[Foundation-l] Fwd: Wikimedia-wide global blocking mechanism?

[effe iets anders]

Short blocks are not bad. Robots like this tend to change IP anyway,
and a short block will just stop them to work. I followed the
discussion as well (as a steward also on that list), but I think that
if the bot would be stopped, and it would become active again, it
would comparitative be a very small efford to stop it. Just one click
on the button. If we want to stop it for a longer time, there are more
issues at stake, and that would imho require a much more complicated
policy and discussion, both now and at the moment it would be blocked.

Another reason is that if we stick to one day, or something in the
same order of magnitude, it is clearly something within the scope of
the stewards. If we go much longer, I am not so sure about that any
more. I don't say it is not, but I would have doubts about it. With
one day, it is clear, as it is just an emergency measure.

In the discussion you mention, I think the main reason to choose for
such a long time was because it is such a big of an efford to block
it. (promote, block, degrade, and that 400-or-so times) With this
feature, it would be one single action.

Best regards,

Eia

2008/1/31, Brian McNeil <brian.mcneil at wikinewsie.org>:
> I'm on Checkuser-l and I'm not going to reveal which IP provoked this
> discussion. However the block was generally agreed at one year in this case.
> Yes, it is our old friend Willy on Wheels.
>
> In cases like this where you are restricted to short blocks you are just
> making more work. When you've permanently blocked a dozen vandal accounts
> registered through an IP over a period of months you want the option to
> block the IP for a long term.
>
>
> Brian McNeil
>