Here is an early post by Jimmy on the subject of the NLP dispute:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...&oldid=45000169

Jimbo is asking all to be friends (i.e. to acquiesce to the NLP companies’ sock/meats), when in fact the only thing that needs to happen is to slap a ban on the obvious NLP cult.

Katefan0 was heavily involved and actually ditched WP during this episode. Another admin called Woohookitty seems to have stayed, and rather bullied the skeptics off in favor of the NLP companies. However Woohookitty seems to have strongly criticized FT2 and the promoters here

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...&oldid=59409390

and left in disgust a few days later (for the NLP companies to carry on the NLP whitewash).

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...&oldid=59534540

FT2 seems to have rather whitewashed the incident by blaming it all upon alleged anti-nlp/anti-bestiality sockpuppets rather than his own blatantly promotional editing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Lon...own#Other_notes

The NLP company contributions are very clear to identify. There’s a character called Action Potential, who seems to have changed his username from Comaze. He seems to have been promoting NLP all along, and surprise surprise, FT2 has consistently defended the COI NLP company’s promotion of NLP via WP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Lon...eyDown#Examples

Comaze/Action Potential is a character called [Name Redacted] who runs [Details Redacted (by Somey, Feb. 7); name of a "Human Performance Technologies" company] He at the time edited a lot with an editor called GregA, who turns out to be a meat (Greg Alexander) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:GregA

http://groups.google.com/group/NewCodeNLP/...614f4cedad5e62f

http://www.nlptrb.org/nlp/trainers/directory/

Comaze also seems to have been working and recruiting together with an editor called Fainites:
http://www.nlpconnections.com/members/comaze.html
http://www.nlpconnections.com/members/fainites.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fainites

I thought that WP and Wales were supposed to be keeping the vanity editing at bay! It looks from this whole mess that they have made an effort to keep the facts about pseudoscience as hidden or distorted as possible. It’s now in a pretty sorry state. I’m going to take a closer look at Comaze/Action Potential’s edits. Pseudoscience cranks, bestiality, and admin encouragement? There’s a lot more damning stuff to present.

Let's have it. Dynamite! You are absolutely right about the Woohookitty thing, I hadn't spotted that. WHK is actually upset by the meats on the NLP side, not HeadleyDown, but FT2 quotes it out of context to make it look as though it's Headley's fault (and this was part of the reason Headley was banned).

Regarding Fainites, I was completely taken in by this, as a result of the edit here

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=106292256

where he says



Yet he supports FT2 in the election

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=175608036

and in his very first edit

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...oldid=177992622

on 15 December 2006, dives straight into discussion of NLP-related article (always suspicious). Even more oddly, he is warned on 30 December that the NLP page is completely POV and an industry promotion page. Fainites replies 'I don't agree'. And this

http://www.nlpconnections.com/members/fainites.html

is completely damning. Finally, if you look through the NLP talk page, you see that any remotely controversial editor is immediately banned by FT2 on suspicion of being 'Headley Sock'.

I always thought NLP was a kind of education/therapy technique that sought to adapt the material to the sensory I/O modality that a person was most receptive to. For example, some people learn best from well-told stories (perhaps with song and dance numbers).

I'd present that idea in a little soft shoe sketch, but (alas) I'm no good at song and dance.

Whatever it is, it cannot be presented using citations and links to companies or practitioners that are making money from selling it. The citations or links have to be to peer-reviewed, and therefore conflict-free research. Whereas here

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...&oldid=27332087

FT2 adds 'citations' that are actually links to three self-improvement commercial sites.

http://www.nlptrb.org/nlp/trainers/articles/nlp_faq.htm - John Grinder web site.
http://www.nlpu.com/whatnlp.htm Robert Dilts, also website.
http://www.purenlp.com/nlpis1.htm Richer Bandler

Even worse, the guy who removed the links was blocked for doing so. This refers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Req...user_statements

FT2 saying "JPLogan deletes the entire section of core definitions within the field by its founders complete with full citations on the mind-boggling basis that they are "uncited" and that citing them is "POV". Bloody hell. There is acres of this stuff in plain view to see - a complete violation of two WP policies (vanity links + WP:NOR), and nothing has been done about it. Quite the reverse. Anyone who complains, gets permanent block.

I wonder if there is some kind of kickback from these companies? And to whom?

Nice idea! I think treading the boards basically sums it up (with a carpetbag on tow).

Here is an interesting contribution by a prof called Devily (great name). He was actually asked to contribute on the issue by Comaze/Action Potential, but it seems to have backfired when Devilly identifies NLP as an archetypal pseudoscience:)

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=...&oldid=97110459

Reading into Devilly's research it seems that NLP has every pseudoscientific idea in pop psych under its belt. The learning styles thing they use is total bunk, and turns out to actually limit learning, the left/right brain pseudoscience is core to NLP, and just about every technique they have turns out to be an ineffective ritual, similar to any other ritual performed by any such voodoo performer you care to mention. Its just a matter of teaching set of ineffective jerks set up to make the performer think they are doing something profound. It seems to have been laughed off just about every board who laughed off the Scientology stuff that came before it. And the activities of the proponents are very similar also.

There's definitely more to come:)

Docknell