ItsLassieTime (talk · contribs · block log · arb · SPI ^confirmed _suspected)
Comprehensive edits analysis
User:ItsLassieTime (ILT) is a prolific sockmaster with roughly 200 confirmed accounts dating back to 2008 with accounts blocked every year from 2009–2012, and again 2015–2018. Checkuser data is most likely stale in uncovering new socks, save for those operating simultaneously at the time of an SPI, and so behavioral evidence may be the only means to link new accounts to the old ones. Due to this user's penchant for creating multiple personas, mass copyvio, and then attacks or threats toward users who disagree with their edits, (example) new socks need to be blocked as soon as the habitual problems emerge before too many problem articles are involved. Checkuser is generally advisable as this individual has at times created sleeper accounts.

The original pattern of this sockmaster was to create dozens of articles (up to 100 in a couple cases) with relatively few accounts. In 2016, the pattern changed to produce a massive number of accounts (an example being approximately 20-25 during February 2016) that made fewer edits each, but often purely for disruptive purposes in a game of "catch me if you can." It is likely that these may be two different individuals, designated LassieTime1 and LassieTime2. LassieTime2 is currently the far more disruptive sockmaster. That said, the LassieTime1 sockmaster may also still be quietly editing children's book articles, with a continued pattern of undiscussed changes, too-close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and improper attribution, though otherwise not drawing attention to themselves—in those cases, simple reversion and if needed, running the earwig tool and requesting revdel of problem edits seems to settle the matter.

Targeted areas, pages, themes

• ItsLassieTime socks tend to edit a very broad range of articles including comic books, ballet, literature, animals, religion, drugs, and the Old West. One consistent pattern is to have edits or account names associated with children's literature or TV shows from the 1950s and 1960s. Edits from 2015 forward added geographic focus, particularly the state of Maine.
• Each sock account tends to only edit a few articles in a narrow subject area, and behavioral analysis usually will not indicate that the socks are editing the same article at the same time. More recent socks tend to range a bit farther afield.
• This user tends to perform massive rewriting and restructuring of articles with no prior collaboration and refuses to collaborate once other editors request that they do so: this is one example.
• Has a penchant for WP:COPYVIO, close paraphrasing, and related problems. The original uncovering of this sockmaster also resulted in an extensive CCI involving about 700 articles which lasted from 2010 to 2023: Wikipedia:Contributor copyright investigations/ItsLassieTime.
• Often replaces sourced material with unsourced material or improperly attributes citations. Sometimes, copying directly from a source; more recently has tended to closely paraphrase and put in citations that are misattributed or don't match up to content. Often engages in SYNTH and OR.
• Another problem was frequently uploading non-free images. Many examples at User talk:ItsLassieTime
• The final common behavior is attacking anyone who disagreed with their edits, including sometimes filing at AN/I, best described here as "Having run into ItsLassieTime multiple times before, the ownership issues are seriously dead on. She did the same crap with all the Lassie articles, driving off every editor who actually wanted to improve them..."
• A 2016 pattern uses multiple accounts making multiple edits on the same article, such as here: [1], many now linked to the state of Maine or assorted highways in the United States.

Habitual behavior

• Original problem was mass socking combined with massive copy and paste copyvio from source materials in addition to behavioral issues noted here. User created some new articles but mostly edited existing articles. Since 2015, pattern now tends to primarily be disruptive editing with far less content creation.
• Primary behavior of this user, regardless of persona, is 1) High degree of sensitivity to criticism, 2) Disruptive behavior when challenged in any fashion, ranging from pitiable appeals for sympathy to vicious personal attacks. 3) Ability to make a prolific number of edits in a short period of time. Probably has learned from this page and has altered standard behavior patterns, but is unable to avoid being disruptive in some fashion and engage in WP:NOTHERE behavior.
• Characteristic original pattern was to make massive numbers of copyedits (sometimes 50 or more in a single day) to a small number of articles, often the very first day the sock account is created. Changed pattern in 2016 to create multiple single purpose accounts with only a few edits each, but still a large number of total edits, most disruptive.
• Often opens a user page and user talk fairly early on.
• Usernames frequently reference children's books or TV shows. 2016 pattern includes variants on ItsLassieTime name. Other personas may reflect primary subject area edited (ballet, westerns). Some are random personas.
• Different personas (including variations of age and gender) for different socks and editing areas, for example, sock account User:LaSylphide tended to edit articles related to ballet and Hans Christian Anderson, claimed to be a grandmother. In the same general time frame, yet another sock account User:Buttermilk1950 edited rodeo articles and claimed to be a teenaged girl: [2] and [3]. Admitted here to doing so: "Creating characters like a Marine, an elderly resident in a senior home, a voodoo priest. I thought it was all harmless backstage fun."
• Admitted to several sock accounts here: [4]
• Attempted to justify socking on the grounds of creating separate accounts for topic areas: here
• Often cites extensively to hardcopy works, which makes verification difficult. Often claims to be ordering new books.
• Often attacks anyone who disagrees with their edits, many examples noted in the chart below. In the past has taken others to ANI, often accuses others of "harassment" or otherwise being unkind or unfair.
• Often presents a sympathetic or pitiable persona, particularly after being challenged or disciplined. (Sometimes, though not always, claiming to be young/old/ill/disabled, etc.) May express remorse and a promise to behave better, usually claiming errors are due to inexperience, but actual behavior will not change.
• Likes to submit articles for GA or FA status. Doesn't like when they are criticized.
• Tag-teaming with sockpuppets and meatpuppets is also a hallmark: When LaSylphide was blocked, she made an edit claiming to be her husband [5] requesting an unblock. Buttermilk1950 was caught editing as ItsLassieTime, whereupon ILT claimed to be her mother. This user also tends to locate allies with a similarly tendentious style of editing and gets them to help in going after editors who they are attacking.
• Has been known to have the sock accounts "talk" to each other.
• Series of edits as the banhammer dropped in 2009 are particularly illustrative: [6]
• As shown in this SPI case (among others), they may impersonate the habitual behavior of other LTAs, such as David Beals, Soft skin, Link Smurf, and CatCreekCityCouncil.
• A new behavior starting in Oct 2016 is to {{hat}} reference sections, see sock #1 and sock #2.
• In 2017 and 2018 a pattern of making mass reverts, templating users, and (as usual) reporting users to ANI was observed: example, example

Cases

• Archive: Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/ItsLassieTime/Archive
• This chart below is an incomplete list, outlining behaviors associated with the over 140 sockpuppet accounts originally associated with this user. The list below is no longer maintained per WP:DENY, but most confirmed socks are here.
• Accounts in the original CCI indicated with †
  • 2015: Reappeared, behavior matched ILT 1
  • 2016: Over 30 accounts created, behavior matched ILT 2
  • 2017: No problematic accounts identified until the end of 2017, at which time at least 11 new accounts were created in a short period of time.
  • 2018: At least 20 confirmed accounts.

IP accounts

Other notes

• Tends to have recurring disputes with several long-term users including but not limited to Montanabw [99], SlimVirgin [100] and Victoriaearle/Truthkeeper88 [101]

• Sockpuppet category: Category:Wikipedia sockpuppets of ItsLassieTime
• Suspected sockpuppet category: Category:Suspected Wikipedia sockpuppets of ItsLassieTime