nsh said:
My phrasing rarely leaves nothing to be desired :-) I do agree that in many cases a temporary block is necessary to help provoke the introspection that I mentioned, however this does not mean that it is always needed, or more importantly that the block achieves anything in or of itself. It ought always be accompanied with an explaination that there are better ways to solve disputes, preferably with some pointers as to how the person in question could go about learning or practising these improved methods.
I think we're in agreement, really.
My only fear is that all too often those 24 hours will not be spent trying to improve one's understanding of Wikipedia and the Wiki way, but in the development of fuming resentment which aids no-one and nothing. Is this entirely the fault of the person implimenting the block? No. But neither would it be entriely the fault of the person who is blocked if they are not afforded an opportunity to understand why such action has been taken away from them or if such action is taken prematurely.
It's the "We need *this* edit war for the good of Wikipedia" syndrome. It's related to [[Wikipedia:The Wrong Version]].