STEFAN CLAUDIU TIULEA wrote:
Perhaps it should be noted that some admins force certain editors to become "trolls" through provoking, but it seems that no-one cares about the provoking part -- only about the other end that violates the policy of this-and-that.
Generally admins who are misbehaving are more difficult to deal with than newbies. They tend to believe that their experience makes them right, or that a discussion that went their way several months ago is the final word. Occasionally newbies have good ideas about an old way of doing things; they should be given a fair hearing. I am often hesitant about calling a sysop on his behaviour when I know his reputation for arguing; it may not always be right, but such disputes can be exhausting. I would prefer spending my time on more creative contributions.
Many people, for instance, feel offended when they are being warned in public, on their talkpage.
The warning should be preceded by a polite comment about what you see as the problem, and offering to open a discussion on the matter. Respectful "Please"s are very helpful. Leaving room for the possibility that the person may be even remotely correct gives a positive impression. Punitive consequences should only rarely appear in the first notice.
Most people, I believe, don't like to be given ultimatums.
Especially when it's done rudely.
In my opinion, we should try to protect the integrity of the Wikipedian and have them warned in private.
Nothing wrong with making the comments public if they're done politely.
I also disagree with the block images that are added on talk- and user pages.
I'm not familiar with this practice.
Further more, as I said above, I don't think that it's good to have admins that provoke editors only so that they can block them. And yes, there are such admins.
Admins who make premature blocking threats should probably be blocked themselves for the same amount of time that they use in their threats.
Unfortunatelly, it seems that the people with authority (stewards and above) are most impressed by the work of the admins, instead of those who just want to edit articles.
Impressed? ... or just plain fatigued?
Ec