Forum:Checkuser right (2)

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Hi, Ozuzanna here; I'd like to propose that I and Callofduty4 should be the main candidates to have CheckUser rights on this wiki. This topic has been brought up just over a year ago - however I feel with the recent surge of sock puppets again and such that it'd be an ideal time to run for the CU rights again. As before the sockpuppets are mainly found in chat but they have shown to be in the general wiki area too.

As seen in the previous discussion, the community consensus was that CheckUser rights would be granted but Wikia did not grant them in the end, as we did not have a policy directly stating to not sockpuppet. This has long since changed and with the amount of sockpuppets we've had since, CheckUser would be very useful to help deal with these.

What is CheckUser?[]

Taken from the past discussion by Callofduty4. The same applies again, so I'm going to copy it here too:

Before I lay out why we should have a user with checkuser rights I suppose it's important to know what the tool actually is. Checkuser is a wiki extension that allows a user with the appropriate user right (commonly known as the checkuser right) to glance at the IP(s) a username has been connecting from. It can also be used to search any accounts linked to a particular IP address or IP address range.

While this may sound unsafe and hacker-ish at first glance it's not either of these. An IP contains not much in terms of personal information, it mainly outlines ISP information, and because of this and mainly the fact the information from the checks is never made publicly available it is of no threat to anypony's privacy or safety - in every case only trustworthy users ever obtain access to the tool anyway. IPs that are seen from Checkuser are never used for any malicious means, and it is generally accepted that Checkusers should not share the IPs being used by an account/accounts.

The rights to use the Checkuser tool are only able to be given by Wikia, which means that before they give the tool out, Wikia runs it through some discussion as well, to ensure that only trustworthy users can ever have access to the tool.

Why CheckUser would be useful[]

Taken from the past discussion by Callofduty4. The same applies again, so I'm going to copy it here too:

Checkuser, as mentioned before, has its primary purpose in finding all accounts belonging to a user. Unfortunately this wiki sees sockpuppet activity very regularly, and while this is hard to prevent, it is made easier to deal with when Checkuser is used. Our block log is really quite full of bans given to sockpuppets, a lot of these bans are given off of instinct alone which is not always the best way to go off of things especially when there is the Checkuser tool that gives definitive proof of multiple account activity.

The chat sees a lot of sockpuppeting to evade bans. As is usual in events like this it leads to confusion that is hard to quell without definitive proof that a user has indeed been using multiple accounts to cause trouble or evade bans. Not only is checkuser useful for proving instances of sockpuppetry it is also useful in investigating cases where somepony believes they are blocked for a reason unknown to them, which may be caused by the blocked IP being in a small dynamic range or that the IP is a proxy server. This has happened before as I outline briefly in a small logbook of events I've written up (by no means every event, just those that I can remember the best) that I will link below.

With regards to the wiki outside of chat, Checkuser still comes in useful for the same reasons, albeit admittedly it will be used less. But this doesn't mean it's never useful, there have definitely been at least one point where an IP block of a range would have been useful to prevent vandalism on the wiki. Checkuser also introduces a certain level of damage control, by making sure that blocks of IPs or IP ranges will not affect legitimate users.

I'm speaking from experience with the CoD wiki where I have had local checkuser rights since January 2011 that the Checkuser tool on this wiki would be extremely beneficial to keeping everything in as orderly fashion as possible and making sure that misuse of multiple accounts is kept to a minimum. This wiki is now of a rather large size, the benefit of having an admin with checkuser rights would be large as I have described above.

Initial nominations[]

Note that nominations have to have admin rights on this wiki to be eligible for the rights.

Ozuzanna[]

I'm nominating myself as one of the candidates as I have a good understanding of how CU works and how to use it appropriate/effectively, with a keen eye to block/ban sockpuppets in general. I have been an admin on this wiki for a fairly long time now and, along with Callofduty4, visit the wiki chat often compared to the other admins we have on the wiki, where most of the sockpuppeting happens. I am not trying to sound boastful or too confident but I think a lot of other people on the wiki can agree with me that I am exceptionally talented at finding out sockpuppets. I do not plan to step down as admin or leave Wikia for a long long time so again this makes me feel as though I should be one of the main candidates.

Callofduty4's opinion of me prior (he said he'd still nominate me for the same reasons as before, if not more)

Callofduty4[]

Callofduty4 would be the other main candidate than myself as he is a long-standing bureaucrat/admin of the wiki, along with being a part of the VSTF and having already used CU on the CoD Wiki in the same way this proposal's usage is intended. Personally I think he is the other pioneer to stopping the sockpuppets worm their way into the wiki under our noses and thus would be a very suitable candidate for such rights.

Summary[]

Building on from the last conclusion of requesting CU rights, the main reason was we did not explicitly state to not abuse accounts in the rules, which we have rectified since as well as a long time passing, so I do hope that this request passes for the reasons stated above. Please outline concerns or queries below. http://i.imgur.com/B0lGGoQ.gifOz 23:57, June 9, 2014 (UTC)

Discussion[]

Strong support Ozuzanna, Neutral myself. These rights are really useful and we have had issues with sockpuppets (including sockpuppets who haven't stopped after more than a year and a half) for a long time. These rights make it easy to mitigate this problem and I support at least one local admin having the rights as much as I did last time. 09:33, June 10, 2014 (UTC)

A long-ish time user of this wiki (almost two years!) who also happens to have been a mod for a while now, I feel that having appropriately responsible users with CheckUser capabilities would be a massive help to the problem that is sockpuppeting. I also feel that both CoD and Oz are excellent candidates for the rights; I give Strong support to both. 21:17, June 10, 2014 (UTC)

Comment Ironically, socking isn't even that much of a big deal. There are a lot of repeat sockers but they are almost immediately taken down. I cannot see giving any additional rights as being beneficial. TRIPLEJAY 01:24, June 11, 2014 (UTC)

It's not a big deal for those who think bypassing bans is okay and that they think they shouldn't face the full consequences. And what do you mean "I cannot see giving any additional rights as being beneficial"? CU helps us not work on assumptions when blocking people, which I'm sure blocking when you know for definite is better than assuming (we've blocked the wrong people in the past before by accident). What drawbacks do the rights bring? Even though I agree with you saying they are almost immediately gone, it'd be nice at times to check if there's any other accounts that we missed via using CU. http://i.imgur.com/B0lGGoQ.gifOz 07:20, June 11, 2014 (UTC)

Having personal experience in dealing with sockpuppets, I can certainly see the benefit in at least one admin having CheckUser rights. And given CoD and Oz's histories, how can I not Support both? 16:03, June 11, 2014 (UTC)

Support I believe this would be useful and the candidates are great. This could give admins a great deal of help with dealing with sock-puppetry. Omega ^Messages

Conclusion[]

As the forum has been inactive for two weeks and the verdict is major support for the rights of I and Callofduty4, I have submitted it to Wikia. http://i.imgur.com/B0lGGoQ.gifOz 12:07, June 25, 2014 (UTC)

There was only two votes and one of them was one of the nominees... TRIPLEJAY 12:32, June 25, 2014 (UTC)

That isn't any fault of mine - the forum was open for two weeks, it was posted in chat several times hoping to get more comments but it didn't. I even showed it other admins but they didn't comment either so you can't say no one has had a chance to put forward their view(s). Also there's three votes if you look properly (hint: Cherno's). See this example for the lack of comments but if the overall swing of opinion is in support, then it gets granted regardless of number of votes/comments. http://i.imgur.com/B0lGGoQ.gifOz 12:38, June 25, 2014 (UTC)

Comment - Wasn't this requested before but Wikia didn't see it beneficial for our Wiki? 343TheGuiltyProphet - Talk 20:39, June 27, 2014 (UTC)

It'd help for you to read the forum properly before jumping to the bottom and leaving that comment... http://i.imgur.com/B0lGGoQ.gifOz 20:44, June 27, 2014 (UTC)

Ah, yes, I see it now. Although I'm too late, I support the idea anyway. For both yourself and Cod4. Hope all goes well with the request. 343TheGuiltyProphet - Talk 20:48, June 27, 2014 (UTC)

Closure[]

Official response from Wikia:

Hi Ozuzanna,

Thank you for your patience. Upon review we have decided to grant both you and Callofduty4 Checkuser rights. If there is anything else we can help you with please feel free to let us know. Have a wonderful day!

I and Callofduty4 have been given checkuser rights. http://i.imgur.com/B0lGGoQ.gifOz 16:56, July 1, 2014 (UTC)