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Suicide by admin refers to a set of actions by Wikipedia editors that lead to an editor being blocked indefinitely. Typically such actions start with a conflict subsequently escalated, by the editor, to one or more of the noticeboards (BLPN or EWN, followed by a threat at ANI and AN). Disruptions to the project in suicide by admin include edit-warring, socking, editing against clear consensus, BLP violations, demands for "justice," legal threats and forum shopping, and the suicide is frequently preceded by the flight of the infamous boomerang.
Suicide by admin is preventable, in theory even easily preventable: in many cases, the process can be stopped at any moment by de-escalation. Unfortunately, those seeking it are often too hardened of heart to listen to the advice of editors and administrators, and the trajectory of the suicidal process is easily predictable. In rare cases suicidal editors escape an indefinite block by being taken under the wing of an experienced editor or admin, though anecdotal evidence suggests that this is a stay of execution: the evidence suggests the existence of a habitual pattern that resists change.