Hi, My opinion is that the block should be lifted. However, to the best of my knowledge, an appeal of a local block to the larger Wikiverse has never been successful. I am guessing that there are at least four factors here: 1. a lack of consensus for a process for appealing a local block to the larger community, or whether such a process is desirable, 2. a lack of skilled community human resources capacity to review such appeals (I would guess that reviewers of appeals would get flooded with hundreds of low-value appeals, that the job would be emotionally and intellectually difficult, and that the queue for reviews would be many months long), 3. a lack of confidence among people who are not proficient in a language to review a dispute that happened in that language, and 4. a lack of volunteer capacity and financial resources for highly accurate translations of appeals and their related content. Asking WMF to overturn a community block sets a precedent for them to substitute their judgement for the community's. There is a history of problems with WMF clashing with the community, and I have an ongoing objection to WMF's unilateral and opaque uses of global blocks. I would not want WMF to forcibly intervene in matters like this. Instead, What I recommend is diplomacy. The admin who made the block appears to have intermediate proficiency in English. I recommend first having a diplomatic discussion with that admin regarding the block. The admin could be persuaded to remove it. By "diplomatic discussion" I do not mean telling the admin bluntly that "you are wrong and I am right". An assumption of good faith, persuasion, and respect are likely to be valuable here. Try diplomacy first. If the admin remains unpersuaded to unblock the user then, to the best of my knowledge, the only routes of appeal available are on that wiki. I am unfamiliar with the specific situation in Armenian Wikipedia, but I suggest looking for a local policy for appealing blocks and looking for a username policy. Intermediate proficiency in Armenian is likely to be highly desirable, and likely necessary, for productive conversations on that wiki regarding a block appeal and/or proposing a change in local username policy. I realize that the concept of appealing a local block to the global community sounds like it is worth considering, but even if in principle there becomes a consensus that we should allow this, implementing such an option for appeals would likely be difficult and time consuming in practice, and without highly accurate translations which we do not appear to have sufficient volunteer or financial resources to support at this time, I think that the potential for mistakes due to misunderstandings is high. Pine ( https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Pine )

I note that we are talking about the block of one single user on one single project; this particular account has thousands of edits over about a dozen projects, but is "attached" to hundreds of Wikimedia projects. The majority of these "attached" accounts are likely because the editor "visited" the various projects while logged in, activating the automatic account creation algorithm. The account was created 8 years ago, and has actively edited a wide variety of projects, including several wikipedias, Commons, Wikidata, and Meta. While English Wikipedia is the account's "home" wiki, about 55% of the account's global edits have been made on Marathi Wikipedia. The Amharic Wikipedia account does not appear to have edited, which suggests that it was automatically created when the editor was "looking at" the project on 9 February 2018. The block for account name was made on 22 October 2018. I note that accounts were created on over a hundred projects over the course of a few days in February 2018. The point being raised in this thread is that it appears this editor was blocked on one of the 381 wikis on which they have an account, explicitly because of the perception that their username calls attention to the sexual behaviour of the editor. What we do not know is (a) whether that is in fact a legitimate username block reason on Amharic Wikipedia, or (b) if it is a legitimate username block reason, *why* it would be a username block reason. We don't know why this block was applied so long after the account was created. We don't know the username policy on Amharic Wikipedia, nor do we know how it is applied; for example, we don't know if a username like "StraightGuy101" would be blocked. We do know that there are only 4 administrators on Amharic Wikipedia, and that there are fewer than 50 active users working on the project, which may be part of the reason for the delay between automatic account creation and the account block. We also know that one of the challenges of single user login for all Wikimedia projects has highlighted the fact that certain usernames that are acceptable on some projects are blocked on other projects; we've known that for years. We know that each project establishes its own policies when it comes to usernames. There are legitimate reasons why a username that is acceptable in one language is not acceptable in another language, even in cases where the editor had no knowledge that the chosen username would be a problem in another language. We do know that there have been lots of cases where usernames have been blocked for "username policy violation" on all kinds of projects, despite the account operating productively on other projects. I also note that there is nothing in this thread that confirms the editor themself has raised any concerns about this block, and I am always wary of turning an editor into a "martyr for a cause" without their direct agreement, as that can be as abusive as the original action. So the first step in this situation would be to confirm with the individual editor whether or not they want their "case" to be examined. Should the editor be agreeable, I suggest that the next step is for someone who has the ability to converse in Amharic to contact the Amharic Wikipedia and find out why the block has been issued, how it is consistent with the username policy on Amharic Wikipedia, whether that policy is driven in part by external considerations (e.g., does the project risk heavy governmental scrutiny if it appears to "promote" locally unacceptable activities). I am personally curious as to why it took over six months to identify that this account did not meet the local username policy, and whether there was internal or external discussion about the username. It is not clear to me what the desired outcome is in this case - at least in part because we have no idea of the opinion of the editor involved. I am hard-pressed to say that a project should be required to allow usernames that it has a long history of considering unacceptable, especially if it is applied evenly to all accounts; in this case, if it disallows usernames that imply sexual preference regardless of what that preference is. It seems to me that the WMF Trust & Safety group would probably be the right group to examine this. Risker/Anne On Wed, 2 Jan 2019 at 09:42, Ariel Glenn WMF &lt;ariel(a)wikimedia.org&gt; wrote: indicator Example: is The https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%88%8D%E1%8B%A9:Contributions/QueerEcofemi… _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

Because of a truly great idea < https://am.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E1%88%8D%E1%8B%A9:Log/block&… the involved user's admin/bureaucrat access was revoked < https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Log?type=rights&user=&page=… by Marco Aurelio. Vito Il giorno lun 7 gen 2019 alle ore 11:02 Amir Sarabadani < ladsgroup(a)gmail.com&gt; ha scritto: > Given the response on the talk page [1] I think it's clear violation of > nondiscrimination policy [2] > [1] "promotion of homosexuality will not be tolerated here nor will it be > forced down our throats to suit anyone's international political agenda if > you expect Ethiopians to take part." > [2] https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Nondiscrimination > Best > On Wed, Jan 2, 2019, 23:09 Risker &lt;risker.wp(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: > > I note that we are talking about the block of one single user on one > > single project; this particular account has thousands of edits over > about a > > dozen projects, but is "attached" to hundreds of Wikimedia projects. The automatic has have editor account > > name was made on 22 October 2018. I note that accounts were created on > > over a hundred projects over the course of a few days in February 2018. > > > The point being raised in this thread is that it appears this editor was explicitly is nor like for > > the delay between automatic account creation and the account block. > > > We also know that one of the challenges of single user login for all > > Wikimedia projects has highlighted the fact that certain usernames that > are > > acceptable on some projects are blocked on other projects; we've known > that > > for years. We know that each project establishes its own policies when it in all > > kinds of projects, despite the account operating productively on other > > projects. > > > I also note that there is nothing in this thread that confirms the editor first > > step in this situation would be to confirm with the individual editor > > whether or not they want their "case" to be examined. > > > Should the editor be agreeable, I suggest that the next step is for > someone > > who has the ability to converse in Amharic to contact the Amharic > Wikipedia > > and find out why the block has been issued, how it is consistent with the > > username policy on Amharic Wikipedia, whether that policy is driven in > part > > by external considerations (e.g., does the project risk heavy > governmental > > scrutiny if it appears to "promote" locally unacceptable activities). I > am > > personally curious as to why it took over six months to identify that > this > > account did not meet the local username policy, and whether there was > > internal or external discussion about the username. > > > It is not clear to me what the desired outcome is in this case - at least involved. I it > is > > applied evenly to all accounts; in this case, if it disallows usernames > > that imply sexual preference regardless of what that preference is. > > > It seems to me that the WMF Trust & Safety group would probably be the > > right group to examine this. > > > Risker/Anne > > > On Wed, 2 Jan 2019 at 09:42, Ariel Glenn WMF &lt;ariel(a)wikimedia.org&gt; > wrote: > > > > Additional notes: > > > The user's regular page can be viewed on en wikipedia: > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:QueerEcofeminist > > > Queer may have to do with gender identity as opposed to being an > > indicator > > > of 'sexual behavior', so the blockers didn't even get that right. > > Example: > > > I am gender-nonconforming as to my gender identity and expression; this > > is > > > the primary reason I use the label 'queer'. > > > > > I believe this should be reported... somewhere. But I don't know where. > > The > > > WMF CoC only covers technical spaces. A little help here? > > > > > Ariel > > > > > On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 4:26 PM Fæ &lt;faewik(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: > > > > > > Do we have cross project policies to govern or limit local policies > > > > for the use of sysop tools? I would like to pass on policy advice, > and > > > > any past cases folks here would like to highlight that set a > > > > precedent. > > > > > > > The case below is illustrative, though based on my recall of several > > > > complaints which went nowhere over the years, on email lists, and > > > > Jimmy's talk page, about apparently arbitrary blocks on different > > > > non-English Wikipedias, it seems reasonable to believe those > > > > complaints are the tip of the iceberg, and there are likely to be > many > > > > historical cases of blocks that could have been appealed... had the > > > > user been confident to complain in English, and have the energy to > > > > pursue generic WMF policies on terms of use, or > > > > harassment/discrimination, to establish a meta-level case. > > > > > > > # Example case > > > > > > > An account block on the Amharic Wikipedia (am.wp) was flagged up > > > > yesterday on the WM LGBT+ Telegram discussion group.[3] The rationale on > > > > am.wp, and because the user is well established using this account > > > > name across Wikimedia projects and has never edited am.wp so the > block > > > > cannot be based on any prior action or dispute. > > > > > > > In this example there is no obvious process for appeal, if sysops on Trust > > > > and Safety team has been approached for advice,[2] as the rationale > > > > for the action appears hostile to any openly LGBT+ volunteers who > > > > might want to include something queer looking in their account name > > > > (such as my account name, should anyone want to read it as > transgender > > > > related). > > > > > > > # Links > > > > > > > 1. > > > > > > https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%88%8D%E1%8B%A9:Contributions/QueerEcofemi… behavior allowed > > > > in 2018" > > > > 2. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trust_and_Safety > > > > 3. https://telegram.me/wmlgbt > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > Fae > > > > -- > > > > faewik(a)gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_LGBT+ > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > > > Unsubscribe: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org ?subject=unsubscribe> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

The lobby of high voltage warning signs disagrees. Vito Il giorno lun 7 gen 2019 alle ore 11:37 Yaroslav Blanter &lt;ymbalt(a)gmail.com ha scritto: > Well, in 2019 people should already have come to the notion that blocking > locally an acting steward is not really a good idea. > Cheers > Yaroslav > On Mon, Jan 7, 2019 at 11:21 AM Vi to &lt;vituzzu.wiki(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: > > Because of a truly great idea > > < > https://am.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E1%88%8D%E1%8B%A9:Log/block&… > > > > the involved user's admin/bureaucrat access was revoked > > < > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Log?type=rights&user=&page=… > > > > by Marco Aurelio. > > > Vito > > > Il giorno lun 7 gen 2019 alle ore 11:02 Amir Sarabadani < > > ladsgroup(a)gmail.com&gt; > > ha scritto: > > > > Given the response on the talk page [1] I think it's clear violation of > > > nondiscrimination policy [2] > > > > > [1] "promotion of homosexuality will not be tolerated here nor will it agenda https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Resolution:Nondiscrimination > > > > > Best > > > On Wed, Jan 2, 2019, 23:09 Risker &lt;risker.wp(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: > > > > > > I note that we are talking about the block of one single user on one projects. and account's created > on > > > > over a hundred projects over the course of a few days in February > 2018. > > > > > > > The point being raised in this thread is that it appears this editor the it block Wikipedia, 4 50 reason > > for > > > > the delay between automatic account creation and the account block. > > > > > > > We also know that one of the challenges of single user login for all that of on > > all > > > > kinds of projects, despite the account operating productively on > other > > > > projects. > > > > > > > I also note that there is nothing in this thread that confirms the > > editor > > > > themself has raised any concerns about this block, and I am always > wary > > > of > > > > turning an editor into a "martyr for a cause" without their direct > > > > agreement, as that can be as abusive as the original action. So the > > first > > > > step in this situation would be to confirm with the individual editor > > > > whether or not they want their "case" to be examined. > > > > > > > Should the editor be agreeable, I suggest that the next step is for > > > someone > > > > who has the ability to converse in Amharic to contact the Amharic > > > Wikipedia > > > > and find out why the block has been issued, how it is consistent with that was > > > > internal or external discussion about the username. > > > > > > > It is not clear to me what the desired outcome is in this case - at > > least > > > > in part because we have no idea of the opinion of the editor > > involved. I > > > > am hard-pressed to say that a project should be required to allow > > > usernames > > > > that it has a long history of considering unacceptable, especially if > > it > > > is > > > > applied evenly to all accounts; in this case, if it disallows > usernames > > > > that imply sexual preference regardless of what that preference is. > > > > > > > It seems to me that the WMF Trust & Safety group would probably be > the > > > > right group to examine this. > > > > > > > Risker/Anne > > > > > > > On Wed, 2 Jan 2019 at 09:42, Ariel Glenn WMF &lt;ariel(a)wikimedia.org&gt; > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > Additional notes: > > > > > The user's regular page can be viewed on en wikipedia: > > > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:QueerEcofeminist > > > > > Queer may have to do with gender identity as opposed to being an > > > > indicator > > > > > of 'sexual behavior', so the blockers didn't even get that right. > > > > Example: > > > > > I am gender-nonconforming as to my gender identity and expression; > > this > > > > is > > > > > the primary reason I use the label 'queer'. > > > > > > > > > I believe this should be reported... somewhere. But I don't know > > where. > > > > The > > > > > WMF CoC only covers technical spaces. A little help here? > > > > > > > > > Ariel > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 4:26 PM Fæ &lt;faewik(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Do we have cross project policies to govern or limit local > policies > > > > > > for the use of sysop tools? I would like to pass on policy > advice, > > > and > > > > > > any past cases folks here would like to highlight that set a > > > > > > precedent. > > > > > > > > > > > The case below is illustrative, though based on my recall of > > several > > > > > > complaints which went nowhere over the years, on email lists, and different be > > > many > > > > > > historical cases of blocks that could have been appealed... had > the > > > > > > user been confident to complain in English, and have the energy > to > > > > > > pursue generic WMF policies on terms of use, or > > > > > > harassment/discrimination, to establish a meta-level case. > > > > > > > > > > > # Example case > > > > > > > > > > > An account block on the Amharic Wikipedia (am.wp) was flagged up and sysops the > > > block > > > > > > cannot be based on any prior action or dispute. > > > > > > > > > > > In this example there is no obvious process for appeal, if sysops who > > > > > > might want to include something queer looking in their account > name > > > > > > (such as my account name, should anyone want to read it as > > > transgender > > > > > > related). > > > > > > > > > > > # Links > > > > > > > > > > > 1. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%88%8D%E1%8B%A9:Contributions/QueerEcofemi… > > > > > > ; > > > > > > the block log states "Names calling attention to your sexual > > behavior > > > > > > have never been allowed here in 15 years and aren't suddenly > > allowed > > > > > > in 2018" > > > > > > 2. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Trust_and_Safety > > > > > > 3. https://telegram.me/wmlgbt > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks > > > > > > Fae > > > > > > -- > > > > > > faewik(a)gmail.com https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Fae > > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_LGBT+ > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > > > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > > > > > Unsubscribe: > > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org > > ?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > > > > Unsubscribe: > > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org > ?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org > > > > Unsubscribe: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org ?subject=unsubscribe> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>

While we give individual languages / projects a great deal of autonomy, they are not completely autonomous and remain accountable to our global norms. We have a shared brand to uphold. Glad to see a strong position has been taken by the community against discrimination based on sexual orientation. My 2 cents James On Mon, Jan 7, 2019 at 6:39 AM Ariel Glenn WMF &lt;ariel(a)wikimedia.org&gt; wrote: https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%8A%A0%E1%89%A3%E1%88%8D_%E1%8B%8D%E1%8B%A… since You'll -- James Heilman MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>