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 | This page in a nutshell: Some users appear to be impossible to block no matter what behavior they exhibit. However, if you proceed very carefully you may be able to produce a positive result, whether it involves blocking or not. |
Sometimes a long-term user or even administrator or arbitrator does something they shouldn't have done. Sometimes an administrator will go ahead and block them for it. And sometimes that user is rapidly unblocked by another admin, who may even openly admit that the user did the thing they should not have done, a thing we would certainly block a less experienced user for, but that this user should not be blocked for. If you have seen this happen, you have met one of The Unblockables.
These users usually have a great deal of experience, 40,000+ edits, and are often current or former administrators. They tend to work in one or more controversial topic areas, sometimes for many years. The simplest way to spot them is by their block log. They have usually been repeatedly blocked and rapidly unblocked, often for edit warring or incivility.