From: Delirium delirium@hackish.org
JAY JG wrote:
I disagree. Calling someone a "deletionist vandal" (or any other kind of vandal) is clearly a personal attack, particularly when the people in question are not doing what Wikipedia defines as vandalism. WP:CIVIL and WP:NPA are fundamental Wikipedia policies, and judicious use of temporary blocks for editors who defiantly refuse to abide by these policies has a salutary effect, hopefully on the blocked editors, but if not on them, then on everyone subjected to their attacks, and on Wikipedia itself. If Wikipedia is to succeed, it must be a place where people of good faith *want* to edit, not a poisonous cesspool of incivility and attacks that any right-minded person would naturally want to avoid.
A 4-month block for personal attacks is clearly something within the purview of the Arbitration Committee, and not individual admins to decide, *especially* not individual admins who have had past disagreements with the user in question.
Even MrNaturalHealth was not blocked summarily without going through the normal process, so I see no reason to start allowing such nonsense now.
I wasn't commenting about the length of the specific block, but rather on the concept of blocking an editor for unrepentant personal attacks. That said, editors who are sufficiently disruptive, or who engage in endless personal attacks, can be banned by community consensus, without need to resort to the Arbitration Committee.
Jay.