Stephen Bain wrote:
Calling someone "abusive" is still an ad hominem statement. Rather than saying "Admin X is abusive!1!" the person should say...
Indeed he should. But this is also at the heart of one of the rather disturbing asymmetries in the admin/non-admin relationship.
When a non-admin engaged in a petty dispute complains about some of the things being said about him in that dispute, he's often told, in so many words, not to take it so personally, to get a thicker skin, that Wikipedia can be a harsh place, that if he can't stand the heat this kitchen might not be the place for him.
But when a non-admin engaged in a petty dispute with an admin calls the admin "abusive", or in a moment of anger refers to the admin's revertions of the non-admin's petty edits as "vandalism", he's apt to be blocked for this abuse.