Board Thread:Wiki Running/@comment-3225604-20150123170900

Well I think I might be attacked or hated when I'm going to say this, but I'm quite dissatisfied with some of the blocks and the period.

Before I start to get into the topic, let me emphasize: Chat room and mainspace editing should not be confused as one. Just you did very bad on chat room doesn't mean you should be banned on editing the wiki. It simply doesn't make sense because these two are not regarded the same. These two should be handled separately. What we require in mainspace is your contribution to the wiki and your knowledge about the game, while in chat room we emphasize on your manner. In the wiki rules, it is not mentioned which platform you will get blocked in if you don't behave well in the chat.

But this is what I'm very concerned about - the blocking period. Currently some of the infinite blocked people should not be deserved of that period. I'm fine with that usernames with foul language should be blocked indefinitely. Actually it is one of the main reasons why a lot of users are blocked indefinitely. However, after looking at Darian's case, I began to worry about how the case will develop.

Here's about Darian's case:

He has made 2 controversial comments - one with suggesting the game developers to be fired after making an insanely hard level and one with calling people "insane" if they don't think the level is insane. He is also accused of insulting others. It is claimed to be insulting by this message - "So I don't have a right to support or oppose people now? What is your problem with me expressing my opposition or support to people's comments just like you oppose and support a lot of people's comments?  Maybe I don't like when people get power to their head just because they have been given admin powers.  And no I wasn't insulting any developers of CC.  And yes I have written to King to express my displeasure as well.  Just leave me alone and I will leave you alone.  Thanks". Another one is "???? please make sense!", which is "interpreted" as "shut up you idiots!". Indeed according to the comments made by Darian, I could not spot extreme rage like caps and exclamation mark spamming, or continuing offensive attacks.

The result is that he is deemed as "detrimental user" and blocked indefinitely.

Besides this case, I'm sure you will recall some users who have been blocked indefinitely because of one or two major verbal offense. I'm not going in depth to discuss about Darian's block in this thread, though I will do it very soon in another thread.

The main point is: Permanent block is equivalent to life sentence. Therefore, permanent blocks should be used only under some circumstances. Take nowadays as example, life sentence would have been possible if you do bribes, smuggling, homicides etc. but not verbal attack. Therefore, people who have convicted verbal attack should be banned for at most 9 months, except for the user being blocked before. 9 months in my opinion is the most I could think of if the user has convicted for the first time. Don't forget about the vandalism scale, which is listed as a part of Candy Crush Saga Wiki documents. The vandalism scale says users should be blocked of swearing by hurting others. The recommended blockage is 6-9 months. Therefore, I think that if the user has offended somebody, he should be blocked and have time to reflect himself. Everyone needs a chance to change. Since the user is blocked for the first of the reason, the ban should not be permanent, as his actions cannot rival with large-scale vandalism. However, if the user has convicted the same mistake again after the first block ends or tries to get round the block, he should be blocked indefinitely. Then, how can a user achieve a permanent block for the first time with a clean sheet before? I think extreme vandalism or extreme spamming could only be the reason, since either one will really disrupt the admin's time in cleaning up the wiki. Readers will also find it unpleasant to have vandalized pages and spammed comments. Permanent blocking will prevent admins from cleaning the wiki up every time if the user vandalizes. On the contrary, swearing and offending others won't be the case unless they are uncontrollable even after a block has been enforced.

I've also viewed about the "New Detrimental User Policy". It is a policy created by Lefty7788 to stop offensive language. It does not mention that offending others must be blocked indefinitely. The policy also does not mention to what extend will a user achieve a permanent block. Without a clear guideline on how to avoid/actions will get you a permanent block, some blocked users will start to argue the reason of permanent blocking. In the wiki rules, it did not say how "severe" it would get to a permanent block because of offending others. Darian's case is definitely controversial in terms of the "severity". The level of "severity" is very subjective. Well, this causes the problem of "blocking from your own perception". Not only does this apply to Darian's case, but also some other cases like which user have they offended.

So in short, my concern is about permanent blocks. In my opinion, I think people who offended others for the first time with a past clean sheet should not be permanently blocked since it would give them time to reflect upon themselves and chance to change. This is once successful in my old Wild Ones Wiki where a past vandal repents and becomes a good user, which would become an admin later on. However, if the user doesn't show any signs of regret and improvement, then we may consider a permanent block. Secondly, we need to define what is meant by "severe" in Wiki Rules, for example, the insult to Cjay only receives a two-week block at first, whereas an infinite block to me. Also, Darian's case would be very crucial on how to define "severe". If this case is deemed "very severe", then I don't think calling game developers Hitlers and stingy Oduses would deserve a more lenient block.

If nothing has been done to my above concerns, the possible outcome is that some indefinitely blocked users who think they should not have been blocked indefinitely will report to Community Central and demand for an unblock, or even a complaint to the admin of abusing powers, or even demonizing the wiki. The staff might intervene and it will not be something we would want at all. Our reputation will decline surely. I think there is an urgent need to discuss about these issues to prevent similar cases happening in this wiki.

Tell me what you think about the issue. Should we block users for indefinite because of swearing only when the user does not have a clean sheet before related to the action? How should we define "severe" in wiki rules?

I hope you will see my concerns about this issue. 