On 8/8/07, Benjamin Hallert ben@vipmail.com wrote:
I've seen a lot of username blocks recently with account creation disabled and autoblock enabled, or a combination of the two. Some of the admins I spoke with said they were doing this on purpose because of 'bad faith usernames'. As these are essentially lifetime bans from Wikipedia (my IP address, while dynamic, lasts months at a time), I think the wording of WP:U should be changed so it doesn't explicitly endorse this, and I'd like some consideration to the idea of avoiding hardblocks for username violations because of the heaviness of the action.
I've started a discussion on WP:U and on Template:UsernameHardBlocked about aspects of this issue and would like to solicit additional input from the community.
Nowhere else on Wikipedia do we essentially within our powers ban someone for life on the result of a single misstep, and I don't believe we should do it here too.
Regards,
Chairboy
Actually, accusations of sock puppetry can lead to bans for a single misstep. There is an arbcom that was halted based on an accusation of sock puppetry and the user being banned for life because of the ACCUSATION of sock puppetry and the results of a check user. Everyone who knows the editor at issue, even those of use who loathe him, knows he never sock puppeted on Wikipedia.
So, we ban folks for life for a single non-misstep, banning them for life for an actual misstep pales in comparison.
KP