Mark Richards wrote:
On the contrary, I think the current climate is
hostile to those trying to persuade admins to follow
policy, or even inform themselves of it.
What it really comes down to is confusion between policy and enforcement
of policy.
If the policy is, "A properly banned user may not edit under any name
while the ban is in effect," that is understandable whether one agrees
with it or not.
When we have the situation that some individual is suspected of being
the reincarnation of a banned user, many, including some sysops start by
acting on their suspicions rather than seeking out hard evidence. There
is rarely a need for hasty action when the suspect is confining his
activities to a handful of articles; there will always be time to fix
this when the issue is clarified.
If you suspect that someone is a reincarnation have the logs and other
technical information checked, and bring back that information. That
will be the basis for the appropriate decision. The incessant
gnattering about whether someone's edits resemble those of a banned user
serves no useful purpose.
There is a serious need for some people to start understanding what
standards of proof are all about.
Ec