If you're seeing this article, you're either browsing the Administrivia index or you got suspended from one or more site activities and clicked on the link in the suspension message
. If you clicked on a suspension message, thank you for doing so! It's the first step in getting this resolved.
Read on below, or click the folder button for a summary.
- We suspend you to prevent continued misbehavior and/or help you learn the rules.
- Not knowing the rules is not an excuse.
- You must talk to us in this forum thread to resolve it.
- Making a new account or using an alternate account while suspended will get you permanently banned. No exceptions, no excuses.
Why was I suspended?
The first question you're probably asking is why you got a suspension. The answer depends on what part of the site you were trying to use, but in general, it means you broke one of our rules or caused a problem that we need to deal with. You may have gotten a private message about whatever the issue is, but you may not. In our experience, tropers don't always respond to PMs, and we need the thing you're doing to stop so other people don't have to spend as much time fixing it.
Just so we're absolutely clear on this: A suspension doesn't mean, "We don't like you;" it means, "Come talk to us."
Common suspension reasons on the wiki:
- Persistent problems with Conversation in the Main Page, Word Cruft, grammar and spelling, Zero Context Examples, Example Indentation in Trope Lists, writing in first person, failing to index articles that you create, and other style rules
- Edit Wars
- Disregarding moderator instructions and/or article comments
- Changing or removing page images without permission from the Image Pickin' forum. This is especially the case if an image had prior IP approval.
- Rudeness in edit reasons, discussion threads, or even in the articles themselves
- Spamming, blanking, vandalizing, or bowdlerizing articles
- Running any text-substitution plugins in your browser. These modify the text of articles that you edit and are considered vandalism.
- Bringing an outside agenda to the wiki or being a pain in the neck over a particular topic
- Plagiarism, copyright violations, posting of illegal or offensive content
- Intentionally adding false information.
Common suspension reasons on Trope Launch Pad:
- Egregiously bad grammar or writing style or persistent misuse of formatting
- Launching or discarding a trope against consensus
- "Rogue launching": launching (or discarding) a trope when you have not participated in its development
- Taking over someone else's proposed trope when it is not Up for Grabs
- Rudeness or arguing
- Persistent failure to understand what is and is not a trope
Common suspension reasons on the forums:
- Extreme or persistent rudeness
- Accumulating a large number of thumps, to the point where we believe that you aren't getting the message
- Spamming, trolling, or otherwise deliberately disrupting the forums
- Individual subforums may have their own rules; please see the respective pinned rules threads and/or the Forum Herald message that you receive when making your first post.
Common suspension reasons in other areas of the site, or in general:
- Copy-pasting reviews from other sites, even if you wrote them
- Writing reviews that constitute personal attacks on any real person or entity
- Personal attacks in comment threads
- Any form of hate speech
How long does it last?
The second thing you're asking is, "Am I permanently banned? How long will this last?" We don't have a fixed length of time on suspensions. They last until we're satisfied that the problem won't recur.
You need to come and ask us; don't just assume that it'll be removed at some point. Sometimes we do issue a "cooldown" suspension of a few days or weeks, but you still have to talk to us first.
How do I appeal?
The third thing you're asking is how to appeal the suspension. That's easy. Go to this forum thread. Go the last page, click "Add a post" note , and type in your request. We ask that you remain polite. We'll be more inclined to treat you favorably if you show that you're willing to work with us.
Please do not send private messages to the moderators, as we'll just tell you to go to the thread. However, you may receive private messages directing you to responses to your appeals.
While you wait for a response, you may wish to review Welcome to TV Tropes, TV Tropes Customs, TLP Guidelines, and the forum rules.
Don't be surprised if a moderator doesn't answer right away. We are busy people and we want to make sure we handle each case with the diligence that it deserves. That said, if your inquiry hasn't been answered within a couple of days, it's fine to ask again.
If you are asked to use the Get Help with English thread or if we quiz you on areas relevant to your ban, please do your own work. Attempting to ask a third party for help would only worsen your ban.
PS: If your appeal is your first post in the Frequently Asked Questions forum, you'll receive a welcome message from its forum herald Septimus Heap. While he'll gladly answer questions, please post any appeals or "Why was I suspended" questions in the thread.
Bounces
If you receive the message "Your account was permanently banned from all activities", we have decided not to allow you to participate further on the site. This type of ban is called a bounce and it's permanent.
Possible reasons for a bounce:
- Ban evasion (see below)
- Posting spam (unsolicited commercial advertisements)
- Significant and/or obviously intentional vandalism
- Intentional hate speech or blatantly illegal content
- Repeated suspensions for the same or similar behavior
- Continously failing to respond to moderators in the Edit Banned topic
You have a last resort. Use our contact form and make a polite case for your appeal. Bear in mind that the resulting decision will be final.
In addition, if you decide to delete your account while banned or if you have been reported for a bannable offense, it will be treated as a self-inflicted bounce. Moderators can still see records for deleted accounts and IP addresses assigned to them, so don't think of it as a workaround to evade your ban.
Ban evasion
It's very simple. If you make a new account to get around a suspension, you will be permanently banned, both on the new account and any other accounts you may have. This is not negotiable. As noted above, deleting your account won't let you ban evade.
Asking another troper that you know to edit the wiki or post on your behalf may get that person banned as well. There are two exceptions:
- Delivering an appeal, but bear in mind that you should be doing it yourself via the Edit Banned thread.
- If you have been told to use the Get Help with English Here or Is this an example? topics as a condition of getting your suspension released, other tropers may post examples on your behalf once they've been vetted in those topics.
Proxies, VPNs, anonymizers, disposable mailhosts
If you used an anonymizing proxy or virtual private network while registering an account, or used a "disposable" address as your registration email, your account may be rejected, or banned if it was detected after the fact. You may register a new account, but you must use a traceable IP and mailhost. TV Tropes does not sell your email address or IP information. See Get Known for our complete registration policy.
Thanks for your understanding.
