Currently, our blocking/permission system is rather ad-hoc. In looking at some ways it could use improvement, it is becoming increasingly clear that a re-do is in order. To do this, I have composed several ideas:
- Blocking should be permission-based. If a user can upload, read, write, they should be able to be blocked from uploading but not writing. This allows for finer-grained blocks which allow users to still contribute yet be prohibited from doing something they're having problems with. The major hurdle is keeping current blocks in place (I would suggest making all current blocks a general "block from everything").
- Checking permission should be a 1-stop-shop. With the aforementioned grained blocks, we'll see an easier integration with the general permissions check. User::isAllowed() will be able to check if a user is _really_ allowed to do something. This eliminates the usual 2-step of "check if blocked," then, "check if has permission."
I'm keeping in mind that we'll need to preserve current abilities (rangeblocks, autoblocks, etc). Additionally, the Special:Blockip interface needs to remain as simple as possible. I'm planning to start a BlockingRewrite branch, but I'd like some input first. Thanks.
Version: unspecified
Severity: enhancement