16:04 Apr 1, Gamaliel creates a dummy Signpost page, the only content is a headline, "Donald Trump threatens to sue Wikipedia over image of his "small hands." This is used to populate a sidebar template in the annual April Fools' article (Trump/Wales 2016). The "Small Hands" headline is among other fake past coverage of Donald Trump, including "Wikimedia Foundation spurns offer by Donald Trump to purchase Wikipedia"; "Trump casinos to feature Wikipedia kiosks". Here is a screenshot of the entire setup: [2]
The claim that Donald Trump has "small hands" originated with a humor magazine in the 1980s, and recently received coverage all over mainstream American Press starting in late February 2016 when Marco Rubio (whose campaign was close to collapsing) lashed out at Trump calling him "little Rubio" by saying Trump had "small hands" and "and you know what they say about guys with small hands".[3]. This level of discourse is setting new lows in American politics, to be sure.
This headline is a BLP violation is only the strictest and most dense sense. "small hands" is in quotes, unclear whether the image (of which there was none) has small hands or not, or who said it had "small hands." Like much humor, it doesn't explain everything and doesn't even have to make sense. And saying Trump threatened to sue someone he did not could be a BLP issue, except that Trump is a living lawsuit-threatener machine, and the whole thing was obviously a joke and not intended to be true.
Could reasonable people honestly disagree over how "bad" this headline was? I suppose so. But it was no crisis. Similar humorous BLP-implicating jokes have been a part of Wikipedia since its founding in Jan 2001, many preserved for well over 10 years in WP:Silly things, without complaint. E.g., Wikipedia:Best_of_BJAODN#From_Dikembe_Mutombo which preserves a renaming of a black basketball player that is arguably as racist as the "small hands" joke is a BLP violation.
The joke here, instead, became the flimsiest of vehicles to launch a drama war.
April 3, 2016
6:21 Apr 3: The fun begins.[4] DHeyward marks the dummy headline page for CSD G3 ("Pure vandalism and blatant hoaxes"), and template notices Gamaliel. He also posts on the talk page of the dummy page[5], April Fools is over. Attack, Hoax and negative BLP for a living person is speedy delete. From my limited experience, DHeyward's sense of humor appears to be minimal, but he has much experience with CSD.
12:02 Apr 3: Gamaliel removes the CSD notice and his talkpage notice of it.[6]
15:27 Apr 3: DHeyward reverts with comment: read the instructions. It's a BLP, hoax and attack page. April Fools is over[7]
10 minutes later MDann52 removes CSD notice, saying ""This only applies to cases where the deception is so obvious as to constitute pure vandalism"[8] and adds humor template.[9]
April 4, 2016
2:09 Apr 4: DHeyward asks on Admin noticeboard whether[10] the backdated dummy articles were appropriate. In a few days only a few comments are received with no resolution, and the discussion closes on April 9, as other venues have already caught fire.
22:06 Apr 6: 7 minutes later, Gamaliel reverts blanking "Not a BLP vio and you're altering a template on an article in the current issue of the Signpost"[13]
Arkon then re-blanks, Gamaliel reverts with edit summary, "{lease stop vandalizing the current issue of the Signpost. there's an open MFD discussion where there is no consensus for your preferred concusion, so stop edit warring.", Arkon then blanks a third time, edit summary "you are edit warring to restoring a BLP violation, perhaps you shouldn't include those in places where it breaks to be removed", Gamaliel reverts again, edit summary " BLP isn't a cheat code that lets you do whatever you want. There is no consensus for your interpretation that it is a BLP violation. If you really thought this was a BLP violation you'd report it to BLPN.")
22:45 Apr 6: Arkon starts ANI thread[14]
23:31 Apr 6: The ed17 protects dummy page, then removes protection an hour later "per ANI" thread -- dummy page is still up.
23:40 Apr 6: DHeyward comments in the ANI that "small hands" joke is based on "body shaming" and has to go. "It's right up there with fat jokes about Hillary and "cankles." " This reference is arguably no more or less a BLP violation than the original joke.
23:49 Apr 6: JzG archives ANI thread with comment "Consensus is that the OP's grasp of policy is as small as Donald Trump's hands.."[15]. But Arkon reverts it. Gamaliel re-reverts to JzG's close.[16]. Arkon reverts again.[17]. Gamaliel reinstated JzG close again[18] with edit summary "Please adhere to WP:CLOSECHALLENGE instead of revert warring. " Arkon reverts a third time.[19]. Gamaliel reverts[20] with edit summary "You are now at 3RR. Please adhere to WP:CLOSECHALLENGE instead of revert warring." Arkon reverts close a fourth time.[21] with edit summary "nope". Arkon also tells JzG on his user page to "fuck right off" for trying to close the ANI.[22]
April 7, 2016
10:28 Apr 7: DHeyward edits dummy page to say 'Small Hands' Gamaliel created this [23] (which is going to populate the actual April Fool's article now). - Is more evidence really needed to show that this is all a petty dispute? Cartoon illustration: [24]
12:15 Apr 7': Gamaliel reverts DHeyward, with edit summary Rv vandalism - you can hardly claim you are inserting an attack on me in the name of BLP, but stranger things have happened.
Meanwhile, the MFD is continuing, it is snowing towards delete. But one cannot seriously conclude we believed a serious BLP transgression was going on. E.g., the first delete vote said "as currently a hoax, but could be just WP:TOOSOON."
13:29 Apr 7 Jayen466 posts "On behalf of the Signpost: this dummy page is no longer needed; we have no objection to its deletion.. 28bytes closes shortly after as delete.
17:39 Apr 7: DHeyward nominates a newly created "this user has small hands" userbox by Gamaliel[25] (obvious venting from him for his user page) for deletion. Gamaliel allows deletion under U1. Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/User:Gamaliel/Small hands
April 8, 2016
19:15 8 April Gamaliel posts lengthy explanation of Signpost joke and its intent, but that "buck stops with me". But his opponents will none of it, because BLP is at risk.
23:32 8 April Arkon, who started the ANI thread, and reverted JzG's close of it 4 times and told him to "fuck off", posts in response to absurd comments of Milowent about Trump "May his hairness help us all," obviously a joke about Trump's hair.[26]
April 9, 2016
ANI thread closes, see archive. SB Johnny's close: "I think it's fair top say that no administrator is going to take action against a sitting member of ArbCom without explicit prior approval from ArbCom. Interested parties should open a case, since this venue will not bring any resolution other than "move on, nothing to be done"
April 10, 2016
DHeyward goes to Jimbo's page to ask whether the joke Wikipedia logo is okay from Trump/Wales 2016. He is suggesting maybe there is a trademark problem?[27] Obviously his real goal is to continue his war with Gamaliel. Jimbo responds: "I find Donald Trump so horrifying that my usual ease with bad jokes is tough to maintain in this case." The actual meaning of this comment is unclear, but he doesn't seem upset. Indeed, Jimmy Wales has now called Trump "horrifying" on his talk page, a page that gets more traffic than the Signpost.
23:53 10 April: NE Ent commences arbitration request under august title "BLP and the American politician"[28]
April 14, 2016
New Signpost issue includes a "Gallery" of famous uses of BLP-violating cartooning in history. There is no overt reference to #smallhandsghazi, but obviously it is.