There are often reports on various noticeboards, especially the incident noticeboard, posted by editors who are truly at fault themselves for the problem they're reporting. In other cases a person might complain about another editor's actions in an incident, yet during the events of that incident they've committed far worse infractions themselves. In both cases, such editors will usually find sanctions brought against themselves rather than the people they've sought to report.

In the Western World such an occurrence is commonly referred to as "shooting oneself in the foot". In Norway it's known as "meeting oneself coming in the door".

A common statement on noticeboards is "this isn't about me, this is about them". There is sometimes a belief that if someone's perceived misbehavior is reported at a noticeboard that the discussion can only focus on the original complaint, and that turning the discussion around to discuss the misbehavior of the original reporter is "changing the subject" and therefore not allowed. However, that just isn't the case. Anyone who participates in the discussion might find their actions under scrutiny.

If you are involved in a dispute with someone, try to discuss matters with the other person via their talk page. If they won't cooperate, seek dispute resolution. Try to avoid reporting someone for administrator intervention when you are angry; wait until you are calm and then think about whether the report is appropriate. Finally, if you do report someone, be sure you are at the correct noticeboard and read the rules of the board before making your report.

• Petard