QUOTE(Alison @ Sat 7th March 2009, 12:02pm)
People have always advised that on retirement, I hang on to those all-important, fancy-schmancy 'bits'. In practice, that just doesn't work, as it's just another tie to keep you there.
Exactly. When I retired, so many people asked why I resigned the bit. Why not just keep it and not use it? But like you say, it is just another tie. And while it would be handy for the BLP work I continue to do periodically, it's best not to have the temptation to use it for other stuff, possibly finding myself sucked back in. Same thing with protecting my pages. Without my bit, I can't even post to my own talk page at this point, and it's kept anyone else from posting their pleas and kind messages. Not that I don't appreciate the thought, but I don't need anything to suck me back in.
If an admin is truly wanting to retire, the best two options are to go out like
Dfrg.mscÂ
(T-C-L-K-R-D)
and just slowly fade away without anyone really noticing and don't come back. Or go out by resigning your bit after fully protecting your pages, and disabling email. I chose that option. I have since re-enabled my email for BLP related reasons, though.
Anyway, point is, blocking one's self to prevent stupid actions or editing is sort of silly considering (unless I missed something) admins can still unblock themselves. Taking five seconds to unblock yourself, vs taking the time to find a 'crat to give you your bit back is completely different.