236
edits
Changes
MyWikiBiz, Author Your Legacy — Friday November 22, 2024
Jump to navigationJump to searchTalk:The case against Gwen Gale (view source)
Revision as of 23:52, 25 February 2012
, 23:52, 25 February 2012Created page with ''''"I will kill myself tonight and it is all your fault."''' wrote 16-years old kid at the talk page of Wikipedia administrator Gwen Gale on February 3,2012. This kid, as many ot…'
'''"I will kill myself tonight and it is all your fault."''' wrote 16-years old kid at the talk page of Wikipedia administrator Gwen Gale on February 3,2012.
This kid, as many other Wikipedia users has became a victim of bullying that is allowed on the site that belongs to non-profit charitable organization tax-exempt organization [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation Wikimedia Foundation]
Gwen Gale is not the only bully administrator on Wikipedia. She's probably not the worst either. She's one of dozens bullies that allow to roam free in Wikipedia's jungles.
Although the name of the article is ''The case against Gwen Gale'' this article could have been named "the case against bullying on Wikipedia".
Below is a real request concerning Gwen Gale. This request was filed on one of Wikipedia sites, and it was deleted with no action taken. Read it and decide for yourself.
==The case against Gwen Gale==
===Some examples of unwarranted blocks and unwarranted removing of talk page access===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AFunguy06&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= On 26 April 2009 Gwen Gale blocked user Funguy06 with the edit summary "(Vandalism-only account: no meaningfully encyclopedic edits)"]. In her block message [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Funguy06#blocked she provided neither differences to support the block, nor an explanation how to request an unblock]. The user who [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&dir=prev&target=Funguy06 started contributing to wikipedia in 2006] was blocked over [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heidi_Montag&diff=prev&oldid=286162601 this 2009 edit] for "vandalism only". But please [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Montag see the article]. Funguy06 did not vandalize the article.He made a good faith, encyclopedic edit. As a result of the block the user is gone. He did not even bother to write an unblock request.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3ANug%20&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= On 25 July 2009 Gwen Gale blocked user Nug for an alleged outing]. After being [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive14#Martintg_.22outing.22 contacted about the block at her talk] Gwen Gale unblocked the user with the edit summary "behaviour seems to be supported." This unblocked edit summary required a one second correction block, in which administrator wrote: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Theresa%20knott%20&page=User%3ANug%20&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= I cannot believe that Gwen Gale would put that as an unblock reason!]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User:Unknown+the+Hedgehog On August 10 August 2008 Gwen Gale blocked indefinitely Unknown the Hedgehog for "calling another Wikipedian his "friend"" with the edit summary: "Spam / advertising-only account:"]. At the same time she blocked a few other users indefinitely. A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Archive161#WP_seemingly_used_as_a_social_network thread was started about these blocks]. Admin Oren0 wrote:"I'm greatly concerned about the block of Unknown the Hedgehog (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · edit filter log · block user · block log) specifically. He has ~150 mainspace edits which, while small, seem to be improvements to articles. Why does calling another Wikipedian his "friend" get him banished for life? Is there really consensus that this user should be banned?Oren0 (talk) 19:47, 10 August 2008 (UTC)" Oren0 also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive6#Block_of_User:Unknown_the_Hedgehog_for_WP:MYSPACE started a thread at Gwen's talk]. Gwen did unblock the editor herself.
*[[en:user:Ludwigs2|user:Ludwigs2]] was blocked on July 2, 2008. [[en:User:Lar|Lar]] requested review: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/IncidentArchive441#Block_review_of_User:Ludwigs2 "I suggest this block is excessive at best, and possibly completely unjustified. I'd suggest review by uninvolved admins. ++Lar: t/c 18:18, 2 July 2008 (UTC)"]. The block was lifted.
*[[en:user:Malleus Fatuorum|user:Malleus Fatuorum]] was blocked on June 10, 2009. The user was unblocked in an hour after [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive13#Malleus an admin and a few users complained about the block]. Over this block [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive13#Recall she was suggested "to spend some time reading WP:BLOCK and, frankly, not editing here."] After a long threads at her and Malleus Fatuorum's talk pages Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Malleus_Fatuorum/Archives/2009/June#I_was_mistaken apologized for the block].
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:BioSynergy User BioSynergy was blocked for user name by Gwen Gale on June 8, 2008. Gwen was also the one who declined the unblock request]. It is unclear, if the user ever made a new account.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive17#Unblock_request This discussion] is about the block imposed on [[en:user:Richard Arthur Norton (1958- )|Richard Arthur Norton (1958- )]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Richard_Arthur_Norton_%281958-_%29&diff=prev&oldid=364916173 was blocked] for 72 hours for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Files_for_deletion/2010_May_24&diff=prev&oldid=364914402 this edit, in which the user corrected a punctuation typo]. Please take a look at this comment Gwen Gale made, when asked about the block: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive17#Unblock_request "He was not moving on, he was hiding the warnings, knowing he would most likely be blocked for carrying on with his disruption and hoping that a careless admin would think he was blocked for correcting a punctuation typo. This is also why he put his unblock request at the top of the page, far away from the block notice. Gwen Gale (talk) 02:10, 30 May 2010 (UTC)"]. The user was unblocked in a few hours with edit summary "Block not covered by Wikipedia:Blocking policy".
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User%3ANWA.Rep User NWA.Rep] was blocked at 20:36, 21 November 2008. She removed the editor talk page access only for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3ANWA.Rep&action=historysubmit&diff=253259006&oldid=253258844 removing block notice] that the user could have done in accordance with the policy. Two hours later another administrator [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3ANWA.Rep&action=historysubmit&diff=253276995&oldid=253259979 restored the talk page access]. He wrote: "Looks like a misunderstanding of [[WP:USER]] - have reenabled talkpage editing". At 20:10, 29 November 2008 one second correction block was added to the editor block record: "Noting the block was at least somewhat questionable, enough to have a note in the block log. See blocking admins talk page." When asked why she removed the editor talk page access Gwen responded: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=253260480 "He edit warred over the block notice. I'm willing to re-enable his talk page editing in a couple of hours but I'm going out to dinner now."]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3ASuper+Badnik User Super Badnik] was blocked indefinitely at 21:03, 9 August 2008. The block was overturned by another administrator.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User%3ABreathing_Dead User Breathing Dead] at 20:51, 23 July 2009 Gwen removed his talk page access. The talk page access was restored by another administrator.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Douglas_M._Smith On July7, 2010 a new user Douglas M. Smith was blocked indefinitely with the edit summary: " (Personal attacks or harassment: potential libel, outing)"]. I looked over user contributions, and could not find anything that warranted an indefinite block (will appreciate if somebody looks at this block and tell me, if I am missing on something). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Douglas_M._Smith It does not look like the user was issued any warning before the block].
*[[en:User:Mbz1|Mbz1]]
On December 23, 2010 Gwen Gale responded to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Mbz1#Per_your_request canvassing] and blocked the editor for a week.
She made the block to be indefinite after [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3AMbz1%2Fa7&action=historysubmit&diff=403914418&oldid=403912569 the editor made this post]. She removed the editor's talk page access without warning only because the editor added an indefinite blocked user template to her talk page two times. The talk page access was restored by another administrator.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3AOgioh user Ogioh] was blocked indefinitely. The block was reverted in less than an hour.
*Gwen Gale removed the talk page access to the editor she blocked for this post: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:RCS&diff=prev&oldid=356584362 "Harmful? My dear Gwen, you seem not to know what the case in question was all about. The irony of my edit - which I find funny - can be understood with the hindsight of how that case turned out, i. e. that the rape in question never took place and that the so-called victim was in fact a compulsive liar with a history of court convictions that has continued since. But I suppose that you are another of these self-righteous people with a mission with whom arguing is nothing but a waste of time."] When asked by another wikipedian how the editor could request to be unblocked Gwen responded [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive17#RCS "His email is still enabled"].
===Gwen Gale misusing her administrative tools when involved===
The policy that clearly states:
{{cquote|In general, editors should not act as administrators in cases in which they have been involved. This is because involved administrators may have, or may be seen as having, a [[Wikipedia:Conflict of interest|conflict of interest]] in disputes they have been a party to or have strong feelings about. Involvement is generally construed very broadly by the community, to include current or past conflicts with an editor (or editors), and disputes on topics, regardless of the nature, age, or outcome of the dispute.}}
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:INVOLVED#Misuse_of_administrative_tools This section states]:
{{cquote|Conflict of interest, non-neutrality, or content dispute – Administrators should not use their tools to advantage, or in a content dispute (or article) where they are a party (or significant editor), or where a significant conflict of interest is likely to exist. With few specific exceptions (like obvious vandalism) where tool use is allowed by any admin, administrators should ensure they are reasonably neutral parties when they use the tools.}}
In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive3#Re:_Edit_Warring this thread] Gwen Gale stated:"First, if you are an admin and get involved in a content dispute like this, you cannot use your admin powers to resolve it." It was said on May 16, 2008.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3ASoutherndata&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= The first time User Southerndata was blocked by Gwen Gale at 15:04, 28 June 2008] for alleged "vandalism" on [[en:Fred Noonan]], although the user clearly made a good faith edits. In a few places (including the block log) she said that she edited the article after the block. Gwen Gale edited this article a lot, and before the block. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&oldid=2399161 Actually Gwen Gale wrote this article, when she still edited as Wyss], but let's see June 28,2008: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&action=historysubmit&diff=222286333&oldid=222286201 Gwen Gale] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&action=historysubmit&diff=222287525&oldid=222287133 was edit warring] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&action=historysubmit&diff=222288253&oldid=222288170 with the very same editor she later blocked].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive5#Your_Block_on_User:Southerndata After being questioned about the block while involved], she lifted the block just to re-block the user indefinitely two days later at 22:38, 30 June 2008. At that time she was even more involved with the user than when she blocked him the first time because of [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Bzuk&diff=prev&oldid=222544929 this post by the user].
*
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/3RRArchive141#User:Gwen_Gale_reported_by_User:John_J._Bulten_.28Result:_protected.29 On October 1, 2010 Gwen Gale was reported for edit warring].
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Magog_the_Ogre Administrator Magog the Ogre Magog the Ogre] had this to say about Gwen's conduct:
{{cquote|Gwen is very very much out of line, not only with the rollback tool but threatening to block a user in a dispute: future edit warring of this type will receive a block.}}
:After Gwen Gale yet another time claimed a good faith edit to be "vandalism" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:HJ_Mitchell administrator HJ Mitchell] had this to say about Gwen's conduct:
{{cquote|In this case, while it might not have been your intention to get into a dispute, you did step over the bright-line rule and, as far as I can see, none of the reverted edits were vandalism. I would suggest being more careful with rollback at the very least. Non-admins have been known to lose it for less. In this case, while it might not have been your intention to get into a dispute, you did step over the bright-line rule and, as far as I can see, none of the reverted edits were vandalism. I would suggest being more careful with rollback at the very least. Non-admins have been known to lose it for less. }}
:Gwen also received a personal message about this incident.
{{cquote|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive18#3RR_violation_.2B_misuse_of_admin_tools '''3RR violation + misuse of admin tools'''. Please see WP:AN3#User:Gwen Gale reported by User:John J. Bulten (Result: protected). I am also rescinding the warning you gave the user you were opposed to, and replacing it with a proper warning for edit warring. Please consider this a warning: if you believe it is inappropriate and/or would like to appeal it, you may take it to WP:ANI. Magog the Ogre (talk) 00:17, 2 October 2010 (UTC)]}}
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AWallamoose&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= user Wallamoose was blocked on October 18, 2008 for a week] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&diff=246116334&oldid=246061640 this edit] at [[en:Talk:Hummus]]. Gwen Gale has been involved with the article for a long time. Her involvement with [[en:Hummus]] was even pointed out in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Gwen_Gale_2#Oppose her RFA:"I have interacted with Gwen Gaile on only one article, hummus, but I don't think her interactions on that article are consistent with Wikipedia policy. She treats the article as though she owns it, and seems not to understand the difference between reliable sources and unsupported assertions on random Web pages and cookbooks."]. In her block rationale Gwen stated: "Following [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&diff=246116334&oldid=246061640 this edit by you] after my warning, I've blocked you from editing one week for disruption, non-encyclopedic edits and trolling. [[User:Gwen Gale|Gwen Gale]] ([[User talk:Gwen Gale|talk]]) 16:33, 18 October 2008 (UTC)". This one week block for editing an article '''talk page''' was wrong because Gwen Gale is heavily involved with the article and because she was [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&action=historysubmit&diff=246061640&oldid=246047546 edit] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&action=historysubmit&diff=246120404&oldid=246116334 warring] with the editor, and because Wallamoose was not trolling. As it is seen from [http://www.haaretz.com/misc/comment-page/hummus-in-the-torah-19.44445 this reliable source] Hummus was mentioned in the Torah. Although the editor tried to explain to Gwen why he posted the statement to the article's talk page Gwen Gale escalated the block to be indefinite,and then removed the editor talk page access. Gwen also allowed Dædαlus to harass the blocked editor on his talk page.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/74.233.165.176 This IP was blocked on June 24, 2009 for "personal attacks or harassment"] after Gwen Gale was [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3ADeath_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan&action=historysubmit&diff=298378688&oldid=298378421 edit] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3ADeath_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan&action=historysubmit&diff=298381919&oldid=298380458 warring] with him over quite innocent post to an article talk page. Gwen Gale was heavily involved in editing this article's talk page. Then IP [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Gwen_Gale&diff=prev&oldid=298380525 ranted at Gwen's talk page]. Of course IP post to Gwen's talk was not very nice, but even, if this IP deserved to be blocked, it should have been blocked by an uninvolved admin.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User%3AJayeba User Jayeba was blocked at 23:18, 26 August 2009 for "spamming] right after the user [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&diff=prev&oldid=310260822 reverted] Gwen Gale at the article [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&action=historysubmit&diff=310259889&oldid=310259713 she] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&action=historysubmit&diff=310260525&oldid=310260330 was] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&action=historysubmit&diff=310261166&oldid=310260822 edit warring] with this very user she later blocked.The user was unblocked with the summary "no spamming".
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=User%3AProofreader77&type=block User:Proofreader77]
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AProofreader77&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= was blocked at 23:03, 29 December 2009 for making $1,000 donation to wikipedia.] Gwen Gale issued the block after she was asked by another administrator to leave the editor alone: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3AProofreader77&action=historysubmit&diff=333349988&oldid=333285633 Gwen,you have gotten too personally involved. I urge you to leave further admin actions with respect to this editor to other administrators. '''[[User:DGG| DGG]]''' ([[User talk:DGG| talk ]]) 20:28, 22 December 2009 (UTC)]
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AProofreader77&year=2010&month=February&tagfilter= was blocked indefinitely at 22:16, 14 February 2010 for requesting a blocked user template]. This block was overturned by another administrator.
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Proofreader77&diff=prev&oldid=345321695 This edit made on 21 February 2010 is the last edit made by Proofreader77]. After this Gwen Gale removed his talk page access. She did it during [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case&oldid=344569343#Proofreader77_blocks the request for arbitration] that was initiated to discuss prior unwarranted and overturned blocks of this editor the very blocks that were imposed by the very same Gwen Gale.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3AScias76 On May 12, 2010 Gwen Gale blocked Scias76] for edit warring at [[en:Hummus]]. Gwen Gale was involved in edit warring of this article. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hummus&action=historysubmit&diff=357403536&oldid=357400663 She] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hummus&action=historysubmit&diff=357451756&oldid=357449920 reverted] a few editors [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hummus&action=historysubmit&diff=357829370&oldid=357828550 including the one she later blocked.]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3ATombaker321&year=2012&month=December&tagfilter= User Tombaker321 was blocked on July 15,2010] after the user [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3ARoman_Polanski&action=historysubmit&diff=373514166&oldid=373498413 directly accused Gwen in "squashing the dialog by using her admin role"] and after Gwen [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Tombaker321#disruption continued to engage the user at his talk page].
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Iloveredhair&oldid=399168659#only_warning On November 26, 2010 user Iloveredhair was blocked] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Lesbian_sexual_practices&diff=prev&oldid=399035544 silly posts] at [[en:Talk:Lesbian sexual practices]]. In a few minutes after the initial block [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3AIloveredhair Gwen removed the user's talk page access], claiming "vandalism" in the edit summaries. There are two problems with the block. First of all it was not vandalism (the user made posts only to the talk and not to the article), and they could have been called "trolling", but definitely not "vandalism". Second of all Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesbian_sexual_practices&oldid=172122298 is the author of the article] which means once again she misused her tools while involved.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive20#Austrian_School Here is only one exchange] between [[en:user|Misessus]] and Gwen Gale that took place after [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Austrian_School&action=historysubmit&diff=441938928&oldid=441937995 Gwen reverted the user]. There were more exchanges at the article talk page like [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Austrian_School&oldid=446927564#Sec_Break_1 for example here]. In a little bit more than a month after this [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AMisessus%20&year=2012&month=December&tagfilter= Gwen blocked this user for edit warring on this article on September 4, 2011 ]. Gwen blocked the user just two days after another user had this to say about her: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/3RRArchive166#User:Misessus_reported_by_User:Dark_Charles_.28Result:_Both_restricted_to_1RR.29 "Gwen Gale is an involved admin. She has been actively supporting one side of this debate for years. She should not have been the admin to decide on this case. I would like to formally request a review of this action. LK (talk) 03:19, 2 September 2011 (UTC) "]. Gwen was involved with this article and with the user, and although it looks like the block itself was proper, it should have been imposed by an uninvolved admin.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement&diff=prev&oldid=422603670 This comment was made by Gwen in a section of arbitration enforcement request concerning Mbz1 on April 5, 2011 ]. The problem with this comment is that it was made in the section that is clearly marked as "This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the section above." "Uninvolved administrator" means an administrator, who never edits content of the articles that belongs to the topic of the specific sanctions. Gwen Gale have been editing these articles for years. She was edit warring and pushing her point of view in these articles. I have never seen any other admin who made even small edits in the articles under ARBPIA commenting in the section for uninvolved administrators. Most of the times the really uninvolved administrators even will not revert either clear vandalism violations.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3A208.102.209.78&action=historysubmit&diff=474506962&oldid=474505344 On February 2,2012 Gwen Gale declined unblock request of the user who complained about her in his unblock request, which makes her involved]. This unblock request should have been declined, but Gwen Gale should not have been the one to do it. This example demonstrates that Gwen Gale has difficulties in understanding what "involved" administrator means. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Alison&oldid=474697911#Zhand38 And this thread explains how this all ended up]. It is sad.
===Biting newbies===
*On February 13, 2012 there was a Signpost with the name: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-02-13/In_the_news&oldid=476912548 "Scholar confounded by rules fit for the everyman"]:
{{cquote|In a paywalled article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Timothy Messer-Kruse, a professor at Bowling Green State university specialising in the history of the American labor movement, detailed his frustrated encounters with Wikipedia's immune system in endeavouring to set perceived inaccuracies in its historical coverage to rights.}}
In the article named "The 'Undue Weight' of Truth on Wikipedia" the professor writes:
[http://chronicle.com/article/The-Undue-Weight-of-Truth-on/130704/ "Explain to me, then, how a 'minority' source with facts on its side would ever appear against a wrong 'majority' one?" I asked the Wiki-gatekeeper. He responded, "You're more than welcome to discuss reliable sources here, that's what the talk page is for. However, you might want to have a quick look at Wikipedia's civility policy."] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Haymarket_affair&oldid=476851229#.22No_Evidence.22 Here's the complete conversation]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:MesserKruse And here the first message the professor got.]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jamiroquai&diff=prev&oldid=308136584 User Hatcrazy was blocked two times in August of 2009].
The first block was 24 hours for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lady_Victoria_Hervey&diff=prev&oldid=306484174 this edit].
The user was right [http://books.google.com/books?id=RH5JXwAACAAJ&dq=Lady+Victoria+Frederica+Isabella+Hervey&hl=en&sa=X&ei=17AtT7idLIijiQLMpsmjDA&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA "Lady Isabella Frederica Louisa Hervey (born 9 March 1982) is a British socialite, model, and actress.] The second block was for two weeks for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jamiroquai&diff=prev&oldid=308136584 this edit] in which the user changed "are an English" to "is a British". Please look at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamiroquai article] now. It has "British" not "English" . Looks like the user was right because [http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/jamiroquai-latest-act-to-sign-on-to-f1 a] [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/keyword/jamiroquai few] [http://www.romania-insider.com/british-jamiroquai-to-bring-jazz-funk-to-the-romanian-seaside-this-summer/25776/ newspapers] call them "British". The user was also [http://books.google.com/books?id=2nxLkMspauIC&pg=PA59&dq=Stella+Nina+McCartney+is+a+british+fashion+designer&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Vq8tT7eXGOigiQKr5cXDCg&ved=0CFQQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=Lady%20Victoria%20Hervey&f=false right] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stella_McCartney&diff=prev&oldid=306338679 this edit],
and the user was [http://books.google.com/books?id=SWUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86&dq=Queen+%28band%29+%22Freddie+Mercury+%22+%22British%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QrctT4DMEtLSiAKKpIG5Ag&ved=0CEoQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=Queen%20%28band%29%20%22Freddie%20Mercury%20%22%20%22British%22&f=false right] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Queen_%28band%29&diff=prev&oldid=306338771 this edit] and probably in all other edits as well.
Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Hatcrazy#August_2009 warned the user], but a new user could not have known what "consensus" and "sourcing" means.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3ANextbook User Nextbook was blocked at 20:56, 9 November 2011] after [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pitcairn_Islands&action=historysubmit&diff=459856138&oldid=459853639 Gwen Gale] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pitcairn_Islands&action=historysubmit&diff=459856594&oldid=459856520 was] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pitcairn_Islands&action=historysubmit&diff=459858526&oldid=459857327 edit warring] with him. Gwen Gale claimed BLP. Another admin [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive20#Why.3F questioned the block, saying in particular "I don't think BLP concerns are a carte blanche for disregarding AGF like this and especially not BITE since we can't expect newcomers to understand these complex policies within their first 10 edits. I would appreciate if you would be more polite and welcoming towards new editors in the future, and not be as quick with the block-hammer, if you feel you don't have the patience for giving adequate explanations to a newcomer feel free to contact me and I'll gladly take over"], but Gwen failed to clarify her position.
===Gwen Gale using unnecessary, rude edit summaries in the block log===
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Genieactionpaul On June2, 2010 a user was blocked with the edit summary: "smells like dirty laundry to me"].
===Gwen Gale responding to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Canvassing canvassing]===
I will provide only two example. More examples could be presented by request.
1. Here Gwen Gale responds to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Canvassing#Stealth_canvassing email canvassing] by [[en:User:Daedalus969|Daedalus969]]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive19#Email.2C Here is an example of one such conversation about sent email]:
*''Ping!— Dædαlus+ Contribs 11:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)''
*''Pong! Gwen Gale (talk) 12:41, 22 December 2010 (UTC)''
What Daedalus969 was doing just before he pinged Gwen Gale? He [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=403686336 was commenting on the same AN/I thread] that Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=403691945#user:Kuguar03 closed] just before she ponged.
So as soon as Daedalus969 said "Ping" Gwen gladly responded "Pong".
2. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ARequests_for_adminship%2FBusterD&action=historysubmit&diff=467424231&oldid=467422483 With this edit the user admitted he canvassed Gwen Gale to co-nominate him in his RfA] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ARequests_for_adminship%2FBusterD&action=historysubmit&diff=467281585&oldid=467245749 Gwen Gale responded to canvassing]. It is funny that the user made his/her admission in response to [[en:user:Guerillero|admin Guerillero]] saying [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ARequests_for_adminship%2FBusterD&action=historysubmit&diff=467417317&oldid=467417178 that Gwen Gale does not instill any trust in him/her].
*When a 13-years old was asked why she would continue editing Wikipedia, she responded: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Trusilver&oldid=455609402 "Because almost everyone there is a bunch of fakes who like Wikipedia because they have power over others."]
*[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Elen_of_the_Roads#Meta_coda_by_Proofreader77:_.22Wikipedia_and_the_pleasure_of_bullying.22 "Of course, Wikipedia needs its bullies — it does not pay salaries, but there is the psychic pleasures of bullying. Obviously not everyone is a bully. There are some good-hearted admins. But the patterns of the social dynamics of Wikipedia are almost designed to cultivate a collection of bullies to do the work, and provide structural support for that bullying — as ArbCom's backing the bullying of Proofreader77 gives some flavor of.]
*A former wikipedian (probably an expert in Physics) had this to say about Wikipedia:[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=205803614\#The_Conclusions ...Wikipedia, on the contrary, is the enshrinement of contempt for learning, knowledge and expertise. It is, for many, a diversionary hobby to which they are prepared devote a great portion of their time, as others do to computer based video games. Unfortunately, it has led also to an inner cult, shrouded in anonymity, with structures and processes of self-regulation that are woefully inadequate. Many of these tools and procedures are reminiscent, in parody, of those of the Inquisition: secret courts, an inner "elite" arbitrarily empowered to censor and exclude all those perceived as a threat to the adopted conventions of the cult; denunciations, character assassination, excommunication. An arbitrarily concocted "rulebook" and language rife with self-referential sanctimoniousness give a superficial illusion of order and good sense, but no such thing exists in practice.It is truly a "Tyranny of the Ignorant"].
This kid, as many other Wikipedia users has became a victim of bullying that is allowed on the site that belongs to non-profit charitable organization tax-exempt organization [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation Wikimedia Foundation]
Gwen Gale is not the only bully administrator on Wikipedia. She's probably not the worst either. She's one of dozens bullies that allow to roam free in Wikipedia's jungles.
Although the name of the article is ''The case against Gwen Gale'' this article could have been named "the case against bullying on Wikipedia".
Below is a real request concerning Gwen Gale. This request was filed on one of Wikipedia sites, and it was deleted with no action taken. Read it and decide for yourself.
==The case against Gwen Gale==
===Some examples of unwarranted blocks and unwarranted removing of talk page access===
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AFunguy06&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= On 26 April 2009 Gwen Gale blocked user Funguy06 with the edit summary "(Vandalism-only account: no meaningfully encyclopedic edits)"]. In her block message [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Funguy06#blocked she provided neither differences to support the block, nor an explanation how to request an unblock]. The user who [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Contributions&dir=prev&target=Funguy06 started contributing to wikipedia in 2006] was blocked over [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heidi_Montag&diff=prev&oldid=286162601 this 2009 edit] for "vandalism only". But please [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Montag see the article]. Funguy06 did not vandalize the article.He made a good faith, encyclopedic edit. As a result of the block the user is gone. He did not even bother to write an unblock request.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3ANug%20&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= On 25 July 2009 Gwen Gale blocked user Nug for an alleged outing]. After being [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive14#Martintg_.22outing.22 contacted about the block at her talk] Gwen Gale unblocked the user with the edit summary "behaviour seems to be supported." This unblocked edit summary required a one second correction block, in which administrator wrote: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Theresa%20knott%20&page=User%3ANug%20&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= I cannot believe that Gwen Gale would put that as an unblock reason!]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User:Unknown+the+Hedgehog On August 10 August 2008 Gwen Gale blocked indefinitely Unknown the Hedgehog for "calling another Wikipedian his "friend"" with the edit summary: "Spam / advertising-only account:"]. At the same time she blocked a few other users indefinitely. A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Archive161#WP_seemingly_used_as_a_social_network thread was started about these blocks]. Admin Oren0 wrote:"I'm greatly concerned about the block of Unknown the Hedgehog (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · edit filter log · block user · block log) specifically. He has ~150 mainspace edits which, while small, seem to be improvements to articles. Why does calling another Wikipedian his "friend" get him banished for life? Is there really consensus that this user should be banned?Oren0 (talk) 19:47, 10 August 2008 (UTC)" Oren0 also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive6#Block_of_User:Unknown_the_Hedgehog_for_WP:MYSPACE started a thread at Gwen's talk]. Gwen did unblock the editor herself.
*[[en:user:Ludwigs2|user:Ludwigs2]] was blocked on July 2, 2008. [[en:User:Lar|Lar]] requested review: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/IncidentArchive441#Block_review_of_User:Ludwigs2 "I suggest this block is excessive at best, and possibly completely unjustified. I'd suggest review by uninvolved admins. ++Lar: t/c 18:18, 2 July 2008 (UTC)"]. The block was lifted.
*[[en:user:Malleus Fatuorum|user:Malleus Fatuorum]] was blocked on June 10, 2009. The user was unblocked in an hour after [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive13#Malleus an admin and a few users complained about the block]. Over this block [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive13#Recall she was suggested "to spend some time reading WP:BLOCK and, frankly, not editing here."] After a long threads at her and Malleus Fatuorum's talk pages Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Malleus_Fatuorum/Archives/2009/June#I_was_mistaken apologized for the block].
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:BioSynergy User BioSynergy was blocked for user name by Gwen Gale on June 8, 2008. Gwen was also the one who declined the unblock request]. It is unclear, if the user ever made a new account.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive17#Unblock_request This discussion] is about the block imposed on [[en:user:Richard Arthur Norton (1958- )|Richard Arthur Norton (1958- )]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Richard_Arthur_Norton_%281958-_%29&diff=prev&oldid=364916173 was blocked] for 72 hours for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Files_for_deletion/2010_May_24&diff=prev&oldid=364914402 this edit, in which the user corrected a punctuation typo]. Please take a look at this comment Gwen Gale made, when asked about the block: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive17#Unblock_request "He was not moving on, he was hiding the warnings, knowing he would most likely be blocked for carrying on with his disruption and hoping that a careless admin would think he was blocked for correcting a punctuation typo. This is also why he put his unblock request at the top of the page, far away from the block notice. Gwen Gale (talk) 02:10, 30 May 2010 (UTC)"]. The user was unblocked in a few hours with edit summary "Block not covered by Wikipedia:Blocking policy".
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User%3ANWA.Rep User NWA.Rep] was blocked at 20:36, 21 November 2008. She removed the editor talk page access only for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3ANWA.Rep&action=historysubmit&diff=253259006&oldid=253258844 removing block notice] that the user could have done in accordance with the policy. Two hours later another administrator [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3ANWA.Rep&action=historysubmit&diff=253276995&oldid=253259979 restored the talk page access]. He wrote: "Looks like a misunderstanding of [[WP:USER]] - have reenabled talkpage editing". At 20:10, 29 November 2008 one second correction block was added to the editor block record: "Noting the block was at least somewhat questionable, enough to have a note in the block log. See blocking admins talk page." When asked why she removed the editor talk page access Gwen responded: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=253260480 "He edit warred over the block notice. I'm willing to re-enable his talk page editing in a couple of hours but I'm going out to dinner now."]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3ASuper+Badnik User Super Badnik] was blocked indefinitely at 21:03, 9 August 2008. The block was overturned by another administrator.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User%3ABreathing_Dead User Breathing Dead] at 20:51, 23 July 2009 Gwen removed his talk page access. The talk page access was restored by another administrator.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Douglas_M._Smith On July7, 2010 a new user Douglas M. Smith was blocked indefinitely with the edit summary: " (Personal attacks or harassment: potential libel, outing)"]. I looked over user contributions, and could not find anything that warranted an indefinite block (will appreciate if somebody looks at this block and tell me, if I am missing on something). [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Douglas_M._Smith It does not look like the user was issued any warning before the block].
*[[en:User:Mbz1|Mbz1]]
On December 23, 2010 Gwen Gale responded to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Mbz1#Per_your_request canvassing] and blocked the editor for a week.
She made the block to be indefinite after [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3AMbz1%2Fa7&action=historysubmit&diff=403914418&oldid=403912569 the editor made this post]. She removed the editor's talk page access without warning only because the editor added an indefinite blocked user template to her talk page two times. The talk page access was restored by another administrator.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3AOgioh user Ogioh] was blocked indefinitely. The block was reverted in less than an hour.
*Gwen Gale removed the talk page access to the editor she blocked for this post: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:RCS&diff=prev&oldid=356584362 "Harmful? My dear Gwen, you seem not to know what the case in question was all about. The irony of my edit - which I find funny - can be understood with the hindsight of how that case turned out, i. e. that the rape in question never took place and that the so-called victim was in fact a compulsive liar with a history of court convictions that has continued since. But I suppose that you are another of these self-righteous people with a mission with whom arguing is nothing but a waste of time."] When asked by another wikipedian how the editor could request to be unblocked Gwen responded [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive17#RCS "His email is still enabled"].
===Gwen Gale misusing her administrative tools when involved===
The policy that clearly states:
{{cquote|In general, editors should not act as administrators in cases in which they have been involved. This is because involved administrators may have, or may be seen as having, a [[Wikipedia:Conflict of interest|conflict of interest]] in disputes they have been a party to or have strong feelings about. Involvement is generally construed very broadly by the community, to include current or past conflicts with an editor (or editors), and disputes on topics, regardless of the nature, age, or outcome of the dispute.}}
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:INVOLVED#Misuse_of_administrative_tools This section states]:
{{cquote|Conflict of interest, non-neutrality, or content dispute – Administrators should not use their tools to advantage, or in a content dispute (or article) where they are a party (or significant editor), or where a significant conflict of interest is likely to exist. With few specific exceptions (like obvious vandalism) where tool use is allowed by any admin, administrators should ensure they are reasonably neutral parties when they use the tools.}}
In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive3#Re:_Edit_Warring this thread] Gwen Gale stated:"First, if you are an admin and get involved in a content dispute like this, you cannot use your admin powers to resolve it." It was said on May 16, 2008.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3ASoutherndata&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= The first time User Southerndata was blocked by Gwen Gale at 15:04, 28 June 2008] for alleged "vandalism" on [[en:Fred Noonan]], although the user clearly made a good faith edits. In a few places (including the block log) she said that she edited the article after the block. Gwen Gale edited this article a lot, and before the block. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&oldid=2399161 Actually Gwen Gale wrote this article, when she still edited as Wyss], but let's see June 28,2008: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&action=historysubmit&diff=222286333&oldid=222286201 Gwen Gale] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&action=historysubmit&diff=222287525&oldid=222287133 was edit warring] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fred_Noonan&action=historysubmit&diff=222288253&oldid=222288170 with the very same editor she later blocked].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive5#Your_Block_on_User:Southerndata After being questioned about the block while involved], she lifted the block just to re-block the user indefinitely two days later at 22:38, 30 June 2008. At that time she was even more involved with the user than when she blocked him the first time because of [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Bzuk&diff=prev&oldid=222544929 this post by the user].
*
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/3RRArchive141#User:Gwen_Gale_reported_by_User:John_J._Bulten_.28Result:_protected.29 On October 1, 2010 Gwen Gale was reported for edit warring].
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Magog_the_Ogre Administrator Magog the Ogre Magog the Ogre] had this to say about Gwen's conduct:
{{cquote|Gwen is very very much out of line, not only with the rollback tool but threatening to block a user in a dispute: future edit warring of this type will receive a block.}}
:After Gwen Gale yet another time claimed a good faith edit to be "vandalism" [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:HJ_Mitchell administrator HJ Mitchell] had this to say about Gwen's conduct:
{{cquote|In this case, while it might not have been your intention to get into a dispute, you did step over the bright-line rule and, as far as I can see, none of the reverted edits were vandalism. I would suggest being more careful with rollback at the very least. Non-admins have been known to lose it for less. In this case, while it might not have been your intention to get into a dispute, you did step over the bright-line rule and, as far as I can see, none of the reverted edits were vandalism. I would suggest being more careful with rollback at the very least. Non-admins have been known to lose it for less. }}
:Gwen also received a personal message about this incident.
{{cquote|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive18#3RR_violation_.2B_misuse_of_admin_tools '''3RR violation + misuse of admin tools'''. Please see WP:AN3#User:Gwen Gale reported by User:John J. Bulten (Result: protected). I am also rescinding the warning you gave the user you were opposed to, and replacing it with a proper warning for edit warring. Please consider this a warning: if you believe it is inappropriate and/or would like to appeal it, you may take it to WP:ANI. Magog the Ogre (talk) 00:17, 2 October 2010 (UTC)]}}
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AWallamoose&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= user Wallamoose was blocked on October 18, 2008 for a week] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&diff=246116334&oldid=246061640 this edit] at [[en:Talk:Hummus]]. Gwen Gale has been involved with the article for a long time. Her involvement with [[en:Hummus]] was even pointed out in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Requests_for_adminship/Gwen_Gale_2#Oppose her RFA:"I have interacted with Gwen Gaile on only one article, hummus, but I don't think her interactions on that article are consistent with Wikipedia policy. She treats the article as though she owns it, and seems not to understand the difference between reliable sources and unsupported assertions on random Web pages and cookbooks."]. In her block rationale Gwen stated: "Following [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&diff=246116334&oldid=246061640 this edit by you] after my warning, I've blocked you from editing one week for disruption, non-encyclopedic edits and trolling. [[User:Gwen Gale|Gwen Gale]] ([[User talk:Gwen Gale|talk]]) 16:33, 18 October 2008 (UTC)". This one week block for editing an article '''talk page''' was wrong because Gwen Gale is heavily involved with the article and because she was [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&action=historysubmit&diff=246061640&oldid=246047546 edit] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3AHummus&action=historysubmit&diff=246120404&oldid=246116334 warring] with the editor, and because Wallamoose was not trolling. As it is seen from [http://www.haaretz.com/misc/comment-page/hummus-in-the-torah-19.44445 this reliable source] Hummus was mentioned in the Torah. Although the editor tried to explain to Gwen why he posted the statement to the article's talk page Gwen Gale escalated the block to be indefinite,and then removed the editor talk page access. Gwen also allowed Dædαlus to harass the blocked editor on his talk page.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/74.233.165.176 This IP was blocked on June 24, 2009 for "personal attacks or harassment"] after Gwen Gale was [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3ADeath_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan&action=historysubmit&diff=298378688&oldid=298378421 edit] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3ADeath_of_Neda_Agha-Soltan&action=historysubmit&diff=298381919&oldid=298380458 warring] with him over quite innocent post to an article talk page. Gwen Gale was heavily involved in editing this article's talk page. Then IP [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Gwen_Gale&diff=prev&oldid=298380525 ranted at Gwen's talk page]. Of course IP post to Gwen's talk was not very nice, but even, if this IP deserved to be blocked, it should have been blocked by an uninvolved admin.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&type=block&page=User%3AJayeba User Jayeba was blocked at 23:18, 26 August 2009 for "spamming] right after the user [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&diff=prev&oldid=310260822 reverted] Gwen Gale at the article [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&action=historysubmit&diff=310259889&oldid=310259713 she] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&action=historysubmit&diff=310260525&oldid=310260330 was] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maureen_McCormick&action=historysubmit&diff=310261166&oldid=310260822 edit warring] with this very user she later blocked.The user was unblocked with the summary "no spamming".
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log&page=User%3AProofreader77&type=block User:Proofreader77]
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AProofreader77&year=2009&month=December&tagfilter= was blocked at 23:03, 29 December 2009 for making $1,000 donation to wikipedia.] Gwen Gale issued the block after she was asked by another administrator to leave the editor alone: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3AProofreader77&action=historysubmit&diff=333349988&oldid=333285633 Gwen,you have gotten too personally involved. I urge you to leave further admin actions with respect to this editor to other administrators. '''[[User:DGG| DGG]]''' ([[User talk:DGG| talk ]]) 20:28, 22 December 2009 (UTC)]
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AProofreader77&year=2010&month=February&tagfilter= was blocked indefinitely at 22:16, 14 February 2010 for requesting a blocked user template]. This block was overturned by another administrator.
**[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Proofreader77&diff=prev&oldid=345321695 This edit made on 21 February 2010 is the last edit made by Proofreader77]. After this Gwen Gale removed his talk page access. She did it during [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Case&oldid=344569343#Proofreader77_blocks the request for arbitration] that was initiated to discuss prior unwarranted and overturned blocks of this editor the very blocks that were imposed by the very same Gwen Gale.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3AScias76 On May 12, 2010 Gwen Gale blocked Scias76] for edit warring at [[en:Hummus]]. Gwen Gale was involved in edit warring of this article. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hummus&action=historysubmit&diff=357403536&oldid=357400663 She] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hummus&action=historysubmit&diff=357451756&oldid=357449920 reverted] a few editors [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hummus&action=historysubmit&diff=357829370&oldid=357828550 including the one she later blocked.]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3ATombaker321&year=2012&month=December&tagfilter= User Tombaker321 was blocked on July 15,2010] after the user [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk%3ARoman_Polanski&action=historysubmit&diff=373514166&oldid=373498413 directly accused Gwen in "squashing the dialog by using her admin role"] and after Gwen [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Tombaker321#disruption continued to engage the user at his talk page].
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Iloveredhair&oldid=399168659#only_warning On November 26, 2010 user Iloveredhair was blocked] for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Lesbian_sexual_practices&diff=prev&oldid=399035544 silly posts] at [[en:Talk:Lesbian sexual practices]]. In a few minutes after the initial block [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3AIloveredhair Gwen removed the user's talk page access], claiming "vandalism" in the edit summaries. There are two problems with the block. First of all it was not vandalism (the user made posts only to the talk and not to the article), and they could have been called "trolling", but definitely not "vandalism". Second of all Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesbian_sexual_practices&oldid=172122298 is the author of the article] which means once again she misused her tools while involved.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive20#Austrian_School Here is only one exchange] between [[en:user|Misessus]] and Gwen Gale that took place after [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Austrian_School&action=historysubmit&diff=441938928&oldid=441937995 Gwen reverted the user]. There were more exchanges at the article talk page like [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Austrian_School&oldid=446927564#Sec_Break_1 for example here]. In a little bit more than a month after this [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ALog&type=block&user=Gwen+Gale&page=User%3AMisessus%20&year=2012&month=December&tagfilter= Gwen blocked this user for edit warring on this article on September 4, 2011 ]. Gwen blocked the user just two days after another user had this to say about her: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/3RRArchive166#User:Misessus_reported_by_User:Dark_Charles_.28Result:_Both_restricted_to_1RR.29 "Gwen Gale is an involved admin. She has been actively supporting one side of this debate for years. She should not have been the admin to decide on this case. I would like to formally request a review of this action. LK (talk) 03:19, 2 September 2011 (UTC) "]. Gwen was involved with this article and with the user, and although it looks like the block itself was proper, it should have been imposed by an uninvolved admin.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement&diff=prev&oldid=422603670 This comment was made by Gwen in a section of arbitration enforcement request concerning Mbz1 on April 5, 2011 ]. The problem with this comment is that it was made in the section that is clearly marked as "This section is to be edited only by uninvolved administrators. Comments by others will be moved to the section above." "Uninvolved administrator" means an administrator, who never edits content of the articles that belongs to the topic of the specific sanctions. Gwen Gale have been editing these articles for years. She was edit warring and pushing her point of view in these articles. I have never seen any other admin who made even small edits in the articles under ARBPIA commenting in the section for uninvolved administrators. Most of the times the really uninvolved administrators even will not revert either clear vandalism violations.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk%3A208.102.209.78&action=historysubmit&diff=474506962&oldid=474505344 On February 2,2012 Gwen Gale declined unblock request of the user who complained about her in his unblock request, which makes her involved]. This unblock request should have been declined, but Gwen Gale should not have been the one to do it. This example demonstrates that Gwen Gale has difficulties in understanding what "involved" administrator means. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Alison&oldid=474697911#Zhand38 And this thread explains how this all ended up]. It is sad.
===Biting newbies===
*On February 13, 2012 there was a Signpost with the name: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2012-02-13/In_the_news&oldid=476912548 "Scholar confounded by rules fit for the everyman"]:
{{cquote|In a paywalled article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Timothy Messer-Kruse, a professor at Bowling Green State university specialising in the history of the American labor movement, detailed his frustrated encounters with Wikipedia's immune system in endeavouring to set perceived inaccuracies in its historical coverage to rights.}}
In the article named "The 'Undue Weight' of Truth on Wikipedia" the professor writes:
[http://chronicle.com/article/The-Undue-Weight-of-Truth-on/130704/ "Explain to me, then, how a 'minority' source with facts on its side would ever appear against a wrong 'majority' one?" I asked the Wiki-gatekeeper. He responded, "You're more than welcome to discuss reliable sources here, that's what the talk page is for. However, you might want to have a quick look at Wikipedia's civility policy."] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Haymarket_affair&oldid=476851229#.22No_Evidence.22 Here's the complete conversation]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:MesserKruse And here the first message the professor got.]
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jamiroquai&diff=prev&oldid=308136584 User Hatcrazy was blocked two times in August of 2009].
The first block was 24 hours for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lady_Victoria_Hervey&diff=prev&oldid=306484174 this edit].
The user was right [http://books.google.com/books?id=RH5JXwAACAAJ&dq=Lady+Victoria+Frederica+Isabella+Hervey&hl=en&sa=X&ei=17AtT7idLIijiQLMpsmjDA&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA "Lady Isabella Frederica Louisa Hervey (born 9 March 1982) is a British socialite, model, and actress.] The second block was for two weeks for [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jamiroquai&diff=prev&oldid=308136584 this edit] in which the user changed "are an English" to "is a British". Please look at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamiroquai article] now. It has "British" not "English" . Looks like the user was right because [http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/jamiroquai-latest-act-to-sign-on-to-f1 a] [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/keyword/jamiroquai few] [http://www.romania-insider.com/british-jamiroquai-to-bring-jazz-funk-to-the-romanian-seaside-this-summer/25776/ newspapers] call them "British". The user was also [http://books.google.com/books?id=2nxLkMspauIC&pg=PA59&dq=Stella+Nina+McCartney+is+a+british+fashion+designer&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Vq8tT7eXGOigiQKr5cXDCg&ved=0CFQQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=Lady%20Victoria%20Hervey&f=false right] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stella_McCartney&diff=prev&oldid=306338679 this edit],
and the user was [http://books.google.com/books?id=SWUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA86&dq=Queen+%28band%29+%22Freddie+Mercury+%22+%22British%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QrctT4DMEtLSiAKKpIG5Ag&ved=0CEoQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=Queen%20%28band%29%20%22Freddie%20Mercury%20%22%20%22British%22&f=false right] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Queen_%28band%29&diff=prev&oldid=306338771 this edit] and probably in all other edits as well.
Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Hatcrazy#August_2009 warned the user], but a new user could not have known what "consensus" and "sourcing" means.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Log/block&page=User%3ANextbook User Nextbook was blocked at 20:56, 9 November 2011] after [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pitcairn_Islands&action=historysubmit&diff=459856138&oldid=459853639 Gwen Gale] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pitcairn_Islands&action=historysubmit&diff=459856594&oldid=459856520 was] [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pitcairn_Islands&action=historysubmit&diff=459858526&oldid=459857327 edit warring] with him. Gwen Gale claimed BLP. Another admin [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive20#Why.3F questioned the block, saying in particular "I don't think BLP concerns are a carte blanche for disregarding AGF like this and especially not BITE since we can't expect newcomers to understand these complex policies within their first 10 edits. I would appreciate if you would be more polite and welcoming towards new editors in the future, and not be as quick with the block-hammer, if you feel you don't have the patience for giving adequate explanations to a newcomer feel free to contact me and I'll gladly take over"], but Gwen failed to clarify her position.
===Gwen Gale using unnecessary, rude edit summaries in the block log===
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Genieactionpaul On June2, 2010 a user was blocked with the edit summary: "smells like dirty laundry to me"].
===Gwen Gale responding to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Canvassing canvassing]===
I will provide only two example. More examples could be presented by request.
1. Here Gwen Gale responds to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Canvassing#Stealth_canvassing email canvassing] by [[en:User:Daedalus969|Daedalus969]]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Gwen_Gale/archive19#Email.2C Here is an example of one such conversation about sent email]:
*''Ping!— Dædαlus+ Contribs 11:56, 22 December 2010 (UTC)''
*''Pong! Gwen Gale (talk) 12:41, 22 December 2010 (UTC)''
What Daedalus969 was doing just before he pinged Gwen Gale? He [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=403686336 was commenting on the same AN/I thread] that Gwen Gale [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=403691945#user:Kuguar03 closed] just before she ponged.
So as soon as Daedalus969 said "Ping" Gwen gladly responded "Pong".
2. [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ARequests_for_adminship%2FBusterD&action=historysubmit&diff=467424231&oldid=467422483 With this edit the user admitted he canvassed Gwen Gale to co-nominate him in his RfA] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ARequests_for_adminship%2FBusterD&action=historysubmit&diff=467281585&oldid=467245749 Gwen Gale responded to canvassing]. It is funny that the user made his/her admission in response to [[en:user:Guerillero|admin Guerillero]] saying [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia%3ARequests_for_adminship%2FBusterD&action=historysubmit&diff=467417317&oldid=467417178 that Gwen Gale does not instill any trust in him/her].
*When a 13-years old was asked why she would continue editing Wikipedia, she responded: [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Trusilver&oldid=455609402 "Because almost everyone there is a bunch of fakes who like Wikipedia because they have power over others."]
*[http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Elen_of_the_Roads#Meta_coda_by_Proofreader77:_.22Wikipedia_and_the_pleasure_of_bullying.22 "Of course, Wikipedia needs its bullies — it does not pay salaries, but there is the psychic pleasures of bullying. Obviously not everyone is a bully. There are some good-hearted admins. But the patterns of the social dynamics of Wikipedia are almost designed to cultivate a collection of bullies to do the work, and provide structural support for that bullying — as ArbCom's backing the bullying of Proofreader77 gives some flavor of.]
*A former wikipedian (probably an expert in Physics) had this to say about Wikipedia:[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents&diff=prev&oldid=205803614\#The_Conclusions ...Wikipedia, on the contrary, is the enshrinement of contempt for learning, knowledge and expertise. It is, for many, a diversionary hobby to which they are prepared devote a great portion of their time, as others do to computer based video games. Unfortunately, it has led also to an inner cult, shrouded in anonymity, with structures and processes of self-regulation that are woefully inadequate. Many of these tools and procedures are reminiscent, in parody, of those of the Inquisition: secret courts, an inner "elite" arbitrarily empowered to censor and exclude all those perceived as a threat to the adopted conventions of the cult; denunciations, character assassination, excommunication. An arbitrarily concocted "rulebook" and language rife with self-referential sanctimoniousness give a superficial illusion of order and good sense, but no such thing exists in practice.It is truly a "Tyranny of the Ignorant"].
