Warnings and Bans
by Senior Staff (May 2008 | updated August 2010)
Warnings
Warnings are issued by staff when a member violates the site user agreement (BLUA) or forum specific guidelines (you should be aware of any forum guidelines before posting). Warnings are typically given a value of 1 pt and most will expire within 1 year. Stronger warnings can be issued if the situation requires.
Temporary Bans
Issued by Sr. Staff (senior mods and admins). Sr. Staff will issue a temporary ban if they feel a member is disrupting the site and not changing the behaviour that incurred a warning. There is no set number of warnings or points to earn a temporary ban, as we trust the judgment of the Sr. Staff to balance the number of warnings with they type of offenses in making this decision. The length of the temporary ban will be determined by sr. staff, typically 3 days to 2 weeks. At the end of a temporary ban, the account will become active again. If you continue to disrupt after your return, you will be permanently banned.
Bans will be automatically issued when the following amounts of active points are obtained on one's record:
2 points: 1 day
3 points: 3 days
4 points: 7 days
5 points: 2 weeks
6 points: 1 month
7 points: 3 months
8 points: 6 months
9 points: 1 year
10 points: 2 years
What about using an alias account while the original account is banned? Any such 'temp accounts' will be immediately banned and the original account will be permanently banned.
Permanent bans
These are intended to kill the account as the behaviour is not acceptable on our site. Again, there is no set number of warnings or points, though senior staff may issue one regardless of the number of warnings, dependent upon the situation (for example, spammers are given no freedom - once identified, they are banned outright).
The idea of permanent bans raises a question - can the member just register a new account and start over? It is possible to start life anew under a different username, but in most cases these persons will not have changed the behaviour that got them banned in the first place and are easily spotted. This new account may survive if they remain unnoticed and non-disruptive, but if we identify them as a previously banned person we will treat them as carrying their past with them - zero tolerance. There is no 'reset' of warnings with a fresh count. Such returning accounts can, and will, be banned immediately by senior staff.