Mark Pellegrini wrote:
Erik wasn't half right when he said Plautus is not
reformable. He's driving
away good users (Evercat and Finlay McWalter, just to name two), and wasting
enormous amounts of contributor time. If Wikipedia is to become popular on
the scale that many of us would like to see, the system needs to be
reformed. Just what does it take to get banned from this place?
I think the underlying problem here is that Jimbo has stepped back a
bit from his role as "benevolent dictator," referring this kind of
decision to the arbitration committee. The problem is that the
arbitration committee can't move quickly enough to deal with problem
users like this one.
One solution might be to designate a few trusted individuals as
volunteer "judges" -- people to whom Jimbo in his capacity as
dictator grants the authority to take action instantly, if they feel
conditions warrant. The decisions of judges, of course, would be
subject to review by the arbitration committee, and a judge who
repeatedly abuses his authority would have it revoked.
As a matter of policy, I think "judges" should not be allowed to
simultaneously sit on the arbitration committee, so that we have some
separation of powers.
--Sheldon