It looks to me like the block on Libertas should be removed immediately, Evercat has
pretty much admitted he abused his powers in blocking her.. His IRC communications are
irrelevant to his wikipedia actions. He could have ignored the talk page issues and let
them settle down.
However, I don't think he did anything wrong using info available to all, to figure
out and speculate on a talk page about who libertas, was, wasn't or might be. That is
the risk we take when we use the internet. If he had used sysop powers to violate
pseudonym privacy that would be a different matter. I know I don't expect my IP
address and information discoverable from it, to be private.
-- Silverback
-------------- Original message --------------
I'm gonna get in some pre-emptive retaliation
since I expect this might
be about to be discussed...
I've been accused by User/Troll Libertas of being all "creepy" since I
revealed "her" location after 172 asked me to investigate whether
"she"
might be User:Reithy. Libertas claims I've repeatedly revealed "her"
location. This is sort of true. I did indeed look up "her" location and
reveal it.
(I use "her" throughout since "she" claims to be female, but I
distrust
trolls...)
I did not use any special powers to find Libertas' IP address. Of
course, mere sysops have no such powers. Libertas revealed "her" IP
address by editing logged out. 172 then gave me it, and asked me to
investigate. I had never been involved with Libertas before.
As far as I recall (the Wiki is much too slow right now to check, so
possibly I'm forgetting something), I mentioned the location on the
following occasions:
I initially mentioned it on 172's talk page, noting that it differed
from Reithy's. I restored it a few times when Libertas edited it
(because I don't like my comments being edited) and mentioned it once
more in a stupid debate (that Libertas started, by complaining about
something I wrote on my userpage about reincarnation) over whether
userpages can contain controversial claims.
I regret the last occurence (the gist of which was that if "she" really
was from said location, it didn't make sense that "her" userpage was so
pro-American, so it looked like it was that way just to stir things up);
but I was discounting the possibility of an American living in said
place. So that was stupid of me.
Anyway, this culminated in a big blowout on IRC. I don't have a log,
alas, but it involved "her" repeatedly claiming that I was acting
creepy, behaving like a thug, and threatening "her". "She" also
seemed
to claim that I knew "she" was female (I didn't) and that this made my
discussion of "her" location more disturbing. Curiously, Libertas was
happy to reveal "her" location to everyone on IRC during this discussion.
I did apologise on IRC for the last occurence.
But "she" kept on with "her" insults, and finally, becoming Really
Bloody Furious (tm) I blocked "her". This was possibly another mistake.
I'll step down as a sysop, if people feel I should, but "she" seems like
an obvious troll to me.
But I'm tired, and upset, and angry, and going to bed now.
Evercat
--
Allan Crossman - a.crossman(a)blueyonder.co.uk
The Moon is Waning Crescent (45% of Full)
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