Same user apparently plane-paving on April 24 (my initial post concerned paving on May 23). So, not an isolated incident.

https://www.waze.com/editor/?lon=-122.4 ... 91&env=usa

I know this behavior does happen from time to time and I have reported it to the RC. What I don't know, and why I'm posting, is whether we want lower-ranking editors like me to approach such people first. I am against it, personally, because these folks probably went back and deleted most of the roads already and contacting them would allow them to destroy the remaining evidence before it can be recorded.

A zero-tolerance, or at least very low tolerance, policy would be my druthers. There is a time for such things. But I'd be interested in opinions.

I searched the forums again and still could not find clarity on the best way to respond to this behavior.

In some places one reads it is egregious and needs to be reported to the RC or even to Waze; in other places one reads that it really isn't so bad, one should keep it low key, find and delete the bad segments, and send a friendly PM directly to the editor in question.

My AM did privately suggest friendly low-level contact as the best way. So I will do that from now on and leave my poor AM & RC alone

What I normally suggest is go ahead and PM the person and if you want to, bcc me (the reason is I can keep track (somewhat) and if we find more examples, I can then get involved to help resolve the issue(s)).

Never feel bad about sending PMs or asking questions!

I have had a mixture of success and no response when sending PMs for these types of situations, and the successes are a much higher percentage. That majority either accepts an invitation to the Waze AZ Google+ or responds with an apology and a willingness to learn.
IMO the unanswered PMs are the individuals that should be considered for a zero tolerance policy and those who are indeed sabotaging the map, but you can almost guarantee that those individuals will fall into the group of unanswered PMs.
My thoughts to who sends a PM to an individual is that if an active editor finds an errant editor they should definitely make contact with someone if they do not feel comfortable in sending the PM themselves but they should not feel that they do not have a right to protect the integrity of the map.
That said it is always a good idea to CC or BCC an AM or the RC to avoid a conflict, or become a part of a bad situation. And the initial contact attempt should be written with thought that the individual may simply not know.
We are all part of a community and stand behind proper map editing, to include the guidelines, etiquette and security not only of the integrity of map but also the editors.
I am for creating a policy for how to deal with these types of situations and stand by a zero tolerance for non responsive individuals, and the policy should include a list of names that can be contacted or used as a observer for CCs and BCCs.