[WikiEN-l] Re: Banning processus

Thu Sep 25 01:32:29 UTC 2003

You bet I was heated up, I still am.  However, after having read Tim's 
response and after some discussion I realized it was best to wait until 
Jimbo could get to the list and read the thread before continuing.  
Sorry for not bringing that to the list earlier.

I find it interesting though that of all the objections to banning this 
account I've seen here on the list and on various talk pages have been 
based solely on procedure.  I find nothing anywhere along the lines of 
"this person doesn't deserved to be banned, this person's not a troll, 
this person's a fine contributor"; what I mainly see is "we haven't 
discussed it enough yet."

But we -have- discussed it, and at length, for over two weeks!  And to 
be perfectly honest, if the blocking mechanism had been in place on 
September 7, and the caveats not established for its use, I would have 
banned this account then, when it became perfectly obvious that the 
person behind it was in no way interested in anything but disrupting 
the Wikipedia.  (Maybe some recall my "hurry-up" email to the list on 
that date.) BuddhaInside's actions have changed not a bit since then, 
while we have been sitting back discussing and discussing.

Our method of ridding the system of users that are clearly out for 
nothing but destruction needs a serious overhaul.  I understand now 
that the new code was implemented more or less specifically to deal 
with Michael's accounts.  On the other hand, I've told Michael 
flat-out, "if you'll quit acting like that, you'll be allowed in."  
Realistically, there is no way to know if someone is a banned user 
except by their actions.  If Michael were to log in under a generic AOL 
IP and begin editing articles in a responsible manner, we'd have to let 
it slide, because there is no way to know whether it was him.  And if I 
logged in and started editing like Michael, I'd be almost immediately 
(and rightfully!) blocked.

The point I'm trying to make here is that we can't ban -people-, only 
-actions-.  If someone is -acting- like a banned user, they should -be- 
banned, regardless of who they are, because we have no way of knowing 
who they are.  (And of course, concessions should be made for new 
contributors, which BuddhaInside clearly is not.) If they then want to 
make another account and start acting responsibly, great.  If they make 
another account and do the same thing, ban them again.

And as I type this, BuddhaInside continues his/her silly antics, as we 
continue ours.  I sincerely hope it doesn't take another two weeks to 
come to a conclusion on this.

-Hephaestos