev was not editing Wikipedia at all until that nonsense started happening on his user page and that's gotten all this started, which I sincerely doubt was his intent. It's like if a bunch of guys show up at your house and pee on your rug. All you want is to replace your rug cause it really tied the room together and, next thing you know, you're getting involved in faked kidnappings and everyone's trying to kill you when you really just wanted to get your rug back so you can go back to bowling in peace.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 06:16, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

Sight has not said anywhere on-wiki that the DeviantArt group was discussing this situation. Sight only specifically mentions discussing the issue with Trev and that Trev was e-mailing other people about his desire for arbitration after a week of not getting a response from ArbCom. By "mixed messages" he is talking about the suggestions that he raise these issues publicly to ArbCom only to be told he is violating the ban by doing just that. It is not about what I have said. As to him mentioning your name in the request, there is no ban on mentioning your name. The ban was that he could not participate in discussions about your conduct and he was told by an Arb that he could not comment on your conduct. Seems to me that he clearly tried to respect that.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 17:56, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

It is not clear if AGK redacted those comments on the basis that the mere mention of you was a problem, or if it was more reasonably due to the possibility that the comment could provoke a response. When Ed and MBisanz warned Sight it is clear they were talking about the possibility of Sight filing an arbitration request on Trev's behalf, in partial response to a direct query on that point by Sight. Your suggestion that Trev was somehow not heeding those warnings, presuming he did read them, is not meaningful as the warnings did not directly address him or the question of whether so much as uttering your name was prohibited. I should note the restriction against Trev is not worded as a normal interaction ban one-way or otherwise, where mentioning an editor would be prohibited unless the other editor violated or is perceived to have violated the ban. The restriction seemingly allows interaction with you so long as it is not to discuss your conduct. It is a thin line to tread, but a situation where he is disputing the involvement of an admin regarding administrative actions supporting your position that includes a block against Trev and removal of his user talk privleges that resulted from interactions between you and a banned editor on Trev's talk page seems to be an obvious situation where mentioning you is unavoidable. Really it is an example of the problem with these one-way restrictions since it seems punitive to the extreme to bar Trev from complaining about conduct in his userspace.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 21:05, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

On that point Seren raised, it should be noted that an Arb cited that exact kind of activity from Mathsci as problematic battleground behavior. Obviously, Math did not give much regard to that comment. I also would add that Trev has removed the material in the case request and said he made the wrong choice so I think taking action at this stage would be inappropriate.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 05:36, 12 July 2012 (UTC)

Math, my use of the term "battleground behavior" above is noting a description of your behavior given by one of the Arbs in the recent update of this case. Anyone who looks at the diff can see that this is true. In that case you were also admonished for battleground behavior. AE is not just for reporting people who have violated a sanction. That you were admonished for battleground behavior in a recent update of the case, with one Arb pointing to the very behavior that sparked off this recent dispute, and the fact you filed this report against one of the other parties of this dispute makes your conduct perfectly valid to raise as the notice at the top of the page clearly states.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 13:03, 14 July 2012 (UTC)

Cailil, whether ArbCom takes on an arbitration case seems to be a separate issue from whether there are legitimate conduct issues in need of addressing. Mathsci's conduct is probably not worthy of a new arbitration case, but that does not mean it is not relevant to this AE case. Earlier you said "it's clear that rather than finding other things to do on wiki Trevelyan is following the area he is topic banned from and the editors he is banned from interacting with" when the fact is that a banned editor obsessed with Mathsci and Mathsci himself sucked Trev into something related to that area and those editors. He did not choose involvement in this of his own volition. Mathsci's conduct towards that editor is largely responsible for there being any cause for Math to push for sanction, because that editor objected to Math's conduct towards him. Can you really expect an editor to be completely silent over another editor's conduct when it involves the editor's own userspace? The answer to that question points to where there is a "clean hands" issue.--The Devil's Advocate (talk) 03:51, 16 July 2012 (UTC)

Statement by Enric Naval

TrevelyanL85A2 is banned from commenting about Mathsci. Echigo Mole is the sock that is harassing Mathsci. Commenting about Echigo is just begging for further tests of limits of his ban. --Enric Naval (talk) 07:54, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

Trev's request to Arbcom was declined[11]. --Enric Naval (talk) 15:07, 13 July 2012 (UTC)

Statement by Silver seren

Mathsci has no right whatsoever to be editing TrevelyanL85A2's talk page beyond general notifications. Anything else can be seen as provoking an incident in order to force TrevelyanL85A2 to break the ban. Such instigation by Mathsci can be seen here where he removes a comment by an IP address that has absolutely nothing to do with Mathsci. Trevelyan reverts him and states, "I would rather you not edit my user page. Thank you." Mathsci then reverted again here, saying, "rv edit per WP:BAN - please consult a member of arbcom in case of doubt - thanks)". Regardless of whether there is any truth in this statement, Mathsci should absolutely not be the one to be enforcing the ban. Trevelyan then reverted him back again, responding, "I have asked you to stay off my page. Please respect that, and do not edit my user OR talk pages again. Thank you."

Mathsci then on the 10th removed the Arbitration notification. Yes, banned user, whatever. However, not all comments by banned users everywhere are reverted, nor should they be. It is quite clear that all of this is meant to just be harassment of Trevelyan and it also appears that Johnuniq was involved in both cases of harassment as well, so take that for what you will. User talk pages may "belong to Wikipedia", yes, but no one has the right to remove comments from them that the user who the page is for wants to be there. Silverseren^C 03:58, 12 July 2012 (UTC)

Comment by Maunus

Re:Salvio, I don't think it is reasonable to invoke clean hands when the issue is a clear cut sanction violation. Enforcing arbcom sanctions is not optional that way, but should depend only on whether the conditions of the sanction have been breached. If you believe that Mathsci has done wrong too then that should be considered as a separate issue. ·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 15:23, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Comments by Penwhale

Cailil, uh, Trev did list MathSci as a Party. Check this diff. - Penwhale | ^{dance in the air and follow his steps} 18:10, 15 July 2012 (UTC) Answered below by Cailil - thank you. - Penwhale | ^{dance in the air and follow his steps} 19:05, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Addendum: Also, Trev's ban isn't an interaction ban, so as long as the dialogue isn't regarding R&I or MathSci's (and other involved parties') conduct, he could communicate with them if he so chooses, if he so chooses. He could wish MathSci a happy birthday, for example, and it wouldn't violate the remedy (granted I'm using an unlikely example here...) - Penwhale | ^{dance in the air and follow his steps} 18:19, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

More addendum: I can't remember where it was brought up, but you could revert a banned user if you decide to be personally responsible for the content. (And it is on Trev's user talk page, which we generally give more leeway to people as they see fit.) Also, it might just be my personal point of view, but let's say that MathSci and MastCell communicated with each other privately (I do not have evidence of this, mind you) - if MastCell didn't act on MathSci's behalf (or have the actions seem that way), then yes, I agree that Trev wouldn't have been able to bring up MathSci's name. If, however, MastCell did act on MathSci's behalf, then the question is more meddled. The details of this case is very unclear to me (I do not currently have information that a lot of editors here seem to have), so forgive me if I say that all I can offer is a view that is as impartial as I can have. - Penwhale | ^{dance in the air and follow his steps} 18:28, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Reply to Cailil: Thank you for making yourself clear. I have struck out my comment above as it no longer applies. However, I still think that Trev filed the case as to prove that someone was editing on MathSci's behalf - for him to show that, he had to show private communication did happen between MathSci and MastCell. In this case, I feel, it is unfortunately unavoidable if that was the point being proven. As far as I could tell, the only places MathSci's names were being brought up in the initial request was to show that MastCell was editing or acting on MathSci's behalf. It was (only) in his reply to Jclemens that he directly addressed an action by MathSci (but the action in question involved Trev's name - see this, which was SightWatcher's post to SilkTork's talk page). I am still unsure where MathSci's conduct was brought up in the original request - and, as such, I'm not sure the topic ban was violated. - Penwhale | ^{dance in the air and follow his steps} 19:05, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Statement by A Quest for Knowledge

This request was filed as a result of a arbitration request made by TrevelyanL85A2. Based on what I've been reading so far, TrevelyanL85A2's request seems like a good faith error based on a misunderstanding regarding instructions given to TrevelyanL85A2 by ArbCom. Plainly stated, I don't think editors should be penalized for making good faith mistakes. Given that case has since been declined by ArbCom, this enforcement request is now stale, and any sactions imposed against TrevelyanL85A2 would be punative, not preventative.

However, I am concerned by the WP:BATTLEGROUND mentality exhibited by MathSci. Prior to TrevelyanL85A2's arbitration request, MathSci edit-warred with TrevelyanL85A2 despite TrevelyanL85A2's request that MathSci not edit his use page. MathSci could have simply notified an uninvolved admin and ask that the posts be removed. Since then, MathSci has made insulting comments "Even in itty-bitty words of less than one syllable", threatened other editors ("TDA will probably receive a an official logged warning if they continue making unhelpful remarks here" and accused Salvio giuliano of "gratuitous insults", etc.. Mathsci has been previously admonished for engaging in battlefield conduct and apparently at one point agreed to binding topic ban. Perhaps another break from this topic-space might do them good. A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 19:48, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Result concerning TrevelyanL85A2

This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the section above.

I don't think we can treat this as an infraction, if the arbitrary committee encouraged him to do this. Maybe one of them could clarify if they actually meant a request like the one that was filed. Fut.Perf. ☼ 20:41, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

Whatever, now while that strange new arb request over at the "Case" page is ongoing, I probably ought not to be participating in decision-making here anyway, so ignore me for the moment. Fut.Perf. ☼ 21:43, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

I would disagree. It might not be an infraction to discuss Mastcell, who blocked him. It is a violation to mention Mathsci in his discussion of Mastcell's conduct. While it might be hard to do from a grammatical perspective, I believe Trevelyan's hands are tied by the Arbcom restriction to only discussing Mastcell if he can do so in a manner that does not reference Mathsci. I'm leaning towards a block of three months unless an Arb tells me they specifically said he could mention Mathsci's editing on-wiki. MBisanz ^talk 20:59, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

• TrevelyanL85A2 was told via e-mail: "Yes, you are restricted from making comments on Mathsci's conduct". Courcelles 21:17, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

• Thank you Courcelles for clarifying. Specifically, I find that TrevelyanL85A2's statement "This is concerning because MastCell's involvement in the dispute was privately requested by Mathsci:" (emphasis added) includes at least one reference to Mathsci's conduct. If TrevelyanL85A2 withdraws his Arbcom request and agrees that if he ever references Mathsci again on-wiki he will be indefinitely blocked, I am willing to forgo a block at this time. If he cannot agree to that, then I will implement a three-month block for violation of his topic ban. MBisanz ^talk 21:44, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

• @TDA: As I read the topic ban, TrevelyanL85A2 may only comment in discussions concerning their own conduct; not the conduct of others towards them. That may result in the appearance that their hands have been unfairly tied and Mathsci may or may not be taking advantage of TrevelyanL85A2's restriction, but Arbcom has reviewed the situation previously and decided the way disruption would be resolved in this area is by preventing TrevelyanL85A2 from making any comments about Mathsci, even those regarding Mathsci's conduct towards TrevelyanL85A2. As I understand it, the primary goal is the cessation of disruption, not fairness or equality. Also, it is worth noting that TrevelyanL85A2 has not been entirely silenced with regard to Mathsci, as he is free to email requests concerning Mathsci to Arbcom. MBisanz ^talk 23:50, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

• @TDA: That interpretation might be more plausible if he had not named Mathsci as a party to the dispute. If he is a filing a case where Mathsci is a party, then he is not simply referencing Mathsci's name in passing as a bystander. Also, there is no evidence that Arbcom intended to leave TrevelyanL85A2 the right to report bad acts if Mathsci was somehow involved in. Sort of like "even if you see person X paying person Y to pee on your lawn, you cannot report it to the police if it involves discussing person X." MBisanz ^talk 01:48, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

• I would take no action on this complaint, but only because I believe that we should leave it to the arbs and clerks to deal with any alleged topic ban violations on arbcom case pages. T. Canens (talk) 00:08, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
  • That's a fair point. I asked at Wikipedia_talk:Arbitration_Committee/Clerks#Question_on_protocol, because Courcelles is an arb and he commented here without saying we should leave it to them. MBisanz ^talk 01:43, 9 July 2012 (UTC)
• It might be reasonable to put this AE complaint against Trevelyan on hold until the committee has reached a conclusion on the Arb request opened by Trevelyan, Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case#Admin Involvement and Handling of Edits by Sockpuppets. I read Trevelyan's RFAR as a complaint about restraints that admins have put on the editing of Echigo Mole. Defending Echigo Mole is surely a prohibited activity for Trevelyan, leaving aside the fact that he names Mathsci in his complaint which is also prohibited. By the time the committee reaches their conclusion on his request for arbitration, we should know if they saw any good-faith purpose to Trevelyan's request. EdJohnston (talk) 03:47, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

• Agree with Tim & Ed - we should either place this on hold or wait for the Arbs call on it (but at this point with 5 declines it is unlikely to be accepted). However I also agree with MBisanz. If the Arbs don't deal with this in their decision then it'd be fair to say we see this is a direct breach of the topic ban (mention of Mathsci and as Ed points out the mention of Echigo Mole). In my view 3 months would be an appropriate sanction, as it's clear that rather than finding other things to do on wiki Trevelyan is following the area he is topic banned from and the editors he is banned from interacting with, in so doing he's both breached the spirit & the letter of the ban--Cailil ^talk 01:57, 10 July 2012 (UTC)

• I oppose sanctioning Trev in any way because I firmly believe that he who seeks a remedy must have clean hands; in this case, Mathsci's hands do not appear clean and, therefore, I don't think his request should be satisfied. Furthermore, it is also doubtful that Trev actually intended to violate his restriction, considering that the reply he got from ArbCom could be, in good faith, misunderstood. By the way, one-way interaction bans never work and are basically drama waiting to happen; that is why I personally encourage any interested parties to ask ArbCom to amend their decision. Salvio ^{Let's talk about it!} 13:17, 14 July 2012 (UTC)

• Salvio can you evidence your position re clean hands?--Cailil ^talk 01:27, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

• Well, if Mathsci is so upset by Trev mentioning his username, then I'd say that he should not be editing Trev's userspace... All this started because Mathsci reverted another user on Trev's talk page, despite being repeatedly asked not to and being informed that such actions were signs of a battleground mentality — for diffs, cf. The Devil's Advocate and Silver seren's submissions —; now, you may call it poking the bear, having unclean hands or even trying to game his opponent's restriction, but the bottom line is that if he had just refrained from editing said opponent's userspace, as asked, this would never have happened. Mathsci conduct should be discouraged and, that is why, this thread should be closed without action. Salvio ^{Let's talk about it!} 12:54, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

• The way I look at this Salvio is that if the ArbCom had seen it that way they would have taken the case. Furthermore MBisanz has addressed this above: TrevelyanL85A2 could have filed an RFAR that neither listed Mathsci as a party, or that did not take pot-shots. He didn't do either, and has breached his restriction.
  I take your point that Mathsci should have stayed away from TrevelyanL85A2's user space that is a piece of advice we can give, but as a point of fact he was reverting a banned user.
  We can both discourage Mathsci from interacting with TrevelyanL85A2 and address the substantive issue of enforcement for TrevelyanL85A2. But there is no clean hands issue here (that would be tantamount to calling this thread vexatious or frivolous) -TrevelyanL85A2's restrictions, as Courcelles has explained, are quite clear--Cailil ^talk 15:17, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

@Penwhale - I should have said Neither. Also ArbCom made their ruling on the rejecting TrevelyanL85A2's case - we're not here to go through that again--Cailil ^talk 18:40, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Nableezy

Frivolous complaint. AgadaUrbanit (talk · contribs) is banned indefinitely from filing new AE reports, or making comments in existing ones, except that they are permitted to comment in threads in which they are the subject of a report, but only to the extent necessary to defend themselves, and that they are permitted to appeal this ban at AE. T. Canens (talk) 13:43, 15 July 2012 (UTC)
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Request concerning Nableezy User who is submitting this request for enforcement AgadaUrbanit (talk) 02:44, 13 July 2012 (UTC) User against whom enforcement is requested Nableezy (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) Sanction or remedy to be enforced Wikipedia:ARBPIA#Discretionary sanctions Diffs of edits that violate this sanction or remedy, and an explanation how these edits violate it 21:42, 12 July 2012 (UTC) Might appear as a comment on editors instead of content. A vague reference to "some", while expressing his personal opinion on their intentions: "seek to deny them that title". First, isn't it wonderful to know that AGF is alive and well here? ;). This change popped up in my watch list. I believed that content point was clear without "some seek" part. My intention is cleaner editing environment. I wanted AE administrators to evaluate if such a rhetoric is acceptable. AgadaUrbanit (talk) 22:08, 13 July 2012 (UTC) OK, I get your point, this is a waste of everybody's time, so let's close this. I don't worry about being sanctioned, I do not use WP:AE that much. In my defense, I was not sure about this request, the comment appeared as toxic to me but I myself mentioned "vagueness", thus I'm not sure the request stands as absurd a priori. The fact that a claim is lost does not imply that it was frivolous. Despite our long history I do not have any standing content or personal conflict with Nableezy and appreciate his non-confrontational comment here. AgadaUrbanit (talk) 00:22, 15 July 2012 (UTC) Diffs of notifications or of prior warnings against the conduct objected to (if required) It is safe to assume that a sufficient warning was issued. Additional comments by editor filing complaint The account has just returned to active editing. Despite his history it appears that the lesson was not learned. Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested Notification Discussion concerning Nableezy Statement by Nableezy What? In the comment I responded to, brewcrewer wrote: The descendents of refugees may be considered by some to be "refugees" in the legal sense (emphasis added). I was responding to that. Using the same word used by brewcrewer. I can't say "some" now? This really has to be one of the more frivolous things to have been brought to any admin board anywhere. nableezy - 03:37, 13 July 2012 (UTC) Before yall go overboard here, Agada hasn't been editing in the topic area for some time, so far as I know, and the motivation for this, if I were to hazard a guess, is more personal than ideological. An interaction ban would be enough to prevent any further issues, at least as far as I am concerned. nableezy - 21:47, 13 July 2012 (UTC) Comments by others about the request concerning Nableezy Result concerning Nableezy This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the section above. Maybe I'm just missing something, but I'm really not seeing it. I don't see anything that's commenting on anyone in that conversation, so I'm a bit confused. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 03:28, 13 July 2012 (UTC) Me either; I just see Nableezy commenting on content. Heimstern Läufer (talk) 03:33, 13 July 2012 (UTC) Thirded. This is frivolous. Some sanction on the filer may be in order. T. Canens (talk) 04:07, 13 July 2012 (UTC) Not knowing the history here well enough, I'll defer to you and others on your last point. Heimstern Läufer (talk) 04:40, 13 July 2012 (UTC) AgadaUrbanit has a significant history of misconduct in this area, with several blocks for edit warring/1RR violations and a 5-month topic ban from I/P altogether imposed in June 2011: [12], reduced on appeal essentially to "time served" in August 2011. I don't see this as a possible good-faith mistake, but as an attempt to use AE as a bludgeon against one who disagrees in a content dispute. I would be in favor of, at minimum, reimposing upon AgadaUrbanit the suspended 2011 5-month ban from the entire I/P topic area. I would also not be averse if others think a longer sanction is needed. Nableezy's comment is not remotely actionable. Seraphimblade Talk to me 20:59, 13 July 2012 (UTC) I would go with T. Canens' idea of an indefinite ban from commenting on or filing AE topics, with the exception that AgadaUrbanit can comment in a thread if he is the subject of a report, and then only to the extent of defending himself. Seraphimblade Talk to me 21:48, 14 July 2012 (UTC) I have to agree with Seraphimblade on his final point here. There is no reasonable basis for an actionable complaint here. There is some reason to believe that the motivations of the editor bringing the complaint are, basically, strategic, given his own history regarding this content. As such, this request could be seen as an attempt to game the system on the part of the filer. No objections to reimposing the suspended ban limit, which seems to be of somewhere between 2 or 3 months. I'm not entirely sure of any precedents in that area, so I don't know whether there is any rounding involved or anything like that. Alternately, no objections to just imposing a completely new sanction of some greater length than the suspended ban, to avoid any questions about the mathematics involved. John Carter (talk) 21:39, 13 July 2012 (UTC) After thinking about this, I'm not sure that a topic ban is a good fit for this, since AU does not seem to be involved in the underlying dispute. This is either a personal campaign against Nableezy, or, in my view more likely, simply pure cluelessness. Whether or not in good faith, frivolous AE filings waste everyone's time for absolutely no benefit whatsoever, and are by definition disruptive and sanctionable. I think a restriction from filing or commenting in AE cases is warranted. T. Canens (talk) 15:53, 14 July 2012 (UTC) I regret not having checked the editor's recent history earlier. Yeah, there have been a lot of edits lately, but not so many dealing with the topic. That being the case, as per Nableezy's second comment above, there is a decent reason to think that it might be more personally motivated than content related. However, as indicated, that itself is sanctionable. The AE restriction suggested by T. Canena above seems reasonable. John Carter (talk) 18:49, 14 July 2012 (UTC) So closed. AgadaUrbanit (talk · contribs) is banned indefinitely from filing new AE reports, or making comments in existing ones, except that they are permitted to comment in threads in which they are the subject of a report, but only to the extent necessary to defend themselves, and that they are permitted to appeal this ban at AE. T. Canens (talk) 13:43, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Varlaam

Varlaam (talk · contribs) blocked for 3 months and given official notification of the the Troubles. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 18:20, 15 July 2012 (UTC)
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
Attention: This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below. Request concerning Varlaam User who is submitting this request for enforcement 2 lines of K303 13:56, 14 July 2012 (UTC) User against whom enforcement is requested Varlaam (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) Sanction or remedy to be enforced Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/The Troubles#Final remedies for AE case Diffs of edits that violate this sanction or remedy, and an explanation how these edits violate it 17:39, 13 July 2012 Revert #1 13:42, 14 July 2012 Revert #2, within 24 hours of the first Diffs of notifications or of prior warnings against the conduct objected to (if required) Warned on 20:44, 13 July 2012 by One Night In Hackney (talk · contribs) Additional comments by editor filing complaint The same inflammatory edit summaries and inflammatory talk page posts to go with the edit warring that can be seen at this recent 3RR report involving the same editor. I won't even try to hazard a guess at what this addition is doing in the article itself. 2 lines of K303 13:56, 14 July 2012 (UTC) Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested [13] Discussion concerning Varlaam Statement by Varlaam Comments by others about the request concerning Varlaam Result concerning Varlaam This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the section above. This ingenious edit, along with the obvious 1RR violation and their lengthy block log, has earned Varlaam a three month break. T. Canens (talk) 16:03, 14 July 2012 (UTC) Given said previous blocks, I'd also be for an indefinite ban from the Troubles, broadly construed. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 18:51, 14 July 2012 (UTC) As I just placed the formal Troubles warning at the same time I made the block, I'm not sure that we technically can place the topic ban right now. T. Canens (talk) 13:44, 15 July 2012 (UTC) Did this count as notification, or would we consider that article-specific? The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 17:14, 15 July 2012 (UTC) That just mentioned the 1RR (which is what I based my block on), and not the discretionary sanctions. T. Canens (talk) 17:33, 15 July 2012 (UTC) OK, fair enough. I'll close this. The Blade of the Northern Lights (話して下さい) 18:19, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

talknic

Attention: This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below.

Request concerning talknic

User who is submitting this request for enforcement

No More Mr Nice Guy (talk) 18:14, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

User against whom enforcement is requested

talknic (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Sanction or remedy to be enforced

Wikipedia:ARBPIA#Discretionary sanctions

Diffs of edits that violate this sanction or remedy, and an explanation how these edits violate it

1. July 9th talknic puts the word "Nakba" in bold in the lead despite the fact that in an RfC he started [14] before his TBAN specifically about this issue, it was concluded the word should not be bolded in the lead.
2. July 14th Calls part of an article (that has been there for well over a year with no objection) "insidious appropriation[s] of Palestinian wikispace". This is obvious BATTLEGROUND mentality.
3. July 14th Accuses me of attempting to "coerce an editor into contravening Policy". I consider this a very serious accusation indeed. I gave him an opportunity to retract his accusation but he declined.

Diffs of notifications or of prior warnings against the conduct objected to (if required)

1. Notified of case here.
2. Received a 3 month topic ban [15] for his talk page conduct, which unfortunately still hasn't improved.
3. Recieved a 6 month topic ban [16] for, among other things, being "persistent and oblivious".

Additional comments by editor filing complaint

Talknic has recently returned from a 6 month topic ban. During those 6 months he edited exactly one article outside the topic area (on a subject he previously raised in an IP related article [17]) but he did find time to collect various diffs on his talk page "for future reference" [18]. As soon at the topic ban was over, he immediately returned to exactly the same arguments from before his ban. See for example the talk page of 1948 Arab–Israeli War, an article over which he was blocked twice for 1RR violations. Compare the talk page now to archive 12 and onwards.

Talknic shows obvious WP:TE and WP:BATTLEGROUND behavior. I can provide additional diffs of problematic behavior, if necessary. In the diffs above I provided only the most straightforward and easy to follow examples. There are plenty more.

Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested

[19]

Discussion concerning talknic

Statement by talknic

I can only hope this time administrators allow me time to prepare a reply before passing judgement. Won't be long. Thanks talknic (talk) 18:39, 15 July 2012 (UTC)

Result concerning talknic

This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the section above.

• Talknic, from here this looks clearly like an immediate return to the same battleground mentality and tendentious editing you were sanctioned for as soon as the ban ended. Editing Wikipedia is about collaboration, not battles to control article contents; and you seem entirely unable to engage in the former.

  This is a difficult area of editing, rife with disputes and long-standing acrimony. The last thing it needs is yet another participant fanning the flames. Unless you present a convincing statement, I think the only solution left is to ban you from the topic indefinitely. — Coren ^(talk) 04:03, 16 July 2012 (UTC)