# Becoming unbanned **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 12, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736 "2005-11-12T16:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/1 "2005-11-12T16:18:03Z")
I know that banned posters are ‘banned for life’. But people change. If a banned poster wanted to come back after a long period (as opposed to a 30-day suspension, a year’s banning, etc.) could he be reinstated? I don’t know **Satan** , but he was a long-time poster. Based on his posting style, and that the Boards have become ‘kinder and gentler’ over the years, I doubt that he’d even _want_ to come back. But what if he did? He’s been gone for… what? Three years or so? Maybe he’s calmed down. I’d understand if a reinstatement application by him were declined, at least the first time. Or there was another one who faked a disappearance, causing much concern amongst people on the Boards. I don’t remember _why_ he did it. Maybe, as President Muffley said, ‘Well, he went a little funny.’ AFAICR this poster didn’t cause any trouble until he pretended he had been abducted or killed. If he’s gotten over whatever emotional (or psychological or medical) problems that prompted his actions, would he be accepted? Is banning really a ‘death sentence’? Or is there hope of parole after enough time for a person to have rehabilitated himself? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/2 "2005-11-12T16:38:18Z")
**lissner** just got re-instated, so it’s possible to get unbanned, though I imagine the bar is pretty high. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/3 "2005-11-12T16:41:21Z")
Do you even need to ask this question when **lissener** has been recently reinstated? There’s been a few other banned posters come back over the years. Trouble is, whatever got them banned originally usually reoccurs, which is why there’s not too many of them around. As for the dude who faked his disappearence ( **Sqrlcub** ), he had a sock her for a long while after that he eventually outed when the boards went pay to post. Remember **Dorkusmalorkusmafia**? So I don’t think he’s coming back! ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/4 "2005-11-12T16:41:34Z")
There have been a few cases of banned posters being reinstated after convincing the Staff that they have learned the error of their ways. **Collounsbury** is a recent example. More often than not, they return to the behavior which got them banned in the first place. Again, **Collounsbury** is a recent example. I can’t immediately think of any others, but there have been a few. So, there appears that there _can_ be a second chance. To my knowledge, there has never been a third. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/5 "2005-11-12T16:42:40Z")
Sorry, Larry. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/6 "2005-11-12T17:06:24Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > Do you even need to ask this question when **lissener** has been recently reinstated? With apologies to **lissener** , I don’t think I knew he’d been banned until after he was reinstated. If I did, I probably thought it was a suspension. I didn’t know **Sqrlcub** had a sock, nor that **Dorkusmalorkusmafia** was his sock. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/7 "2005-11-12T17:40:15Z")
My post is my cite, biatch! Ok, ok 🙂 > **[For the formerly banned people who now have socks.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=245992)** > > Hi my name is SqrlCub. If you don’t know me, I was banned a few years ago for posting a practical joke thread pretending that my apartment was being broken into. It was pretty funny. A lot of people were in on it originally but then conveniently said... ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/8 "2005-11-12T17:53:42Z")
> [@](#): > > lissner just got re-instated, so it’s possible to get unbanned, though I imagine the bar is pretty high. Yeah, “pretty high” is the operative word. I agree with **Johnny** ’s OP, that people can change. The question is whether they have, and what it was that needed to be changed. Sadly, most of our past experience with re-admitting banned folks has been negative, and they wind up re-banned fairly quickly. Of course, we now have suspension as a temporary ban (so to speak,) so anyone banned nowadays would already have blown a second chance. How about folks banned some time back, before there were suspensions? First, it would depend on the offense. Threat of violence, for instance, is a different order of magnitude from personal insults. And some fairly mild trait (like, say, posting drunk once too often) might be overcome in a way that some more basic personality traits (nasty, aggressive, rude, and uncompromising) might not. Second, it would depend on what the person says and what evidence is offered of change. And third, it would depend on how the person accepted the news of banning – someone who reacted by threatening lawsuits and screaming and ranting on other boards, or who tried to sneak back in with socks and false identity, for instance, would have pretty much blown their second chance already. So, we’re not closed to the idea, but it would be an uphill struggle. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/9 "2005-11-12T22:42:35Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > So, we’re not closed to the idea, but it would be an uphill struggle. I see. Semi-Sisyphean, you say? ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/10 "2005-11-12T22:59:48Z")
Unless you got mistakenly banned in the first place. (Hi, Veb 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2005, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/11 "2005-11-12T23:34:15Z")
> [@Silentgoldfish](#): > > My post is my cite, biatch! > > Ok, ok 🙂 > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=245992](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=245992) Whoa, thanks for that link. I’d known that HTML used to be allowed, and that something had been done to cause it to be removed, but I had no idea what. Now I know. ---
**Author:** ![Denis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5e9695/32.png) [@Denis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Denis)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/12 "2005-11-14T07:01:39Z")
Um. I got banned a while back for being very insulting. My behavior wasn’t called for, and I was very embarassed by it (after the fact). I apologized to the board in general and the main target of my (undeserved) ire. **Lynn** was kind enough to reinstate my posting privileges. My banning lasted about a day. Before I post about a subject that stirs strong emotion in me, I think, think, and think again. I also don’t post very often. ::muttering::Now if I had only renewed my subscription on time, I’d still be a Charter Member… ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/13 "2005-11-14T12:59:23Z")
Inneresting, thanks for sharing that **Denis** , I either didn’t know or didn’t remember. That was probably a one-time offense, rather than a repeated string? Once we instituted payment, we also formalized some guidelines about bannings, so it would probably take more than a single incident nowadays. In that case, I guess **Lynn** was your banner ? ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/14 "2005-11-14T14:20:32Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > In that case, I guess **Lynn** was your banner ? Dex, you have increased my vocabulary! I never realized the word “banner” could be used in that context. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/15 "2005-11-14T14:38:33Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > I guess **Lynn** was your banner? Does this banner yet waive? ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/16 "2005-11-14T14:42:47Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Does this banner yet waive? _:: groan ::_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/17 "2005-11-14T17:39:15Z")
Not that I really want to get into any specific personalities here, but we had several staff discussions (back when I was a mod) about reinstating Satan. Unless opinions among the staff have changed drastically, he ain’t ever gonna be back. This here [sock puppet, Mock Suds](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?username=Mock%20Suds), belonged to Satan. Not that there are any too terrible posts under that name, but a not-so-well-disguised anagram, eh? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/18 "2005-11-14T17:40:19Z")
Dammit. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?username=Mock%20Suds](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?username=Mock%20Suds) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/becoming-unbanned/330736/19 "2005-11-14T20:42:05Z")
Well, we have banee (masc), banshe (fem), so I figured the banner was the doer and … OK, this thread has gone on long enough. The basic rule is: banning is forever. There are a very, very few, specific cases where we might reconsider after some time has passed, but anyone trying to sneak back in as a sock, or bad-mouthing the SDMB on other online sites, ain’t gonna have a ghostuva chance. So, we’ve answered the question, and now we’re rambling. (Yeah, ok, I sorta stated it, so it’s only fitting I end it.)