Hi Gregory<br><br>Thanks for your message, which brings attention to a seeming power imbalance within WM projects. It is not completely clear though, so could you please explain a little more what exactly what the nature of the "spoof" as well as where and why there were the kinds of "exploitative" imagery you describe on WM sites?<br><br>cheers,<br>Mathieu<br><br>----- Original Message -----<br>From: Gregory Kohs <thekohser@gmail.com><br>Date: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 4:10 pm<br>Subject: <CPOV> Community run or royal decree?<br>To: cpov@listcultures.org<br><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>It may be interesting to observe the following recent incident that ran across all Wikimedia projects.<br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&oldid=360060669#Thekohser" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&oldid=360060669#Thekohser</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Wikiquote:Administrators%27_noticeboard&oldid=1119503#Global_ban_enforcement" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikiquote.org/w/index.php?title=Wikiquote:Administrators%27_noticeboard&oldid=1119503#Global_ban_enforcement</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>And perhaps most tellingly:<br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Wikisource:Administrators%27_noticeboard&oldid=1870066#Global_ban_enforcement" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Wikisource:Administrators%27_noticeboard&oldid=1870066#Global_ban_enforcement</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>In summary, about two months ago, Jimmy Wales was spoofed into thinking that a Wikiversity project was setting out to undermine Wikipedia.  He stepped in and began blocking and desysopping long-time contributors to that project.  He also matter-of-factly stated that "as far as he was concerned" the user Thekohser (that's me) is blocked from all projects.  A few weeks passed, and after I began to draw attention to the fact that Wikimedia Commons hosts exploitative images of children fellating men, another user took it upon himself to make sure Jimmy's decree was made law throughout the land.  He and Jimmy didn't even know that a "global account lock" feature exists on Meta Wikimedia.  This is the gentleman who worked to have my account globally blocked:<br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20000930112202/www.cris.com/%7EJeffg/gski109.jpg" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://web.archive.org/web/20000930112202/www.cris.com/~Jeffg/gski109.jpg</a><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>This is me:<br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://www.mywikibiz.com/File:Gregory_Kohs_headshot.jpg" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://www.mywikibiz.com/File:Gregory_Kohs_headshot.jpg</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>The public relations mantra of the Wikimedia projects is that they are "community run", at least in theory.  But, it would seem that royal decree, executed by mustachioed sycophants, is the actual practice.<br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>As a footnote, if anyone is interested in some of my various contributions to Wikimedia projects over the past couple of years:<br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arch_Coal&oldid=76592206" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arch_Coal&oldid=76592206</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alec_Head&oldid=316417922" target="1"></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Job_sharing&oldid=299529822" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Job_sharing&oldid=299529822</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Line_management&oldid=301438047" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Line_management&oldid=301438047</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lippe-Weissenfeld&oldid=316412877" target="1"></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Looking_Glass_Falls&oldid=76523009" target="1"></a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Fuel_Gas&oldid=238999676" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Fuel_Gas&oldid=238999676</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Propositional_function&oldid=309988531" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Propositional_function&oldid=309988531</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Half_International&oldid=300305693" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Half_International&oldid=300305693</a><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zale_Corporation&oldid=76232040" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zale_Corporation&oldid=76232040</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kurume_hybrid_Azalea_x_Rhododendron_%27Firefly%27.jpg" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kurume_hybrid_Azalea_x_Rhododendron_%27Firefly%27.jpg</a><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ben_Franklin_Bridge_from_Adventure_Aquarium.jpg" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ben_Franklin_Bridge_from_Adventure_Aquarium.jpg</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AFundraising_2009%2FSurvey&action=historysubmit&diff=1556772&oldid=1544535" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AFundraising_2009%2FSurvey&action=historysubmit&diff=1556772&oldid=1544535</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><a href="http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Funding&action=historysubmit&diff=1908812&oldid=330554" target="1"><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>http://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Funding&action=historysubmit&diff=1908812&oldid=330554</a><br> <font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>Apparently this sort of content is so utterly subversive to the Wikimedia community and mission, it calls for an extraordinary "global ban" from all projects.  Why is that?<br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font><br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>-- <br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>Gregory Kohs<br><font style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; background-color: rgb(245, 248, 240); font-size: 14px;">> </font>Cell: 302.463.1354<br>  > _______________________________________________<br>> Cpov_listcultures.org mailing list<br>> Cpov_listcultures.org@p10.alfaservers.com<br>> http://p10.alfaservers.com/mailman/listinfo/cpov_listcultures.org<br><br>****<br>Dr Mathieu O'Neil<br>Adjunct Research Fellow<br>Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute<br>College of Arts and Social Science<br>The Australian National University<br>email: mathieu.oneil[at]anu.edu.au<br>web: http://adsri.anu.edu.au/people/visitors/mathieu.php<br><br>