[WikiEN-l] Repeated blocks -- collateral damage

[Koltwills at aol.com]

I just got this message: 

You have attempted to edit a page, either by clicking the "edit this  page" 
tab or by following a red link. 
Your user name or IP address has been _blocked_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocking_policy)   by _David  Gerard_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:David_Gerard) . 
The reason given is:
Autoblocked because your IP address has  been recently used by 
"_Ugabogaimasuuuukpoopit@!_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Ugabogaimasuuuukpoopit@!&action=edit) ".  The reason given for Ugabogaimasuuuukpoopit@!'s 
block is: "massive  sockpuppetry (A1sdf sockpuppet)". 
You can _email  David Gerard_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Emailuser/David_Gerard)  or one of the other _administrators_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:List_of_administrators)   to discuss the block. You may also 
edit _your user talk  page_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Mytalk)  if 
you wish. If you believe that our _blocking  policy_ 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Blocking_policy)  was violated, you may discuss the block 
publicly on the _WikiEN-l  mailing list_ 
(http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikien-l) . Note that you may not use the "email this user"  feature unless 
you have a Wikipedia account and a valid email address  registered in your _user 
 preferences_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences) .

Your IP address is 64.12.117.8. Please  include this address, along with your 
username, in any queries you  make.
 
Okay. But this isn't my IP address.
 
Here we go again: collateral damage.
 
This hasn't happened for a couple of weeks, but it happens frequently  enough 
-- often three and four times a week:  I get blocked as the  result of 
someone else's conduct.  When I try to edit, I get the  "User is blocked" message -- 
but the I.P. address is never my  own.
 
If this follows the usual pattern, I'll be blocked several more times  this 
week and the next and the next.
 
How does this happen?
 
There also have been instances when I've been blocked from editing a  page 
(that remains open to edit for other users; it's not locked down),  but can edit 
elsewhere.
 
I've been told that such a thing is impossible, yet it's happened  repeatedly.
 
How does this happen?  Is there something I or someone else can  do to 
prevent it from occurring again? 
 
dcv