[Foundation-l] Stewards are ignoring requests for CheckUser information?

Sat Apr 15 01:34:56 UTC 2006

Robert Scott Horning wrote:
> Anthere wrote:
> 
> 
>>The reason for the 25 votes limit comes from two reasons
>>* A community with less than 25 users is unlikely to really need 
>>frequent checkusers, because it is a project with reduced activity. So, 
>>it can not be a heavy load for stewards.
>>* A community with less than 25 users has a rather serious risk to have 
>>a rather little known editor become a checkuser, rather than a trusted 
>>oldbie. If we start handing out status just as we do for sysop status on 
>>small projects, I think there will be abuse. I say this from my 
>>experience, as I had to unsysop several sysops on small projects (the 
>>guys did not know our basic rules, behaved like dictators with the 
>>handful of editors, put advertisements on the main page, controlled povs 
>>etc...).
>>
>>I am perplex that the en.wikibooks does not have a big enough base of 
>>editors to vote on a check user...
>>I am quite lazy, so I will not go to the stats page to check. But can 
>>you roughly say how many active editors per month the project currently 
>>has ? How many very active editors per month ?
>>
>>ant
>> 
>>
> 
> Since the stats page hasn't been updated since November of last year, it 
> is completely useless to even gague what the current activity is on any 
> Wikimedia project.  I can only use the current activity on the Wikibooks 
> staff lounge to even remotely gague what the current user activity level 
> is, but I would guess it is pretty close to about 20 user at the 
> absolute top.  Really stretching it perhaps we can get to 25 total at 
> the most.
> 
> And as for advertising this, I guess we could put it in bold 40 point 
> type on the project main page with a link to a special page only for 
> this kind of request.  I think that is way over the top and something 
> that is not needed in this situation.  The advertising was more than 
> adequate, it is just that this is a very unreasonable request.
> 
> As for a "community with less than 25 users unlikely needing frequent 
> checkuser scans", I think this is mistaken totally what is going on. 
>  en.wikibooks has numerous links from within Wikipedia, and is being 
> hammered by vandals that have moved on from Wikipedia, indeed with 
> excellent training on how to be a vandal on Wikipedia, and taking on 
> other projects as well that don't have quite the same pool of 
> administrators.
> 
> As for handing out checkuser status to people who are not trusted 
> oldies, that is totally rediculous as well.  There are admins and 
> bureaucrats on en.wikibooks who are also admins on other projects, 
> including meta, wikinews, and even en.wikipedia.  Active ones at that. 
>  I see absolutely no reason why the standards for giving somebody 
> bureaucrat status when you can't also give them checkuser status.
> 
> Furthermore, what abuse could possibly happen with somebody having 
> checkuser scans?  Really, at the most extreme?  With bureacrat status I 
> could give admin status to a whole team of 'bots that would then in 
> tandem go through and systematically delete every page on a project and 
> block every user.  Talk about damage to a project.  With checkuser 
> privileges, all you have access to is just the IP address of each user. 
>  So the absolute worst damage is that they publish on an external 
> website (making it harder for the board to go after that user) all of 
> the IP addresses of every user.  Which is worse?  Really, think about it.
> 
> More to the point, show me a single user that has been given checkuser 
> rights on any local project besides a Wikipedia and meta.  This would be 
> a contrary example to prove me wrong.  If not, why not?  Because 
> checkuser rights are not needed except on Wikipedia?

I am waiting for your feedback on the various options I have proposed; 
Even if none please you, please be kind to comment on them.

meanwhile, in case there is an urgent need on wikibooks, I propose to 
have Karynn be a temporary checkuser on en:wikibooks whilst a solution 
is found out. She is an experienced checkuser and she has agreed ! (and 
it is free of charge !)

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/User:Kelly_Martin. See her as the Brion 
Vibber of the old days (he carried on our requests when necessary).

ant