How long does it take for you to get your account permanently banned from wikianswers?

Answer 1

That rather depends on what the 'problem' is ! Some people come here for the sole purpose of trying to disrupt the vast amount of genuine peoples' contributions - simply because they either think they're 'clever', because they've nothing better to do, or are just immature ! I mean - seriously - if someone doesn't feel they can help people here - the mature solution is just leave the site alone !

Vandalism ALWAYS gets discovered - and steps are usually taken to prevent it re-occurring. A ban can be instant - or take a few weeks - depending on the 'offense' committed. We supervisors ALWAYS have other options... IF the perpetrator is prepared to listen to reason, and change their attitude !

Answer 2

That rather depends on what you do ! Misdemeanors are usually handled by us supervisors issuing a formal warning, with an explanation of what the user did to warrant the initial warning. The formal warning appears on the user's profile - and is intended as a 'wake up call' to alert them of what they've done wrong. If a user fails to heed a first official warning, then a second warning is usually issued. Ignore that - and a temporary ban (for 24 to 72) hours usually gets their attention. HOWEVER - on rare occasions, a user can be instantly and permanently banned. The moral is - follow the few sensible rules we have, and everything will be fine.

Speaking from experience - I've often found a stern, but personal note on a user's message board is all that's needed to change the way most people use Answers. It's rare for me to issue formal warnings - but when I do - they've usually taken notice.

It doesn't take long to read through the guidelines - it's just a shame some people refuse to take note of the few rules we ask people to adhere to. Sadly - a lot of the vandalism and other problems come from unregistered web-sites such as schools. In th at case our only option is to place a temporary block on the IP address - HOWEVER - this doesn't just affect the person causing the problem - it affects every user from the same institution or school !

Answer 3

This all depends on what you do. If you make criminal threats, hack the site, request advice on committing crimes, or post links to adult materials or even illegal materials, then you will be blocked immediately without discussion. If you engage in cyberbullying or spam, you may get a formal warning the first time, unless you truly are a newbie, and after that, you may be blocked. For the purposes of this site, cyberbullying includes racism, sexism and homophobia. If you use profanity and crude terminology and continue after a couple of warnings, you may be blocked. Thinks like blanking, signing, casual impersonation, etc., may get you blocked after a handful of times.

From a supervisor's perspective, it only takes a few seconds after discovering a serious offense or the final straw of a series of offenses.