Well, "lynch mob" has a meaning in US culture beyond literally "stringing someone up" "extra-judicially." It refers to an atmosphere in which the question on the table which can be stated: "We're fed up this guy, podners, what're ya gonna do about it?" I see some of that here. I've had an unpleasant run-in in an issue in which 172 was a part, and I do think he is too aggressive and arbitrary; but I've also come to realize that he is one of the best contributors to Wikipedia. This shouldn't give him (or anyone) a "pass" to become a "super-user," but I think our efforts should focus on how we can get experienced contributors to follow certain basic rules without "banning," which is an insult, rather than a time-out. Maybe it's not possible, but I think the desire for collegiality should make us think.

To return to the "lynching" issue, when Clarence Thomas was being hammered for allegedly saying "Long Dong Silver" to an aide, he finally described the process as a "high-tech lynching"; noone thought he literally meant that someone was going to string him up, but everyone got the point, and it characterized the atmosphere correctly. Also, BTW, the classic example of lynching in literature is probably "The Ox-Bow Incident."

Cheers!

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