Requests for comment/Abuse of power by bureaucrats in the Hebrew Wikipedia
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Hello, I need your help, please.
I am an active contributor to the Hebrew Wikipedia since August 2023 (username: Be'Ikar Yerakot) and I am contacting you because on June 2, 2024 my username and ip address were permanently blocked without any warning or explanation.
The blocking was carried out by the bureaucrat GARFILD (גארפילד) and all my requests to him and to the second bureaucrat in the Hebrew Wikipedia, BIKORET (ביקורת), to get an explanation, were NOT answered.
I was never involved in anything mentioned in the list of disrupting the Wikipedia project, and it is very outrageous that there are those who take the freedom to block others, just because of suspicions, without warning or referring to inquiries and requests for an explanation. Along with the great appreciation I have for those who invest their time and energy to keep the Wikipedia project reliable and free of bias, I expect absolute actions such as "permanent blocking" to be done after thorough investigation in accordance with Wikipedia’s formal procedure: Warn before blocking, with explanation.
In my case, there was no warning, no inquiry was made with me, and I was not presented with the data, and certainly not the evidence to justify the "sentence". I really want to get an explanation why I was blocked. I can't find anything in my actions that would justify it.
I want to emphasize the fact that I joined Wikipedia out of interest and curiosity and with the desire to contribute. I am active not only in the "minor" edits offered to me by the system, such as internal links and adding information sources, but also in enriching entries, and I even wrote two new entries in Hebrew: Anna Boghiguian (אנה בוגיגיאן) and Leandro Erlich (ליאנדרו ארליך). I am currently working on another entry about a contemporary French artist, and I really hope that at the end of the writing, I will be able to upload this information to the Wikipedia entry space.
I can't understand what in my activity caused GARFILD to block me permanently, and I can't get any explanation from him nor from the other bureaucrat BIKORET.
I hereby request to unblock my user and IP address. If not, I demand an explanation.
I hope you can help me with that,
Sincerely, Be'Ikar Yerakot Be'Ikar Yerakot (talk) 15:41, 25 June 2024 (UTC)
Comment Blocks may be carried out without further warning if a user is believed to be a long term abuser or a sockpuppet. Contrary to what you claim, "to be done after thorough investigation in accordance". Based on your hewiki userpage's notice, a page about this case, w:he:ויקיפדיה:פרשת הטיית הצבעות ודיונים 2024 exists, and per Google Translate it seems like there is an established suspicion of abusing multiple accounts. Sometimes it is not only about the edits someone had done, but also the underlying technical data tied to someone's account. Was suspicion ever confirmed by a hewiki CU? A09|(pogovor) 11:44, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
- Thank you very much for your reply.
- I apologize if I didn't explain myself correctly. When I claimed that no thorough investigation was made, I meant that as part of such an investigation, somebody should have contact me, present the evidence, and check the suspicions with me.
- The notice on my userpage appeared there after I was blocked, and I don't understand what made them suspect me in the first place. I am not an abuser nor a sockpuppet (please check my user contributions page for that matter). I am a real person. Could it be that the bureaucrats were wrong? We all make mistakes.
- The problem is that I didn't receive any reply for my requests for explanation. If there is something in my activity that made the bureaucrat suspicious, I expect them to explain to me what it was, and to check it with me. Blocking me and my ip address permanently, without prior inquiry with me, is as if I was judged in absentia, no evidence had been presented, and the sentence was carried out without being able to appeal it. This is absolutely unacceptable.
- You asked if suspicion was ever confirmed by a hewiki CU. I admit I don't know what "CU" stands for. Regarding the suspicion – I don’t know why I am a suspect in the first place.
- I would like very much to continue editing and contributing to the Hebrew Wikipedia. Please help me with that.
- Be'Ikar Yerakot (talk) 18:21, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
- I cannot help you edit Hebrew Wikipedia and lifting the block is solely in hands of hewiki community. Pardon for not explaining, CU stands for checkuser, a user right that allows looking into underlying technical data of an account (ie. IP). " The notice on my userpage appeared there after I was blocked": if I presume this notice has equal function to what ie. w:en:Template:Sockpuppet would be, is actually completely normal to appear only after the proccess was carried out. Furthermore please note blocking processes are not courts. "Blocking me and my ip address permanently": as said, was your block a check-user block or not? Otherwise normal bureaucrats cannot access your IP, as well as per standard for IPs, they are not blocked indefinitely. I cannot comment on hewiki sysops feedback as I am not active in the community nor do I speak the language. Best, A09|(pogovor) 21:15, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
- I don't know if my block is a CU block, but it is a fact that my IP address remains blocked. I still do not understand what I did wrong and under what pretext the bureaucrats found it appropriate to block me, and why they keep ignoring my requests for explanation. Should I understand from your response that there are two individuals in the Hebrew Wikipedia who are 'all-mighty,' holding absolute power without any checks and balances? As far as I know, the bureaucrats were authorized by the World Wikipedia and if they misuse the power they were given and block against the rules, I expect you to intervene and stop it. What do you recommend I do? Should I simply give up? Be'Ikar Yerakot (talk) 19:00, 27 June 2024 (UTC)
- I cannot help you edit Hebrew Wikipedia and lifting the block is solely in hands of hewiki community. Pardon for not explaining, CU stands for checkuser, a user right that allows looking into underlying technical data of an account (ie. IP). " The notice on my userpage appeared there after I was blocked": if I presume this notice has equal function to what ie. w:en:Template:Sockpuppet would be, is actually completely normal to appear only after the proccess was carried out. Furthermore please note blocking processes are not courts. "Blocking me and my ip address permanently": as said, was your block a check-user block or not? Otherwise normal bureaucrats cannot access your IP, as well as per standard for IPs, they are not blocked indefinitely. I cannot comment on hewiki sysops feedback as I am not active in the community nor do I speak the language. Best, A09|(pogovor) 21:15, 26 June 2024 (UTC)
- No, I'm not at all implying bureaucrats of hewiki are almighty. Also, one thing you're very mislead about is there is in fact no "world Wikipedia". Each community has its own rules, regulations and policies in place and any local functionary is appointed on a local level by a local community. I cannot help you. I suggest we wait for someone else's input, preferably by hewiki community members. A09|(pogovor) 20:15, 27 June 2024 (UTC)