nsh said:
My phrasing rarely leaves nothing to be desired :-) I do agree that in
many cases a temporary block is necessary to help provoke the
introspection that I mentioned, however this does not mean that it is
always needed, or more importantly that the block achieves anything in
or of itself. It ought always be accompanied with an explaination that
there are better ways to solve disputes, preferably with some pointers
as to how the person in question could go about learning or practising
these improved methods.
I think we're in agreement, really.
My only fear is that all too often those 24 hours will not be spent
trying to improve one's understanding of Wikipedia and the Wiki way,
but in the development of fuming resentment which aids no-one and
nothing. Is this entirely the fault of the person implimenting the
block? No. But neither would it be entriely the fault of the person who
is blocked if they are not afforded an opportunity to understand why
such action has been taken away from them or if such action is taken
prematurely.
It's the "We need *this* edit war for the good of Wikipedia" syndrome.
It's related to [[Wikipedia:The Wrong Version]].