User talk:Ad Orientem

  1. Home
  2. Wiki



IP sock

[edit]

Hi, on 17 August 2025 you blocked 89.215.226.170 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) for a year as "Likely a proxy. Also self admitted block evasion.". The latter was due to a statement on their talk page that they were previously using 89.215.252.224 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log). A couple of days ago a new IP has started editing the same pages as the previous two IPs. This one is 89.215.186.227 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log). All three of these IPs are in the same IPv4 range 89.215.192.0/18 range and all geolocate to Bulgaria. The new one has been editing the talk page Talk:Alien (franchise), making the same arguments in the same discussion as was done previously by 89.215.226.170. It seems clear that this is another sock of the same editor. CodeTalker (talk) 18:53, 25 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@CodeTalker 89.215.186.227 blocked x 1 year. -Ad Orientem (talk) 19:33, 25 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

BKFIP again

[edit]

This time with User:Nydz, at least it looks pretty obvious based off their contribs. What do you think? Lynch44 19:18, 26 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Lynch44 Based on behavioral evidence, I'd say it is highly likely. Pinging HJ Mitchell for check user. -Ad Orientem (talk) 23:37, 26 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Lynch44 Indeffed per WP:DUCK. -Ad Orientem (talk) 15:22, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Returned blocked editor causing trouble yet again

[edit]

Hello Ad Orientem! Sorry to bother you, you've helped several times with this block evading editor, such as back here, amongst other things they constantly delete data-sort values/sortnames from filmographies for no reason despite being asked many times not to do so by myself & others. They are a perpetual pest originally blocked as Mickeydee15. They use multiple accounts or IPs & to come back & delete stuff despite reversion again & again. Been at it again with a couple of IP editors, 174.95.53.165 & 174.91.82.192, both making the same kind of edits & both IP traced to same location as always for this pest. That last IP even doing the same removals on Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as previous sock you banned Gilbertcat. I wonder if you could please swat those accounts please? You'd think by know they'd realise removing data-sort-values, as well as removing functionality, just gives away who they are very easily. It would actually aid them in keeping cover by not doing it. Thank-you for your time! LooksGreatInATurtleNeck (talk) 14:57, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@LooksGreatInATurtleNeck IP 174.91.82.0/24 & 174.95.53.0/24 both blocked x 3 months. -Ad Orientem (talk) 15:18, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Ad Orientem! Thank-you kindly for the usual swift action! This will sadly not be the last of this pest as I know they use at least one other better established named account with over 45,000 edits. They use lesser accounts or IP accounts seemingly as disposable to make their more blatant nuisance edits. Preserving the better established account as its edit count provides a certain level of credibility. I've collected several edits over an extended period that link them to the data-sort-value removal pest, had been hoping they would just learn to stop doing this but maybe they need their main account being exposed. Think I'll try asking on their talk page one last time to please stop. Thanks again! Take care, LooksGreatInATurtleNeck (talk) 16:47, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@LooksGreatInATurtleNeck If there is an established account with 45k edits that is routinely editing while logged out and in a disruptive manner, that needs to be addressed. I suggest you open a discussion at SPI or possibly ANI. -Ad Orientem (talk) 21:43, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Ad Orientem! The reason I've not gone that route is Wikipedia's process for dealing with such people seems pretty convoluted & often more painful for the reporter than the pest from what I've seen. This person's activities are barely hidden, they create multiple accounts & make the same kind of edits continuously going on years now. Ones like the above that you blocked are almost immediately replaced with more. Even the account with tons of edits has a pretty awful record with even a lifted block that wasn't related to them being previous banned editor Mickeydee15, but still rolls on unimpeded. :( I'd rather not have to deal with painful bureaucracy, I really just want to edit & the only reason this pest has come into my sights is because the undo so much work myself & others do. So my hope is by posting a request on their talk page they stop removing data-sort-values, they will get the hint that their bigger account might be at risk & stop. Take care, LooksGreatInATurtleNeck (talk) 23:26, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@LooksGreatInATurtleNeck I respectfully disagree. Socking is a serious breach of community policy and guidelines. If you have good reason to suspect someone of serial socking and block evasion, that needs to be addressed. I don't have check user rights, so there are limits to how far I can go with this on my own. But this needs to be looked into. Ping ToBeFree & ScottishFinnishRadish. -Ad Orientem (talk) 23:38, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for the ping! LooksGreatInATurtleNeck, if what you write is true, that would be a huge problem and should be addressed properly, with evidence, either at WP:SPI or privately (feel free to send details to the Arbitration Committee). Please keep in mind that you may be wrong, so please let us check this properly. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 23:48, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Ad Orientem & ToBeFree! I don't mind letting someone know what I have but I don't wish to go through a long winded ANI or SPI process. Someone always seems to charge in shouting boomerang! as if that's an Uno reverse card or something & start attacking the person that's trying to report a pest. If someone is willing to deal with it, that would be great, However from what I've seen this person will likely just move to another account or even just keep using IP editors. I moderate at another site & dealing with such people is much easier, we can check IP addresses & even tell if the person is operating from the same computer. The onus for dealing with such pests is on the moderator, not the normal members as it is here. The process seems needlessly complex at Wiki. Take care, LooksGreatInATurtleNeck (talk) 23:53, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
LooksGreatInATurtleNeck, feel free to send me an e-mail directly with the accusation without any proof (perhaps a hint or two to explain what you mean?) and I'll try to see if it's as obvious to me as it seems to be to you. If I see a behavioral connection, I'll investigate further. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 23:55, 28 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
E-mail received, having a look. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 00:52, 29 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hello ToBeFree! Thank-you, I've sent you an email but it definitely contains more than a hint! :) The Wiki email form did not seem to allow hyperlinks so I had to just paste in the diff links, tried to make it as concise a report as possible. I feel certain it becomes pretty clear very quickly. By the way, just in case you might be wondering if I'm making a legitimate claim or if I am just a conspiracy nut, :) I've reported only genuine pests in the past to Ad Orientem & also to the mentioned ScottishFinnishRadish as seen here. Thanks all for the help! Take care, LooksGreatInATurtleNeck (talk) 00:53, 29 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much for the detailed information! I haven't yet had a thorough look but the quality seems to be far above a lot of sockpuppetry investigations that also get processed. I think you could probably create an SPI page with that, but I'll dig into this when I'm back online. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 01:03, 29 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@LooksGreatInATurtleNeck & @ToBeFree... At this point I'm going to assume that whatever is going on here is being handled behind the scenes and am going to bow out. -Ad Orientem (talk) 03:31, 30 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Ad Orientem! Thank-you as always for your help! I really appreciate the work you do here. Take care, LooksGreatInATurtleNeck (talk) 08:51, 30 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It was good evidence, worth a check and actually led to the block of a yet-undetected sockpuppet account. However, there is no connection between the experienced user and the sockpuppeteer, and the certainty of them being unrelated is, due to the amount of data we have about both (technical, timing et cetera), unusually high. Somewhere between "unrelated" and "impossible". ~ ToBeFree (talk) 06:29, 1 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Guide to temporary accounts

[edit]

Hello, Ad Orientem. This message is being sent to remind you of significant upcoming changes regarding logged-out editing.

Starting 4 November, logged-out editors will no longer have their IP address publicly displayed. Instead, they will have a temporary account (TA) associated with their edits. Users with some extended rights like administrators and CheckUsers, as well as users with the temporary account IP viewer (TAIV) user right will still be able to reveal temporary users' IP addresses and all contributions made by temporary accounts from a specific IP address or range.

How do temporary accounts work?

Editing from a temporary account
  • When a logged-out user completes an edit or a logged action for the first time, a cookie will be set in this user's browser and a temporary account tied with this cookie will be automatically created for them. This account's name will follow the pattern: ~2025-12345-67 (a tilde, year of creation, a number split into units of 5).
  • All subsequent actions by the temporary account user will be attributed to this username. The cookie will expire 90 days after its creation. As long as it exists, all edits made from this device will be attributed to this temporary account. It will be the same account even if the IP address changes, unless the user clears their cookies or uses a different device or web browser.
  • A record of the IP address used at the time of each edit will be stored for 90 days after the edit. Users with the temporary account IP viewer (TAIV) user right will be able to see the underlying IP addresses.
  • As a measure against vandalism, there are two limitations on the creation of temporary accounts:
    • There has to be a minimum of 10 minutes between subsequent temporary account creations from the same IP (or /64 range in case of IPv6).
    • There can be a maximum of 6 temporary accounts created from an IP (or /64 range) within a period of 24 hours.

Temporary account IP viewer user right

How to enable IP Reveal

Impact for administrators

  • It will be possible to block many abusers by just blocking their temporary accounts. A blocked person won't be able to create new temporary accounts quickly if the admin selects the autoblock option.
  • It will still be possible to block an IP address or IP range.
  • Temporary accounts will not be retroactively applied to contributions made before the deployment. On Special:Contributions, you will be able to see existing IP user contributions, but not new contributions made by temporary accounts on that IP address. Instead, you should use Special:IPContributions for this (see a video about IPContributions in a gallery below).

Rules about IP information disclosure

  • Publicizing an IP address gained through TAIV access is generally not allowed (e.g. ~2025-12345-67 previously edited as 192.0.2.1 or ~2025-12345-67's IP address is 192.0.2.1).
  • Publicly linking a TA to another TA is allowed if "reasonably believed to be necessary". (e.g. ~2025-12345-67 and ~2025-12345-68 are likely the same person, so I am counting their reverts together toward 3RR, but not Hey ~2025-12345-68, you did some good editing as ~2025-12345-67)
  • See Wikipedia:Temporary account IP viewer § What can and can't be said for more detailed guidelines.

Useful tools for patrollers

  • It is possible to view if a user has opted-in to view temporary account IPs via the User Info card, available in Preferences → Appearance → Advanced options → Tick Enable the user info card
    • This feature also makes it possible for anyone to see the approximate count of temporary accounts active on the same IP address range.
  • Special:IPContributions allows viewing all edits and temporary accounts connected to a specific IP address or IP range.
  • Similarly, Special:GlobalContributions supports global search for a given temporary account's activity.
  • The auto-reveal feature (see video below) allows users with the right permissions to automatically reveal all IP addresses for a limited time window.

Videos

  • How to use Special:IPContributions
  • How automatic IP reveal works
  • How to use IP Info
  • How to use User Info

Further information and discussion

Most of this message was written by Mz7 (source). Thanks, 🎃 SGrabarczuk (WMF) (talk) 02:48, 31 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

ITN recognition for 2025 Argentine legislative election

[edit]

On 2 November 2025, In the news was updated with an item that involved the article 2025 Argentine legislative election, which you nominated. If you know of another recently created or updated article suitable for inclusion in ITN, please suggest it on the candidates page. Schwede66 04:07, 2 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Belated Wiki Anniversary Wishes 🎉

[edit]
Happy Wiki Anniversary
Happy Wiki Anniversary

Dear Ad Orientem,

Your wiki anniversary was 17 days ago, marking 15 years (as per SUL) of dedicated service! I wanted to extend a heartfelt thanks for your amazing contributions. With over 84,249 edits, your dedication is an inspiration to the community. Wishing you all the best for the year ahead!

Use this Tool to send wiki anniversary wishes to other amazing Wikimedians.

-- : Suyash Dwivedi (💬) 12:07, 2 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Administrators' newsletter – November 2025

[edit]

News and updates for administrators from the past month (October 2025).

Administrator changes

added Toadspike
removed

CheckUser changes

added asilvering

Guideline and policy news

Technical news

Arbitration

Miscellaneous

Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:34, 4 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

TPA revoking on User talk:Skibbowibbo219368

[edit]

Hello! Not really sure what was going on at that talk page, but there seems to be something similar at User talk:Gorussell453 (diff of former, diff of latter). I don't know if that necessitates any action, just letting you know. Happy editing, Perfect4th (talk) 05:51, 6 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

TPA revoked. Probably an old customer looking to play games. -Ad Orientem (talk) 05:55, 6 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It's BMX On WheeIs, a very old customer. See Special:Diff/1318253117. Don't respond to them, just block. SuperPianoMan9167 (talk) 00:35, 7 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Email

[edit]

Sent you an email regarding something on-wiki only to see your notice above. Please be assured of my prayers for the soul of your loved one and for yourself during this month that many Christians, including myself, observe in commemoration of those we no longer know in this life. May she rest forever in the arms of the Lord. Best, ~ Pbritti (talk) 04:59, 7 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Pbritti I have replied to your email. In a nutshell, I think the level of revdeling that would be required in the page is not practical. That said, I suspect that the page may be subject to discretionary sanctions. I will have a look. -Ad Orientem (talk) 05:14, 7 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
That's good to see. Thanks for the quick reply. Best, ~ Pbritti (talk) 05:19, 7 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You've got mail

[edit]
Hello, Ad Orientem. Please check your email; you've got mail!
It may take a few minutes from the time the email is sent for it to show up in your inbox. You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{You've got mail}} or {{ygm}} template. Mvcg66b3r (talk) 11:46, 7 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Mvcg66b3r
 Not done Edit does not meet the criteria for revdel. Please see WP:CRD. AFAICT that edit summary is gibberish. That said, I've indeffed the TA and blocked the underlying IP x 6 months as a proxy. -Ad Orientem (talk) 15:45, 7 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]