UDWiki talk:Administration/Policy Discussion/Amnesty

No. Idiocy. There are hundreds of users who have been banned who thoroughly deserve a permaban -- boxy ^{talk • teh rulz} 14:59 15 October 2008 (BST)

Yes, and there are several of them which were banned because their actions only degenerated to the point where they made themselves deserve damnation because of persecution. Think Nalikill, think Izumi... --People's Commissar Hagnat ^talk 15:11, 15 October 2008 (BST)

So in order to allow Nali and Izumi back (both of whom are too impulsive to avoid VB escalations for any amount of time, despite such escalations being struck after a few months of decent contributions), you are willing to open up the floodgates on every idiot who signs up only to vandalise the wiki? -- boxy ^{talk • teh rulz} 15:18 15 October 2008 (BST)

These two are only the tip of the iceberg... there are many users who were banned for the wrong reasons. --People's Commissar Hagnat ^talk 15:39, 15 October 2008 (BST)

If an actual hostile takeover of the wiki only gets you a 6 month ban then you can hardly justify a perma ban for minor vandalism.--– Nubis ^NWO 16:52, 15 October 2008 (BST)

	Wah!
	Save me from the evil overlord whose coup lasted all of 10 minutes!!!!111one

-- boxy ^{talk • teh rulz} 16:59 15 October 2008 (BST)

Way overkill. So, you're justifying the purging of all vandalism record before a certain point because of a policy change that only affects the top two levels? How about just allowing a perma-ban vote to those who got their perma before the policy change? If the perma is deemed unnecessary, they lose one escalation level, and then they can work it down themselves. Or maybe even allow a perma-ban vote to everyone, say, six months from their last infraction. Naturally, these would be available only upon request and not automatic. --Midianian^{|T|T:S|C:RCS|} 15:45, 15 October 2008 (BST)

The policy you linked to (my Reduce Vandal Escalations) does have the possibility of permanent bans (as part of the escalation system), but only after a sysop vote. However, the system retains permanent bans for other cases not linked to escalations. How do you separate all those types of permanent ban when it comes to the amnesty you describe? (Additionally, that policy makes it clear that it does not cater for the backtracking described here.) We end up with the following types of permanent ban:

• Permanent ban through the old system's vandal escalations.
• Permanent ban through the new system's vandal escalations (via sysop vote).
• Permanent ban for vandal alt accounts.
• Permanent ban for adbots.
• Permanent ban for pure vandals.

There is also a problem with deleting vandal entries as if they never happened. They did happen. They should remain on record. The current system allows for people to make good their vandal record, except in the case of permanent bans. Perhaps they should be looked at on a case by case basis, rather than a general amnesty. If there is a specific user that you think has been unfairly banned from this wiki, then bring it up with the sysop team. Have a vote on it. Do what thou wilt. Be bold. But wiping the slate clean for everyone? A step too far, isn't it? --Funt Solo ^QT 17:11, 15 October 2008 (BST)