Requests for comment/Slowking4

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Okay, so I'm not really sure if I am doing this RfC right-- it is indeed the first RfC that I have created. Please bear with me if I have formatted something wrong.

This global ban proposal concerns the following user: Slowking4 (talk · contribs · CA)

I propose a global ban due to the ongoing abuse of many Wikimedia projects spanning across decades.

Slowking4 has blocked indefinitely on four Wikimedia projects, including English Wikipedia, Commons, Wikidata, and Simple English Wikipedia, the most recent of which was recently and the cause for this global ban after months of abuse.

Slowking4 has his own LTA page on English Wikipedia, visible at en:Project:Long-term_abuse/Slowking4. He has been creating articles about non-notable subjects (then ignoring GNG and using his own ideasimple:Special:Diff/7093469) uploading non-free images to commons and abusing the system. He blatantly refused to cooperate with other editors simple:Special:Diff/7051744.

This alone would not be enough for a global ban, but only the tip of the iceberg. Slowking4 has repeatedly made personal attacks; sockpuppetry (he has made over 127 sockpuppets on English Wikipedia alone); and most recently a legal threat.

I have confirmed that Slowking4 meets our global ban criteria:

• The user demonstrates an ongoing pattern of cross-wiki abuse that is not merely vandalism or spam. This is indeed the truth, the issues here are not blatant/vandalism spam but strong abuse across many wikis
• The user has been carefully informed about appropriate participation in the projects and has had fair opportunity to rectify any problems. Yes, there are loads of talk page messages offering helpful friendly advice and frankly more chances than deserved, but he has not cooperated at all.
• The user is indefinitely blocked or banned on two or more projects. Doubling this amount at four.

This global ban has been a long time coming due to multiple abuses across many wikis. Every time he is indeffed on one wiki, he starts causing problems on two more. I propose a global ban in keeping with our global ban criteria due to the issues above that many have voiced about.

Thank you for your time. Naleksuh (talk) 01:46, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Support

•  Strong support as nom. Naleksuh (talk) 01:46, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support per nom.   — Jeff G. ツ _{please ping or talk to me} 01:52, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support sounds like a good idea.Deepfriedokra (talk) 01:52, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support HeartGlow30797 (talk) 01:55, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support The level to which they socked, and were dishonest about it, on Wikidata left me with a really sour aftertaste (see wikidata:Topic:V73q4742vi3wb49x). I do not want such dishonest editors editing any Wikimedia Foundation project.--Jasper Deng (talk) 02:28, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support I don't think someone who uses their meta userspace to write essays about how much they hate Wikipedia/Commons should be welcome to edit any WMF project. Also, interactions I had with this user over on simplewiki have been nearly entirely hostile, and in one case on their user talk page, I was insulted for an article I had created (see simple:Special:Diff/7093980). We tried to be accommodating and welcoming, but Slowking frankly edits according to their own policies. I fear they will simply move to the next small wiki to disrupt, and that cannot be allowed to happen. --IWI (talk) 02:40, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support Multiple years of socking, threats, and other disruptive behavior. Enough is enough. -FASTILY 04:59, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support. (See my statement below.) --Yair rand (talk) 05:15, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Support Over 100 sockpuppets? I don't want more any more cheaters on the Wikimedia projects. There are already too many of these people, at least on Portuguese Wikipedia.--MisterSanderson (talk) 05:18, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Oppose

•  Oppose Absolutely not. A valued and non-problematic editor at enWS. Do what you want at your other communities, do not deprive our community of a prolific editor.  — billinghurst sDrewth 04:15, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

@Billinghurst: So you suggest we allow him to continue abusing project after project ignoring local policies and abusing editors (which is the trend thus far), all while threatening to go to the press, purely because he is a good editor on one project? I'm sorry but being good on one project does not give someone free rein to abuse others without consequence. --IWI (talk) 04:26, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, if I were the closing steward I would discount this entirely -- it doesn't even attempt to address the concerns in the nom statement, much less that edits on Wikisource are not enough to ignore legal threats, personal attacks, and over 100 sockpuppets. Naleksuh (talk) 04:28, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Neutral

•  Comment He is currently a major, mostly trouble-free, contributor on Wikisource. I'd really rather he not be blocked there.--Prosfilaes (talk) 02:25, 30 September 2020 (UTC)
•  Comment Neutral based on my view from his contribution in id.wp. Cmiiw. Medelam (talk) 04:51, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Comments/Questions

• Notifications:
  • Commons (talk)
  • Commons (comm)
  • EN (talk)
  • EN (comm)
  • Simple (talk)
  • Simple (comm)
  • Wikidata (talk) (Can't provide a diff for this one because Flow but you can check that it was posted)
  • Wikidata (comm)

Please let me know if I missed any and I will notify right away Naleksuh (talk) 01:54, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

Update: I was told over IRC that I should post this on English Wikisource as well. Done for talk and comm. Naleksuh (talk) 01:58, 30 September 2020 (UTC)

• I myself had intended to start an RFC for a global ban of Slowking4 a while ago. Posting the draft I had written up before:

  Slowking4 is a contributor with an extensive history of cross-wiki abuse, whose violations include behavioural issues, civility issues, copyright policy violations, and extensive sockpuppeting. Brief history:

  • After two blocks on the English Wikipedia, for "edit warring" and "systematic abuse of non-free content policy", the user was blocked indefinitely for "Continued systematic abuse of non-free content policy, plus repeated personal attacks". More details here. The user created over 100 confirmed sockpuppets. (See w:Category:Wikipedia_sockpuppets_of_Slowking4.)
  • On Wikimedia Commons, the user was blocked for "Long-term pattern of personal insults, disrespect for the community, sockpuppetry, etc." (Summary of early issues here.) This was followed by block evasion by means of sockpuppets. The user refuses to accept the copyright policy, and used Commons to continue disputes from enwiki after being blocked there.
  • On Wikidata, the user was blocked for sockpuppeting. (See d:Topic:V73q4742vi3wb49x.)

  After each of these three blocks, the user evaded the blocks with more sockpuppets.

  General: According to the user, they regularly attend in-person events, and are affiliated with Wikimedia DC. The user continues to edit on Meta, where they have edited using at least 8 socks, and where their editing has been characterized as "facilitat[ing] their socking on another project where they are community banned", "Most of the user's activity here is maintaining lists of "cancer" on other wiki-projects.", "A fair bit of his Meta contributions are aimed at trash-talking users/situations on other wikis." The user has used Meta to try to facilitate proxy contributions on Commons. The user is also active on the English Wikisource, where they have used at least two socks (User:Grantant, User:Duckduckstop).

  A note: I have personally been in disputes with this editor, so my statement should not be taken as a neutral statement by an uninvolved party.

• (I wrote this in mid-June, so it doesn't include anything more recent than that.) --Yair rand (talk) 05:14, 30 September 2020 (UTC)