Wiktionary:Sockpuppetry

This page is a hard rule on the Simple English Wiktionary. Many people agree with it. They see it as a standard that all users should follow. When changing the page, please check that the other people agree with your changes. Use the talk page when you are not sure or when you want to propose a change.

Socks, or sock puppets, are users who use multiple accounts. In a general sense, socks are bad and are discouraged. They can be blocked by checkusers if used abusively. However, there are legitimate and illegitimate uses of more than one account.

Good uses

• Security. If you fear that someone else might have stolen your password or username then you can make a new account for security reasons.
• Doppelganger accounts. Sometimes multiple, vandal-safe accounts are needed to protect from vandals. Put the {{doppelganger}} template on these. These accounts should not be used to edit.
• Fresh record. If your previous account was tied to a negative track record you can create a new account. If you want to prevent the switch from being seen as sockpuppetry place the {{retired}} template on your userpage.

Bad uses

• Deception and voting. Sometimes users vote with more than one account, or try to deceive other users. This is not allowed.
• Two-handed users. One account may be used to positively contribute to Wiktionary while the other vandalizes, attacks, or abuses. This is not allowed.

If you suspect a user is socking ask a steward to confirm it at the Steward requests/Checkuser page at Meta-Wiki.