[Wikipedia-l] Imposing rules.

[Jimmy Wales]

Adam Williamson wrote:
> A simple question to those who demand Helga should be banned...how? What
> do we ban? Her username? She posts without one. Her IP address? It
> changes the next time her internet connection drops, almost certainly.

Actually, she appears to post from a fixed IP.

You are right, of course, that as a technical matter, an anonymous
open system like wiki is always vulnerable to attack from someone
sufficiently determined.  The question is: is it possible to raise the
threshold cost for the attacker sufficiently high to deter them,
without also raising the threshold cost by enough to deter other,
legitimate contributors.

--Jimbo