[WikiEN-l] Ambi's two week block of Bobblewik

[Steve Bennett]

On 2/7/06, bobble wik <bobblewik at mail.com> wrote:

> The edits relate to date links and implementing WP:MOSDATE, WP:MOS-L, and WP:CONTEXT. Several editors have been working on this. Whenever anyone has disagreed with the implementation, I have directed them towards those policy guidelines and suggested they seek a change in the policy. I even suspended my edits for a short while and proposed more constrained wording.
>
> Ambi and Talrias also complained that my earlier edits were too fast. So I limited my speed to 120 per hour because I thought that was reasonable. If I can still be blocked for implementing the manual of style at that speed, I would be prepared to reduce to 60 per hour, 30 per hour or even perhaps 12 per hour. Just tell me what the limit is and I will comply. It is bizarre to have a policy that cannot be implemented for fear of being blocked.

I have to say I agree with Bobblewik's reasoning here - if we as a
community have decided that pages should all follow a certain style
with respect to dates, then it seems reasonable to implement that
style wherever possible. Having assumed that, it seems unreasonable to
impose an arbitrary speed limit.

However: Bobblewik is acting like a troll.

"Both those are valid propositions for you to follow even though I do
not follow them myself. Unfortunately the Manual of Style does not
contain such guidance. It actually opposes the first. The interesting
concept of a date threshold (e.g. between 1600 and 1900) has been
mentioned before but is currently totally absent." (talk page)

Bobblewik, you should understand that the MoS serves to communicate
style rules to people who are unfamiliar with the style we want on
Wikipedia. Ultimately, however, the community's desires, no matter how
contradictory or unclear, trump it. If, as you acknowledge, there is a
general desire for older years to be linked, and newer ones not to be,
then you should respect that. You shouldn't attempt to whack people
over the head with the MoS. You will probably alienate people less if
you stop attempting to define rigid rules to follow, and instead act
in accordance with the broader spirit of the community.

To put that a bit more simply: Your being blocked was totally and
utterly predictable from the manner in which you're behaving. Whenever
you try and empirically define the very edges of acceptable behaviour,
you will almost certainly find people who feel you've already crossed
them.

Lastly, be aware that unauthorized bots (which several people have
accused you of running) are, well, unauthorized. :)

Steve