Blocking on PhysicsOverflow is done with discretion -- a block should not be one you would consider lifting in the future.
The follow reasons are appropriate for blocking users on PhysicsOverflow:
- Spammers (Block and delete on first sight)
- Users who request a block (Block on first sight of request, if request is less than 3 days old) )
- Users who request deletion (Block and delete on first sight of < 3 days old request only in DISCRETION! We are not obliged to delete all users who request deletion.)
- Trolls without any content contribution (Block after two warnings)
- Gibberish posters (Block and delete after two warnings)
- Off-topic* posters (Block after four warnings)
The first three sorts of blocks should simply be appended to the generic moderation log, while the other three require user-specific moderation records (see example).
*off-topic: Posts off-topic to both the site and to the thread are considered "off-topic" to qualify for this block category. Posts that are only off-topic to the thread, but not to the site, will be moved to chat or deleted if worthless.
Furthermore, please do not block spam IPs. Only users. Most client IP addresses are dynamic, which means you're likely to end up blocking a whole bunch of people in the future by blocking an IP address. If an IP spam attack becomes too difficult to manage, temporarily block the IP and inform polarkernel.