User:The Famous Movie Director/Draft RfC

Below is the template for a Request for comment on user behaviour. I've started to fill it out with regard to Michaellovesnyc's edits of the mail-order bride article. If you've been involved in trying to compromise with Michael, I encourage you to help add evidence, as the task is overwhelming. (Look in the article history and provide links to individual edits that show disputed behaviour.) I've never done this before and would also appreciate any help about wording, etc.

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Statement of the dispute

This is a summary written by users who dispute this user's conduct. Users signing other sections ("Response" or "Outside views") should not edit the "Statement of the dispute" section.

User:Michaellovesnyc has been violating multiple Wikipedia policies in his attempt to push his point of view on Mail-order bride.

Description

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Michaellovesnyc, who occasionally edits as User:24.45.47.102, and possibly other IP addresses assigned to Hofstra University, strongly feels that a marriage through a mail-order bride agency is better than traditional marriage, and that unfair stereotypes and laws discriminate against both mail-order brides themselves and the men who use these agencies. For some time, but especially since May, he has been significantly altering the mail-order bride article in ways that support his point of view. He frequently adds large sections that constitute original research or violate NPOV. He has admitted that he is trying to add a point of view to the article, which he sees as justified because it counters the anti-mail-order-bride point of view that the article allegedly already has.

Other users have attempted to explain to him why his changes are inappropriate, but this has failed. At one point User:Kaiwen1 started a poll over a disputed section, Demographics, which claimed that mail-order brides come from Eastern Europe in disproportionate numbers because of social problems like HIV and alcoholism and the fact that women outnumber men in these countries. The only source cited was the CIA factbook, which did not state any connection with mail-order brides. The section was clearly OR and in my view it should have been deleted without the need for a poll, but Michaellovesnyc had reverted every time the section was removed. It was explained to Michael why this was original research and inappropriate, and the poll seemed to show in favor of removing the section. An opinion from the Mediation Cabal was sought at this point and the mediator agreed that the section was OR and should be removed, but Michael has since incorporated it into the article again.

When other people attempt to make changes that don't conform to his point of view, he reverts wholesale. This has made progress on the article extremely difficult, as he reverts spelling corrections and non-controversial information along with the things he disagrees with. He cites NPOV as his reason for removing this information, even though he often removes information that is accurate and referenced. He has also left edit summaries demanding that anyone discuss any potential changes with him before editing the article.

Michael is hostile to other editors on talk pages and in edit summaries, frequently violating WP:Assume good faith and WP:No personal attacks when he accuses editors of lying, distorting the facts, vandalism, pursuing a racist and sexist agenda, and trying to intimidate other editors; he has also labeled editors "feminists" (pejoratively), as well as anti-female, "jealous ugly feminazi BBW's", and "cyberthugs".

The version I and other users revert to (usually this version) may have its own problems. In particular, there is debate about the extent to which abuse should be discussed, and about whether the term "mail-order bride" itself is offensive and the article should be renamed. However, I think these things can be resolved through civil discussion and consensus, if Michael is made to stop this disruptive behaviour. Reverting to that version of the article should be seen as an attempt to stop Michael from making major disruptive changes, rather than an attempt to push any point of view found in that version.

Evidence of disputed behavior

(Provide diffs. Links to entire articles aren't helpful unless the editor created the entire article. Edit histories also aren't helpful as they change as new edits are performed.)

Potential vandalism

1. March 10 edit to Sex
2. March 13 edit to mail-order bride.
3. March 13 version of his user talk page, showing vandalism warnings from User:BWD and User:Drini for the above two edits; he later removed these warnings
4. May 16 anonymous edit to Marriage article. Michael recently tried to insert an extremely contentious, blatantly sexist point of view on traditional marriage into the article on marriage. Michael had already been warned about vandalism and this may be reason for a ban. At the very least, his motives seem questionable. I believe the anonymous user is Michael because they make the same edits to Mail-order bride and he has replied on the anonymous user's talk page.

Mail-order bride edits

1. May 4 - "Foreign women who are more intelligent and attractive offer enticing alternatives to the uneducated and overweight American Feminist culture and threaten their survival." Etc. Reverted here
2. [1], [2] - May 7 deletions by anonymous account, reverted here
3. May 15, a series of edits on "personal anti-fraud measures" (he later agreed to remove the section)
4. May 18, paragraph on demographics added, as well as stereotypes - "Mail order brides are usually younger, more attractive and much better educated than American women", etc. Reverted here

It goes on like this throughout May; these are just some examples. More recently:

1. May 22 - adds paragraphs that purport to show a connection with anthropological studies of migration patterns. The articles themselves have nothing to do with mail-order bride agencies, and their inclusion seems like OR. Michael also uses extensive quotes from his sources rather than paraphrasing, which is stylistically inappropriate. I'm not sure that this is the first time he added these paragraphs; over several days around this time Michael adds and removes material which is then reverted; he reverts back and makes further small changes, making it hard to keep track of the article's progress.
2. May 25 - I had read the USCIS article Michael previously referenced, and found that he had selectively quoted to support his point of view, because the article doesn't simply support it. It is nonsensical to say that men are simply "above average"; what the article actually says is that they seem above average in their communication skills, which seems hardly pertinent. Based on this same article I added the reference to "power and control" as being critical for men who order mail-order brides and the statement about the typical age gap, which are both from the same article. I also added a reference to a "gay mail order husband" agency that apparently exists in the Ukraine.
3. I'd be willing to debate the validity of all these edits, but Michael simply deleted them: here. I attempted to discuss it with him here.
4. He replied on my talk page, here, attacking me ("Why don't you join the KKK") and claiming that "his research" had been "distorted".
5. User Dcbiglaw attempted to negotiate a solution twice in recent weeks, to no avail. Michaellovesnyc insists on adding irrelevant, unsubstantiated, and in some cases blatantly defamatory commentary into this article.

Applicable policies and guidelines

{list the policies and guidelines that apply to the disputed conduct}

1. WP:No original research
2. WP:Neutral point of view
3. WP:No personal attacks
4. WP:Assume good faith

Evidence of trying and failing to resolve the dispute

(provide diffs and links)

1. The case was brought to the informal Mediation Cabal; see Wikipedia:Mediation Cabal/Cases/2006-05-24 Mail-order bride. User:Mr. Lefty accepted and responded on Michael's talk page: [3] and [4]. (June 1st).

1. [5] Michael's response. Uncooperative. He seems to think that neutral point of view simply means adding his point of view to counter the point of view he perceives other editors as having.

1. [6] User:William Pietri also warned Michael about edit warring on the same day.

1. [7] Michael seems to agree to end the edit war.
2. [8] He then repeats his grievances about the article content, addressing William.

1. After the series of warnings on 1 June, he continues to revert to his preferred version at least thirteen more times in the next eight days. [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20],

[21]. Michael labels most of these edits "Fixing Vandalism" in the edit summary, although William Pietri had warned him (see above) not to do this. Note that in the above edit war, Michael's edits are reverted by at least four different editors: User:Dcbiglaw, User:William Pietri, User:The Famous Movie Director and User:Kaiwen1 as well as anonymous IP User:70.62.21.164. The edit warring stops when the article is protected by User:AmiDaniel on 9 June.

At this point discussion continues on the article talk page.

1. [22] Michael's attempt to justify his version on the article talk page.

1. User:William Pietri responded here, urging Michael to put his POV aside and work towards consensus.

1. [23] Michael's next response. Note that he still doesn't seem to recognize or admit that he has a POV. He also accuses other editors of operating sock puppets.

1. [24] User:The Famous Movie Director responds to Michael again, trying to explain again how his version violates the no original research policy. She also left a message on his talk page encouraging him to negotiate.

1. [25] Michael's next response. He still doesn't seem to understand "original research".
2. [26] The Famous Movie Director: again, trying to explain why his edits aren't appropriate and the value of civil discussion and consensus.

Users certifying the basis for this dispute

{Users who tried and failed to resolve the dispute}

1. Dcbiglaw 16:02, 12 June 2006 (UTC)
2. --Grace 01:44, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

Other users who endorse this summary

1. Tentative Endorsement. I have reviewed the evidence provided and I believe that The Famous Movie Director has made a strong case with reasonable and coherent points already outlined above. I am tentatively endorsing the summary but would like to view evidence presented in defence of Michaellovesnyc. -- ^Evanx(tag?) 14:49, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

Response

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Outside view

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Discussion

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