A request for arbitration is the last step of dispute resolution for conduct disputes on Wikipedia. The Arbitration Committee considers requests to open new cases and review previous decisions. The entire process is governed by the arbitration policy. For information about requesting arbitration, and how cases are accepted and dealt with, please see guide to arbitration.

To request enforcement of previous Arbitration decisions or discretionary sanctions, please do not open a new Arbitration case. Instead, please submit your request to /Requests/Enforcement.

This page transcludes from /Case, /Clarification and Amendment, /Motions, and /Enforcement.

Initiated by CoconutOctopus talk at 17:43, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• CoconutOctopus (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA), filing party
• Iskandar323 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)
• Levivich (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

Confirmation that all parties are aware of the request

• diff of notification Iskandar323
• diff of notification Levivich

Confirmation that other steps in dispute resolution have been tried

• Special:Diff/1334283996/1334391769

  CoconutOctopus's statement contains 274 words and complies with the 500-word limit.

This is not a typical caserequest ; it is also the first time I have ever filed one so apologies if I have done anything incorrectly or missed anyone who is techincally involved - I have listed the two users who were directly impacted by the original motions but I suppose "all of ARBCOM" could be considered a party. I believe there is a community consensus to seek a full arbitration case regarding the series of motions including (but not limited to) the ban of Iskandar323. The discussion at Wikipedia_talk:Arbitration_Committee/Noticeboard#Arbitration_motions_regarding_ARBPIA5_topic_bans shows that a large number of editors, including many admins and experienced users, are confused by or disagree with the outcome of the motions and believe that a full case would be beneficial. I don't want to simply list everything brought up at the above link (nor do I have the words to do so), but multiple users state concerns around the evidence and the fact that numerous arbs switched their votes after discussion (with some feeling that more arbs would have switched their votes too given more time). There are concerns around the fact much of the evidence leading to the ban was submitted by bad faith sockpuppet accounts who themselves are now blocked. I believe it important that someone lists this as a case request to allow for a public vote by arbitrators on whether they agree they motion is not perfect and should be settled in a full case. I make no statement about my personal feelings as to which outcomes should be achieved as I don't think they matter in this case, but I do believe this should be a full case.

Y Extension granted to 1000 words. HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 04:46, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Iskandar323's statement contains 1051 words and is within 10% of the 1000-word limit.

Community sentiment has already given voice to the various ways in which this trial by motion has been questionable – both procedurally and behaviourally – in ways that loom larger than the specifics of the case itself. It would be interesting to know if Arbcom plans to address this. I have a motion: "Does arbcom believe it handled this matter well and to the standards expected by the community?" If the answer is: "it wasn't great", then it begs the further question of: what is arbcom going to do about it? As for the actual key issues ...

First: has arbcom even followed its own policy? – namely WP:ARBPOL, which provides for procedures by motion only on limited circumstances: "Summary proceedings: Where the facts of a matter are substantially undisputed, the Committee may resolve the dispute by motion." I think it is more than safe to say at this point that the facts of the matter are not "substantially undisputed". They were close at the 11-0 point, but at 7-5, I would say arbcom had a substantial dispute on its hands, not to mention the disputation coming from the community. That would appear to render the end result of the motions unfit for summary proceedings.

Then there is the matter of recusal or lack therein. I was unaware – not being a avid policy reader, and likely being too trusting – of the need to individually petition arbs in order to garner their WP:RECUSAL. Even setting aside the obvious involvement of SFR as the most recent sanctioning admin, as well as ignoring their electoral promise to recuse from ARBPIA5 (of which these motions were a direct review) based on their having "too much administrative involvement", etc., there is Guerillero, who .... joined the sock-led AE case as a diff-bearing prosecutor, referred it to arbcom (with only a single non-commital nod from Sennecaster), joined the committee, supported their own referral, apparently after discussed it a bit over the holidays when half of the committee was barely online, and then with barely even an arbcom consensus for that, stepped up to re-prosecute the matter with exactly the same seven diffs from AE (so presumably 'discussion' didn't involve a re-assessment of the diffs or re-drafting). Sennecaster then recused themselves from even being a clerk due to their involvement at AE. Guerillero didn't. That alone is an almost mind-boggling variation in interpretation as to what constitutes 'involvement' regarding recusal. So second motion for arbcom: tighten up the recusal process. But long story short, Guerillero proceeded as both prosecutor and judge, which is conceptually egregious even if the Byzantine dysfunctionality of the recusal process didn't technically prevent it.

Next question: just why? - to any of this! If the ill-advised joke was a "naked violation" as Guerillero named it, why not just block me? For a longer duration than SFR had. Any admin could have done that. The community time that could have been saved is inordinate!

Finally: behaviour – possibly the aspect that has gotten the most community members the most riled up: the lack of effective communication (key elements of WP:ADMINACCT and WP:ARBCOND) from some committee members. And again, why? Personal disdain for me and my pings? Maybe. But it's not about me. It's about the process, and the community, and engendering trust in the community by means of transparency. Not responding to community input, questions and counter-evidence isn't just a recipe for a half-baked outcome, it's disingenuous and disrespectful to the community. And once the evidence was dissected by the community and a minority of arbs, it was incumbent on the remaining arbs to engage constructively with that. To their credit, the two arbs who likely should have recused at least responded – even if their responses did not support the motion based on the actual evidence so much as handwaves at absent and seemingly misplaced evidence. However, I must thank HJ Mitchell for belatedly providing their statement on the noticeboard talk, as it provides a further glimpse at the rationales that the community were not priorly privy to. HJM did not reaffirm the POV-pushing claim, but instead waved at the more generalist "tendentious editing". I suspect this is a problem that several arbs had: they didn't like something, but they couldn't quite pin down what, so they just went along with the motion that was on offer. But if TE generally was the accusation, that should have been the motion; not the specific POV-pushing motion that was presented – the evidence for which was tested and found wanting. And the end result is an unsatisfactory outcome for all involved.

As for whether I want a new case: not really. Why? Because I'm not a disruptive editor and I dislike wasting community time. At the same time, the "finding of fact" is grossly offensive and should not have been allowed to pass, having been shown to be utterly fallacious based on the evidence provided. The committee can have its ban for all I care, as it could have had at any point without any motions. Ban + violation = block. But if Arbcom wants to level serious accusations at editors it should do so in the form of a proper case, not in a summary proceeding – and definitely not with such a sorry effort of a motion as its vehicle. If the choice is between letting that stand and having a case, I'd choose a case – not for a want of a case, but out of principle.

But I'd like to hope arbcom is collectively capable of looking at alternatives, such as vacating their unsupported FoF motion, while taking or leaving their ban as they see fit, but based on honest reasoning, not trumped up and degrading charges. And for any potential case or review of this motion or any other, I would suggest that the arbs that almost certainly should recuse actually think about recusing. And yes, this is almost certainly overlength, but if Arbcom is going to devote entire procedures to me then they should let me sing and dance. Lastly, a thank you to the arbs that did take the time to properly inspect the evidence and actually assess the motion based on the facts. Iskandar323 (talk) 20:11, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Levivich's statement contains 649 words and exceeds the 500-word limit.

From the WP:ARM:

2) Since their topic ban in WP:ARBPIA5, Iskandar323 has been engaged in consistently non-neutral editing around the history of Judaism ([1][2][3][4][5][6][7]). This is a continuation of the misconduct that led to the original topic ban.

• Iskandar is TBANed from Palestine-Israel conflict, broadly construed, not history of Judaism.
• None of the articles mention PIA or have any CTOP notice.
• None of the edits violate NPOV or any other policy.

1. The edits are obviously a continuation of PIA-related editing just outside of the topic area. --Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 14:04, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

My vote is based on a similar set of observations as SFR from looking over Iskandar323's editing over the past 6 months --Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 03:55, 13 January 2026 (UTC)

• No explanation as to how these edits are PIA-related editing.
• The second comment is an WP:ASPERSION.

2. A topic ban doesn't mean find something only partially covered by your topic ban (as demonstrated by the warning and block) and continue POV pushing. As to what Parabolist said below, WP:NPOV is policy and non-neutral editing is disruptive. Wikipedia is WP:NOTADVOCACY and not a WP:BATTLEGROUND to further disputes. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 16:26, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

In response to the questions, the diffs presented are not the entirety of what I considered, they were some of the diffs from Iskandar323's recent editing that came up in discussions. I've spent a lot of time looking at Iskandar323's edits as I've fielded several reports of topic ban violations and I watch a lot of ARBPIA and adjacent articles. In some of the cases the edits were, as has been pointed out, correct and worth making, but when looking at the totality of their editing, especially with the ARBPIA FoF, engaged in disruptive behavior in the PIA topic area, including consistently non-neutral editing in mind, there is a pattern of minimizing or removing mentions of Israel, Judea, and Jewish history without similar edits made when dealing with other religions or peoples. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 18:52, 12 January 2026 (UTC)

• No explanation as to how these are partially covered, violate NPOV, non-neutral, or otherwise disruptive.
• The second comment is also an WP:ASPERSION.

3. Daniel (talk) 19:46, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

• WP:ADMINACCT says unexplained administrator actions can demoralize other editors who lack such tools. Unexplained arb votes have the same effect.

4. Per HB. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 22:25, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

• HB wrote they're not TBAN violations and later struck pushing a point of view, so how does Per HB explain this vote?

5. Girth Summit _(blether) 23:13, 4 January 2026 (UTC)

6. Aoidh (talk) 05:28, 7 January 2026 (UTC)

7. ~ Jenson (SilverLocust 💬) 16:55, 8 January 2026 (UTC)

Meanwhile, the oppose and discussion sections were 8,600 words of rebuttal. Harry can't see anything ArbCom could do that would make people any happier. Addressing the rebuttals and explaining your votes would make people happier. Whether you do that at a full case or reopen the ARM or wait for an ARCA, please do it. Explanation is not relitigation. Levivich (talk) 20:54, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@HouseBlaster: ...and upon responding, the first thing the fire department should do is determine whether or not the house is actually on fire :-) (And thanks to you and the others for volunteering your time to do exactly that here.) Levivich (talk) 02:43, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Just a quick point - Iskandar323 is a party to this, but can't make a statement even on their talkpage because ArbCom blocked them with TPA turned off (why?). It would be useful to give them their TP access back so that they can do this if they wish.

• HJ Mitchell People are - mostly - not yelling at you because of the decision you made per se. They are yelling at you because members of ArbCom failed to properly apply themselves to this case and justify the decision that they made, when it appears to many people to not be based on the available evidence.
• asilvering You will not like our opinions any more than you already do if we open a full case. No, actually that's the whole point - if people understand why decisions were made rather than a hastily tossed-off "Support" followed by disappearing completely, then they're far more likely to support your decision. I'm unsure why this is a difficult concept for people to grasp.
• I can see that this is unsurprisingly going to be declined. However, I hope it will have the effect that in future cases Arbs will actually (a) keep up to date with evolving evidence, and (b) ensure that their rationales for voting on any contentious motion are a little bit more than "Support" or "Oppose".
• asilvering You're missing the point. This motion to ban I323 came directly from an AE case raised by an account which was unsurprisingly found to be a sock, and closed as no action. During that, Guerillero said I guess I have a few days before I am an arb. Missing from this report is part of the interaction between Iskandar323 and Levivich where they both nakedly violate their topic bans the other day. There is also a pattern of editing in the history of Judaism just outside of the topic ban where no one edit is a giant problem, but together they show an Israel-Palestine related POV being pushed. (followed by the list of diffs later used by ArbCom). In other words, this motion wouldn't even have happened if it wasn't for that; thus, ArbCom has (possibly unwittingly) done the sockpuppeteer's job for them. A second point; why didn't Guerillero recuse from this?

• Sorry, Guerillero, I meant to ping you in that comment. Black Kite (talk) 18:46, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• Guerillero OK. But if they were discussing it long before that, I would not have expected the diffs being used to justify their decision being exactly the ones you posted at AE in late December (as you'd have expected other previous evidence to have sparked that discussion). Other (non-brand-new) Arbs, are you able to shed light on how the earlier discussion came about and why/how that particular evidence came to be used?

Note: The only thing short of a full case I would support is a full outline, endorsed by all seven supporting arbs, of the allegedly clear pattern of POV-pushing that the seven highlighted diffs are valid and relevant examples of. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 20:14, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

In response to HJ Mitchell: ArbCom can sometimes get it wrong, wouldn't you agree? In addition to the possibility of different people yelling at the Arbs, a fresh examination might redress an injustice (and thereby benefit the project by allowing further participation by a valuable editor), or demonstrate more thoroughly the correctness of the decision (thereby reaffirming that the editor was disruptive). ArbCom's actions are supposed to be in service of the project (that boilerplate you folks unanimously vote "aye" on at the top of every case decision page) and is not supposed to be imposed overriding our consensus-driven decision-making processes, but to be the highest-level expression of them (or something; IANAL).

Arbs: Respond to the widespread disagreement with this decision and to the indications of doubt that were evident in several Arbs' changing their votes on Iskandar323 as community members raised points in discussion about the evidence. I would prefer that Iskandar323's ban be simply vacated as a flawed close to an unresolved ArbCom process (SashiRolls' "hung jury" analogy, or a "no consensus" AfD close analogy). Since that's apparently not possible, you should accept this case despite the time and effort involved. Yngvadottir (talk) 20:46, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

In response to ScottishFinnishRadish. asilvering has averred that what we see is what we have. You assert a pattern of topic ban violations and refer to HouseBlaster explaining that the evidence presented wasn't the sole basis for banning Iskandar. There's a tension here. Moreover, several Arbs changed their votes after re-examining the evidence that was actually presented. In other words, the publically discussed evidence was not decisive for you and other Arbs who voted for a ban. That sounds to me awfully like prejudgement. It's counterproductive when apparently some Arbs decide based on evidence presented and can be persuaded by informed arguments about the subject matter, while others largely ignore the validity of that evidence. It makes it a popularity contest: how many Arbs are inclined to ban someone when they are once again the subject of a complaint, vs. how many weigh the evidence. Vacate the decision and have a full case so that the decision has to be based on evidence submitted. And narrowly focused, please. There is no justification for the threat of widening the scope. All it does is make people fear interaction with the Arbs. Yngvadottir (talk) 01:16, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  IOHANNVSVERVS's statement contains 413 words and complies with the 500-word limit.

A lot of people are talking about this like it's simply a difference of opinions. But it's not. The "Iskandar further POV pushing" motion isn't just "unpopular", it's unacceptable, and I don't see how it isn't misconduct at this point by the arbitrators who forced it through and who still to this day refuse to give an explanation or a response to the community.

As laid out clearly at WP:ARBCOND, "Arbitrators are expected to: Respond promptly and appropriately to questions from other arbitrators, or from the community, about conduct which appears to conflict with their trusted roles." Yet the members of the committee who passed the motion have been completely ignoring the community, despite repeated pleas for them to respond.

We should not allow ArbCom to become a dictatorship able to ban anyone they want without even the semblance of reason or due process. As another editor has phrased it: "Any regular editor in any contentious topic could be banned on "evidence" as weighty as this. Nobody is safe."

Also, it needs to be asked whether or not ArbCom has been acting in this way in order to comply with some sort of pro-Israel external pressures or influences. Striking for being the wrong place for this question and to avoid causing any unnecessary controversy/distraction. 00:34, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

I'm not sure what mechanisms/procedures are in place to deal with this, but this is the problem as I see it. It is not Iskandar who is disrupting the encyclopedia, it is certain members of the current Arbitration Committee. IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 21:15, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Tryptofish, if you're referring to the infamous seven diffs, I don't believe it's accurate that they were "first presented by a bad-faith sock". See my comment here. Please let me know if you're referring to something else or if any of the seven diffs were brought up prior to Guerillero doing so on Dec 19. IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 01:07, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Paprikaiser, see my above comment about your statement that the evidence/diffs were "originally compiled by the now-blocked sock Nehushtani". IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 00:23, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Zero0000, regarding: "the only proper way to handle this situation is an independent review", is there any sort of mechanism for such a thing? IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 05:27, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Scharb, I would assume that just because a user is banned it doesn't become permissible to cast aspersions against them. You've given zero explanation as to how the edits "were destructive [...] and clearly intended to erase and minimize the history of the Jewish people". IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 02:50, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@ScottishFinnishRadish, the problem is not so much the banning of Iskandar as it is the "further POV pushing" finding of fact. What was your support for that motion based on if not the diffs presented? IOHANNVSVERVS (talk) 00:44, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Much has been said on WT:ACN about how the decision to ban Iskandar is unfair, harsh, or contrived. Everyone is well within their rights to give an opinion on rulings and their merits, and I think it's healthy for people to speak up when they see something they think is wrong.

That said, I'm not sure what this case request is trying to achieve. Relitigating the situation with the same people on a different page/venue isn't going to change their conclusions or votes. I should hope that the context of a case vs an ARM section would not make a difference to the outcome of a decision.

If there are calls for certain arbitrators to be more forthcoming with their vote rationales then that can be done elsewhere, but opening a case, whether to force a hand or try for a do-over, does not seem like the way forward. Giraffer (talk) 22:00, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I endorse what Giraffer said. I think the unusual piece here is that post-FRAM ArbCom has been pretty reliably able to come to agreement and often consensus about what the facts are. There might then be a split among the committee about how to respond, but basically the only time I can think of a major split on a crucial FoF leading to a "major" public decision (which I'm defining here as a block/site ban or desyop/resysop) was the 6 in favor, 4 opposed, 3 abstain for Stephen. But there the remedy landed at 9-3 so the FoF split didn't end up mattering as much. So given what Giraffer has said, if ArbCom is going to do something here beyond provide greater insight into its thinking, I would encourage it to think about what an FoF that would pass 9-3 or better would look like and then if a majority of the Arbs, based on that factual record, remain convinced there is sufficient evidence to ban. In working on that they would probably fufill Giraffer's suggestion of the productive thing being "more insight". Ultimately ArbCom is WP:CONEXEMPT for really good reasons which includes the ability to make calls that large segments of the community disagree with it. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 22:12, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

WP:ARBPOL states Decisions are reached by a majority vote of active, non-recused arbitrators. So Harry's point that this is how ArbCom works is backed up by policy and Sashi is misunderstanding what WP:CONEXEMPT means here (ArbCom is unique in a lot of respects so it's not unusual for Wikipedians to not understand elements of that uniqueness). That said, the lack of something approaching consensus as we traditionally use it for the FoFs is unusual when it's used as the base for a site ban at least in the post-FRAM era. Because of ArbPol's embrace of voting, when I was an arb I embraced that ethos as well for a lot of things. However, being on the U4C has shown me the value that can be reached in trying to achieve consensus where possible because that body has operated far more through that method than ArbCom does. Part of that is because it's easier with 8 people than 11 but part of that is also genuine attempts to try and see where there is common ground. Hence my suggestion that if ArbCom could find an FoF that got more support, would that still be sufficient for a majority to feel justified in voting to site ban someone based on my belief (and direct knowledge while on ArbCom) that Arbs are basing their votes for remedies on the facts agreed to rather than starting with a sense of the right remedy and voting for facts to support that outcome. Best, Barkeep49 (talk) 17:43, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I think I agree with Giraffer's assessment of the situation, but would suggest being a little more sympathetic to the filing editor for not immediately hitting on the right process for a very complicated arena of Wikipedia. Opening what is essentially ARBPIA6 with a broader scope of evidence to hold other editors to a similar standard (or consider if exonerating evidence was missed) would necessarily take up the question of Iskandar323's ban. However, I agree with Black Kite that the FoF and related votes on sanctions in this most recent case would definitely benefit from arbs giving clearer explanations of which diffs they felt do/don't demonstrate patterns, since there's demonstrable disagreement within the committee and community on the fact of the matter. An elaboration or reconsideration on that would address what appear to be the most pressing concerns, as I don't envy the task of drawing up a scope and collecting evidence that would make an ARBPIA6 worthwhile at this time. _signed, Rosguill ^talk 22:28, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Two points here:

• I effectively agree with Giraffer’s statement above.
• Can someone explain how Levivich’s statement above is a valid BANEX from their tban? It’s one thing to defend themselves at ARBM (which was a valid BANEX imo), it’s another to defend another editor in a separate forum. The Kip ^(contribs) 23:28, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Asilvering Thanks for the clarification, hadn’t noticed that. The Kip ^(contribs) 00:23, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

1) I was and am appalled at the two comments by arbitrators that suggested the ban was based on other evidence not identified. That is gross unfairness.

2) I was and am upset that the other arbitrators did not come back and explain their unjustified conclusion when the community pretty unanimously and the opposing members of the committee shot down any reason for the NPOV finding. So explanation, Harry is what would make me happier, and it is something that WP:ADMINACCT expects.

3) I'll adopt Levivich's statement if it means you will consider it -- it would be especially galling that the committee considers banned or LTA editors statements like it did to start off the motions, but would not consider Levivich's statement, here. Alanscottwalker (talk) 23:56, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

4) I'll also adopt Black Kite's response to aslivering. For many of you, it's not what you did, it's what you did not do that's the problem. Unless, it was considering evidence not identified by diffs (which again, is grossly unfair). -- Alanscottwalker (talk) 00:41, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

5) I agree with just "vacate the [site] ban" as own goal and move on, if it ever is or was truly needed, there is plenty of time for it. Also, just to be clear, I am from the uninvolved part of the community. Alanscottwalker (talk) 01:30, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

6) Responding to JClemens: What does not seem "objectively reasonable" is for "Arbitration" to operate on a no consideration of the arguments model. Not considering and not addressing the committee opposition and the community objections is not objectively reasonable. Saying there is other unidentified evidence is not objectively reasonable. Not responding and not explaining is also contrary to policy, so not objectively reasonable. Alanscottwalker (talk) 04:28, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Honestly, looking at this as well as the discussion over at WT:ACN, it's pretty clear to me that some of the ppl objecting to the decision to ban Iskandar are, for lack of a better term, passionate about their stance on this whole ordeal. Should the arbs decide to decline the case, I'd recommend they go over the various reactions and see if there's anyone among them who needs to be disciplined (whether it be by TBAN, siteban, or some other remedy). JHD0919 (talk) 23:35, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@IOHANNVSVERVS: I don't think external pro-Israel forces were involved in getting Iskander banned, since it would be a waste of their time; they're topic banned from A-I after all. The sockpuppets that started the whole thing looked like they were seeking revenge, which we know people like Icewhiz love to do, both onwiki and off. I don't necessarily disagree with the ban, but I would highly suggest a full case since whatever happened in the motion felt rushed and sloppy. I also urge the functionaries to develop better policies when it comes to sockpuppetry in contentious topics, since it's clear bans don't really work against bad actors.

Additionally, it is disappointing when arbs simply sign a vote to ban users without commenting on why they want to do so. Banning someone is certainly no small decision, and we need transparency to ensure it simply isn't "I don't like them," or worse, "My colleagues want to ban this person, so I'm going to as well". Children Will Listen (🐄 talk, 🫘 contribs) 00:38, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Huldra: See WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS. You may report these editors at WP:AE if you wish. Children Will Listen (🐄 talk, 🫘 contribs) 21:26, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I think ArbCom's decision about whether or not to open this case should center on how the Arbs, currently, feel about the votes that were not changed after some Arbs did change their views about Iskandar. I would not automatically conclude that the discussion at the ACN talk page is also representative of the editing community as a whole: this is a hot-button topic area, and editors who have strong opinions disliking the recent decision may see things very differently than do those of us who looked at that talk page, and decided that we did not want to touch it without fire-resistant gloves. I went back and looked at the Iskandar diffs, and they convinced me that I'm not a subject matter expert. I think there are limits to what we can expect of ArbCom, in terms of determining the nuance of POV in this topic area, and the nuance of the boundaries of "broadly construed". But what strikes me as substantive is that evidence was first presented by a bad-faith sock, then got some incompletely explained supports from some Arbs, after which some other Arbs looked at further evidence and decided against sanctioning – and now we have some of the early-supporting Arbs reaffirming their votes and others not yet saying publicly. I obviously don't know whether ArbCom would now change the outcome of that decision, but that's what should decide whether or not to reopen the case. --Tryptofish (talk) 00:57, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Correction made: thanks IOHANNVSVERVS. --Tryptofish (talk) 01:22, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

A suggestion to ArbCom for the future is to consider carefully when something (1) is likely to be hotly contested by some members of the community, and (2) has a split opinion among the Committee members. When that happens, Arbs may save themselves some future headaches by being more proactive about "showing your work". In this case, it would have helped a lot if the members who were early supporters of the Iskandar ban had come back after some of their colleagues had changed their minds, and said in public that they were reaffirming their original votes, and why. (Angry editors dissatisfied with a decision abhor a vacuum, and tend to fill it by assuming the worst.) --Tryptofish (talk) 21:54, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Another suggestion. In the GMO case, the practice of having diffs in the final FoFs became a more general expectation (for odd reasons). But diffs shouldn't be used just to tick a box on a checklist. If Arbs sign on to something, they should justify how the diffs that are included belong there, or remove those diffs. --Tryptofish (talk) 19:56, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Since I, as an editor with relevant graduate-level studies who avoids the PIA area and is previously unfamiliar with Iskandar323's editing or position in the conflict, can, upon reviewing the seven edits listed in the FOF, readily determine which faction the non-neutrality is alleged to have favored, that strongly suggests that the arbitrators finding such a pattern of non-neutrality are not objectively unreasonable in doing so. The subsequent election is the traditional time to take up issues with arbitrators' interpretations. Jclemens (talk) 02:13, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  Tiamut's statement contains 491 words and complies with the 500-word limit.

The decision to fully ban Iskander is unjustified, both in evidence presented and arguments made by those in favor, who largely ignored community feedback exposing the diffs presented as innocuous.

This case was unnecessary and mostly prompted (like Iskander's original topic ban) by filings made by sockpuppets who do not like legitimate content being produced by honest editors. Sockpuppets make the requisite 500 minor edits on random articles outside the topic area (often continuing to do so to avoid scrutiny) but drop in to push a singular POV and file reports.

Article development in PIA suffers. So many knowledgeable editors are now topic banned, and newcomers are discouraged by the obstacles to editing. Fifteen years ago when I was very actively editing here, articles were regularly vandalized, with POV warriors often blanking material they did not like, sparking edit wars. Since my recent return, I have noticed this thankfully cannot happen because of the many restrictions since enacted, but articles are in desperate need of motivated, knowledgeable editors, and most of them are being topic banned, one by one, by reports filed by socks! Tiamut (talk) 04:14, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Most admins at Arbcomm seem blind to sockpuppet disruption. Two here co-nominated a user for adminship who was revealed by User:Nableezy to be a sockpuppet! Admins microscopically examine content in the edits of established editors open about their POVs, while being duped by people posing as neutral, gaming the system, and running sockpuppet accounts. Tiamut (talk) 11:40, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• @Asilvering: In nearly two decades (on and off) editing here, I have seen dozens of socks file reports and tarnish the logs of many decent editors. Go look at User:Nableezy's page "a trip down memory lane". More than half the blocks are sock reported. My first three blocks more than 15 years ago are from reports filed by User:Isarig who probably still socks here somewhere. Admins look at block logs and escalate sanctions. Iskander was targeted, like many of us who produce a lot of content under one account are. The hyper scrutiny we receive compounds while the socks disappear. We bring up sockpuppets at every Arb case, but no real motions address it while editors targeted by them are instead punished. Tiamut (talk) 06:10, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• @Asilvering: We need real acknowledgement that socking is repeatedly targeting editors to ban them. Its hard to remain patient, civil, AGF with this incessant gaming. HJMitchell says he is at his "wits end" from this topic area's disruption but much is generated by the actions and reports filed by socks making mountains out of molehills insisting you adjudicate content and tone, and you oblige them! SilverLocust cites Iskander's long log of sanctions as proof of incorrigibility, ignoring he collaborates well and produces fine content in a challenging editing environment needing editors. Arbs see the targets of these reports as the problem, rather than the throwaway accounts kicking up mud. They have nothing to lose and reincarnate, while we suffer editor attrition and community corrosion.Tiamut (talk) 07:53, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think a new case with the same arbs will be useful as it will be essentially asking the committee to investigate themselves and the COI is obvious. The only proper way to handle this situation is an independent review. Zero^talk 05:21, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@IOHANNVSVERVS: The committee can arrange such a review with or without an established procedure. Zero^talk 06:27, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I will add to the chorus that I'm concerned with the outcome here. A new case with the same arbitrators may not be that useful, but I would like a better justification of the outcome.

There is a difference of having a certain POV which comes out in your edits and WP:POV pushing which is disruptive and can be associated with e.g. double standards, cherry-picking and wearing down 'opponents' on talk. To me, it is not clear that the interpretation of POVPUSH/CPUSH the committee used this time around, corresponds closely to the texts of WP:POVPUSH and WP:CPUSH (both explanatory essays), as the diffs mostly just seem to show Iskander's POV without showing misconduct associated with it. Is it a question of cementing this better in actual PAGs? Arbcom is not meant to judge content, it is meant to judge conduct. In these kinds of cases, the line between the two can be blurry, but I'm not sufficiently convinced the committee was on the right side of that distinction. —Femke 🐦 (talk) 09:44, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Kingsindian's statement contains 545 words and is within 10% of the 500-word limit.

Topic ban violations are handled all the time at AE, so why was this case needed? The key is in the unusual FoF that Iskandar323 engaged in "POV-pushing" outside the technical limits of the topic ban. I submit that this is an absurd FoF, arrived at in an absurd way.

Let's recall the facts. Guerillero, in the AE request which led to this case, posted a bunch of diffs making this accusation. He did not tell anybody what procedure he used to collect these diffs, how these are violations, or why he went out to find the diffs in the first place. In the ARCA case, ScottishFinnishRadish also claimed to have seen evidence of non-neutral editing, again without any elaboration. None of the other Arbs gave even a semblance of any reason. The argument boiled down to: "trust me bro".

Why would anyone trust the judgement of members on ArbCom on this issue? Do they know anything about the topic? People elected you to administer Wikipedia, not to find out whether Asherah was the consort of Yahweh.

For the FoF to make sense, the NPOV violation must be blatant and easily observable by outsiders with no special knowledge of the topic. For instance: if there was an explicit consensus on a page, and Iskandar323 violated the consensus and edited in a disruptive or edit-warring way. Did anything like this happen? No.

It is way beyond the competence of ArbCom to determine the nuances of the POV of an edit. That's because every edit has a POV implication. And there are many subtle ways in which POV can be manipulated. These things are impossible to know without detailed knowledge of the topic. Unless they're blatant NPOV violations, which is clearly not the case here.

ArbCom should either get some sort of outside expert input, or stop trying to fix things which it has no competence to fix. Not every ill in the world can be fixed by ArbCom.

I have no opinion about what exactly should be done to fix this travesty. Kingsindian ♝ ♚ 10:54, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

ScottishFinnishRadish's comment is not credible. Topic ban violations are handled all the time at AE. Without the "POV-pushing" FoF, there would be no motion here, and no ban. Kingsindian ♝ ♚ 04:37, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It's scandalous but unsurprising that Guerillero studiously refuses to provide any explanation of how he came up with the diffs. Kingsindian ♝ ♚ 17:35, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It's trivial to show that the "non-neutral editing" FoF is absurd.

Consider a table with two columns: "Pro-Palestine arguments" and "Pro-Israel arguments". I fill the table one entry at a time, till I have 10 rows. Now pick 10 diffs from one column to "prove" that I'm "POV-pushing". QED. Kingsindian ♝ ♚ 17:35, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Multiple arbs say that the "PoV-pushing" FoF isn't "central"; so imagine a world where the only FoF was topic bans vios. The cited diffs are a violation 1 yr ago, a diff for which Iskandar323 was already blocked, and a trivial user talk page comment.

Without the PoV-pushing FoF, there wouldn't even be a motion, let alone a site ban. And what of all the other motions like "admins are allowed to ban from a wider area" etc.? Admins at AE are allowed to expand topic bans on the basis of one diff? ArbCom is not only acting recklessly, it's expanding WP:BURO. Kingsindian ♝ ♚ 02:53, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Sean.hoyland's statement contains 501 words and is within 10% of the 500-word limit.

Was Iskandar323's proposal here seen and rejected? Sean.hoyland (talk) 12:59, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Scharb, without an evidentiary basis for your claims, I think you would agree that there is a risk of "just railroading a user with a different perspective" as you said at ANI about someone who has likely committed a crime by stealing an account and using it to target people on Wikipedia. Sean.hoyland (talk) 04:04, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Re: what would taking the issue of sockpuppet disruption seriously look like, to you? Taking it less seriously and messing with socks is also an option since our options are limited in practice. Maybe there are ways to disincentivize the weaponization of reporting systems by socks. An issue is that there are no consequences. There's no downside to socking. This creates an enforcement asymmetry. There might be things that restore something closer to a symmetric state, more balanced payoffs for honest vs dishonest actors. One fun way might be to try linking topic ban length to ban evasion across the pro-A vs pro-B divide. So, pro-A user X gets up to some socking/editor-targeting shenanigans and gets caught. Ta-da! Perceived opponent topic banned Pro-B user Y gets their topic ban length reduced or even lifted. You get the idea, karma. Sean.hoyland (talk) 17:11, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Re: ...making reports with evidence of POV pushing is nigh-on impossible from Kowal2701. I think this case (and ARBPIA5) shows that it is easy to compile a small set of samples from a much larger set, say that it represents a pattern e.g. POV pushing, and many people will agree. People in the media/social media do it routinely about the topic area and many people accept their conclusions. I don't think there is much reason to believe that we, Wikipedians, are significantly less error prone than the general population. I think we should try to keep things simple. If reasonable people can disagree whether something broke a rule, forget it. Also, socks unambiguously broke the rules thousands of times since the ARBPIA5 topic bans were enacted. Nehushtani, who said "The pattern shown with Iskandar323 is especially disturbing.", violated policy 3,512 times in just over a year. Seems quite a lot worse than this case if the concern is the amount of rule breaking. Sean.hoyland (talk) 16:02, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Re: Sir Joseph's it's a numbers game, it's something like a numbers game, but I'm not sure people grasp the scale and complexity when they form views. Using a broad definition of the topic area, you can say - since the beginning of 2025, 20,389 distinct actors have made 263,526 revisions, with the top 3 percentages being 3.87%, 2.89% and 1.16%. Only 5 accounts have each contributed more than 1% of the revisions. The way people think and talk about the topic area, enforcement etc. seems detached from this complicated reality. That same set of 20k actors made over 16 million revisions altogether in the same period. Sean.hoyland (talk) 08:44, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  Super Goku V's statement contains 478 words and complies with the 500-word limit.

Ignoring the outcome for a bit, I feel like some of what I am hearing here isn't necessarily asking for a case to be opened, but for the prior case to be re-opened for members of the Committee to explain their actions. @Theleekycauldron and HJ Mitchell:, as the only members to have voted decline so far, would either of you be willing to express your thoughts on this?

Regardless of what happens, I will point out what Administrators' role and expectations are according to the Contentious topics. As noted by point three, administrators are expected to explain when they take an enforcement action. This portion links to WP:ADMINACCT, which contains the relevant portions:
Administrators are accountable for their actions involving administrator tools, as unexplained administrator actions can demoralize other editors who lack such tools. (...) Administrators are expected to respond promptly and civilly to queries about their Wikipedia-related conduct and administrative actions, especially during community discussions on noticeboards or during Arbitration Committee proceedings. Administrators should justify their actions when requested. (...)
Failure to communicate – this can be either with editors (e.g., lack of suitable warnings or explanations of actions), or to address concerns of the community (especially when explanations or other serious comments are sought) There were a significant number of times where members of the committee signed onto an action without explaining why during the ARM. For one member in particular, the two longest comments made were 65 and 63 words, which were respectively used to disagree with a motion regarding emails sent to the committee and disagree with the usage of the word "standing" in the motion. Said member otherwise signed 3 times without explanation and signed 12 further times with a total of 69 words and a rounded average of 6 words. (And a decent portion of that was still concerns regarding committee emails.) That member was not alone in signing without explaining during the deliberations. I will say again that some of the statements here sound more that they want committee members to explain their actions and reasons, rather than have a full case.

Additionally, given that Iskandar323 cannot make any comments regarding this, shouldn't the "Statement by Iskandar323" section be removed or otherwise suppressed? After all, they cannot participate in this appeal since they are block here and at their talk page. --Super Goku V (talk) 13:04, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Reply: @Theleekycauldron: I agree that this shouldn't need a new case and thank you for fixing my mistake on motions and cases.

Question: @SashiRolls: Is it correct to assume that your position is that the banning motion should have potentially been 6-6 with Girth Summit's statement added and Guerillero's statement excluded for violating a COI or their pledge to recuse? --Super Goku V (talk) 04:30, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Reply: @SashiRolls: That is an interesting position. I am not sure though that recusal is enforceable for statements made for an election. (It might be disappointing, but that is a separate matter.) Guerillero response to this might similarly be disappointing, but I also don't see where recusal was enforceable.

Comment: @Wafflefrites and LokiTheLiar: Less me pointing out or discussing irregularities and more curious about someone else's position. --Super Goku V (talk) 23:55, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Comment: @Sir Joseph: The ends justifying the means to me feels like it would be a violation of what Arbitrators are expected to do. --Super Goku V (talk) 09:22, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

A few observations:

• The final bot tally of the Iskandar banning motion was 7-5-0 in part because Girth Summit (did not / chose not to) copy his statement of opposition into the appropriate section. Had he done so, the vote tally would have been 7-6-0.
• It seems that nobody has ever been site-banned before with such a slim "consensus". (searches were conducted for previous 7-5, 6-5, or 7-6 decisions)
• Guerillero both presented the disputed evidence of POV-pushing and voted as a judge/juror on the basis of this and other unspecified evidence. This non-recusal is a confusion of roles.
• In his 2024 campaign statement, SFR pledged that he would be turbo-recused (see question 3) from ARBPIA 5, yet he voted on this ARBPIA 5 motion based on unspecified evidence not presented in the case.
• Consensus is not a vote-count but an assessment of the quality of the arguments. Barkeep49 mentioned the policy WP:CONEXEMPT, which does not state (or otherwise imply) that ArbCom decisions are determined exclusively by bot-count.
• The claim that this comment on a user talk page is a concerning topic-ban violation, when it mentions neither Israel nor Palestine, requires such open-mindedness (in broadly construing) that I'm afraid there is a risk of my brain bouncing on the pavement.

Conclusion: No new case is needed, the motion should be re-closed as no consensus concerning Iskandar's banning given the problem of recusals, quality of arguments, and the uncounted vote. -- SashiRolls ^{🌿 · 🍥} 15:33, 25 January 2026

• @Super Goku V:, Loki has my tally exactly right below.
• I must say Sean Hoyland's suggestion of penalizing socks by compensating their targets is an interesting one. Those who game the system should be gamed in return. All ArbCom would need is a Billing Mamba to keep track of the expenses in a big spreadsheet! :) -- SashiRolls ^{🌿 · 🍥} 19:41, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see how a reconsideration of the same evidence by the same people will lead to a materially different outcome. As such I see limited utility to a case. But I was surprised by the severity of the remedy vis-a-vis the evidence in the FoF. I would appreciate if the arbitrators supporting that remedy took this opportunity to comment on that, and in particular to clarify whether the ban vote was a consequence of that evidence alone or Iskandar's previous history in the topic. Vanamonde93 (talk) 17:39, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

As an outsider comment, largely in reply to SilverLocust's comments below. I didn't follow ARBPIA5 and if the arbs say that Iskander behaved poorly, I believe them. I also understand that sometimes behavior that could be trivial from a random editor can be a "straw that broke the camel's back" for an editor on their last piece of WP:ROPE. However, the topic of ancient Israel and Judah is one where valid, sourced edits can be read in sectarian ways, and there's no avoiding it. The odds are 100% that Iskander or any editor in the area will make edits that can be construed as some sort of sectarian dog-whistle, regardless of whether or not that was the intent. The supplied edits look like perfectly standard editing in the field - contestable and revertable perhaps, but not unusual or problematic.

If the arbs want to revise the outcome of ARBPIA5 as insufficient in its remedies for Iskander, fine. Ban Iskander for his actions then (rather than these diffs), or apply a topic ban to "anything involving territory in what will become Israel, broadly construed" to avoid any doubt on scope. But the provided recent diffs are just... normal editing in this space. They shouldn't be used as proof of misconduct, lest any edits at all in the field be seen as misconduct. SnowFire (talk) 18:01, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Zero0000, asking the present arb.com to investigate the present arb.com is a waste of time. I suggest a group, of let's say, former arb.com members, reviewing the case, Huldra (talk) 20:51, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
User:SilverLocust, There are several editors who consistently favor use of "massacre" for attacks on Israelis and "attack" for Palestinians when participating in requested moves. (eks FortunateSons, Alaexis, GidiD, Coretheapple, Wafflefrites; links can be given if required). Why single out Iskandar? In the Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case/Palestine-Israel_articles_5/Evidence#Evidence_presented_by_FOARP, they only concentrated on the "pro-Palestinian" editors, and ignored the "pro-Israeli" editors, Huldra (talk) 21:15, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
User:ChildrenWillListen, no use in this connection, as ArbCom decided in WP:ARBPIA5 -for some reason- mainly to investigate "pro-Palestinian" editors. That whole brouhaha was skewed from the start. Huldra (talk) 21:35, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I have never used much time on "taking out the opposition", not my interest. Huldra (talk) 22:44, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

By request from User:Guerillero, I have added links to his talk-page,Huldra (talk) 23:43, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

All of the edits were destructive, not constructive, and clearly intended to erase and minimize the history of the Jewish people, especially within the land of Israel; thus, relevant to Israel/Palestine "broadly construed," as Jewish history in the land is highly relevant to that topic. (Personal attack removed) This is a user who should not be part of the Wikipedia community.

As for the origin of the complaint coming from a compromised account–– I, myself, had noticed this pattern from Iskandar for a while but not said anything because gathering diffs and creating an ARBCOM motion can be time-consuming. I don't think Iskandar should get off scot-free just because honest users like myself were beat to the punch by a troll account. Scharb (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 01:29, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  Wafflefrites's statement contains 452 words and complies with the 500-word limit.

Just wanted to point out regarding SashiRoll's observation "The claim that this comment on a user talk page is a concerning topic-ban violation, when it mentions neither Israel nor Palestine, requires such open-mindedness (in broadly construing) that I'm afraid there is a risk of my brain bouncing on the pavement." ... I believe the comment Iskandar323 made when he mentions "one of the PW pieces", he is referring to piratewires articles, such as this one. So technically, it is topic ban violation. Wafflefrites (talk) 05:09, 26 January 2026 (UTC) This violation occurred in Dec 2025, after I323's block in Nov. Wafflefrites (talk) 21:34, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Can someone please confirm if what Loki/Sashi/Goku are saying about the recuse thing is correct? If what Loki said about the tie is correct, can we please close this thing and not waste any more of our time? Wafflefrites (talk) 07:11, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Huldra, yes I remember this topic favoring massacres over attacks for the Oct 7 attacks/massacres. This is because American vs British English definitions for massacres is slightly different. For the Palestinans, the sources I was reading called them attacks, you can provide the diffs. A separate ArbCom can be opened for me, if you'd like. Wafflefrites

Also, if this what to do with Iskandar323 thing can't come to a close, I suggest you all try to compromise on the outcome. Like a month ban, 6 month ban, instead of year. Compromise is a good thing.Wafflefrites (talk) 22:22, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Here is a log showing SFR protecting Iskandar323 from vandals: https://teknopedia.ac.id/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=User+talk%3AIskandar323. And SFR even protected others and Iskandar323 from some account saying bad things about Iskandar323 by requesting speedy deletion here https://teknopedia.ac.id/wiki/User_talk:MohaHossein. Not sure what they said about I323, but SFR is an admin who has consistently been trying to protect Iskandar323 and others from seeing bad things.Wafflefrites (talk) 23:37, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I suggest a case be opened for I323. There is still clear confusion among admins and the community about "broadly construed" and exactly how many times I323 has violated his ban before the final block. And the policy pages WP:BROADLY and WP:TBAN need to be improved with better wording and more examples on what exactly is broadly construed. My main argument for opening a case is that Arbcom is supposed to prevent disruption to the commmunity. I323 clearly is a well respected and liked member of a large part of the Wikipedia community. If there is not what the community sees as a fair trial, and I323 is blocked for 1 year, I am almost certain there will be more cases sent to AE for 1RR enforcements, POV pushing, etc., so likely more disruption, which I am sure no admin wants more of. Wafflefrites (talk) 23:20, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

And remember everybody to stay on topic, which is: should there be case y/n? Wafflefrites (talk) 23:49, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

SashiRolls and Super Goku have pointed out several irregularities that, if taken together, would have changed the outcome of the motion, or if a case is accepted should change the outcome of the case even if no new evidence is presented:

1. Girth Summit changed his statement to a clear statement of opposition, but did not copy it into the oppose area. 2. SFR said they'd recuse from any potential ARBPIA5 because of his extensive involvement in the topic area (which included referring Iskandar's behavior to ArbCom in the first place). This extensive involvement, which he recognized as requiring recusal at the time, suggests he should have recused from this motion and also from any resulting case. 3. Similarly, shortly before his current term Guerillero posted several relevant diffs including some that were used by an ArbCom that now included himself to decide the motions at issue. Obviously this means he should have recused as well.

If all three of these irregularities were resolved it would change the outcome from 7-5 to 5-6. Even if only two were it would change the outcome to a tie (and therefore no consensus). Therefore I agree with SashiRolls that the motion should be overturned as no consensus (and that SFR and Guerillero should at least be trouted for not recusing when they should have.)

(Also, I would like to suggest that ArbCom should formally increase its own threshold to prevent issues like this in the future.) Loki (talk) 06:11, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I don't find either Guerillero or SFR's responses convincing. Obviously recusing from a case, much less "turbo-recusing", means you are also recusing from motions resulting from the case. (And in fact have to, since the extensive admin involvement leading up to the case doesn't just go away.)

And it doesn't actually matter if those diffs were being talked about privately: Guerillero was still both presenting new evidence and deciding on the same motion.

I would like to hear from the rest of ArbCom on this as well. I know I've seen plenty of other arbs including some of you recuse for much less before. Loki (talk) 11:58, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I have not edited in the Palestine-Israel area and do not have an opinion on whether the original decision by ArbCom to site-ban Iskandar33 was supported by the evidence. What is clear is that the community is dissatisfied with the decision by ArbCom, and ArbCom was elected by the community, and the purpose of this electronic workplace is to develop the encyclopedia, and the community is the collective author of the encyclopedia. Sometimes it may be necessary for ArbCom to make a decision that displeases the community, but those 'sometimes' occurrences should be very rare. This raises two questions. First, did ArbCom do anything specific or make any identifiable mistakes that contributed to a possible error? Second, what if anything should ArbCom do at this point?

The answer to the first question is that ArbCom handled the ARBPIA5 violations by a series of motions rather than a full case. This may or may not have been a mistake, but is seen by some as having been a mistake.

There are several possible actions that ArbCom can take at this point:

• 1. Do nothing. Let the decision stand as a case where ArbCom needed to displease the community.
• 2. Commute Iskandar33's ban to a block of time served, which would acknowledge that punishment was needed, but the ban was too harsh.
• 3. Open a full case to be heard by the current ArbCom.
• 4. Open a case to be heard by another board.

The optics of Option 1 are bad. It will look, to a large portion of the community, that ArbCom doesn't care what the community thinks. Option 2 is the simplest option that recognizes that community opinion is important. Option 3 is probably what should have been done and will provide more transparency, and will be WP:ARBPIA6

I have an eccentric question. Can ArbCom ask the U4C to hear a case by admitting that ArbCom may have mishandled enforcement of the UCOC in this particular case? Can ArbCom request that the U4C hear an appeal, or select an appellate panel of its arbitrators, from ArbCom?

I advise ArbCom to ask the UCOC whether this case can be heard by the UCOC. If that is not available, they should open a new full case. Robert McClenon (talk) 09:35, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The actions at WP:ARM originated from a WP:AE report submitted by a sockpuppet.

Any editing performed by a sockpuppet is, by definition, done in bad faith. There is no possible good-faith edit from a sock. Therefore, the WP:AE request itself was initiated in bad faith.

While bad faith does not negate the diffs which were presented in the WP:AE filing—they still exist as a record—the central problem is that the presentation and framing of these diffs by a bad-faith actor may have been given undue credence. A significant number of experienced editors, including many current administrators, have reviewed the evidence and stated that the diffs do not support the claims made about them.

Standard editing consistent with WP:PAG may have been systematically misrepresented in the worst possible light. More critically, the procedural constraints of a motions-based case has limited any analysis needed to assess the original filing's validity.

Given the overwhelming community response challenging the basis of the sanction, I believe the only appropriate path forward is to:

• Immediately suspend the sanction against Iskandar323.
• Refer this matter to a full arbitration case.

In a full case, each contested diff can be examined in proper context by editors knowledgeable on the subject, to determine whether there has indeed been a continuation of POV editing into new areas. TarnishedPath^talk 09:49, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The entire reason why ARBCOM even exists is because in some circumstances the "community" (as represented by whoever will show up to the discussion, and as such not actually a cross-section of the actual community but instead whoever are the fiercest partisans in that area) cannot be trusted to properly implement our PAGs. I-P is undoubtedly a field where that is an issue.

If ARBCOM are going to overturn their own decision because of concern from the "community", they are negating their very purpose.

If, however ARBCOM intends to open another case in this area, then it should certainly not just be limited to the question of whether it was correct to ban Iskandar323, but also analyse the repeated violations of topic-bans by the people previously TBAN'd at WP:ARBPIA5, and whether it is appropriate to be lenient towards people who repeatedly flout a TBAN, even where individual violations appear minor. FOARP (talk) 13:26, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Topic bans from Israel, Palestine, and the conflict broadly construed would be much easier for people to follow, and just more honest. The conflict permeates all aspects of society.

If what's happened here is SFR made a judgement call based off of their experience with the editor, and several arbs deferred to that judgement, I'd much rather people just said that. We know making reports with evidence of POV pushing is nigh-on impossible Kowal2701 (talk) 14:46, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Sean.hoyland, agreed, should have specified convincing/merited reports Kowal2701 (talk) 16:11, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Some editors raised questions of "what outcome are people seeking from this process," so I wanted to express my view on what I'd personally like to see. Achieving any specific result re: Iskandar isn't my main priority; rather, what I want is for arbs to be "showing their work", as others have put it, to demonstrate that they've reviewed all of the evidence and are making informed decisions. An example to illustrate my point: it was claimed that Iskandar was systematically and disproportionately trying to remove evidence of Israelite/Jewish presence from articles about the ancient Levant. Aquillion provided a counterargument to that claim, showing a number of diffs of Iskandar making analogous edits about other ethnic and religious groups. I have no objection if the arbs reviewed this (or other) evidence and found it unconvincing, but I would like them to at least say so explicitly if they did, and would prefer if they also explained why; when so many arbs make silent votes, even in the face of multiple pings asking them for their detailed opinions, it's hard to know how informed they actually are about the state of the evidence. If the committee is taking extreme steps like sitebans, I want to be confident that such decisions are being made based on the relevant facts in their totality. ModernDayTrilobite (talk • contribs) 22:08, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I agree to an extent that the process was a bit off. However, I also think that in some cases the ends justify the means. One way to start getting balance in the IP conflict area is to have more balanced editing and editors. We don't have that now because it's a numbers game. The articles are so tilted that people who know a little bit about the area know not to use Wikipedia. Editors also "self-ban" from the IP conflict in order not to get involved. Take a look at the area and you'll see the same people editing the same articles in the same manner. Sir Joseph ^(talk) 22:47, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The committee's endorsement of a site-ban based on the seven diffs presented is indefensible. As multiple editors and even some committee members themselves have shown, these diffs are either irrelevant or clearly good-faith edits. Building a finding of "consistent non-neutral editing" on this debunked set of evidence, originally compiled by the now-blocked sock Nehushtani, reflects a serious failure of critical scrutiny. The process has been compromised by bad faith and a breakdown in arbitrator responsibility.

The voting record shows a pattern of arbitrators failing to meet their most basic obligation: to examine the evidence and publicly justify their decisions. In several cases, accountability appears entirely absent.

• Guerillero referred to a supposed "continuation" of misconduct based on a six-month review, yet provided no diffs and ignored extensive discussion refuting the public evidence.
• ScottishFinnishRadish asserted a "pattern of minimizing... Jewish history" without evidence, a claim directly rebutted by other editors with diffs, and offered no counter-argument. ScottishFinnishRadish, backed by other ArbCom members, also cited prior bans for POV pushing by Iskandar, while ignoring the fact that this prior ban had been initiated by an Icewhiz/Galamore sock, as with the most recent case. Multiple editors have already questioned why ScottishFinnishRadish didn't recuse himself despite being involved.
• HJ Mitchell supported the POV-pushing motion solely with "Per HB" even though that arb later changed their vote, and did not address the evidence.
• Daniel, Aoidh and SilverLocust voted for sanctions without providing justification or engaging with critiques, despite being pinged multiple times.
• Girth Summit initially voted for the site ban, then later reversed course citing the failure of the POV-pushing motion (despite affirmatively voting there and the motion passing), but never addressed the substantive concerns about the evidence.
• HouseBlaster acknowledged that the diffs showed nothing concrete, yet still claimed clarity based on a "full picture" that was never shared.

The enforcement history cited to justify the severity of the sanction is compromised. To repeat my previous points, ScottishFinnishRadish invoked Iskandar323's 2021 topic ban, which stemmed from an AE case filed by an Icewhiz/Galamore sock, the same sock/meat network responsible for pushing the latest AE case against him. The committee is thus relying on an enforcement record produced by the same network targeting this editor for years, thereby rewarding a long-running harassment campaign.

The fact that this motion advanced at all on such flawed evidence and through such a deficient process reveals a system failing at a fundamental level. The community expects arbitrators to examine evidence, engage with criticism, and justify their votes publicly. In this case, a majority did not, and that failure must be addressed. I second Yngvadottir and Zero0000 in calling for the ban to be vacated and for an independent review to be opened, with decisions grounded in properly presented and evaluated evidence. Paprikaiser (talk) 00:13, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

This area is used for notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).

Vote key: (Accept/decline/recuse)

• I think this is ultimately a question of whether the arbs who supported the motion to ban Iskandar would want to reconsider in light of the somewhat-late-breaking opposition. If they do, we can have a case; if they don't, well, arbitrators can make unpopular decisions. Guerillero, SFR, Aoidh, and House, and Harry reaffirmed their votes; I think it's up to Daniel and SilverLocust (who supported and didn't reaffirm), plus Girth Summit (who struck their vote and didn't re-vote) whether they want to see a full case. If enough of them vote to accept that (when combined with the five opposers) a motion to overturn the ban could pass, I'd go with them. Otherwise, I think we'd just be relitigating the exact same issue to probably the same result. (Katie and Sdrqaz could also vote to overturn, but I'm more queasy about accepting based on that because that also pushes this towards relitigation territory.) theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 18:38, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • In light of Daniel and SilverLocust's comments, all seven arbs in favor of the ban have more or less reaffirmed, so I'm a decline for now. There's talk of opening a case for a much broader review; I'm not closed to that, but I want to see a lot more about who and what exactly we'd be looking into, first. Maybe that should be a new case request. theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 07:00, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • The other rationale for a case here is to get a full accounting of how each cited diff in Iskandar's FoF contributes to the overall pattern being alleged. As someone who pushed hard for the expanded FoFs at WP:ARBTRANS, I would encourage the arbitrators in support to offer that accounting, but a case is a wholeee lot of bureaucracy just to arrive at that. I think it could be done a bit more informally if it were to happen – and the goal would only be to meet obligations of transparency, not to convince the community that the sanction was necessary. theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 07:29, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
  • @Super Goku V: Like I said above, I'd encourage arbitrators to go more in-depth about their reasoning; I'm not sure a whole case is needed just for that, though. It wouldn't be reopening a prior case because proceedings at ARM aren't cases. (And if we were to revisit it at ARM, we should open a new thread, because the old one is quite clogged.) theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 17:04, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• I still believe the outcomes were the right decision of the sanction proposals presented, based on the totality of editor behaviour. That being said and noting the feedback in particular from uninvolved editors, I will fully respect if a majority of my colleagues want to run this through a more exhaustive process, approaching with a totally open mind. If that does happen, I think there is some directly-related misconduct by other editors that could be scoped in, as well as potentially some issues with AE that would benefit from further examination. But that's a whole another ball game and we might not want to complicate A with B, given A is already complicated enough. Daniel (talk) 19:06, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• I am only interested in exploring the PIA topic area for the next 2-3 months if we look at the conduct of people beyond those that were parties of PIA5 since c. 2016 or the last time they were a party to a case (call it either PIA5.5 or PIA6 depending on your mood). --Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 19:16, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  I offered arbs a much more formal way of exploring issues around PIA5 (dusting off the rarely used Review that would have included an evidence phase) before the motions were posted, and nobody else seemed interested in investing the time. -- Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 17:19, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  The committee was already discussing Iskandar's conduct, both on-list and informally, before I posted at AE. I do not see a reason to retroactively recuse. -- Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 20:15, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  This isn't an Ango-American court where decision makers only consider the evidence and arguments presented to them by the parties. In nearly every decision, from cases to motions, arbs look beyond the submitted evidence at edit histories and logs to contextualize and expand upon it. -- Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 12:57, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Guerillero: No, we aren't strictly limited to what is presented by parties, but shouldn't there be an expectation that when we make a decision, it is clear what evidence and arguments we are relying on? There's a difference between "we won't use evidence outside of this circle" and "we'll use evidence outside of this circle, we just won't tell you what it is". theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 17:40, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Huldra: Show me evidence similar to that from pia5 at AE or on my talk page and I am more than happy to do CT actions -- Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 21:39, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• When I ran for ArbCom, I told myself that if the community wishes to have a case (on any subject), we should hold a case. Based on the discussion at WT:ACN, it seems the community wishes to have a case. I am therefore inclined towards having a case—including both Iskandar and the topic area as a whole. Speaking for myself, I would be willing to vote against a ban, and if we have a case, the ban should be lifted in the meantime.

  Black Kite, revoking TPA is standard practice for ArbCom bans. WP:BAN says that for site bans talk page access may be allowed to appeal the ban; because we only take site ban appeals via arbcom-en, we normally revoke TPA. I definitely want to hear from Iskandar about whether they would like a case, so I support restoring TPA as an interim measure. Best, HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 19:41, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Arbs: would you support restoring TPA for Iskandar to allow them to comment on this case request? Regardless of one's thoughts on the underlying ban, I agree with the sentiment expressed above that they should be permitted to comment on a case request which is primarily about them. Best, HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 23:17, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  Fine with me. Daniel (talk) 23:18, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  +1 theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 23:34, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  No objection. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:58, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  I'll gently ask Guerillero and ScottishFinnishRadish to please provide the diffs you referenced at the motion and which have caused concerns with large segments of the community (and admittedly, I am part of that segment). With respect, if it's just vibes: we wouldn't accept that as an /Evidence submission, so we shouldn't accept it from an arb. Best, HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 03:51, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  I'm not satisfied with Guerillero's answer to my above question, if I am being honest. We are not an Anglo-American court of law—no argument there. But ArbCom wouldn't let a party give vibes-based /Evidence, so we shouldn't accept vibes-based evidence from arbitrators. Best, HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 23:27, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Paprikaiser: I ended in the oppose section of the POV motion. The timestamp of my full picture comment was before I switched my vote; I was referring to the evidence from PIA5 + the infamous seven diffs. We have different views about what to do if bad-faith actors report real problems, and I know we won't convince one another of our views, so I won't try. But I generally agree with this memorable quote from Levivich (of all people). Best, HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 00:28, 29 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• Decline. People are unhappy with this decision but I can't see anything ArbCom could do that would make people any happier. If we uphold our original decision (as is likely and, in my view, correct), the same people will still be yelling at us; if we reverse ourselves, a different group of people will yell at us. Nothing good will come of this. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:07, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  I can't see myself moving off this position. First, because asking a group of people who just spent nearly a month making a decision to revisit that decision hours after it was finalised based on all the same circumstances is unlikely to change the outcome. Second, and more importantly, because I believe the decision was correct. ArbCom exists not to make popular decisions but to do what is necessary to keep a lid on disruption in topics that the community is unable to handle. We (both ArbCom and the community) are at our wits' end with this topic area and extraordinary measures are needed to contain the disruption. Iskandar was topic-banned in the last case because they "engaged in disruptive behavior in the PIA topic area, including consistently non-neutral editing". Since then, they have been blocked for violating the topic ban and—in my assessment—have continued to engage in "consistently non-neutral editing" and shown that they are not here to participate in good faith. A site ban is the only remedy we have for that. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 12:09, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @SashiRolls ArbCom does not make decisions by consensus; a motion passes if it is supported by an absolute majority of active, non-recused arbitrators. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 15:55, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• Much of the response at WT:ACN appears based on a misconception that a case about Iskandar would be handled in a different way. It will not be. This misconception is in turn founded, I believe, on another misconception, one I held before becoming an arb: that there must be something more behind the curtain. So let me explain. There is no private evidence in this case. There is no private communication involved that we have failed to note. You have seen the opinions of the arbitrators and you have not liked them. Perhaps you believe there is more discussion happening behind the scenes. There has been some - less, I think, than you'd expect - but I assure you it is the same opinions, simply stated more candidly. The only thing you have not seen, and cannot see, is the full extent and nature of the sockpuppetry evidence against Nehushtani etc.
  You will not like our opinions any more than you already do if we open a full case. If anything, you will dislike them more - because a full case allows for the net to be cast wider. My read of the community response to these motions is that some editors want this decision reversed, and basically everyone responding wants to have more confidence in arbcom. I sympathize. But I do not believe a case would fix either of these things for you. What you see is what you have got. -- asilvering (talk) 20:27, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Black Kite, you've seen the reasons. That's all there is. I know you believe there is more. There is not more. I know you are not happy about that. I cannot make you happier about it. A case won't either. -- asilvering (talk) 20:38, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @The Kip, Levivich has been named as a party to this case. -- asilvering (talk) 23:35, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Tiamut, what would taking the issue of sockpuppet disruption seriously look like, to you? -- asilvering (talk) 01:47, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Tiamut, I can readily understand your frustration but that doesn't really answer my question. When we have the evidence required to block someone as a sockpuppet, we block them. I don't know how sockpuppetry can be taken more seriously than "block on sight". We've already got ECR in the topic area. I can tell you that the WMF has been working with the functs team on developing additional anti-abuse tools and that they've been very useful so far - but not, so far anyway, terribly useful against PIA socks, who are smarter than the average ban evader. -- asilvering (talk) 07:05, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Huldra, take them to AE, then. That's what it's for. -- asilvering (talk) 22:36, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Wafflefrites, the purpose of this page is to discuss whether or not the arbitration committee should accept this case. Please don't post anything else. -- asilvering (talk) 05:49, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• I'm following this discussion but I want to fully consider it before making any sort of decision. @Yngvadottir: ArbCom can and does get things wrong; there are a few decisions I would have liked to have seen go a different direction for any number of reasons, but what isn't immediately clear to me is whether a case is likely to address the (valid) concerns of uninvolved editors here. We're expecting a winter storm here with the very real possibility of lengthy power outages (this is my second time writing this due to a brief outage), so I wanted to go ahead and comment now so that it doesn't seem like this isn't being taken seriously, and I'm going to comment further as soon as I can. - Aoidh (talk) 20:57, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Decline - I cited the Enough is enough principle in my vote because the editing of Iskandar323 (among others) show a pattern of treating topic bans as surmountable barriers to their editing in this topic area and that resulting blocks are just the cost of editing in the topic area, rather than as a mechanism that is meant to prevent them from editing in or about the topic area. Iskandar323 was warned about violating their topic ban, and continued to do so. They were blocked for violating their topic ban, and continued to do so. Iskandar323 further POV pushing was not the central issue and I would not have supported a ban if that were the case. This isn't their first topic ban, nor is it their first instance of violating a topic ban. Continuing to violate the topic ban less than a week after their block (for violating the topic ban) is further evidence that a topic ban is not going to prevent disruption, which is why I supported the ban.

I know that reasonable people can agree or disagree with this conclusion, and I should have communicated this rationale when making my vote, and for that I apologize and I will make sure to elaborate on such things moving forward. However, opening a case immediately after a motion passed so that the exact same arbitrators can review the exact same information while expecting a different conclusion is not going to bring the desired outcome. - Aoidh (talk) 00:35, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• As mentioned at the ARCA, I am inclined towards holding a full case here (and unban Iskandar pending the case outcome). However, if such a case is held, it should extend beyond simply their participation in the PIA topic area. Elli (talk | contribs) 22:00, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• I stand by the ban. One year ago the Committee concluded that Iskandar is a "consistently non-neutral edit[or]" with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict, pointing to evidence of consistently favoring use of "massacre" for attacks on Arabs and "attack" for Israelis when participating in requested moves. Since then, Iskandar has violated the topic ban at least 4 times, per the evidence in our first finding. (The first three diffs plus the violation noted in Tamzin's warning, where Iskandar nominated an article for deletion just after the subject had endorsed Trump's Gaza takeover proposal, which was one of the few things noted in the article at the time.)
  This was Iskandar's second PIA topic ban, and the first one had also resulted in a block for violations. I believe that record (the non-neutral editing, two topic bans, four violations of this one and at least one violation of the previous one) is sufficient for a site ban, as I explained in not supporting a lesser sanction (as I said "I am more open to broadening a PIA topic ban to Palestine/Israel, but I think multiple violations of multiple topic bans over time tend to justify a sitewide ban or block.").
  (As to the second finding of fact, given the record of Iskandar being unable to remain neutral as to the conflict and to remain away from the topic while banned, I am more readily willing (relative to an editor without that record) to find an additional pattern of editing to diminish "Israel"/"Judah" terminology in prose/images/titles as motivated by its implications for the modern conflict. I consider the second finding supplemental to the repeated straightforward topic ban violations, not as the main focus.)
  Since I think that evidence is sufficient to ban Iskandar, I don't currently see the need for a case to seek more evidence. ~ Jenson (SilverLocust 💬) 04:32, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @Huldra: If you can show patterns similar to the FOARP evidence for other editors, that should have a good chance of leading to topic bans. As an initial matter, it would be best to present that at AE, as Asilvering says. ~ Jenson (SilverLocust 💬) 00:03, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• I agree that this was factually and procedurally irregular. I argued from the get-go that this should have been a full case, not a sort of semi-case done via motion. This has reflected poorly on ArbCom. With that said, I also am not sure what a full case would achieve. More evidence with which to ban Iskander? I don't see the Committee exactly changing its mind and deciding to unban him; I think it would just make the ban stick harder. This however may be one of the few situations where a future committee should, in an unban request, actually entertain that the initial action was incorrect. I don't suggest that relitigating bans should be something that happens frequently, but something to think about should Iskander appeal this next year. CaptainEek ^{Edits Ho Cap'n!}⚓ 02:54, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• I'll address a couple points while I have some time. First, I recused from ARBPIA5 specifically, not the entire topic area. In the year leading up to the case I was heavily involved administratively in the topic area, I placed a large majority of user sanctions, was involved in the AE discussion that led to the case, and was told that evidence about my administrative actions would be raised at the case. Since the case I've taken part in many public Arbitration discussions and motions about the topic with no objections or calls for recusal, and many more privately. So no, I do not plan on recusing, nor had there been any expectation of recusal as demonstrated by my Arbitration involvement post-case.
  There also seems to be a misunderstanding that the motion to ban was explicitly because of the diffs presented. I think HouseBlaster has explained fairly clearly that those diffs are not the sole or primary reason for a ban. There is a long history of topic ban violations, including after warnings and blocks. The violations under discussion were not caused by a sock and they were not baited into making them. This history, with continuing violations, is why I found extending the topic ban untenable and one of the reasons I thought a ban was appropriate. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 23:41, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Initiated by TenPoundHammer at 18:46, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Case or decision affected

Conduct in deletion-related editing arbitration case (t) (ev / t) (w / t) (pd / t)

Clauses to which an amendment is requested

1. TenPoundHammer is topic banned from deletion discussions, broadly construed. This ban may be appealed twelve months after the enactment of this remedy, and every twelve months thereafter.

List of any users involved or directly affected, and confirmation that all are aware of the request

• TenPoundHammer (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) (initiator)

Information about amendment request

• TenPoundHammer is topic banned from deletion discussions, broadly construed. This ban may be appealed twelve months after the enactment of this remedy, and every twelve months thereafter.
  • Lifting of XFD topic ban, or at least temporary relaxation of topic ban to gauge behavior before full lifting of topic ban.

TenPoundHammer's statement contains 528 words and is within 10% of the 500-word limit.

So I know I've had multiple XFD topic-bans and multiple appeals. That's nothing new. But I think that, unlike the last few go-rounds, I have a deeper understanding of the behaviors that led me to the topic ban in the first place. I've identified the main issues as aggression toward other editors, excessive speed, sloppiness with source-finding, behavior that came close to breach of topic ban, and otherwise tendentious behavior that only lowered morale of other editors and made alternatives less fruitful as well, thus creating a vicious cycle. I have posted a longer examination of my behavior here.

My last appeal from August 2024, I snapped and accused editors of wikistalking me. I no longer feel any stress that is much of an impact on my editing.

If my topic ban from XFD is lifted, what do I plan to do to keep my long-standing XFD conduct issues at bay?

First off, I plan to slow my pace. Literally no one should be hitting triple digits on PRODs. The pace I was going at was reckless and sloppy, leaving me little to no time to engage with any sourcing that might exist. For this, one of my remedies is the aforementioned "to-do" list, as well as increasing engagement on article talk pages and/or with other editors to show what I did or didn't find in the way of sourcing.

Second, I am to keep myself from attacking other editors. If someone does find sources, great! There's no reason I can't be the one to add them in myself, instead of browbeating other editors to do it for me. If I disagree with the integrity of a source, then I can say so calmly. Again, this is another issue that stemmed from my long-standing frustration over my inability to get other editors to engage with me at all. I tried being calm before and was met with silence, and only ever seemed to get through to people at all by means of extreme aggression. That's not at all healthy or beneficial to the collaborative nature of Wikipedia. And I would like to think that I've been in a much more positive head space that has resulted in far more fruitful discussions, regardless of whether or not I get the desired outcome.

Proposals I've had include a possible "trial basis" where I am allowed to file one or two XFDs and/or participate in other XFDs but not start my own, with another editor monitoring my behavior if needed. However, I've also seen the argument that a gradual reinstatement is overcomplicating things.

tl;dr: I feel like I have had enough time to reflect on the actions that led to my topic ban, to learn from any mistakes I made while it was enacted, and come up with a plan of action to keep my misbehavior at bay. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 18:46, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• @HouseBlaster: My bad, I missed that. I trimmed this down, although I have retained the longer version in case others want to peruse it. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 20:20, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• Acknowledging ping in initial filing. I do not have the on wiki time to review this in the reasonably foreseeable future, but my perception in recent months/year is that TPH is more aware of the issues, which is also seen here. I would have no objection to some kind of trial. I'll try to circle back here if time allows. Star Mississippi 02:42, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

This is a strong appeal that addresses why the topic ban was necessary at the time and presents compelling evidence of self-reflection to support revisiting it. I appreciate the apology and am impressed that TenPoundHammer recreated Bargain Hunters (which they had previously prodded in 2022) as well as significantly improved Hagen (TV series) (which had been at AfD). This article work shows their source-searching skills have improved and their potential to make valuable contributions at AfD.

To add to HouseBlaster's summary, TenPoundHammer was blocked in November 2025 after they blanked-and-redirected Gambino Family (group) six times and Ghetto Organized seven times. Concerns over TenPoundHammer's AfD activity have existed since at least 2010. Given the lengthy history of deletion-related issues, I am concerned that disruption could recur over the longer term, even if it does not arise in the next one or two years. Based on the very persuasive appeal, I support significantly loosening or fully lifting the ban, provided the Arbitration Committee retains indefinite jurisdiction to reinstate it if similar issues like aggression, canvassing, or volume arise again.

Mass AfD nominations place an unfair strain on editors, leaving them little time for the work they enjoy. I wrote in 2022, "I have had several articles I have wanted to write but have not written. In the past month, I have instead spent a significant portion of my time participating in the large number of television AfD discussions to find sources so that articles about notable television series are not deleted." I experienced that again this week after 43 Olympians were nominated for deletion. I spent 15 hours finding sources for 10 Hong Kong Olympians.

In the past, TenPoundHammer made a large volume of deletion nominations, which overwhelmed the community's ability to respond to them. TenPoundHammer made numerous prods and AfDs in April 2022 and blanks-and-redirects in April 2024. I hope that any lifting of restrictions will include safeguards against this. Cunard (talk) 13:10, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Other editors are free to make relevant comments on this request as necessary. Comments here should address why or why not the Committee should accept the amendment request or provide additional information.

This area is used for notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).

• There's a limit of 500 words, TenPoundHammer. Do you want to withdraw this request before other people comment and dramatically shorten your statement? Best, HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 20:05, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  Thanks for shortening! On the merits... I really want to vote to remove this ban. I really do. This is a great appeal, and it has been years since the ban. If this was the first time around I would firmly in favor of lifting. But I two concerns:

  • TPH has been banned from various activities related to deletion four separate times: a community topic ban from deletion in January 2018 (narrowed in August 2018 and lifted in 2019), a community topic ban from closing XFDs in June 2022, an ArbCom topic ban from deletion in 2022 (which is what they are appealing now), and an ArbCom suspended topic ban from BLARs in 2024 (expired last year).
  • Most immediately, TPH was blocked for violating their topic ban six months ago and warned for breaching it in 2024.

  On the other hand, I am glad TPH sought consensus before BLARing ~50 articles, and without being a subject-matter expert or digging deeply into the content question, the arguments they made in that discussion seem perfectly in line with conduct expectations.

  At ARBXFD, Izno made the case for a more narrow ban only concerning article deletion processes (AFD, article CSD, PROD, maybe BLAR). I don't think I can be talked into lifting the article deletion ban, at least yet; the issues are chronic (and people were saying it was a chronic issue back in the 2018 ban thread), and I think letting TPH participate in other XFDs provides a path to show they can contribute constructively. Any loosening should be a suspended removal; perhaps even indefinitely, until the suspended ban is actively appealed. I'll think some more, but I wanted to write these thoughts down. Best, HouseBlaster (talk • he/they) 21:47, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• I freely admit to having had a kneejerk response to seeing this appeal come in on the feed, but I read the whole appeal and found it, well, surprisingly good, actually. Sorry for my skepticism, TPH. I do agree that an outright lift is a lot. Maybe we can get behind that and maybe we can't. But I wonder if we might consider suspending the tban instead as a first step. -- asilvering (talk) 22:02, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• There's a lot of history here but the appeal shows the right level of reflection. I've always believed that TPH was a passionate editor who was fundamentally here to build the encyclopaedia but went off the rails on certain areas and I'm sympathetic given that we recently loosened JPL's similar ban. I can see a path towards lifting the topic ban, but I'd be nervous about scrapping it in one fell swoop. I'm wondering if a rate limit on nomination (X AfDs per Y time frame, maybe one per 24 hours) might strike an acceptable balance? Or perhaps we could allow voting in XfDs but no replies (unless pinged)? HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 22:38, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  I agree that we need a step between the status quo and a full suspension of restrictions -- Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 00:36, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @TenPoundHammer do you have any feelings on a stepped restriction? If we were to allow a partial return to deletion arenas, what sort of limits do you think would allow you to participate effectively without the potential for the problems that led to the topic ban. You can have 200 words if you need them but only for responses to arbitrator questions. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 14:54, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @HJ Mitchell: My first thought was a limit of filing one XFD and/or PROD per 24 hours to help mitigate the speed issue, with a gradual increase for every month I prove myself to have no conduct issues in XFD. (Optional clause for non-deletion maintenance that still uses XFD space, such as requests to rename a category, not counting toward the total.) Maybe a full release of my topic ban if I go say, six months without any issues. I don't feel a need for a limit on restricting participations in XFDs filed by others, as I believe my interactions with other users have improved lately, and unlimited participation in others' XFDs would also allow for greater consensuses and easier notifications of WP:HEY moments. Ten Pound Hammer • ^{(What did I screw up now?)} 16:26, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @TenPoundHammer Please comment in your own section (I'll leave this here, but I'd suggest you read the big red box at the top before your next comment).

  To the substance, there was quite a bit of evidence related to disruption beyond just mass nominations (eg incivility, bludegeoning, lack of due diligence) so even if you feel you "don't feel a need for a limit on restricting participations in XFDs filed by others", ArbCom might. I might propose a 1 AfD/day restriction and an allowance for voting in other AfDs but I'd like input from some other arbs to see if they have other ideas or if the motions are likely to have any chance of success. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:04, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  One XfD/PROD/BLAR per day seems like a reasonable start? -- asilvering (talk) 06:10, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Initiated by Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist at 03:42, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Case or decision affected

Transgender healthcare and people arbitration case (t) (ev / t) (w / t) (pd / t)

Clauses to which an amendment is requested

1. Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist is indefinitely banned from transgender topics, broadly construed. This restriction may be appealed twelve months after the enactment of this remedy, and every twelve months thereafter.

List of any users involved or directly affected, and confirmation that all are aware of the request

• Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) (initiator)

Information about amendment request

• Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist is indefinitely banned from transgender topics, broadly construed. This restriction may be appealed twelve months after the enactment of this remedy, and every twelve months thereafter.
  • Exception for Transgender history in Mexico, its talk page, and neutral notices relating to it to gauge behavior before full lifting of topic ban.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist's statement contains 651 words and exceeds the 500-word limit.

Hi y'all, I hope you're doing well! Or as well as we can in these dystopian times.

I haven't been editing much the past few months as I've been busy with my doctoral program and working, but during the winter break I wrote es:Identidades trans en México and just published it, largely because my studies also heavily focused on trans history in Latin America.The article maps onto Transgender history in Mexico they just have a different naming convention, ie see es:Identidades trans en Brasil & Transgender history in Brazil.

I wrote it in English then translated it to Spanish and have the original copy. I'd deeply appreciate the chance to publish it here and take it to GA, half because I think enwiki would miss out from not having it / needing to retranslate it and half because I'd like the opportunity to prove myself and get back to putting in the work to get our trans history articles to GAs.

I hope you'll be sympathetic to the request, partly due to the 5-2-2- support for WP:ARBTRANS#Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist indefinite topic ban (alt 3), which would have left an exception for Transgender history in Brazil.

P.S. I put and neutral notices in the request so I can put a notice on the LGBT wikiproject noticeboard the article has been written and ask for peer review, I wasn't sure if that would be covered without it. No worries if you'd prefer I don't post the notice there!

Best regards, Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist ⚧ Ⓐ (talk) 03:42, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@HJ Mitchell, I deeply appreciate the sympathy! I also totally get and want to alleviate your concerns:

• The edit number is deflated because I draft locally: collecting sources, reading and annotating (often in my second language), compiling the article, reviewing, and even translating sometimes.
  • The Equality of the Human Races was ~8 hours during class/work season
  • es:Identidades trans en México was ~80 hours on my winter break
  • File:Lucy Hicks Anderson With Deputy Sheriffs.jpg took about 5 hours of tracking and copyright research
• All criticism of my work has been about coverage of anti-trans activism / health care misinfo. Articles about trans history have been fully uncontentious such as the GA Transgender history in Brazil. As have articles on NYC tenant history and policing.

The break in editing was part working while being a full time grad student, and part the blow, but also to step back and reflect on my editing and how I lost focus on why I'm here: to cover trans history and topics, not bigots. My ambitious goal for the next few years is to help bring us to having articles on trans history for every country!

I want to prove myself and keep putting my labor, skills, and knowledge towards the project. If I misbehave, I'm shown the door. If I maintain good behavior, enwiki gets the first of many new GAs on an undercovered topic! I know the stakes and won't betray the community's trust in me.

Sincerely, Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist ⚧ Ⓐ (talk) 04:09, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Guerillero About to head to class for the day, just want to briefly state I do acknowledge my behavior was wrong, hence trying to focus on non-contentious work and no dispute of the charges, and my edit count represents a lot more work than it appears. I also thought an amendment was different than an appeal? The "extraordinary" factors are the committee almost going for a similar amendment previously, and having written a comprehensive article / translating it and having the original. Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist ⚧ Ⓐ (talk) 13:41, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

P.S. for additional context, while the TBAN passed 6-3, the second choice 6-3 was solely banning me from healthcare[8], in addition to the aforementioned 5-2-2. I believe/hope outside the pressure of a large case and deciding on multiple editors, my good work can be weighed more holistically. Your Friendly Neighborhood Sociologist ⚧ Ⓐ (talk) 13:55, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

While I'm not opposed to this request, I have a quibble with Asilvering's healthcare-and-BLP suggestion - it seems to me that almost all current transgender articles about any country/culture is going to lean heavily on BLP issues, so imposing that restriction wouldn't help. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 19:15, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Asilvering: My concern is the BLP side, not the healthcare side. SarekOfVulcan (talk) 00:00, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Other editors are free to make relevant comments on this request as necessary. Comments here should address why or why not the Committee should accept the amendment request or provide additional information.

This area is used for notes by the clerks (including clerk recusals).

• I'm sympathetic to the idea, as I was in the proposed decision, but you've only made 17 edits total (including filing this) and only nine to the mainspace since the case closed. I understand the topic ban was a blow, doubly so because we couldn't find a narrower scope that was unambiguous and supported by a majority of arbs, but I find it difficult to support even a small carve-out without a track record of harmonious editing in a different topic. HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 20:19, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• I think making a tban exception for a single article is not a great idea. It would be better to rescope the tban. I'm not sure why "transgender healthcare and trans-related BLPs" was not considered in the original decision - that seems to cover everything everyone was concerned about? And it would allow YFNS to edit on trans history. -- asilvering (talk) 06:08, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

  @SarekOfVulcan, wouldn't help in what sense? Yes, it would mean that YFNS is limited in her ability to write a fully complete article with a topic of something like "trans history in Mexico", since she'd have to leave off anything that relates to healthcare, or people who are still living. But it would allow her to write about many other things that relate to trans history, which includes rather a lot that isn't healthcare-related. -- asilvering (talk) 23:15, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

• The low edit count and complete lack of any sense in this appeal that YFNS thinks they did anything wrong makes me strongly inclined to reject this. Further, the restriction states [t]his restriction may be appealed twelve months after the enactment of this remedy and it has only been 3 months since the case closed on 20 Oct 2025. Past committee's don't bind future ones, but there needs to be something extraordinary for an appeal to be this early. --Guerillero ^{Parlez Moi} 13:04, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• I'm inclined to accept. Yeah, it's been a low edit count since the ban, but YFNS has a reasonable explanation for that and she's already proven she can work constructively in the non-controversial areas. Open to asilvering's idea about a rescope but I don't mind a single exemption as a proving ground, and a broader grant makes me more nervous. Maybe it'd be a good second step. Also, we should just get rid of preemptive appeal limitations. YFNS, if this appeal isn't successful, I'd encourage you to think about whether there's anything you'd be interested in working on here that isn't barred by your current topic ban (and doesn't put you at risk of getting into more trouble, wouldn't recommend trying to GA Donald Trump and fascism). Or diving in deeper on eswiki would be a great idea, a la WP:STANDARDOFFER. theleekycauldron (talk • she/her) 17:30, 27 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
• Recused. - Aoidh (talk) 00:36, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

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'''Requested action''': Short explanation (including the contentious topic or the remedy that was violated). ~~~~

• Wikipedia:Example (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

One-revert restriction: Changes on this page are frequently reverted back and forth. User:Example (talk) 16:13, 5 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: This doesn't involve any contentious topic, so an admin doesn't have discretion to impose a one-revert restriction here. ~ Jenson (SilverLocust 💬) 16:13, 5 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

• Talk:Textbooks in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict (edit | subject | history | links | watch | logs)

Requested action: Just a quick request that an administrator remove the duplicate ARBPIA talk notice. I imagine this could probably be done myself, but the template technically says any marking, template, or editnotice may be removed only by an uninvolved administrator., so if someone could do so, would be appreciated. EggRoll97 ^(talk) 04:17, 15 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

 Done asilvering (talk) 05:15, 15 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

No action. Arcticocean ■ 19:49, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below. Requests may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs (not counting required information), except by permission of a reviewing administrator. Request concerning Rap no Davinci User who is submitting this request for enforcement Kowal2701 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) 22:56, 17 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] User against whom enforcement is requested Rap no Davinci (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) Search CT alerts: in user talk history • in system log Sanction or remedy to be enforced WP:PIA Diffs of edits that violate this sanction or remedy, and an explanation how these edits violate it See page history of Holocaust survivors and descendants supporting Palestine, an article they created 11 Jan. Also see NicheSports' analysis of the content added [9] which indicates either a violation of WP:NEWLLM, or big WP:CIR issues re WP:V and WP:RS. They were informally warned about LLM-use on 11 Oct 2025 and then received a formal warning at AE on 22 Nov 2025. Diffs of previous relevant sanctions, if any 22 November 2025 Warning for problematic LLM-use in PIA If contentious topics restrictions are requested, supply evidence that the user is aware of them (see WP:CTOP#Awareness of contentious topics) [10] Additional comments by editor filing complaint This comment in the merge discussion also seems LLM-generated and cites WP:SNG for some reason (?) Kowal2701 (talk) 23:09, 17 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Raskolnikov.Rev comment below misrepresents mine in the discussion, and while blunt and potentially uncivil it has nothing to do with AGF Kowal2701 (talk) 11:08, 19 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Newslinger, usually I'd agree, but they've shown a serious lack of understanding of core policies on an incredibly controversial and sensitive/nuanced topic. I'd rather they honed their editing skills outside of PIA first Kowal2701 (talk) 01:27, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Notification of the user against whom enforcement is requested [11] Discussion concerning Rap no Davinci Statements must be made in separate sections. They may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs, except by permission of a reviewing administrator. Administrators may remove or shorten noncompliant statements. Disruptive contributions may result in blocks. Statement by Rap no Davinci   Rap no Davinci's statement contains 1023 words and complies with the 1024-word limit. Y Extension granted to 1024 words. — Newslinger talk 09:12, 19 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] I have always been transparent about my use of LLM, when I stated that I can continue editing without it, I meant it. The article in question was not generated/created using LLM, it’s entirely my work and took me several days to draft the initial version. For "See page history [of the article]", it would actually help you see the amount of effort it took as a person to add few more sentences. From the initial version to the final expansion, which included additional sentences and sources, I spent HOURS in reading, analyzing, and summarizing information in the sources. LLM would've taken few minutes, that's a human being behind their screen putting in real work. Does that mean I didn't make any mistakes? Absolutely not! Especially given the sensitive nature of the subject, but working on it is me being brave (and prepared for the pushback). There are likely phrases that could seem biased or could misrepresent the original sources, of course UNINTENTIONALLY. That's why we don't own articles we create, and the community-driven work we do is what make this platform so special. Everyone is welcome to contribute to the article and make it better. (I am working on a section related to reception and criticism to address the tag of Unbalanced). For the comment on merge, I, once again, didn't use LLM, and for the WP:SNG, (as I understand it), is for the article Holocaust survivors and descendants supporting Palestine as a very specific topic, very different and should not to be merged with Jewish pro-Palestinian activism just because they "overlap" in one singular general fact: both cover pro-Palestine activism by people of the Jewish faith. Some of the criticism is legit (about 10% of the article needs improvement, mostly related to wording, I will address some of them) and I probably made some mistakes, please help make the article better. Thanks! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rap no Davinci (talk • contribs) 14:11, 18 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Reply: Thanks for extending my word limit, I'll do my best to address all points raised against me/the article. For NicheSports' comment is what I referred to as "10% legit criticism", mostly related to wording. In relation to sources and OR: "A foundational principle for many Holocaust survivors ... " As the leading sentence, this is supported by the whole subsection of '"Never Again" applies to all people', as the next line is "They argue that the slogan "Never Again" must not be exclusive to Jews." and later "as descendants, we recognize that genocide makes no one safer." and so on. The same with "The use of Holocaust memory in discussions of Israeli military...", followed by "Holocaust survivor Agnes Kory stated that she was "outraged and deeply insulted by the Holocaust being used as an excuse for Israel's relentless war against the Palestinian people," … and much later “victims of the Nazis who were outraged that Israel used their histories to justify assaults on Palestinians.” for "(such as siege, mass displacement, and high civilian casualties)...", I added this as explanation for readers as these are already established "facts" supported by standalone articles on Wiki Siege of Gaza City, Blockade of the Gaza Strip; for mass causalities Gaza genocide, Casualties of the Gaza war. Is this a case of OR? From my pov, this is explanation WP:SYNNOT. Still easy to fix (as has already been). for "Many of these individuals distinguish between Judaism and political Zionism…" Again, this is supported by the whole subsection of "Anti-Zionism is not antisemitism", take "Organizations they associate with ... argue that the foundational ideology of Israel leads to the oppression of the people of Palestine" and "Signatories to the 2014 letter ... object to the characterization of pro-Palestine activism as inherently antisemitic, pointing to their own Jewish identity ..." as examples, all supporting that sentence. for "Organizations they associate with … argue that the foundational ideology of Israel leads to the oppression of the people of Palestine." I should've clarified the ideology of "self-defense" and criticizing the state = criticizing the Jewish people = calling for another Holocaust .. excepts the source cited "victims of the Nazis who were outraged that Israel used their histories to justify assaults on Palestinians" and "Israel's self-defense is very lopsided. Gazans are a population living in a constant state of siege. They've been driven from their homes, into decades-long refugee camps." = being oppressed. (the sentence is vague more than OR, cuz “what ideology?”) for "A German-born Jewish-American … known for her work with the International Solidarity Movement in support of the Palestinian cause." I rewrote that from her Wiki page, the lede Hedy Epstein, not OR For "Their stance is rooted in the belief that lessons from the Holocaust demand opposition to all forms of oppression …” Not sure how is this OR, it's the article itself, multiple cited survivors used their experiences as a base to vocalize support for Palestine and opposition to Israel!! Currently, 2 editors (R.Rev & Arcticocean) have examined the sources and found no issues. Which was the main problem with my prior LLM mis/use. For the “typical LLM” phrases like ‘rooted in’ and ‘foundational principle’, etc. As a non-native English speaker, these look very standard formal phrases, appropriate for this encyclopedia. Some of these were translations from my native language to English using Google Translate (when I was unsure how to express some info or summaries). It took me serious days to write this article. It’d be seriously unwise of me to write an article related the most debated subject in the past 2 years (on-and-off Wiki), with a warning against me, using LLM, when I expected pushback against the article as there’re editors with strong views for/against the premise. Having a “history” of mis/using LLM makes the accusation easy to stick, but I maintain my position that I stopped using it for creating/editing on Wikipedia since the last AE, even prior to the warning. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rap no Davinci (talk • contribs) 13:49, 20 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] 2nd Reply: I didn’t know about that Google Translate update. I will disclose when I use it. For the recommendation about creating WP:CT/A-I articles, I have no objection. Thanks for handling this. (brief due to word limit) Rap no Davinci (talk) 10:33, 22 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Statement by Raskolnikov.Rev I reviewed the source analysis cited for filing this case and wholeheartedly disagree with it. All the content is backed by the cited sources and there's no WP:OR involved or use of GUNREL that I can see. There's some improvements that can be made with attribution, particularly in one case citing a weak source that links to other sources containing the content, but that content was already backed up by other sources added to the body and not at all controversial. In my view it's all rather minor and easily resolvable via regular BRD and editing. Not sure why this was so quickly escalated to AE. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 10:36, 19 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] The filer responded to my providing a second opinion on the source analysis, as the original editor requested, by saying I shouldn't edit in the topic area either without substantively addressing anything I said. I don't find this helpful and it's not WP:AFG. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 10:44, 19 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] To briefly respond to NicheSports: As I noted on the talk, the example brought up as the supposedly most egregious instance of failing WP:V is actually the worst one to bring up: The cited NYT piece says the march Hedy Epstein participated in was organized by Gaza Freedom March, which overlaps with the Free Gaza Movement, which in turn overlaps with the International Solidarity Movement. Moreover, Hedy Epstein's BLP was linked, which states she was an activist in the ISM in the lede citing the same NYT source. And it should not be removed there either as it is entirely uncontroversial and accurate material given Gaza Freedom March being a part of the broader ISM. Here is a newsletter from the Free Gaza Movement with a statement from Epstein saying why she joined the Gaza Freedom March and a call to join the ISM at the end, and here is the obituary I added stating Epstein was active in the ISM and Free Gaza Movement. Even if NicheSport's concern that the ISM was not explicitly named in the NYT piece is valid, it could easily be resolved with this addition. This doesn't even warrant a revert, let alone an AE case. Raskolnikov.Rev (talk) 09:28, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Statement by NicheSports Can an admin independently and thoroughly review my analysis [12] before this case is closed? I believe that both Raskolnikov.Rev and RnD's analyses are unreliable. For evidence of this claim, see the 6th point of my analysis (the simplest, as it documents a black and white WP:V failure). In RR's talk page response [13] to my analysis, they state that it is "uncontroversial" that the text I highlighted was supported by the sourcing. This is objectively false; the organization "International Solidarity Movement" is never mentioned in the only source [14]. Meanwhile, RnD stated at the AE thread that I rewrote that from her Wiki page, the lede Hedy Epstein, not OR. This reflects an apparent serious misunderstanding of WP:V; content in articles must be supported by in-line sources, not assertions made in related wikipedia articles. This is the simplest example; I am confident that a reviewing admin will identify other issues, especially related to WP:PRIMARY. LLM detection is almost always probabilistic in nature (unless someone leaves a chatbot prompt/response). There is a high probability that RnD has repeatedly been dishonest about LLM use: at their talk page [15][16] re Draft:Nayda and at the prior AE thread [17]. See this analysis [18], which mostly explains my thinking re: the prior AE thread. Meanwhile, Draft talk:Nayda § High likelihood unreviewed LLM-generated text speaks for itself. These probable prior issues make me skeptical of RnD's claims at this AE case to have only used machine assistance for translation purposes while creating the article in question. One more point: it is so much harder to address machine-assisted content in the PIA space because it gets edit warred back in [19][20] and people start arguing [21][22] about whether it is anti-semitic (this article isn't, of course - RR, RnD, and I all agree there). NicheSports (talk) 23:06, 23 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] @Newslinger I didn't think that compliance with core content policies was a content issue, but understood on the rest and I am happy to drop this. I will also stop reviewing RnD's edits and will focus on LLM work outside of the PIA space. NicheSports (talk) 04:23, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Result concerning Rap no Davinci This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the sections above. @Rap no Davinci: There are seven bullet points in the initial comment of Talk:Holocaust survivors and descendants supporting Palestine § WP:V and WP:OR issues, likely LLM-generated content that highlight seven excerpts from the text you added to the article in your first six edits ending 12:37, 11 January 2026. For each bullet point, could you please assess the text in question and explain in detail whether the content and the sources cited to support it are consistent with the core content policies and the reliable sources guideline? I have extended your word limit to allow 700 words for your response. — Newslinger talk 09:12, 19 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] To clarify, I am still expecting a response from Rap no Davinci based on their own reasoning, written in their own words. — Newslinger talk 10:46, 19 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] @Rap no Davinci: Thank you for responding. You might not be aware of this, but as of December 2025, Google Translate uses Google's Gemini LLM to handle part of its translation process. Other machine translation tools have started using LLMs in their implementations as well. Because of this, whenever you use Google Translate or another machine translation tool for editing, please disclose your use of that tool in your edit summary. (When you use machine translation in a discussion comment, please also make the disclosure in the comment itself.) I see that your response here heavily focuses on whether the content you added corresponds to the sources you cited, but does not examine whether those sources are reliable or neutral. As the fourth bullet point from the article talk page comment pointed out, you cited a self-published article from Medium that was authored by an individual who does not appear to be a subject-matter expert. Please be more careful with your sourcing to ensure that your content is compliant with the verifiability policy. Based on the above, I believe Rap no Davinci should use the Articles for Creation process to create any new article related to the WP:CT/A-I contentious topic, which would necessitate a review of the draft by another editor before it is published in article space. I state this as a recommendation, but would also support implementing this as a requirement if there is consensus that doing so would be necessary. — Newslinger talk 18:57, 20 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] @NicheSports: This noticeboard is only able to address misconduct, and content issues have to be resolved through the proper channels. I agree that Rap no Davinci's phrasing and source selection in the article are both opinionated and in need of improvement, but this is something that can be corrected with further editing (or, for Rap no Davinci's future article creations, flagged by an AfC review prior to publication). The standard for evidence on this noticeboard is higher than that of WP:ANI (because we focus more on specific diffs here instead of general impressions about an editor), and for reports regarding LLM misuse, I would prefer to see a higher-confidence sign of AI writing before advancing to a more serious behavioral restriction. — Newslinger talk 04:12, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] @NicheSports: Noncompliance with core content policies is a behavioral issue if there is a disruptive pattern, or if the edits are egregious enough to clearly show that they were made in bad faith. I do expect Rap no Davinci to continue working on the article to address the critiques that you and others have posted on the article talk page. — Newslinger talk 04:38, 25 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] @Kowal2701: Rap no Davinci can see your advice here, but it is not enforceable without a stronger set of evidence. — Newslinger talk 13:37, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Further to Newslinger's request that Rap no Davinci respond to the seven points referenced, a detailed analysis of the sources was posted by another user. I think it is fairly clear now that there is no source hallucination within the article, and therefore that RND had checked all LLM-generated assertions. What I think has to be addressed now is the undisclosed use of generative AI to write the prose of the article. The phrasing of the article makes clear, in my view, that it was substantially generated by AI. RND has denied this and says the article in question was not generated/created using LLM. On a close reading of the article drafted, I have to disbelieve their denial. Many of the usual signs are present, e.g. use of imprecise weasel words (A foundational principle for many is the…) and human-impersonating editorialisation (Their stance is rooted in the belief…). RND was warned after the last AE report that they may receive a sitewide block in the event of further generative AI misuse. Failing to disclose LLM use is discouraged and writing new articles with them is not permitted. I would ask RND to comment on this. Arcticocean ■ 17:45, 19 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] Assuming good faith, I am prepared to accept the explanation that this article was not AI-generated, despite appearing to have been. I also agree with Newslinger's recommendation to use AfC in future. As ​RND has now accepted that recommendation, I think we can treat that as a voluntary measure rather than a sanction, and I would close this enforcement request without formal action, provided no other admins have further concerns. RND, please continue to remember your recent AE warning regarding generative AI use in addition to the advice given in this AE request. Arcticocean ■ 13:19, 22 January 2026 (UTC)[reply] The statements (and supplementary comments) being offered in this request are not introducing new or actionable information. As all relevant issues have been addressed and considered, I think this request should now be closed, with 'no action' as the outcome for the reasons I have already given. Unless any uninvolved admins object in the next 48 hours, I will close the request with that as the outcome. Arcticocean ■ 20:07, 26 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

This request may be declined without further action if insufficient or unclear information is provided in the "Request" section below.
Requests may not exceed 500 words and 20 diffs (not counting required information), except by permission of a reviewing administrator.

User who is submitting this request for enforcement

Pppery (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) 17:50, 28 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

User against whom enforcement is requested

Malayalee from India (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log)

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Wikipedia:Contentious topics/South Asia

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this and the resulting entry at WP:Database reports/Possibly out-of-process deletions#G6 is what brought it to my attention, but basically every single edit I spot-checked is either about Indian political parties or Indian military history both of which are under extended-confirmed restrictions.

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• Alerted 11 Sept 2025

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https://teknopedia.ac.id/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Malayalee_from_India&diff=prev&oldid=1335335125

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