Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/Owain

Owain is from Monmouth (as in MonMan). Owain is pushing an agenda, he supports the "traditional counties movement", an insignificant but noisy collection of two or three pressure groups (e.g. County Watch). Owain in particular is given to edit warring and revert warring. It is hard to tell the two accounts by contributions, but it is not clear whether they are friends from the same area sharing the same agenda or whether Owain is using a sock to astroturf contentious straw polls and Talk comments. Just zis Guy you know? 07:47, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please also check the two accounts above with these two new accounts, which show precisely the same pattern of behaviour:

• 82.26.197.74 (talk · contribs), which rapidly became registered as Stringops (talk · contribs)

The activities on these two accounts are also highly suspect:

• 82.26.197.74 first edit (only made 21 edits before becoming Stringops): Traditional counties of the British Isles (Owain's no.1 favourite article)
• Stringops first edit: Wikipedia:Changing attribution for an edit (this guy knows Wikipedia like the back of his hand!!! ... supposedly on only their 22nd Edit??? no, no, no, no, no!), followed 10 edits later by their first edit on Templates for deletion!
• this one is highly indicative: Scotlandshire - note how they use the correct {{subst:afd1}} template straight off - this is an "old-hand".

Thanks, --Mais oui! 09:12, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

You know, I am familiar with the working of wikipedia because I read it. You (and Checkuser) have provided absolutely no evidence at all that suggest I am a sockpuppet of anyone. I had been following the discussion on the counties for a while previous to contributing myself - not exactly uthinkable behaviour! And I have also disagreed with User:Owain (e.g. on the inclusion of county flowers in article) which would hardly make me a very effective sockpuppet for voting purposes.

As for Owain and MonMan, I think you are probably overlooking the obvious: what's to stop them living in the same town, knowing each other and hlding similar opinions? We all naturally get to know people in the geographical area in which we live, and we are naturally inclined to discuss matters of mutual interest - in Owain's and MonMan's case this probably involves his opinion on the counties and their treatment in Wikipedia. Now I may be wholly wrong in this hypothesis, but, having watched the two, it seems just as plausible an explanation as a 'sockpuppet' allegation and it assumes good faith, something you seem to be wholly incapable of doing. Stringops 11:48, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Affecting the outcome of votes The use of MonMan (talk · contribs) has affected the outcome of these two votes yesterday: Talk:Bute and Talk:Moray (county). If the MonMan sockpuppet had not been used then at least the Moray vote, and probably the other one too, would have been a decisive "No move", instead of the "No consensus" actually given. Note that the other suspected sockpuppet was also used in these votes, and other related ones.--Mais oui! 09:17, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This one looks suspicious too: 80.255 (talk · contribs) (suddenly ceased activity in December). --Mais oui! 09:36, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Likely. There is a definate connection between Owain and MonMan; whether they are sockpuppets or meatpuppets is more difficult to determine, but they are most definately connected. There is no sign of Stringops on the IPs used by Owain/MonMan, but they are all coming from ISPs in the same general area; this does not mean it is or is not unrelated. It may be a sockpuppet, it may be a meatpuppet; if it smells like a sock/meatpuppet, it probably is. Remember: Checkuser is just one more way of confirming what you already have reason to believe. Essjay ^{Talk • Contact} 10:25, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

• Many thanks. Could you also have a look at 80.255 (talk · contribs)? Exactly the same pattern of behaviour before the account suddenly stopped being used in December. --Mais oui! 10:43, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No, unfortunately he stopped editing in December, and our records do not go back that far. Essjay ^{Talk • Contact} 11:19, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

HANG ON JUST A SECOND. I am not from Monmouth, I am from Newport. I happen to know MonMan personally, I can contest that he and I are different people, we just happen to share the same interests. Precisely what 'investigaton' has been done to prove that we are the same person? It has clearly failed because you have come to the wrong conclusion. Owain (talk) 13:16, 7 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]