On Sat, 3 Dec 2005, steven l. rubenstein wrote:
I do not want to go into details about FuelWagon's behavior, in part because the list-serve is not going to make any decisions about how to handle specific problems, and in part because trolls are tarbabies: good editors respond in arithmetically increasing increments, and trolls respond in geometrically increasing increments.
First, I want to correct Steven (if I may call you by your first name) over the use of the word "troll". This term has become so misused that some Wikipedians argue that one person's troll is another person's advocate for an unpopular POV. I'd like to suggest that we use the far simpler term "troublemaker", & use it to apply to everyone who makes bad-faith edits.
That being said, I otherwise agree with what Steven has written, & would like to suggest a possible solution to dealing with troublemakers that he has described. I would call it the "bet your farm option", & for the sake of this proposal I'd allow only admins to being able to exercise it. In short, it allows one Wikipedian who believes another is a troublemaker in simple fact & without redemption to bet their membership on whether the ArbCom will review a specific case. The proposal must be short, succinct, & to the point; say the submission is limited to 500 or 1000 words. And if the ArbCom declines to hear the case, then the Wikipedian must leave Wikipedia.
Such drastic terms would prevent this option from being used lightly or for harassment; & it would limit its application to only troublemakers who pose a threat to our project.
This idea comes from my own experience with a troublemaker who posed a similar threat about a year ago. (Many of you know whom I'm talking about.) This wouldn't have helped at the time, seeing how the ArbCom had ground to a halt at the time, & once it had gained new membership, that group dealt with this troublemaker swiftly & effectively. But I worry that a situation like this will arise again -- & I feel that winning a bet like this might be just the tonic to help keep some long-time editors returning to Wikipedia.
Geoff