Three-revert rule enforcement practices debated
The three-revert rule was debated extensively last week after long-time editor Steve Rubenstein was blocked for violating it.
The incident started with an edit war last Tuesday over the Race article between Rubenstein and Jalnet2. Jalnet2 asked for an administrator to block Rubenstein, and Dante Alighieri elected to block both users, since they had both violated the rule.
After he was blocked, Rubenstein posted a message on the mailing list, not asking to be unblocked but questioning the application of the rule itself. This prompted an extended debate, much of it about how literally to apply the rule. One of the main issues discussed was whether the rule deals with three reverts of the same content, or simply any three reverts of the same article, even if different material is involved.
Jimbo Wales commented that a fairly literal interpretation was needed to keep the enforcement process simple. While acknowledging that a mechanical rule was problematic, he argued that the rule "is necessary and useful *even though* it also has some unfortunate negative side effects."