[WikiEN-l] Autoblocking, reverts, and verifiability

Thu Oct 6 13:11:13 UTC 2005

On 10/6/05, Michael Turley <michael.turley at gmail.com> wrote:
> That's what I saw, too.  Perhaps the threat of 3RR was an unseen
> motivation to encourage everyone to actually try to work it out rather
> than insist on one's own version.  I know it has been for me at least
> once, so even if I don't get bitten, the guard dog helps secure the
> property.  ;-)    It helps me pay attention a little better.  (!)

That's what it's supposed to be.  Unfortunately, it's far too often
used by editors as a club: if someone makes an edit you don't like,
maneuver them into being the "first to revert" and then revert-war
them until they cross 3RR one step ahead of you, then report them. 
Bam, he's  blocked, and all you have to do to win the edit war for 24
hours is get a friend to revert his last edit.

I'm frequently tempted to block BOTH parties in situations like this,
one for blocking the 3RR and the other for gaming it.  Unfortunately,
there's a number of admins who engage in this sort of behavior, and
I'm not really interested in getting into a block war or putting up
with the whining (and the RFCs) that I'd almost certainly get were I
to do this.  As a result, I tend to avoid enforcing the 3RR at all. 
As do a lot of the other admins I talk to.

Kelly