Posted by gardenergirl on April 11, 2006, at 16:02:34
In reply to Re: the blocking policies, posted by Dr. Bob on April 11, 2006, at 3:55:16
>> > I don't know what the intended purpose is, but if it's to modify behavior, I think that blocks beyond a few weeks max gets into a question of diminshing returns.
> >
> > If it's to protect the community, well...I suppose you could go on the premise that each "infraction" contributes an additive amount of potential harm, and so increased protection by blocking longer could conceivably be warranted. I wouldn't agree with that reasoning, however.
> >
> > gg
>
> Why wouldn't you agree? I think I see it as both...I hesitate to say this, because I'm sure that others' experiences differ widely. But suppose a poster with one PBC used a vulgur word without the asterisk, then negatively characterized another poster's post which was itself uncivil, then quoted uncivil material in their reply to someone, then mistyped and used another vulgar word accidentally. Under the old system, this person would be now be blocked for 16 weeks. Do we really need to be "protected" from this person for 4 months? It's not that simple. I can't imagine that each uncivil post could lead to an equivalent "amount" of harm. Viewing all uncivil posts as additive just seems too simplistic given the complexity of all the factors related to blocks.
>
>> For example, say a poster is blocked for 3 weeks, returns, and the next day posts something uncivil. The standard procedure would be to double the 3 weeks and block them for 6 weeks. If, however, they follow the guidelines for a while before being blocked again, it could be 3 - 1 = 2 weeks that's doubled, and they'd be blocked for 4 weeks.If you feel confident that you could keep track of that and apply it consistently, sounds fine. I have no such confidence in my own abilities to apply a system like this. I think I'd have to ask you to determine block lengths for anyone I would block, unless we have a better way of knowing each poster's "status".
>
> How does that sound? The question, of course, would be how long "a while" should be...True. And I believe we also need to determine that for the cooling off blocks as well?
gg
poster:gardenergirl
thread:628886
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20060317/msgs/631835.html