Wikipedia/System gamers
 Wikipedia/System gamers  | |
|---|---|
| Type | research tool |
| Interest of | Wikiscanner |
| Wikipedia accounts used to manipulate content. | |
This page is a research tool for WikiSpooks editors. The activities of certain Wikipedia accounts give some pointers about what the establishment/commercially-controlled media want publicised, and what they would like to censor from Wikipedia.
Wikipedia definition
Gaming the system means deliberately using Wikipedia policies and guidelines in bad faith to thwart the aims of Wikipedia. Gaming the system may represent an abuse of process, disruptive editing, or otherwise evading the spirit of community consensus. Editors typically game the system to make a point, to further an edit war, or to enforce a specific non-neutral point of view.
If an editor finds a loophole or trick that allows them to evade community standards or misuse administrator tools, it should not be treated the same as a good faith mistake. However, Wikipedia sanctions are meant to be preventative, not punitive. A warning from an administrator is usually the best way to prevent gaming, because a clear warning should help correct both good faith mistakes and bad faith games. If an editor ignores a warning and repeats their behavior, or if they find new creative ways to achieve the same disruption, it is more likely that they are gaming the system in bad faith.[1]
Theory v. Practice
The Wikipedia:Gaming the system article (and all the links from it) provide an online tutorial for anyone wishing to censor an article or push their own point of view (as if the inbuilt bias of Wikipedia wasn't enough on its own). Theoretically, there are "systems in place" to deal with system-gamers though, in practice, they are totally ineffective (an example).
The contributions to "Talk" pages are especially rich in possible content because this is where non-mainstream views are often censored by the system-gamers. But, rather than trawling through tens of thousands of words on the talk pages, to find out what was being censored (and therefore possibly of interest), it can sometimes be more efficient to simply look at what certain accounts are doing. For example, if a "grade 5" system-gamer account is actively pushing for something, it's a safe bet that there's more to the story than what's in the WP article itself.
Example system-gaming accounts
An account does not necessarily represent a particular person or persons. Wikipedia accounts are anonymous and so any particular account may have input from more than one person or one individual may use more than one account. Consequently, the table below is not a value-judgement on a particular person but on the way an account behaves. "Level" is a 1 to 5 score where 1=slight/subtle and 5=outright/blatant.
| Account | Interests include | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer Marek | Russia, Ukraine | 5 |
| Sayerslle | Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Bellingcat | 4 |
| Iryna Harpy | Russia, Ukraine | 4 |
| Bdell555 | Ukraine, fracking | 4 |
| Kudzu1 | Russia, Ukraine, Syria | 4 |
| Geogene | Russia, Ukraine | 3 |
| Stickee | Russia, Ukraine | 3 |
| Supreme Deliciousness | Syria | 3 |
| My very best wishes | Russia, Ukraine (now retired) | 2 |
| Martinevans123 | MH17 | 1 |
