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Requests for comment/Suspected abuse of power by Asamboi

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The following request for comments is closed. Going to close this as invalid given a U4C case for the same issue has been initiated. //shb (t • c) 13:29, 6 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Wikimedia community,

I am making this report not to discomfort Asamboi in retaliation, but because not knowing that RfC on Meta was a thing, I hastily sought help incorrectly on Wikipedia and got blocked there as well. Now that I know that RfC actually exists, I am reporting this on Meta using calm language, so let me get to the actual content.

As a result of my last controversial food-related edit on Wikivoyage which led to a topic ban there, Asamboi gave me en:voy:User talk:Faster than Thunder#Filipino cuisine, which included uncivil language and appears to be harassment ("and you're wrecking ignorant havoc on kosher content as well."). Later, in response, well into my topic ban, I started en:voy:User talk:Asamboi#Think before you warn to tell him not to use uncivil language like that, especially since I had refrained from disruptive editing specifically related to kosher content substantially before that warning. Unfortunately, he saw that as harassment by me and even threatened to propose a sitewide ban. On the upside, this is the only incident of this kind of harassment that I can find. While Asamboi's and other admins' overall goal (stopping me from disrupting Wikivoyage further) is not disruptive per se, it has felt very risky to try and is taking long to convince Asamboi that the specific manner he warned me in that message is problematic. Because of this, I find it risky to directly interact with Asamboi further on any wiki, so I chose not to notify him of this discussion myself. I plead that both I and Asamboi are guilty, but I would like to clarify that part of the blame is on me. I have refrained from editing Wikivoyage altogether and I am growing from my current block on Wikipedia. I admit hastily disputing with Asamboi on Wikipedia. If you want to sanction me further (i.e. blocking me on Meta), fine, but be cognizant of the comments of uninvolved users on this page.

For context, I was unanimously topic-banned from all food-related topics on English Wikivoyage after extensive addition of false information into food-related topics, which Asamboi and other admins spent time cleaning up. Not knowing that RfC on Meta was a thing, I eventually looked for issues with Asamboi's edits on Wikipedia, rashly reverted one of them without being careful, and hastily took him to en:w:WP:ANI due to it resembling his suspected pattern of rollbacking good edits as a side effect of rollbacking bad edits on Wikivoyage. After an edit of mine on Wikivoyage this pattern affected was reverted, which included a grammar fix by me, thankfully, the grammar fix was later restored by another admin. I got indefinitely blocked on Wikipedia as well for seeking help the wrong way. Now that I realize that there is RfC if the original wiki is unwilling to satisfactorily deal with a situation, I realize that RfC is the best way to deal with such situations, not to (continue to) fight with related users on any other wiki, so I have (partially) learned my lesson from my block on Wikipedia. See also:

I just came back from my trip to the East Coast, and I have been considering making this complaint here on Meta during my trip some time into my block on Wikipedia. My heart has been heavily beating to click "Publish page".

Applying wmf:Policy:Universal Code of Conduct

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2.1

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  • "Assume good faith, and engage in constructive edits."
    • "Criticism should be delivered in a sensitive and constructive manner. All Wikimedians should assume unless evidence otherwise exists that others are here to collaboratively improve the projects, but this should not be used to justify statements with a harmful impact."
      • From the warning: "This is the second third time you've been warned specifically about the Philippines, and you're wrecking ignorant havoc on kosher content as well. Cease and desist, or the next step will be a user ban."
        • "... you're wrecking ignorant havoc on kosher content as well." is obviously demeaning. No offense, but if you wish to, could you please respond with how you would feel if these words were targeted at you?

3.1

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  • "Harassment: This includes any behaviour intended primarily to intimidate, outrage or upset a person, or any behaviour where this would reasonably be considered the most likely main outcome."
    • You probably can fit this under one of the bullet points.

3.2

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  • Abuse of power, privilege, or influence: This is the most important point here.
  • "Abuse of seniority and connections: Using one's position and reputation to intimidate others. We expect people with significant experience and connections in the movement to behave with special care because hostile comments from them may carry an unintended backlash. People with community authority have a particular privilege to be viewed as reliable and should not abuse this to attack others who disagree with them."
    • "This is the second third time you've been warned specifically about the Philippines, and you're wrecking ignorant havoc on kosher content as well. Cease and desist, or the next step will be a user ban."
      • I started User talk:Asamboi#Think before you warn for this very reason. However, he responded with "You have a track record of wreaking havoc and I expect you to continue to do so, so the present tense is entirely appropriate. Also, your edits on my Talk page are starting to border on harassment. Cease and desist, or I will be proposing a complete user ban next."
        • This is no good reason per se to propose a full user ban.

To clarify, this is not solely to project all of my blame onto Asamboi, but showing that I have learned from my own sanctions and accept (most) relevant responsibility. en:voy:User talk:Faster than Thunder#Filipino cuisine is the only offending comment that I object. — The preceding unsigned comment was added by Faster than Thunder (talk) 13:34, August 5, 2025 (UTC)

This RFC will only backfire at you. Walk away and stop manufacturing false accusations. I encourage you to take a break from all projects. Continuing to make same problematic behavior will worsen sanctions against you in different projects. Ahri Boy (talk) 03:48, 6 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Faster than Thunder: If you think there are UCoC violations, please file a request at U4C/Cases, not a Meta RfC. Best, //shb (t • c) 04:21, 6 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for the advice. Will do now. Faster than Thunder (talk) 04:34, 6 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
You also need to notify the affected party, FtT. //shb (t • c) 04:54, 6 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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