Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppetry: Difference between revisions

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			<noinclude>{{short description\|Project policy on inappropriate use of multiple accounts}}{{pp-sock\|small=yes}}{{pp-move-indef}}</noinclude>
	{{policy\|]}}
			{{Selfref\|Please see ] for how to request investigation of possible sockpuppetry, including requests for CheckUser intervention.}}
	{{Policy in a nutshell\|<center>Do not use multiple accounts to create the illusion of greater support for an issue, to mislead others, or to circumvent a block. Do not ask your friends to create accounts to support you or anyone else.</center>}}
			{{redirect\|WP:SOC\|the WikiProject\|Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Sociology}}
			{{policy\|WP:SOCK\|WP:SOCKPUPPET}}
			{{nutshell\|{{strong\|One editor, one account}}. Do not use multiple accounts (multiaccount) for malicious reasons.}}
			]

			{{conduct policy list}}
	''For other uses, see ].''
			On ], '''sockpuppetry''', or '''socking''', refers to the misuse of multiple Misplaced Pages accounts. To maintain accountability and increase community trust, editors are generally expected to use only one ]. While there are some valid reasons for maintaining multiple accounts, it is improper to use multiple accounts to deceive or mislead other editors, disrupt discussions, distort consensus, avoid ], evade blocks, or otherwise violate ] and policies.
	<br>

			Sockpuppetry takes various forms:
			* Logging out to make disruptive edits as an ]
			* Creating new accounts to avoid detection or sanctions, or to evade blocks
			* Using another person's account (])
			* Reviving old unused accounts (sometimes referred to as '']'') and presenting them as different users
			* Persuading friends or colleagues to create accounts for the purpose of supporting one side of a dispute (usually called ])

			Misuse of multiple accounts is a serious breach of community trust. It may lead to:
	A '''sock puppet''' is an additional username used by a ] who edits under more than one name. The Wikipedian who uses a ] may be called a '''sock puppeteer'''. Use of sock puppets is discouraged in most cases; ] has said:
			*a ] of all related accounts
	<blockquote>
			*a ] of the user (the ''sockmaster'' or ''sockpuppeteer'') behind the accounts (each of which is a ''sockpuppet'' or ''sock'')
	''There's no specific policy against it, but it's generally considered uncool unless you have a good reason.''<hr style="visibility:hidden"/>''I would say that multiple usernames are really only a problem if they are used as a method of troublemaking of some sort. For example, to generate an appearance of consensus, or to vote more than once, or to hide from public scrutiny.''<ref>http://mail.wikipedia.org/pipermail/wikien-l/2003-October/007398.html</ref> (2003)
			*on-project exposure of all accounts and IP addresses used across Misplaced Pages and its sister projects
	</blockquote>
			*the (potential) public exposure of any "real-world" activities or personal information deemed relevant to preventing future sockpuppetry or certain other abuses.<ref>]:
			: "We hope that this never comes up, but we may disclose your personal information if we believe that it's reasonably necessary to protect our organization, employees, contractors, users, or the public. We may also disclose your personal information if we reasonably believe it necessary to detect, prevent, or otherwise assess and address potential spam, malware, fraud, abuse, unlawful activity, and security or technical concerns."
			Information under this policy is not gratuitously released, but may be made public at times in the context of detecting, confirming, preventing, and resolving issues related to actual or possible abuse.</ref>

			An editor multiaccounting for {{em\|valid}} reasons should, on each account's user page, list all the other accounts with an explanation of their purpose (see ]). Optionally, the user and user talk pages of some of the accounts can be redirected to those of another. Editors who use unlinked alternative accounts, or who edit as an IP address editor separate from their account, should carefully avoid any crossover on articles or topics because even innocuous activities such as copy editing, wikifying, or linking might be considered sockpuppetry in some cases and innocuous intentions will not usually serve as an excuse.{{efn\|See also: ]}}
	The reason for discouraging sock puppets is to prevent abuses such as a person voting more than once in a poll, or using multiple accounts to circumvent ]. Some people feel that second accounts should not be used at all; others feel it is harmless if the accounts are all behaving acceptably.

			==Inappropriate uses of alternative accounts==
	Also see ] for information on how this affects other online communities.
			{{redirect\|WP:ROLE\|text=You may be looking for ]}}
			{{Anchor\|ILLEGIT}}
			{{policy shortcut\|WP:ILLEGIT\|WP:BADSOCK}}
			Editors must not use alternative accounts to mislead, deceive, disrupt, or undermine consensus. This includes, but is not limited to:
			*'''Creating an illusion of support''': Alternative accounts must not be used to give the impression of more ] than actually exists.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:PROJSOCK}}{{anchor\|Internal discussions}}'''Internal discussions''': Undisclosed alternative accounts generally may not be used in discussions internal to the project outside of limited circumstance.<ref>2021 discussion on ]</ref> A legitimate undisclosed alternative account is permitted to contribute to project space discussions that directly affect the account.
			*''']''': Policies apply per person, not per account. Policies such as the ] are for each person's edits. Using a second account to violate policy will cause any penalties to be applied to your main account.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:STRAWSOCK}}{{Anchor\|STRAWSOCK\|Strawman socks}}'''] socks''': Creating a separate account to argue one side of an issue in a deliberately irrational or offensive fashion, to sway opinion to another side.
			*'''Circumventing blocks, bans or sanctions''': Sanctions apply to individual editors as {{em\|people}}, not to accounts, unless specified otherwise. Using a second account to edit in violation of an active ], ] or ] imposed on your original account will result in further sanctions, which may include ]. See also {{section link\|Misplaced Pages:Blocking policy\|Evasion and enforcement}}.
			*{{anchor\|Contributing to the same page or discussion with multiple accounts}}'''Contributing to the same page or discussion with multiple accounts''': Editors may not use more than one account to contribute to the same page or discussion in a way that suggests they are multiple people. Contributing to the same page with clearly linked, legitimate, alternative accounts (e.g. editing the same page with your main and public computer account or editing a page using your main account that your bot account edited) is not forbidden.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:SCRUTINY}}{{Anchor\|SCRUTINY\|Avoiding scrutiny}}'''Avoiding scrutiny''': Using alternative accounts that are not fully and openly disclosed to split your editing history means that other editors may not be able to detect patterns in your contributions. While this is permitted in certain circumstances (see ]), it is a violation of this policy to create alternative accounts to confuse or deceive editors who may have a legitimate interest in reviewing your contributions.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:GHBH\|WP:HAND\|WP:DUMBSOCK}}{{anchor\|Good hand and bad hand accounts}}{{anchor\|Good hand, bad hand accounts}}'''"Good hand" and "bad hand" accounts''': Using one account for constructive contributions and the other one for vandalism or other types of disruptive editing.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:LOUTSOCK}}{{anchor\|Editing while logged out in order to mislead}}'''Editing while logged out in order to mislead''': Editing under multiple IP addresses, or editing under both a named account and as an IP, when done deceptively or otherwise violating the principles of this policy, may be treated as the same level of disruption as editing under multiple accounts. When editors log out by mistake, they may wish to contact an editor with ] to ensure there is no misunderstanding.
			*'''{{vanchor\|Misusing a clean start}}''': Switching accounts or concealing a clean start in a way that avoids scrutiny is considered a breach of this policy; see ].
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:ROLE}}{{Anchor\|ROLE\|Role accounts}}'''Role accounts''': Because an account represents your edits {{em\|as an individual}}, "]s", or accounts shared by multiple people, are (as a rule) forbidden and blocked. Many first-time editors may sign up an account with a username that implies it is a role account or is being shared. Such accounts are permitted only if the account information is forever limited to one individual; however, policy recommends that usernames avoid being misleading or disruptive. As such, if you edit for an organization, please refer to Misplaced Pages's ] for guidance on choosing a name or a replacement name that can avoid these problems. Role account exceptions can be made for ''non-editing'' accounts approved to provide email access, accounts approved by the ] (]), and approved ] with multiple managers. See ].
			*'''Deceptively seeking positions of community trust'''. You may not run for positions of trust without disclosing that you have previously edited under another account. Adminship reflects the community's trust in an individual, not an account, so when applying for ], it is expected that you will disclose past accounts openly, or ] if the accounts must be kept private. Administrators who fail to disclose past accounts risk being desysopped, particularly if knowledge of them would have influenced the outcome of the RfA.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:ADMINSOCK}}{{Anchor\|ADMINSOCK\|Administrative sock puppets}}'''Using more than one administrator account''': Editors may {{strong\|not}} have more than one account with administrator user rights, except for bots with administrator privileges. However, ] staff may operate more than one admin account, though they must make known who they are. If an administrator leaves the project, returns under a new username, and is nominated for adminship, they must resign or give up the administrator access of their old account.
			*'''Posing as a neutral or uninvolved commentator''': Using an alternative account to participate in a discussion about another account operated by the same person.

			==Legitimate uses==
	Multiple accounts have legitimate uses. But you must refrain from using them in any way prohibited to sock puppets and from using one account to support the position of another, the standard definition of sock puppetry. If someone uses multiple accounts, it is recommended that he or she provides links between the accounts, so it is easy to determine that they are shared by one individual.
			{{anchor\|Legit\|LEGIT\|Legitimate uses of alternative accounts}}
			{{policy shortcut\|WP:SOCKLEGIT\|WP:LEGITSOCK\|WP:VALIDALT\|WP:GOODSOCK}}
			{{See also cat\|Wikipedians with alternative accounts\|Misplaced Pages alternative accounts }}
			Alternative accounts have legitimate uses too. For example, editors who contribute using their real name may wish to use a pseudonym for contributions with which they do not want their real name to be associated, or long-term users might create a new account to better understand the editing experience from a new user's perspective. These accounts are not considered sockpuppets. If you use a legitimate alternative account, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do not use it in an illegitimate manner according to this policy. Operating a legitimate alternative account, even for a reason listed in this policy, does not prevent the accounts from being connected to one another publicly. Individuals operating undisclosed alternative accounts do so at their own risk and against the recommended operating processes of this project.

			Valid reasons for an alternative account include:
	== Prohibited uses of sock puppets ==
	=== Voting ===
	Misplaced Pages uses a "one person, one vote" principle for all votes and similar discussions where individual preferences are counted in any fashion. Accordingly, sock puppets may not be used to give the impression of more support for a viewpoint. This includes voting multiple times in any ], or using more than one account in a discussion at ], ] or ]. Proven sock puppets may be ] if used in this manner.

			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:PUBSOCK\|WP:PUBLICSOCK\|WP:SECURESOCK}}{{Anchor\|Security}}'''Security''': You may register an alternative account for use when accessing Misplaced Pages through a ], connecting to an ], or other scenarios when there's a risk of your account being compromised. Such accounts should be publicly connected to the main account or use an easily identified name. For example, ] might use ] or ], and redirect that account's user and talk pages to their main account.
	=== Deception and impersonation ===
			*{{anchor\|Privacy}}'''Privacy''': A person editing an article that is highly controversial within their family, social or professional circle, and whose Misplaced Pages identity is known within that circle, or traceable to their real-world identity, may wish to use an alternative account to avoid real-world consequences from their editing or other Misplaced Pages actions in that area. Although a privacy-based alternative account is not publicly connected to your main account, it should not be used in ways outlined in the ] section of this page, and if it is, the account may be publicly linked to your main account for sanctions. If you are considering using an alternative account under this provision, please read ].
	In addition to double-voting, sock puppets should not be used for purposes of deception, or to create the illusion of broader support for a position. This kind of behavior is disruptive and unnecessary for any potentially legitimate use of sock puppets. In particular, accounts that are used to maliciously impersonate another Wikipedian should be blocked permanently.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:DG\|WP:DOPP}}{{Anchor\|DOPPELGANGER\|DOPPELGÄNGER\|Doppelgänger accounts\|Doppelganger accounts}}'''Doppelgänger accounts''': A ] account is an account created with a username similar to your main account to prevent impersonation. Such accounts should not be used for editing. Doppelgänger accounts may be marked with the {{tl\|doppelganger}} or {{tl\|doppelganger-other}} tag, or can simply redirect to the main account's userpage.
			:*'''Pseudonyms used to edit sister projects in a different language''': Although ] no longer requires Wikimedians to register different accounts to edit different projects, users who wish to have a separate account to edit a sister project written in a different script may do so. The other account should be treated as a Doppelgänger on the English Misplaced Pages, and vice-versa. These accounts may be marked with the {{tl\|User Alias}} tag to show a connection.
			*'''Clean start under a new name''': A ] is when a user stops using an old account in order to start afresh with a new account, usually due to past mistakes or to avoid ]. A clean start is permitted only if there are no active bans, blocks, or ] in place against the old account. Do not use your new account to return to topic areas, disputes, editing patterns, or behaviors previously identified as problematic, and you should be careful not to do anything that looks like an attempt to ]. A clean start requires that you no longer use your old account(s), which should note on their user pages that they are inactive—for example, with the {{tl\|retired}} tag—to prevent the switch being seen as an attempt to sockpuppet.
			*'''Username violations''': If you are soft-blocked for having an ], and that is the sole reason for the block, you are permitted to create a new account with an appropriate username.
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:COMPSOCK}}{{anchor\|COMPSOCK}}'''Compromised accounts''': If you are unable to access your account because you have lost the password or because someone has ], you may create a new account with a clean password. In such a case, you should post a note on the user page of each account indicating that they are alternative accounts for the same person. If necessary, you should also ask for an admin to block the compromised account. You may want to consider using a ] in advance to help deal with this rare situation should it arise later.
			*{{Anchor\|HUMOR}}'''Humor accounts''': The community has accepted some obviously humorous alternative accounts—for example, ], ], and ].
			*{{policy shortcut\|WP:TECHALT}}{{Anchor\|TECHALT}}'''Technical reasons''':
			**'''Maintenance''': An editor might use an alternative account to carry out maintenance tasks, or to segregate functions so as to maintain a user talk page dedicated to the purpose. The second account should be clearly linked to the main account.
			**'''Bots''': ] are programs that edit automatically or semi-automatically. Editors who use bots are encouraged to create separate accounts, and ask that they be marked as bot accounts via ], so that the automated edits can be filtered out of ]. Bots should be clearly linked to their owner's account. ''See ]''.
			**{{policy shortcut\|WP:TESTALT}}{{Anchor\|TESTALT\|TEST ALT\|TEST ACCOUNTS}}'''Testing and training''': Users who use a lot of scripts and other tools may wish to keep a second, ] account, for testing how things appear to others; or for demonstrating Misplaced Pages's default appearance when training new users. The second account should be clearly linked to the main account, except where doing so would interfere with testing or training.
			**{{Anchor\|2FAALT}}'''Two-factor authentication users''': Users with ] may not be able to log on from certain clients. Such users may create a second linked account such as ] or ].
			*{{Anchor\|DESIGNATED}}'''Designated roles:''' Editors with specific roles, such as ] or ] employees, may have specific accounts for those roles. Note the account still belongs to an individual, not the ], and should be named as such. For example, ] is an acceptable alternative account, but ] is not, because it is named after the role. It is not required that the names match, e.g. the main account ] could have the role account ], but the accounts should be clearly connected. If the editor leaves the role, their role account must no longer be used. If a new editor assumes the role, they must create a new account.
			* '''Education''': Educators and students are encouraged to create a separate account that does not have to be linked to their main account for the purpose of managing or participating in ]. Use of the account should be limited to articles and other pages directly related to students and classwork.

			Alternative accounts should always be identified as such on their ]s, unless where doing so would defeat the point of the account. ] such as {{tl\|User alternative account}} or ] may be used for this purpose.
	===Circumventing policy===
	Policies apply per person, not per account. Policies such as ] are for each person's edits. Similarly, using a second account for policy violations will cause any penalties to also be applied to your main account.

			===Editing while logged out===
	Users who are ] from editing or temporarily subject to a legitimate block may not use sock puppets to circumvent this. Evading a ban in this manner causes the timer on the ban to restart, and may further lengthen the ban.
			{{policy shortcut\|WP:LOGOUT\|WP:EWLO}}
			{{See also\|Help:Logging in#Editing while logged out\|Misplaced Pages:Signs of sockpuppetry#IP sockpuppetry}}
			There is no policy against someone with an account editing the encyclopedia <!-- '''Editing project space''': Undisclosed alternative accounts are not to be used in discussions internal to the project.--> while logged out, ''per se''. This happens for many reasons, including not noticing that the login session had expired, changing computers, going to a Misplaced Pages page directly from a link, and forgetting passwords. Editors who are not logged in must not actively try to deceive other editors, such as by directly saying that they do not have an account or by using the session for the ] listed earlier in this policy. To protect their privacy, editors who have edited while logged out are never required to connect their usernames to their IP addresses on-wiki.

			If you have concerns that an IP editor is actually a user with an account who is editing while logged out in a way that is inappropriate, you can give the IP editor notice of this policy ({{tls\|uw-login}} is available for this purpose), and if the behavior continues, you should ] privately and present the evidence to them.
	===Administrative sock puppets===

			=={{anchor\|NOTIFY}}Alternative account notification==
	The community has strongly rejected users having more than one username with admin powers. If you leave, come back under a new name and are nominated for admin, it is expected that you will give up admin powers on your old account. (You may do this quietly with your old account and not have to show a link between accounts.) You should have only one account with powers greater than those of a regular editor.
			{{policy shortcut\|WP:SOCK#NOTIFY\|WP:ALTACCN}}
			{{see also\|Misplaced Pages:Userboxes/Wikipedia/Related accounts}}
			Unless when doing so would defeat the purpose of having a legitimate alternative account, editors using alternative accounts should provide links between the accounts. Links should ideally take the form of all three of the following:
			# Similarities in the username (for example, ] might have ] or ]).<ref>Dissimilar names may cause confusion and create an impression of avoiding transparency; remember that the username appears in page histories even if you change the signature.</ref>
			# Links on both the main and alternative account user pages, either informally or using the ] templates made for the purpose. To link an alternative account to a main account, use the {{strong\|main}} account to tag any secondary accounts with <nowiki>{{</nowiki>]<nowiki>}}</nowiki> (using the main account shows it's genuine) or <nowiki>{{</nowiki>]<nowiki>}}</nowiki> if the account is being used to maintain security on public computers. The main account may be marked with <nowiki>{{</nowiki>'']]<nowiki>}}</nowiki>.
			# Links in the alternative account signature: if not linking to both the alternative and main account, link to the alternative account, and if necessary provide a note there requesting contact be made via the main account, or simply redirect the user talk page.

			Editors who have multiple accounts for privacy reasons should {{em\|consider}} ] the ] if they believe editing will attract scrutiny. Editors who heavily edit controversial material, those who maintain ], and editors considering becoming an ] are among the groups of editors who attract scrutiny even if their editing behavior itself is not problematic or only marginally so. However, it is worth noting that making such notifications does not in any way protect the user or allow them to otherwise violate this policy. Properly maintaining separation between the main account and the alternative account is entirely the responsibility of the user. If the connection is discovered, prior notification is '''not''' a "]" and users should not expect that ] nor arbitrators will act to conceal the connection if it is made on-wiki. Conversely, neither checkusers nor arbitrators monitor disclosed accounts to ensure compliance with policy. This is also entirely the responsibility of the user. Editors who have abandoned an account and are editing under a new identity are required to comply with the ] policy.
	At this time, the only second account with legitimate administrative powers is ], which ] uses for Foundation work.

			=={{anchor\|Advertising and soliciting meatpuppets}}Meatpuppetry==
	== Legitimate uses of multiple accounts ==
			{{Further\|Misplaced Pages:Tag team}}
	Multiple accounts have legitimate uses. For example, prominent users might create a new account in order to experience how the community functions for new users. In particular, some have suggested that ] should get, and edit from, a sock puppet account. Perhaps he does.
			{{see also\|Misplaced Pages:Canvassing}}
			{{Nutshell\|title=This section\|Do not recruit your friends, family members, or communities of people who agree with you for the purpose of coming to Misplaced Pages and supporting your side of a debate. If you feel that a debate is ignoring your voice, ], and ] from other Wikipedians or pursue ]. These are well-tested processes, designed to avoid the problem of exchanging bias in one direction for bias in another.\|shortcut1=WP:MEAT\|shortcut2=WP:MEATPUPPET\|shortcut3=WP:CRONY}}
			High-profile disputes on Misplaced Pages often bring new editors to the site. Some individuals may promote their causes by bringing like-minded editors into the dispute, including enlisting assistance off-wiki. These editors are sometimes referred to as '']'', following a common Internet usage. While Misplaced Pages ], especially for ], actively recruiting new accounts or users on Misplaced Pages, or recruiting people (either on-wiki or off-wiki) to create an account or edit anonymously in order to influence decisions on Misplaced Pages, is prohibited. A new user who engages in the same behavior as another user in the same context, and who appears to be editing Misplaced Pages solely for that purpose, may be subject to the remedies applied to the user whose behavior they are joining. Sanctions have been applied to editors of longer standing who have not, in the opinion of Misplaced Pages's administrative bodies, consistently exercised independent judgment.

			Misplaced Pages has processes in place to mitigate the disruption caused by an influx of single-purpose editors:
	===Segregation and security===
			*Consensus in many debates and discussions should ideally '''not''' be based upon number of votes, but upon policy-related points made by editors.
	Other users employ multiple accounts to segregate their contributions for various reasons:
			*In votes or vote-like discussions, new users may be disregarded or given significantly less weight, especially if there are many of them expressing the same opinion. Their comments may be tagged with ] pointing out that they have made few or no other edits outside of the discussion.
			*A 2005 ] decision established: "For the purpose of ] when there is uncertainty whether a party is one user with sockpuppets or several users with similar editing habits they may be treated as one user with sockpuppets."<ref>{{Section link\|Misplaced Pages:Requests for arbitration/Regarding Ted Kennedy#Sockpuppets}}</ref>

			The term ''meatpuppet'' may be seen by some as derogatory and should be used with care, in keeping with ]. Because of the processes above, it may be counterproductive to directly accuse someone of being a "meatpuppet", and doing so will often only inflame the dispute.
	* A user making substantial contributions to an area of interest in Misplaced Pages might register another account to be used solely in connection with developing that area.

			===Sharing an IP address===
	* Since public computers can have password-stealing trojans or keyloggers installed, some users may use an alternate account when editing under these conditions in order to prevent the hijacking of their main accounts.
			{{redirect\|WP:SHARE\|the policy prohibiting the sharing of accounts\|Misplaced Pages:Username policy#Sharing accounts}}
			{{Policy shortcut\|WP:COWORKER\|WP:FAMILY\|WP:ROOMMATE\|WP:SHARE}}
			If two or more registered editors use the same computer or network connection, their accounts may be linked by a ]. Editors in this position are advised to declare such connections on their user pages to avoid accusations of sockpuppetry. There are ] available for this; see {{tl\|User shared IP address}}.

			Alternatively, a user could declare (in confidence) this connection by emailing the Arbitration Committee. See {{section link\|WP:AC\|Contacting the Committee}} for contact details. If you take this option, a non-specific note on your user page to the effect of "I share an IP with another editor, please contact ArbCom for more information" might be a good idea. Also note that none of this is carte blanche to sock, nor does it guarantee that inquisitive editors (or even checkusers) won't make connections on their own.
	* Someone who is known to the public or within a particular circle may be identifiable based on their interests and contributions; dividing these up between different accounts might help preserve the person's anonymity. Users with a recognized expertise in one field, for example, might not wish to associate their contributions to that field with contributions to articles about less weighty subjects.

			Closely connected users may be considered a single user for Misplaced Pages's purposes if they edit with the same objectives. When editing the same articles, participating in the same community discussion, or supporting each other in any sort of dispute, closely related accounts should disclose the connection and observe relevant policies such as ] as if they were a single account. If they do not wish to disclose the connection, they should avoid editing in the same areas, particularly on controversial topics.
	* A person editing an article which is highly controversial within their family, social or professional circle may wish to use a sock puppet so that readers unfamiliar with ] policy will not assume their information edits are statements of personal belief.

			==<span id="Handling suspected sock puppets"></span>Handling suspected sockpuppets==
	===Keeping heated issues in one small area===
			{{SPI navigation}}{{Policy shortcut\|WP:HSOCK}}
	Some editors use different accounts in talk pages to avoid conflicts about a particular area of interest turning into conflicts based upon user identity and ] elsewhere, or to avoid harassment outside of Misplaced Pages. A person participating in a discussion of an article about abortion, for example, might not want to allow other participants an opportunity to extend that discussion or engage them in unrelated or philosophically motivated debate outside the context of that article.
			{{clear}}
			===Sockpuppet investigations===
			] lists some of the signs that an account may be a sockpuppet. If you believe someone is using sockpuppets or meatpuppets, you should create a report at ]. In reporting suspected sockpuppetry, you must obey the rules of ] with regard to disclosure of personal or identifying information. Only blocked accounts should be tagged as ] and only upon sufficient evidence that would stand up to scrutiny.

	===~~'Role' accounts~~===		===CheckUser===
			{{policy shortcut\|WP:SPCU}}
	]s, accounts which are used by multiple people, are only officially sanctioned on en: Misplaced Pages in exceptional cases at this time. The one currently permitted role account on en: is ], the account for a ] firm working closely with the ]. If you run an account with multiple users, it is likely to be blocked.
			{{See also\|Misplaced Pages:CheckUser}}
			] may consult the server log to see which IP addresses are linked to which accounts. The CheckUser tool cannot confirm with certainty that two accounts are not connected; it can only show whether there is a technical link at the time of the investigation. In accordance with the ] and ], checks are only conducted with good cause, and (subject to the exceptions in those policies) results are reported in such a way as to avoid or minimize disclosure of personal identifying information. Particularly, "]"—the use of the CheckUser tools without good cause specific to a given user account—is prohibited.

	===~~Bots~~===		===Blocking===
			{{See also\|Misplaced Pages:Blocking policy}}
	Editors who operate ] (programs that edit automatically or semi-automatically) are encouraged to create separate accounts (and request they be marked as bot accounts via ]), so the automated edits can be filtered out of ]. ''(See ] for bot procedures and policies)''
			If a person is found to be using a sockpuppet, the sockpuppet account(s) should be ]. The main account may be blocked at the discretion of any uninvolved administrator. ] used for sockpuppetry may be blocked, but are subject to certain restrictions for indefinite blocks.

			===Banning===
	===Tagging alternate accounts===
			{{See also\|Misplaced Pages:Banning policy#Bans for repeated block evasion}}
	Editors who wish to publicly display a link on an alternate account to their primary account may do so by tagging the "secondary" ones with '''{{tlp\|User Alternate Acct\|MAIN ACCOUNT}}''' which produces:
			Editors who are confirmed by a ] to have engaged in sockpuppetry on at least two occasions after an initial indefinite block that is active, for any reason, are to be considered site banned by the Misplaced Pages community.<ref>]</ref>

			===Tagging===
	{{User Alternate Acct\|MAIN ACCOUNT}}<div style="clear: both"></div>
			{{See also\|Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations/SPI/Administrators instructions#Blocking and tagging}}

			==List of role accounts==
	Primary accounts may be marked with '''{{tl\|User Alt Acct Master}}''', which gives:
			* ''Non-editing accounts that provide an easy way to contact internal email lists:''
			** ]
			** ]
			** ]
			** ]
			** ]
			* ]

			==See also==
	{{User Alt Acct Master}}<div style="clear: both"></div>
			*]
			*]
			*]

			===Guidelines===
			*]

			===Essays===<!-- PLEASE RESPECT ALPHABETICAL ORDER -->
	==Identification and handling of suspected sock puppets==
			*]
			*]
			*]
			*]
			*]
			*]
			*]
			*]
			*]
			*]

	=== ~~Characteristics of sock puppets~~ ===		=== Tools ===
	Not surprisingly, sock puppet accounts usually show much greater familiarity with Misplaced Pages and its editing process than most ]. They are more likely to use ], immediately join in ], or participate vocally in procedures like ] or ] as part of their first few edits. They are also more likely to be brand new or a ] when looking at their contributions summary.

			* ] - list of tools
	One type of sock puppet is sometimes referred to as a "straw man sock puppet." They are created by users with one point of view, but act as though they have an opposing point of view, in order to make that point of view look bad, or to act as an online ]. They will often make poor arguments which their "opponents" can then easily refute. This can allow them to essentially make ]s. Such sock puppets thus become a personification of the straw man argument which their creators argue against. They often act unintelligent or uninformed, and may behave in an overtly ] manner. The effect is often to obfuscate the debate and prevent a serious discussion of the arguments from each side. Suspicion of such sock puppets is often harder to verify though, as there are often people who naturally behave in such a manner with the same effects.

			==References==
	=== When questions arise ===
			{{notelist}}
	In some cases it may not be completely clear whether an account is a sock puppet, as the purpose is usually to avoid detection. Similarities in interests and editing style can be noted, but not everyone may be familiar enough with the user to understand the evidence.
			{{reflist}}

			==External links==
	If it appears that sock puppets are being used as part of an edit war or to distort the outcome of a vote or survey, one possible rule of thumb is the so-called ''100-edit rule''. This suggests that any account which already has more than 100 edits across a range of other articles, or has been active more generally on Misplaced Pages, can often be presumed not to be a sock puppet. If there are unusually many accounts with few edits participating, you may want to check if they are sock puppets, by looking at IP addresses or times that edits were made. However, simply having made few edits is ''not'' evidence of sock puppetry on its own, and if you call a new user a sock puppet without justification, they will probably be insulted and get a negative impression of Misplaced Pages.
			{{Commons category\|Sockpuppeteers}}
			*]

			{{Misplaced Pages sockpuppetry\|state=uncollapsed}}
	Keep in mind there can be multiple users who are driven to start participating in Misplaced Pages for the same reason, particularly in controversial areas such as articles about the conflict in the Middle East, cult figures, or ]. Some have suggested applying the 100-edit guideline more strongly in such cases, assuming that all accounts with fewer than 100 edits are sock puppets. Generally, such beliefs have been shown not to be well founded.
			{{Misplaced Pages accounts\|collapsed}}

			]
	Where it is unclear whether or not sock puppetry is in progress, server log information can be consulted. To comply with Wikimedia Foundation privacy policy, this is only done in serious cases involving violation of an ], serious ongoing pattern ], vote fraud actually affecting the outcome of a vote, or serious ongoing use of sock puppets to violate the ]. Requests may be made at ].
			]

			{{Misplaced Pages policies and guidelines\|state=uncollapsed}}
	If ''you'' have been accused incorrectly of being a sock puppet, don't take it too personally. New users are unknown quantities. Stay around a while and make good edits, and your record will speak for itself.

	===Blocking accounts===
	Admins should block indefinitely any sock-puppet accounts used in violation of this policy, and may block the main account at their discretion.

	===Tagging ''identified'' sock puppets===
	If an account has been shown to be a sock puppet used for policy violations, then it should be identified as such, by adding ] to the user page of the sock puppet account. There are two tags available, one for violations confirmed by ], the other for all other forms of confirmed sockpuppet use.

	If the proof was obtained via a confirmed ] request, then the tag '''{{tlp\|SockpuppetCheckuser\|SOCKPUPPETEER}}''' should be used:
	:{{SockpuppetCheckuser\|SOCKPUPPETEER}}<div style="clear: both"></div>

	If the proof is in any other form, then the more general tag '''{{tlp\|SockpuppetProven\|<nowiki>1=SOCKPUPPETEER\|evidence=]</nowiki>}}''' should be added to the user page of the sock puppet account. Replace "EVIDENCELINK" with something such as "<font color="blue"><nowiki>]</nowiki></font>":
	:{{SockpuppetProven\|1=SOCKPUPPETEER\|evidence=]}}<div style="clear: both"></div>

	The above templates should ''not'' be added in the cases of accusations of sock puppetry which have not been proven, nor should they be added in the case of an legitimate alternate account, especially where the user may wish to maintain anonymity. Abuse of these tags will result in warning and potentially blocking.

	Evidence counted as "proof" means:
	* the user's own admission;
	* matching of IP addresses or similar strong technical evidence;
	* a ruling on ];
	* a confirmed Checkuser.

	===Suspected sockpuppets===
	The above template should ''not'' be added in the cases of accusations of sock puppetry which have not been proven. Instead, add ] to the page, with the syntax '''{{tlp\|Sockpuppet\|<nowiki>1=SOCKPUPPETEER\|evidence=]</nowiki>}}''':
	{{Sockpuppet\|1=SOCKPUPPETEER\|evidence=]}}<div style="clear: both"></div>

	=== Tagging ''identified'' puppeteers ===
	Tagging known puppeteers with the following tag '''{{tl\|sockpuppeteer}}''':
	{{sockpuppeteer}}<div style="clear: both"></div>

	<span id="Meatpuppets" /><!-- old title for the following section, to keep section links working -->

	=== Difficult to detect sockpuppets ===
	If you think that someone is using sockpuppets abusively and wish to get further people's comments on the matter, you should create a report at ] and follow the instructions there.

	== Accounts created by brand new users acting together ('meatpuppets') ==

	A related issue occurs when multiple individuals create brand new accounts specifically to participate in (or influence) one particular vote or area of discussion. This is especially common in ] or ]. These newly created accounts (or anonymous edits) may be friends of another editor, may be related in some way to the subject of an article under discussion, or may be solicited by someone to support a specific 'angle' in an article debate.

	When used to add force to the arguments of one side in a debate or article, such users and accounts are often described as '''"meatpuppets"''', a name perhaps inspired by the band ]. Use of this term is generally not advised, since it can be perceived as highly ], and is certainly likely to ] from participating further.

	These accounts are not actually sock puppets, but they are often difficult to distinguish from real sock puppets and are often treated similarly. Neither a sock puppet nor a brand-new, single-purpose account holder is considered a member of the Misplaced Pages community in these circumstances. The reason behind this is that, for instance, an article about an online community should not be kept merely because all members of that community show up to vote for it. The ] has ruled that, for the purpose of dispute resolution, when there is uncertainty whether a party is one user with sock puppets or several users with similar editing habits they may be treated as one individual.

	(Wikipedians also tend to call such user accounts ']', because whereas committed Wikipedians are usually active on a range of articles, and their aim is to see a balanced growth in articles and in the encyclopedia as a whole even if contributing only in their specialist topic area, 'single purpose account' users very often come to Misplaced Pages with one set agenda or interest and a specific aspect or 'side' to promote by their edits and views within that interest)

	=== Advertising and soliciting meatpuppets ===
	It is considered ''highly inappropriate or unacceptable'' to externally advertise Misplaced Pages articles that are being debated, or where one wishes to stir up debate, in order to attract users with likely known views and bias, in order to strengthen one side of a debate and influence consensus or discussion. It's also inappropriate to invite "all one's friends" to help argue an article. Advertising or soliciting meatpuppet activity is not an acceptable practice on Misplaced Pages.

	The arrival of multiple newcomers, with limited Misplaced Pages background and predetermined viewpoints arriving in order to present those viewpoints, rarely helps achieve ] and most times actively damages it, no matter what one might think. Misplaced Pages is not a place for ], ], or ]. Controversial articles often need more familiarity with policy to be well edited, not less.

	If you feel that a debate is ignoring your voice, then the appropriate action is not to solicit others outside Misplaced Pages. Instead, ], ] from other Wikipedians, or pursue ]. These are quite well tested processes, and are designed to avoid the problem of exchanging bias in one direction for bias in another.

	== See also ==
	*]
	*]

	==References==
	<references/>

	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
	]
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Latest revision as of 20:44, 21 January 2025

Project policy on inappropriate use of multiple accounts Please see Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations for how to request investigation of possible sockpuppetry, including requests for CheckUser intervention. "WP:SOC" redirects here. For the WikiProject, see Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Sociology.

This page documents an English Misplaced Pages policy.It describes a widely accepted standard that editors should normally follow, though exceptions may apply. Changes made to it should reflect consensus.

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This page in a nutshell: One editor, one account. Do not use multiple accounts (multiaccount) for malicious reasons.

Conduct policies
Block evasion Civility Clean start Consensus Dispute resolution Edit warring Editing policy Harassment No personal attacks Ownership of content Sockpuppetry Username policy Vandalism
v t e

On Misplaced Pages, sockpuppetry, or socking, refers to the misuse of multiple Misplaced Pages accounts. To maintain accountability and increase community trust, editors are generally expected to use only one account. While there are some valid reasons for maintaining multiple accounts, it is improper to use multiple accounts to deceive or mislead other editors, disrupt discussions, distort consensus, avoid sanctions, evade blocks, or otherwise violate community standards and policies.

Sockpuppetry takes various forms:

Logging out to make disruptive edits as an IP address
Creating new accounts to avoid detection or sanctions, or to evade blocks
Using another person's account (piggybacking)
Reviving old unused accounts (sometimes referred to as sleepers) and presenting them as different users
Persuading friends or colleagues to create accounts for the purpose of supporting one side of a dispute (usually called meatpuppetry)

Misuse of multiple accounts is a serious breach of community trust. It may lead to:

a block of all related accounts
a ban of the user (the sockmaster or sockpuppeteer) behind the accounts (each of which is a sockpuppet or sock)
on-project exposure of all accounts and IP addresses used across Misplaced Pages and its sister projects
the (potential) public exposure of any "real-world" activities or personal information deemed relevant to preventing future sockpuppetry or certain other abuses.

An editor multiaccounting for valid reasons should, on each account's user page, list all the other accounts with an explanation of their purpose (see below). Optionally, the user and user talk pages of some of the accounts can be redirected to those of another. Editors who use unlinked alternative accounts, or who edit as an IP address editor separate from their account, should carefully avoid any crossover on articles or topics because even innocuous activities such as copy editing, wikifying, or linking might be considered sockpuppetry in some cases and innocuous intentions will not usually serve as an excuse.

Inappropriate uses of alternative accounts

"WP:ROLE" redirects here. You may be looking for Misplaced Pages:User access levels.

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Editors must not use alternative accounts to mislead, deceive, disrupt, or undermine consensus. This includes, but is not limited to:

Creating an illusion of support: Alternative accounts must not be used to give the impression of more support for a position than actually exists.
Shortcut
- WP:PROJSOCK
Internal discussions: Undisclosed alternative accounts generally may not be used in discussions internal to the project outside of limited circumstance. A legitimate undisclosed alternative account is permitted to contribute to project space discussions that directly affect the account.
Circumventing policies: Policies apply per person, not per account. Policies such as the three-revert rule are for each person's edits. Using a second account to violate policy will cause any penalties to be applied to your main account.
Shortcut
- WP:STRAWSOCK
Strawman socks: Creating a separate account to argue one side of an issue in a deliberately irrational or offensive fashion, to sway opinion to another side.
Circumventing blocks, bans or sanctions: Sanctions apply to individual editors as people, not to accounts, unless specified otherwise. Using a second account to edit in violation of an active block, community ban or other sanction imposed on your original account will result in further sanctions, which may include reversion of your contributions. See also Misplaced Pages:Blocking policy § Evasion and enforcement.
Contributing to the same page or discussion with multiple accounts: Editors may not use more than one account to contribute to the same page or discussion in a way that suggests they are multiple people. Contributing to the same page with clearly linked, legitimate, alternative accounts (e.g. editing the same page with your main and public computer account or editing a page using your main account that your bot account edited) is not forbidden.
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- WP:SCRUTINY
Avoiding scrutiny: Using alternative accounts that are not fully and openly disclosed to split your editing history means that other editors may not be able to detect patterns in your contributions. While this is permitted in certain circumstances (see legitimate uses), it is a violation of this policy to create alternative accounts to confuse or deceive editors who may have a legitimate interest in reviewing your contributions.
Shortcuts
"Good hand" and "bad hand" accounts: Using one account for constructive contributions and the other one for vandalism or other types of disruptive editing.
Shortcut
- WP:LOUTSOCK
Editing while logged out in order to mislead: Editing under multiple IP addresses, or editing under both a named account and as an IP, when done deceptively or otherwise violating the principles of this policy, may be treated as the same level of disruption as editing under multiple accounts. When editors log out by mistake, they may wish to contact an editor with oversight access to ensure there is no misunderstanding.
Misusing a clean start: Switching accounts or concealing a clean start in a way that avoids scrutiny is considered a breach of this policy; see Misplaced Pages:Clean start.
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- WP:ROLE
Role accounts: Because an account represents your edits as an individual, "role accounts", or accounts shared by multiple people, are (as a rule) forbidden and blocked. Many first-time editors may sign up an account with a username that implies it is a role account or is being shared. Such accounts are permitted only if the account information is forever limited to one individual; however, policy recommends that usernames avoid being misleading or disruptive. As such, if you edit for an organization, please refer to Misplaced Pages's username policy for guidance on choosing a name or a replacement name that can avoid these problems. Role account exceptions can be made for non-editing accounts approved to provide email access, accounts approved by the Wikimedia Foundation (list below), and approved bots with multiple managers. See Username policy § Sharing accounts.
Deceptively seeking positions of community trust. You may not run for positions of trust without disclosing that you have previously edited under another account. Adminship reflects the community's trust in an individual, not an account, so when applying for adminship, it is expected that you will disclose past accounts openly, or email the Arbitration Committee if the accounts must be kept private. Administrators who fail to disclose past accounts risk being desysopped, particularly if knowledge of them would have influenced the outcome of the RfA.
Shortcut
- WP:ADMINSOCK
Using more than one administrator account: Editors may not have more than one account with administrator user rights, except for bots with administrator privileges. However, Wikimedia Foundation staff may operate more than one admin account, though they must make known who they are. If an administrator leaves the project, returns under a new username, and is nominated for adminship, they must resign or give up the administrator access of their old account.
Posing as a neutral or uninvolved commentator: Using an alternative account to participate in a discussion about another account operated by the same person.

Legitimate uses

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Alternative accounts have legitimate uses too. For example, editors who contribute using their real name may wish to use a pseudonym for contributions with which they do not want their real name to be associated, or long-term users might create a new account to better understand the editing experience from a new user's perspective. These accounts are not considered sockpuppets. If you use a legitimate alternative account, it is your responsibility to ensure that you do not use it in an illegitimate manner according to this policy. Operating a legitimate alternative account, even for a reason listed in this policy, does not prevent the accounts from being connected to one another publicly. Individuals operating undisclosed alternative accounts do so at their own risk and against the recommended operating processes of this project.

Valid reasons for an alternative account include:

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Security: You may register an alternative account for use when accessing Misplaced Pages through a public computer, connecting to an unsecured network, or other scenarios when there's a risk of your account being compromised. Such accounts should be publicly connected to the main account or use an easily identified name. For example, User:Mickey might use User:Mickey (alt) or User:Mouse, and redirect that account's user and talk pages to their main account.
Privacy: A person editing an article that is highly controversial within their family, social or professional circle, and whose Misplaced Pages identity is known within that circle, or traceable to their real-world identity, may wish to use an alternative account to avoid real-world consequences from their editing or other Misplaced Pages actions in that area. Although a privacy-based alternative account is not publicly connected to your main account, it should not be used in ways outlined in the inappropriate uses section of this page, and if it is, the account may be publicly linked to your main account for sanctions. If you are considering using an alternative account under this provision, please read the notification section below.
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- WP:DG
- WP:DOPP
Doppelgänger accounts: A doppelgänger account is an account created with a username similar to your main account to prevent impersonation. Such accounts should not be used for editing. Doppelgänger accounts may be marked with the {{doppelganger}} or {{doppelganger-other}} tag, or can simply redirect to the main account's userpage.

Pseudonyms used to edit sister projects in a different language: Although SUL no longer requires Wikimedians to register different accounts to edit different projects, users who wish to have a separate account to edit a sister project written in a different script may do so. The other account should be treated as a Doppelgänger on the English Misplaced Pages, and vice-versa. These accounts may be marked with the {{User Alias}} tag to show a connection.

Clean start under a new name: A clean start is when a user stops using an old account in order to start afresh with a new account, usually due to past mistakes or to avoid harassment. A clean start is permitted only if there are no active bans, blocks, or sanctions in place against the old account. Do not use your new account to return to topic areas, disputes, editing patterns, or behaviors previously identified as problematic, and you should be careful not to do anything that looks like an attempt to evade scrutiny. A clean start requires that you no longer use your old account(s), which should note on their user pages that they are inactive—for example, with the {{retired}} tag—to prevent the switch being seen as an attempt to sockpuppet.
Username violations: If you are soft-blocked for having an inappropriate username, and that is the sole reason for the block, you are permitted to create a new account with an appropriate username.
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- WP:COMPSOCK
Compromised accounts: If you are unable to access your account because you have lost the password or because someone has obtained or guessed your password, you may create a new account with a clean password. In such a case, you should post a note on the user page of each account indicating that they are alternative accounts for the same person. If necessary, you should also ask for an admin to block the compromised account. You may want to consider using a committed identity in advance to help deal with this rare situation should it arise later.
Humor accounts: The community has accepted some obviously humorous alternative accounts—for example, Bishzilla, Floquenstein's monster, and Lady Catherine Rollbacker-de Burgh (the Late).
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- WP:TECHALT
Technical reasons:
- Maintenance: An editor might use an alternative account to carry out maintenance tasks, or to segregate functions so as to maintain a user talk page dedicated to the purpose. The second account should be clearly linked to the main account.
- Bots: Bots are programs that edit automatically or semi-automatically. Editors who use bots are encouraged to create separate accounts, and ask that they be marked as bot accounts via Misplaced Pages:Bots/Requests for approval, so that the automated edits can be filtered out of recent changes. Bots should be clearly linked to their owner's account. See Misplaced Pages:Bot policy.
- Shortcut
  - WP:TESTALT
  Testing and training: Users who use a lot of scripts and other tools may wish to keep a second, vanilla account, for testing how things appear to others; or for demonstrating Misplaced Pages's default appearance when training new users. The second account should be clearly linked to the main account, except where doing so would interfere with testing or training.
- Two-factor authentication users: Users with two-factor authentication may not be able to log on from certain clients. Such users may create a second linked account such as User:Username (phone) or User:Username (mobile).
Designated roles: Editors with specific roles, such as Wikipedian in residence or Wikimedia Foundation employees, may have specific accounts for those roles. Note the account still belongs to an individual, not the role itself, and should be named as such. For example, User:Username (WIR for Foo Museum) is an acceptable alternative account, but User:Wikipedian-in-residence for Foo Museum is not, because it is named after the role. It is not required that the names match, e.g. the main account User:Jane could have the role account User:Username (WIR for Foo Museum), but the accounts should be clearly connected. If the editor leaves the role, their role account must no longer be used. If a new editor assumes the role, they must create a new account.
Education: Educators and students are encouraged to create a separate account that does not have to be linked to their main account for the purpose of managing or participating in student assignments. Use of the account should be limited to articles and other pages directly related to students and classwork.

Alternative accounts should always be identified as such on their user pages, unless where doing so would defeat the point of the account. Templates such as {{User alternative account}} or one of a selection of user boxes may be used for this purpose.

Editing while logged out

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There is no policy against someone with an account editing the encyclopedia while logged out, per se. This happens for many reasons, including not noticing that the login session had expired, changing computers, going to a Misplaced Pages page directly from a link, and forgetting passwords. Editors who are not logged in must not actively try to deceive other editors, such as by directly saying that they do not have an account or by using the session for the inappropriate uses of alternative accounts listed earlier in this policy. To protect their privacy, editors who have edited while logged out are never required to connect their usernames to their IP addresses on-wiki.

If you have concerns that an IP editor is actually a user with an account who is editing while logged out in a way that is inappropriate, you can give the IP editor notice of this policy ({{subst:uw-login}} is available for this purpose), and if the behavior continues, you should contact a CheckUser privately and present the evidence to them.

Alternative account notification

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Unless when doing so would defeat the purpose of having a legitimate alternative account, editors using alternative accounts should provide links between the accounts. Links should ideally take the form of all three of the following:

Similarities in the username (for example, User:Example might have User:Example public or User:Example bot).
Links on both the main and alternative account user pages, either informally or using the userbox templates made for the purpose. To link an alternative account to a main account, use the main account to tag any secondary accounts with {{User alternative account | main account}} (using the main account shows it's genuine) or {{Public user}} if the account is being used to maintain security on public computers. The main account may be marked with {{User alternative account name|OtherName|...|OtherName}}.
Links in the alternative account signature: if not linking to both the alternative and main account, link to the alternative account, and if necessary provide a note there requesting contact be made via the main account, or simply redirect the user talk page.

Editors who have multiple accounts for privacy reasons should consider notifying the Arbitration Committee if they believe editing will attract scrutiny. Editors who heavily edit controversial material, those who maintain single purpose accounts, and editors considering becoming an administrator are among the groups of editors who attract scrutiny even if their editing behavior itself is not problematic or only marginally so. However, it is worth noting that making such notifications does not in any way protect the user or allow them to otherwise violate this policy. Properly maintaining separation between the main account and the alternative account is entirely the responsibility of the user. If the connection is discovered, prior notification is not a "get out of jail free card" and users should not expect that checkusers nor arbitrators will act to conceal the connection if it is made on-wiki. Conversely, neither checkusers nor arbitrators monitor disclosed accounts to ensure compliance with policy. This is also entirely the responsibility of the user. Editors who have abandoned an account and are editing under a new identity are required to comply with the clean start policy.

Meatpuppetry

Further information: Misplaced Pages:Tag team See also: Misplaced Pages:Canvassing

This section in a nutshell: Do not recruit your friends, family members, or communities of people who agree with you for the purpose of coming to Misplaced Pages and supporting your side of a debate. If you feel that a debate is ignoring your voice, remain civil, and seek comments from other Wikipedians or pursue dispute resolution. These are well-tested processes, designed to avoid the problem of exchanging bias in one direction for bias in another.

Shortcuts

High-profile disputes on Misplaced Pages often bring new editors to the site. Some individuals may promote their causes by bringing like-minded editors into the dispute, including enlisting assistance off-wiki. These editors are sometimes referred to as meatpuppets, following a common Internet usage. While Misplaced Pages assumes good faith, especially for new users, actively recruiting new accounts or users on Misplaced Pages, or recruiting people (either on-wiki or off-wiki) to create an account or edit anonymously in order to influence decisions on Misplaced Pages, is prohibited. A new user who engages in the same behavior as another user in the same context, and who appears to be editing Misplaced Pages solely for that purpose, may be subject to the remedies applied to the user whose behavior they are joining. Sanctions have been applied to editors of longer standing who have not, in the opinion of Misplaced Pages's administrative bodies, consistently exercised independent judgment.

Misplaced Pages has processes in place to mitigate the disruption caused by an influx of single-purpose editors:

Consensus in many debates and discussions should ideally not be based upon number of votes, but upon policy-related points made by editors.
In votes or vote-like discussions, new users may be disregarded or given significantly less weight, especially if there are many of them expressing the same opinion. Their comments may be tagged with a note pointing out that they have made few or no other edits outside of the discussion.
A 2005 Arbitration Committee decision established: "For the purpose of dispute resolution when there is uncertainty whether a party is one user with sockpuppets or several users with similar editing habits they may be treated as one user with sockpuppets."

The term meatpuppet may be seen by some as derogatory and should be used with care, in keeping with Misplaced Pages:Civility. Because of the processes above, it may be counterproductive to directly accuse someone of being a "meatpuppet", and doing so will often only inflame the dispute.

Sharing an IP address

"WP:SHARE" redirects here. For the policy prohibiting the sharing of accounts, see Misplaced Pages:Username policy § Sharing accounts. Shortcuts

If two or more registered editors use the same computer or network connection, their accounts may be linked by a CheckUser. Editors in this position are advised to declare such connections on their user pages to avoid accusations of sockpuppetry. There are userboxes available for this; see {{User shared IP address}}.

Alternatively, a user could declare (in confidence) this connection by emailing the Arbitration Committee. See WP:AC § Contacting the Committee for contact details. If you take this option, a non-specific note on your user page to the effect of "I share an IP with another editor, please contact ArbCom for more information" might be a good idea. Also note that none of this is carte blanche to sock, nor does it guarantee that inquisitive editors (or even checkusers) won't make connections on their own.

Closely connected users may be considered a single user for Misplaced Pages's purposes if they edit with the same objectives. When editing the same articles, participating in the same community discussion, or supporting each other in any sort of dispute, closely related accounts should disclose the connection and observe relevant policies such as edit warring as if they were a single account. If they do not wish to disclose the connection, they should avoid editing in the same areas, particularly on controversial topics.

Handling suspected sockpuppets

Sockpuppet investigations
Current cases Sockpuppetry policy
Information pages
Guide to filing cases Administrator instructions Signs of sockpuppetry
SPI clerk pages
List of clerks Noticeboard (archive 1, archive 2, archive 3, archive 4, archive 5) Procedures
IRC
#wikipedia-en-spi #wikipedia-en-spi-clerks
SPI archives
Malformed cases (whitelist)
v t e

Shortcut

WP:HSOCK

Sockpuppet investigations

Misplaced Pages:Signs of sockpuppetry lists some of the signs that an account may be a sockpuppet. If you believe someone is using sockpuppets or meatpuppets, you should create a report at Misplaced Pages:Sockpuppet investigations. In reporting suspected sockpuppetry, you must obey the rules of WP:OUTING with regard to disclosure of personal or identifying information. Only blocked accounts should be tagged as Category:Suspected Misplaced Pages sockpuppets and only upon sufficient evidence that would stand up to scrutiny.

CheckUser

Shortcut

WP:SPCU

Blocking

If a person is found to be using a sockpuppet, the sockpuppet account(s) should be blocked indefinitely. The main account may be blocked at the discretion of any uninvolved administrator. IP addresses used for sockpuppetry may be blocked, but are subject to certain restrictions for indefinite blocks.

Banning

Editors who are confirmed by a CheckUser to have engaged in sockpuppetry on at least two occasions after an initial indefinite block that is active, for any reason, are to be considered site banned by the Misplaced Pages community.

Tagging

List of role accounts

Non-editing accounts that provide an easy way to contact internal email lists:
Other accounts

References

See also: WP:BMB

Wikimedia Foundation privacy policy:
"We hope that this never comes up, but we may disclose your personal information if we believe that it's reasonably necessary to protect our organization, employees, contractors, users, or the public. We may also disclose your personal information if we reasonably believe it necessary to detect, prevent, or otherwise assess and address potential spam, malware, fraud, abuse, unlawful activity, and security or technical concerns."
Information under this policy is not gratuitously released, but may be made public at times in the context of detecting, confirming, preventing, and resolving issues related to actual or possible abuse.
2021 discussion on Undisclosed alternate accounts
Dissimilar names may cause confusion and create an impression of avoiding transparency; remember that the username appears in page histories even if you change the signature.
Misplaced Pages:Requests for arbitration/Regarding Ted Kennedy § Sockpuppets
March 2018 RfC

External links

MeatBall:SockPuppet

v t e Sockpuppetry
Guidance	Legitimate uses Inappropriate uses Meat puppetry Canvassing Username policy Clean start Single-purpose account Sleeper accounts Outing
Signs	Motivations List of signs Duck test An obvious sock is obvious Don't be quick to assume that someone is a sockpuppet Lurkers
Investigations	Triggers Administrators instructions Requests for checkuser CheckUser criteria
Consequences	Block Ban

v t e Misplaced Pages accounts and governance
Unregistered (IP) users	Why create an account? Create an account Request an account IPs are human too IP addresses are not people IP hopper
Registered users	New account Logging in Reset passwords Username policy Changing username Usernames for administrator attention Unified login or SUL Alternate account
Account security	Password strength requirements User account security Personal security practices Two-factor authentication 2FA for AWB Committed identity On privacy, confidentiality and discretion Compromised accounts How to not get outed
Blocks, bans, sanctions, global actions	Blocking policy FAQ Admin's guide Tools Autoblock Appealing a block Guide to appealing blocks UTRS Unblock Ticket Request System Blocking IP addresses Range blocks IPv6 Open proxies Banning policy ArbCom appeals Sanctions Personal sanctions General sanctions Contentious topics and Log Essay Indef ≠ infinite Long-term abuse Standard offer Global actions
Related to accounts	Sockpuppetry Single-purpose account Sleeper account Vandalism-only account Wikibreak Enforcer Retiring Courtesy vanishing Clean start Quiet return
User groups and global user groups	Requests for permissions Admin instructions Admin guide Account creator PERM (Auto) confirmed PERM Autopatrolled PERM AutoWikiBrowser PERM Bot Request Edit filter helper Request Event coordinator PERM Extended confirmed PERM File mover PERM IP block exempt Request Mass message sender PERM New page reviewer PERM Page mover PERM Pending changes reviewer PERM Rollback PERM Template editor PERM Global rights policy Volunteer Response Team
Advanced user groups	Administrator RfA Bureaucrat RfB CheckUser and Oversight Request Edit filter manager Request Interface administrator Request Founder Importer Researcher
Committees and related	Arbitration Committee Bot approvals group Functionaries Clerks SPI clerks ArbCom clerks
Governance	Administration FAQ Formal organization Editorial oversight and control Quality control Wikimedia Foundation Board Founder's seat Meta-Wiki Proposals WikiProjects Elections Policies and guidelines Petitions Noticeboards Consensus Dispute resolution Reforms

Misplaced Pages key policies and guidelines (?)

Five pillars
- Ignore all rules

Content (?)

P	Verifiability No original research Neutral point of view What Misplaced Pages is not Biographies of living persons Copyright (Copyright violations) Image use Article titles
G	Notability Autobiography Citing sources Reliable sources Medicine Do not include copies of lengthy primary sources Plagiarism Don't create hoaxes Fringe theories Patent nonsense External links

Conduct (?)

P	Civility Consensus Harassment Vandalism Ignore all rules No personal attacks Ownership of content Edit warring Dispute resolution Sockpuppetry No legal threats Child protection Paid-contribution disclosure
G	Assume good faith Conflict of interest Disruptive editing Do not disrupt Misplaced Pages to illustrate a point Etiquette Gaming the system Please do not bite the newcomers Courtesy vanishing Responding to threats of harm Talk page guidelines Signatures

Deletion (?)

P	Deletion policy Proposed deletion Biographies Criteria for speedy deletion Attack page Oversight Revision deletion

Enforcement (?)

P	Administrators Banning Blocking Page protection

Editing (?)

Editing policy

Article size Summary style Be bold Disambiguation Hatnotes Broad-concept article Understandability
Style	Manual of Style Contents Accessibility Dates and numbers Images Layout Lead section Linking Lists
Classification	Categories, lists, and navigation templates Categorization Template namespace

Project content (?)

G	Project namespace WikiProjects User pages User boxes Shortcuts Subpages

WMF (?)

P	Universal Code of Conduct Terms of Use List of policies Friendly space policy Licensing and copyright Privacy policy

List of all policies and guidelines
- P: List of policies
- G: List of guidelines
Summaries of values and principles

Categories:

Latest revision as of 20:44, 21 January 2025

Inappropriate uses of alternative accounts

Legitimate uses

Editing while logged out

Alternative account notification

Meatpuppetry

Sharing an IP address

Handling suspected sockpuppets

Sockpuppet investigations

CheckUser

Blocking

Banning

Tagging

List of role accounts

See also

Guidelines

Essays

Tools

References

External links