[Wikipedia-l] Block repeated copyright violator?

[Jimmy Wales]

Toby Bartels wrote:
> >I blocked someone for repeatedly inserting text from a copyrighted website
> >about Amiga operating systems. Should someone be blocked for that?
> 
> Conceivably.
> 
> I think that more tolerance should be given to such people
> than to vandals that clearly have no intention of being helpful.
> Such a person is more likely to be trying to do good.
> And as The Cunctator said, banning is a serious measure.
> IMO, it should be done when we've given up hope on somebody.

I think Toby is striking the right balance here.  Sometimes people will
just not understand copyright law, or they will make a mistake.  They are
probably benevolent, trying to help, and we want to encourage them.  But
if they won't listen, well, let's not waste too much time on them.

> In this particular case, you seem to have acted well, AFAICT.
> Each case needs to be looked at individually, after all.

Absolutely.

The type of person who inserts "fart" randomly in pages is not the type of
person we need to try very hard to "win over".  But someone who posts a
copyrighted article might just not understand the problem with it.

--Jimbo