Special:CheckUser is the IP-to-username checker Tim Starling implemented for en:. Those able to use it are him and me, and I hardly dare touch the thing :-)
There's talk of allowing it on other Wikipedias. There's a discussion page at [[m:CheckUser]] and some of the tinfoil hattery makes my head hurt. I would welcome contribution from those who already have this power and more. Particularly for "What circumstances merit checking?" which is the big question for me. I've been *very* conservative in using the tool, possibly too conservative, and am looking for guidelines to a sensible policy guideline.
- d.
On Tuesday, April 12, 2005, at 06:35 PM, David Gerard wrote:
Special:CheckUser is the IP-to-username checker Tim Starling implemented for en:. Those able to use it are him and me, and I hardly dare touch the thing :-)
YA-feature request: how about making it more private for the users? Instead of the utility taking one username and giving IP addresses, have it take two usernames and have it say whether or not they are the same IP? Or the same /24, to catch the dialup users. I don't think all sysops should have access to all user's IPs (I say that as a sysop, not as a tinfoil'd user), but I also think kicking sockpuppets should occur well before arbitration.
Ben
Ben Brockert wrote:
YA-feature request: how about making it more private for the users? Instead of the utility taking one username and giving IP addresses, have it take two usernames and have it say whether or not they are the same IP? Or the same /24, to catch the dialup users. I don't think all sysops should have access to all user's IPs (I say that as a sysop, not as a tinfoil'd user), but I also think kicking sockpuppets should occur well before arbitration.
Unfortunately the situation is more complex than that. Many users are behind proxies, either mandated by their ISP or by choice. Occasionally two legitimate users may use the same public or school computer. Partial IP matches, such as someone using the same regional ISP, are very useful despite not being certain. Two users using regional ISPs from different regions is an excellent indication that they are not the same person. Dialup pools and DHCP pools for DSL users are usually larger than /24. If we could make a magic script that somehow compared two IP addresses and produced a percentage likelihood that they were the same person, then maybe we could avoid releasing IP addresses. But at present, allowing competent humans to compare hostnames and traceroutes, check for open ports, request whois information, visit ISP webpages, etc. is the only way to produce useful information.
-- Tim Starling
Ben Brockert (ben@mepotelco.net) [050413 13:50]:
On Tuesday, April 12, 2005, at 06:35 PM, David Gerard wrote:
Special:CheckUser is the IP-to-username checker Tim Starling implemented for en:. Those able to use it are him and me, and I hardly dare touch the thing :-)
YA-feature request: how about making it more private for the users? Instead of the utility taking one username and giving IP addresses, have it take two usernames and have it say whether or not they are the same IP? Or the same /24, to catch the dialup users. I don't think all sysops should have access to all user's IPs (I say that as a sysop, not as a tinfoil'd user), but I also think kicking sockpuppets should occur well before arbitration.
The trouble is the process requires considerable understanding of what's actually going on and what is and isn't a match, and that can't be automated. Clue cannot be Taylorised.
Basically, you have to either trust the person with the ability to see the numbers, or not.
- d.
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