One thing which might help to address the concerns raised by Timwi would be a more consistent approach to block notices.
I raised a proposal here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Village_pump_%28proposals%29#Block_te...
Essentially, I think that all block templates should have a pointer to a Help page "help I've been blocked" which details how to use {{unblock}}, how to email the unblock list, how to find the email link for the blocking admin, and also some explanatory text about the fact that blocks may be more or less automatic (3RR), and that it is the edits, not the editor, which are the problem. Also, I think the username of the blocking admin should be included automagically via the block templates (maybe with the link to email right there?), and a {{{duration}}} argument for almost all of them, since it's often unclear how long the block is for.
I guess this comes under the heading of managing expectations.
Also I would remove the note to admins about unblocking themselves to the unblock screen, since it's irrelevant to anyone else and probably violates [[WP:BEANS]] anyway :-)
Guy (JzG)