Bounding the degree of generic sharp transitivity

We show that a generically sharply $t$-transitive permutation group of finite Morley rank on a set of rank $r$ satisfies $t\le r+2$ provided the pointwise stabilizer of a generic $(t-1)$-tuple is an $L$-group, which holds, for example, when this stabilizer is solvable or when $r\le 5$. This makes progress on the Borovik-Cherlin conjecture that every generically $(r+2)$-transitive permutation group of finite Morley rank on a set of rank $r$ is of the form ${\mathrm{PGL}}_{r+1}(F)$ acting naturally on ${\mathbb{P}}^r(F)$. Our proof is assembled from three key ingredients that are independent of the main theorem - these address actions of $\mathrm{Alt}(n)$ on $L$-groups of finite Morley rank, generically $2$-transitive actions with abelian point stabilizers, and simple groups of rank $6$.