On 20 Jul 2008 at 13:34:19 +0100, "David Gerard" dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
2008/7/20 private musings thepmaccount@gmail.com:
I'd like to formally request here that a checkuser notify me as to when checkuser was used on my current accout, User:Privatemusings, and also on my previous accounts User:Purples, and User:Petesmiles.
I would suggest that you think there's a problem because you were caught out sockpuppeting egregiously, and still don't think you did anything wrong. In your case I can't see a thing the system did wrong.
That's one way of spinning the Private Musings saga, but I think a more reasonable way would be to note that he was using an alternate account to participate in internal Wikipolitics of a somewhat controversial nature (e.g., the great BADSITES wars), while using his then-main account to do much less controversial, and site-content oriented, things. This was, at the time, at least arguably permitted by the policy (though there was some ambiguity). His political enemies then proceeded, in conjunction with tightening up this policy, with enforcing the new understanding of the policy retroactively on him.
Sockpuppetry for the purpose of involving oneself in political struggles has always been treated with a double standard depending on whether the person who does it is in the "favored class" or out of it.