This is an
essay on the
blocking policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
This page in a nutshell: Sometimes it's best to give people one last chance, making it very clear that it is the last chance. |
The concept of giving a person one last chance or a last chance is a powerful one. Variations appear widely in film and book titles, legal doctrine, and song lyrics.
Sometimes this is the best approach to take when dealing with blocked users. If they are pleading to be unblocked and swearing up and down that they understand and won't repeat whatever it was that got them blocked, rather than arguing the finer points of the original block or demanding further explanation, it may be better to just unblock them and make it clear that this is their one last chance. If they mean what they say, then unblocking will be the right thing to do, and if they don't, they'll be blocked again soon enough.
The administrator reviewing such requests has several choices before them:
This is not to say that unblocking is always the best solution. Sometimes those prolonged unblock discussions produce real results in educating the blocked user about why they were blocked and helping them to edit productively in the future. But as a simple litmus test of a editor's sincerity and willingness to edit cooperatively, it can be very effective. Sometimes, even after a prolonged discussion, it can be hard to determine if the user truly understands the problem and/or is willing to stop editing disruptively, and the only way to find out for sure is to give them the opportunity. Another option in the case of vandal accounts is to decline the unblock request but add {{ 2nd chance}} which basically asks them to prove it before being unblocked.
At this MFD, it became clear that some users were objecting to another essay; not because of its contents or message, but mostly because of its introductory premise. This essay was written as an alternative to that one.
This is an
essay on the
blocking policy. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of
Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been
thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
This page in a nutshell: Sometimes it's best to give people one last chance, making it very clear that it is the last chance. |
The concept of giving a person one last chance or a last chance is a powerful one. Variations appear widely in film and book titles, legal doctrine, and song lyrics.
Sometimes this is the best approach to take when dealing with blocked users. If they are pleading to be unblocked and swearing up and down that they understand and won't repeat whatever it was that got them blocked, rather than arguing the finer points of the original block or demanding further explanation, it may be better to just unblock them and make it clear that this is their one last chance. If they mean what they say, then unblocking will be the right thing to do, and if they don't, they'll be blocked again soon enough.
The administrator reviewing such requests has several choices before them:
This is not to say that unblocking is always the best solution. Sometimes those prolonged unblock discussions produce real results in educating the blocked user about why they were blocked and helping them to edit productively in the future. But as a simple litmus test of a editor's sincerity and willingness to edit cooperatively, it can be very effective. Sometimes, even after a prolonged discussion, it can be hard to determine if the user truly understands the problem and/or is willing to stop editing disruptively, and the only way to find out for sure is to give them the opportunity. Another option in the case of vandal accounts is to decline the unblock request but add {{ 2nd chance}} which basically asks them to prove it before being unblocked.
At this MFD, it became clear that some users were objecting to another essay; not because of its contents or message, but mostly because of its introductory premise. This essay was written as an alternative to that one.