Case Opened on 18:29, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Case Closed on 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Please do not edit this page directly unless you wish to become a participant in this request. (All participants are subject to Arbitration Committee decisions, and the ArbCom will consider each participant's role in the dispute.) Comments are very welcome on the Talk page, and will be read, in full. Evidence, no matter who can provide it, is very welcome at /Evidence. Evidence is more useful than comments.

Arbitrators will be working on evidence and suggesting proposed decisions at /Workshop and voting on proposed decisions at /Proposed decision.

Involved parties[edit]

Rex Germanus (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) (major)
Ulritz (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) (major)
Arnoutf (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · filter log · block user · block log) (minor)
Dbachmann (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA) (minor)
Samsara (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA) (minor)
Angr (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA) (minor)

Mediation[edit]

Ulritz' refusal of participation in mediation

Initiated by Rex at 13:34, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Statement by Rex[edit]

I try and want to make wikipedia a better Encyclopaedia. I've made/rewritten numerous (36+) articles and always try to remain civil and solve reputes on talk pages. However lately, or rather ever since I met User:Ulritz, Wikipedia has turned into a battlefield for me. I do not mind having a dispute with (an) other user(s), after all reputes are there to be resolved. But when a user constantly refuses to reference his controversial edits, refuses to participates to ignore talk pages and even mediations and who uses edit summaries to either insult people or to make nonsense remarks, then I don't know what to do anymore.

I've tried everything: persuasive edit summaries, comments on talk pages a mediation ... it does not help. He uses edit summaries to insult people or to create lousy excuses to revert once more, the only kind of comments he makes on talk pages are messages such as "I'm right and you're not." and "Why should I believe you"/"Prove me wrong" and he refused to take part in the mediation.

I'm sick of edit warring throughout Wikipedia. Because of the way the three revert rule works Ulritz is able to always get his version up as the current once. (I make an edit, he removes it, I revert 1, he reverts 1 [...] I revert 3, he reverts 3 and because I don't want to break the 3RR I can't revert anymore)

User:Ulritz is a German nationalist with an Anti-Dutch bias. This can be seen in virtually all his edits. I want people to revert me when they believe (and have proof) I am wrong, then we'll work it out. But I truly hate being reverted for lousy unsourced reasons by people who refuse to participate in any kind of discussion and have a clear bias and personal grudge against me.

I cannot continue to edit wikipedia while this person continues his current behaviour. Please, people of the Arbcom, help. I'm seriously turning desperate here.

Diff-proof examples[edit]

Pointless edit summary discussions, note the anti-Dutch bias:

Dispute on Old Saxon, User:Ulritz chooses to remove Old Dutch as a related language because: There was "No Dutch back then". I revert him, and give him proof (Salic Law) which shows Old Dutch was in fact spoken at, and before, that time.He reverted, and responded that Dutch at that time was "Spoken by Franks. not Dutchmen". (So he acknowledges Dutch was spoken at that time, the whole/initial point, but claims it should not be included because it wasn't spoken by Dutch people but Franks.) I reverted explaining that that shouldn't matter as it concerned the language, not the people or how their ancestors where called. He says that Old Dutch should not be included because "they didn't know it yet. He says it should not be included bacause although Old Dutch was spoken, the people in the early middle ages didn't know they spoke Old Dutch. I explain this is a worthless argument and then User:Ulritz says : "per previous summaries yet to be refuted" thereby contradicting himself thrice.

It are these kind of pointless and biased discussions which make my blood boil. Rex 14:14, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Block for being uncivil: User:Ulritz has been, in the first conflict been blocked 24 hours for being uncivil after multiple warnings. After his block it took a few weeks before he started editing again (mainly the past 7 days) I would have expected he'd learn "his lesson" allas, here we are at arbcom. Rex 14:23, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Anti Dutch bias II Here (second time) User:Ulritz removed a referenced section on a humerous Dutch national parody of the German WW2 Stahlhelm. Rex 14:25, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

(note that the above edit was made well after the Arbcom invitation which he must have read by now. He still chooses to continue provoking me and scarring wikipedia with his antiDutch bias.) Rex 14:26, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Reaction to Angr[edit]

I would not have objected against him adding Old East Low Franconian, not at all. But it is obvious Ulritz wanted to get ridd of "Dutch". His "explanatory" edit summaries stand as proof. If he'd simply added OELF or discussed changing all to OLF because of the reasons below stated by Angr there would have been no problem at all. But that wasn't his goal. Rex 09:19, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Statement by Dbachmann[edit]

I do not wish to be involved in this RfAr as a party. I have had problems with both Rex and Ulritz in the past: both have a history of considerable stubbornness, but both have been capable of listening to sense after much edit-warring and lengthy debates. It is my impression that Rex has a Dutch nationalist bias and Ulritz has a German nationalist bias (the latter curiously without being German as it would seem; I speculate he may be an USian of German ancestry who exhibits a sort of patriotism most Germans would find alienating to say the least). Rex is a reasonable editor, until the term "Dutch" comes into play, and similarly, Ulritz can be reasonable unless the term "German" is involved. However, since both editors concentrate on topics related to the nation of their respective delight, this happens rather frequently, and it leads to some friction whenever the close historical and cultural connections between the Dutch and the Germans are under debate. When these two are pitted against each other, encyclopedic NPOV is usually somewhere between their respective positions. If the arbcom can be bothered to unravel the history of this, I predict both users will go away with some sort of warning and a recommendation to maybe edit articles on topics where they are unimpeded by their burning patriotism. dab (ᛏ) 15:04, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Statement by Angr[edit]

I don't wish to be involved in this either. I have no experience with Ulritz at all, but my experience with Rex is pretty much the same as Dbachmann's. In the lame edit war outlined in Rex's summary above, the question seems to boil down to: What language is Old Saxon related to, Old Dutch or Old Low Franconian? Well, since the articles reveal that Old Dutch is an alternative name for the western dialect of Old Low Franconian, the answer is obviously both, but Old Low Franconian is the more general term since it covers both Old Dutch and Old East Low Franconian. (It's sort of like arguing whether we should say the hyrax is closely related to the elephant or to the African elephant.) Ulritz's edit changing "Old Dutch" to "Old Low Franconian" was thus correct (because Old Saxon is related to both the eastern and the western dialects of OLF), although his edit summary "no Dutch back then" is inaccurate. But Rex can't see past what he interprets as an insult against his people and enters an edit war to make sure the word "Dutch" appears in as many articles as possible. —An gr 21:23, 13 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Statement by William M. Connolley[edit]

Just to note that Rex reported himself and U [1] and I've blocked them both for 24h, since they were both clearly in violation of 3RR. Something needs to be done... how about a temporary injunction puttiing them both on 1RR parole? William M. Connolley 19:18, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Statement by Samsara[edit]

I agree with the main points contributed by Dbachmann, Angr and Connelley, including not wanting to be involved. Ulritz and Rex will continue butting heads, often over minor revisions. Sources for revisions, if provided at all, are rarely reliable and sometimes in foreign languages. Action is definitely needed, as the conflict is preventing other editors from constructively contributing to the same articles (whose number seems to be growing as the conflict branches out into new theatres). Permanent cries for admin help against the opposition are similarly detracting from our efforts to build an encyclopedia. - Samsara (talk • contribs) 13:39, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Statement by Arnoutf[edit]

I do not like being listed as a party here either. I fully agree with Dbachmann and the others. Both can be stubborn, especially on Dutch / German issues. Both tend to go to edit warring easily; and both tend to get rapidly aggressive in edit summary. I also agree with Samsara that crying for interventions is only taking up time from editors, who would be far happier to do some constructive edits. Perhaps putting both on a 1RR parole is not such a bad idea. Arnoutf 15:14, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

General note[edit]

Apart from the fact that User:Ulritz (like always) boycots wikipedia dispute resolution, by the looks of his latest contributions and user page he seems to have left wikipedia. Rex 10:14, 17 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Preliminary decisions[edit]

Arbitrators' opinion on hearing this matter (4/0/0/0)[edit]

Accept to deal with ongoing disruption Fred Bauder 19:39, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Accept, same reasons as Fred. Matthew Brown (Morven) (T:C) 21:46, 14 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Accept. Dmcdevit·t 02:51, 15 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Accept: Charles Matthews 18:29, 16 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Temporary injunction[edit]

1) Until the conclusion of this case, Rex Gemanus and Ulritz may not make more than one content revert per article per day.

Passed 5 to 0 at 05:03, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Final decision[edit]

All numbering based on /Proposed decision (vote counts and comments are there as well)

Principles[edit]

Edit warring is harmful[edit]

1) Edit warring is harmful. When disagreements arise, users are expected to discuss their differences rationally rather than reverting ad infinitum. The three-revert rule should not be construed as an entitlement or inalienable right to three reverts, nor does it endorse reverts as an editing technique.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Findings of Fact[edit]

Ulritz edit wars[edit]

1) Ulritz (talk · contribs) has a history of edit warring, and has received numerous blocks for 3RR violations.[2] He continued edit warring despite the temporary injunction imposed in this case.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Rex Germanus edit wars[edit]

2) Rex Germanus (talk · contribs) has a history of edit warring, and has received numerous blocks for 3RR violations.[3] He continued edit warring despite the temporary injunction imposed in this case.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Remedies[edit]

Note: All remedies that refer to a period of time, for example to a ban of X months or a revert parole of Y months, are to run concurrently unless otherwise stated.

Ulritz placed on revert parole[edit]

1) Ulritz is placed on standard revert parole for one year. He is limited to one revert per page per week, excepting obvious vandalism. Further, he is required to discuss any content reversions on the page's talk page.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Rex Germanus placed on revert parole[edit]

2) Rex Germanus is placed on standard revert parole for one year. He is limited to one revert per page per week, excepting obvious vandalism. Further, he is required to discuss any content reversions on the page's talk page.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Ulritz placed on Probation[edit]

3) Ulritz is placed on Probation for one year. He may be banned from any page or set of pages for disruptive edits, such as edit warring or incivility. All bans and are to be logged at Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Ulritz#Log of blocks and bans.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Rex Germanus placed on Probation[edit]

4) Rex Germanus is placed on Probation for one year. He may be banned from any page or set of pages for disruptive edits, such as edit warring or incivility. All bans and are to be logged at Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Ulritz#Log of blocks and bans.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Subsequent motion: Anonymous editor Ulritz[edit]

5) The anonymous editor who edits from the 194.9.5.0/24 range and was also a part to Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/Ulritz shall be subject to the same restrictions as Ulritz and Rex Germanus for edit warring at involved articles. See #Ulritz_placed_on_Probation and #Ulritz_placed_on_revert parole for the applicable restrictions.

Passed 5 to 0 at 21:06, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Enforcement[edit]

Enforcement by block[edit]

1) Violations of any bans or paroles imposed on parties of this case shall be enforced by brief blocks of up to a week in the event of repeat violations. After 5 blocks the maximum block period shall increase to one year. Blocks and bans are to be logged at Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Ulritz#Log of blocks and bans.

Passed 5 to 0 at 06:05, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Log of blocks and bans[edit]

Log any block, ban or extension under any remedy in this decision here. Minimum information includes name of administrator, date and time, what was done and the basis for doing it.

Rex Germanus

20:24, November 2, 2006 Cowman109 (Talk | contribs | block) blocked "Rex Germanus (contribs)" with an expiry time of 24 hours (Injunction breach, continuing edit warring)
16 November 2006 - Following edit-warring at Dutch people (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) between Rex Germanus and 194.9.5.12 (talk · contribs · WHOIS), a likely sockpuppet of Ulritz, I have blocked both Rex Germanus and the IP for a week, the latter pending confirmation by checkuser. Fut.Perf. ☼ 18:13, 16 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
31 December 2006 blocking Rex Germanus (talk · contribs) for 24 hours for this comment [4]. Hiding Talk 16:31, 31 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
5 March 2007 — blocked Rex Germanus (talk · contribs) for 2 weeks for personal attacks and repeatedly making mass page moves in order to illustrate a point. See talk page, bottom, [5], & [6]. —Centrx→talk • 03:33, 5 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
6 March 2007 - reduced block length to 48h, previous block length appearing excessive, and because of process irregularities (see [7] and discussion on ANI) Fut.Perf. ☼ 10:15, 9 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
9 March 2007 - reblocking for 1 week after renewed breach of revert parole (see [8]) Fut.Perf. ☼ 10:15, 9 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
20 March 2007 - blocking for another week after renewed breach of revert parole on same article immediately after coming back; see [9] for rationale. Fut.Perf. ☼ 12:30, 20 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
10 July 2007 - blocking for a period of 2 weeks for inappropriate reversion as noted at this thread at the ANI. -- FayssalF - ^{Wiki me up®} 21:08, 10 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]
14 August 2007 blocked by Raymond arritt (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA) per this thread [10]. I do not specifically endorse blocks for "POV pushing" per se but Rex has also recently violated his revert parole on Ethnic Germans and Dutch (ethnic group) [11]. This is Rex' eighth block under this case. Thatcher131 14:36, 14 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Addendum: Although POV-pushing was the original complaint, the stated basis for the block was in fact persistent incivility (e.g., [12][13]) and inflammatory edit summaries.[14] Raymond Arritt 01:26, 15 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Rex re-placed on 1RR, banned from any topics pertaining to German names and can be banned from any topics and/or articles at the discretion of administrators: See here. Will ^(talk) 13:12, 13 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
13 October 2007 blocked for one month by Jehochman (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA) for disruption at ANI [15] after prior warning by Jossi (talk · contribs · blocks · protections · deletions · page moves · rights · RfA). - Jehochman ^Talk 20:11, 13 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Ulritz

20:24, November 2, 2006 Cowman109 (Talk | contribs | block) blocked "Ulritz (contribs)" with an expiry time of 24 hours (Injunction breach, continuing edit warring.)
I have blocked both users for breaching the injunction. The users' reverts were across several articles and were reverting each other within 24 hours. Cowman109^Talk 01:27, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
(Technicality note): It appears Ulritz' reverts were actually about 25 hours from the last one, but as this is gaming the system and the point of the injunction is to prevent this in the first place, I have issued the block. Cowman109^Talk 01:28, 3 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
31 December 2006 banning Ulritz (talk · contribs) from Stahlhelm for the incivility of this edit summary [16], and for this comment [17]. Hiding Talk 16:31, 31 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

194.9.5.12

16 November 2006 - Following edit-warring at Dutch people (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) between Rex Germanus and 194.9.5.12 (talk · contribs · WHOIS), a likely sockpuppet of Ulritz, I have blocked both Rex Germanus and the IP for a week, the latter pending confirmation by checkuser. Fut.Perf. ☼ 18:13, 16 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]
18 November 2006 - lifting block for 194.9.5.12 after 48 hours (as a "normal" 3RR block), as checkuser has determined he's not Ulritz, but pending decision on extending Arbcom probation to him too. Fut.Perf. ☼ 18:11, 18 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]