RationalWiki:All things in moderation/Nx November 2011

Sysop Revoke and Brx
So there's currently a request for action against Nx by Ace, as well as the concurrent issue of Brx and sysop revoke. I'm breaking this down into the three relevant issues.-- 00:30, 1 November 2011 (UTC)

Nx
Nx took away Ace's rights and, later, Bb7's rights, for blocking Brx when he can't unblock himself. Their defense is that it was a justifiable block because he was trolling. I think that this is a non-issue - Nx may have been brusque, but it looks like he was just trying to make a very fair point. Unless anyone sees differently, then I think this is not something that needs action.-- 00:30, 1 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Don't disrupt the wiki to illustrate a point. Nx responded to a situation which had already been resolved by taking actions he knew would provoke a negative reaction from the community.  While Nx is likely to walk away unscathed as usual, I find the idea that his actions here should be exonerated or emulated very dangerous.  I'm interested in what other Mods think about this, so have started a straw poll below.   00:23, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * That's a good point.-- 00:38, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Was Nx justified in desysopping Ace & Bbmaj7?
A quick Mods-only straw poll. The question here is purely about whether Nx acted appropriately for a Moderator, not about what should/shouldn't be done to him as a consequence. Was Nx justified in desysopping Ace & Bbmaj7?
 * No. 00:23, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * No. 00:29, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Wasn't the best course of action. He was justified, but it was a poor choice.-- 00:38, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Brx
Because Brx is often annoying, he gets picked on a lot. Because he abused his mop, he had it taken away, so now when he's picked on, he can't unblock himself. There is a proposal - endorsed by me, before I actually gave it thought - to just force Brx to be a sysop again. But the standards pretty clearly state that we can't do this ("A user can always request not to be "demoted", and bureaucrats are to respect these requests.") So it's my view that Nx's actions should not just be endorsed, but repeated in the future. Blocking someone for hours or days as a joke, when he can't unblock himself, is not cool. If someone does it, it seems incumbent on us to take action and temporarily desysop the person who did it for abusing their rights. And if they keep doing it, we have to make a vote about it. Agree/disagree?-- 00:30, 1 November 2011 (UTC)
 * This is a muddle because the above comment is about several different people. Anyway, here's my take:
 * Brx is a perennial nuisance but mostly harmless. If he doesn't want sysop rights, so be it, but it's his own cross to bear & not everyone else's problem.  No action.  00:23, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * So you have to be a sysop or else we can block you if we feel like it. Nice. -- Nx  / talk 11:50, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Don't put words in my mouth. My hands are clean.  14:03, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Ace McW blocked Brx for an hour. It's straying outside blocking guidelines, but not actually a very long period of time.  Nothing that "a brief note on a talk page asking a user to tone something down" couldn't have dealt with.  + Ace has said he was unaware at the time that Brx could not unblock himself.  No action.  00:23, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Actually I tried that. And I find it hard to believe Ace when he says he was unaware that Brx could not unblock himself. Why did he only mention that hours later, after he complained about my actions? He didn't seem so apologetic when he called Brx's complaint about his block abuse trolling. -- Nx  / talk 11:50, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Bbmaj7 also blocked outside guidelines & in anger (I suspect). I don't believe he seriously intended Brx to remain blocked for three months (or whatever it was), but probably expected someone else to unblock him straight away, which they did.  It doesn't look like part of a pattern, & as with Ace, a friendly warning would have sufficed.  No action.  00:23, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Doesn't look like a pattern? Take a look at the block log. -- Nx  / talk 11:51, 3 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Nx's actions should not be endorsed or repeated, in this Mod's opinion. See section above.  00:23, 3 November 2011 (UTC)

Outcome
Motion to recall Nx from position of moderator not carried. No action re Ace McW, A#maj7 or Brx. Sysoprevoke policy issue still theoretically under discussion at this point. 20:11, 9 November 2011 (UTC)