# Can I Apply For a Thread Ban? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 6, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745 "2024-11-06T00:14:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/1 "2024-11-06T00:14:36Z")
I’m in a bit of trouble in the Politics & Elections thread. The thread I like most is the Factual Questions thread, even if I don’t post there very often. Could I please retain my access to Factual Questions thread, regardless of my posting privileges in other threads? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/2 "2024-11-06T00:21:30Z")
I don’t understand the question. Politics and Elections and Factual Questions aren’t threads. Threads are, for instance, “Why are recent elections so close?”, or “Was the Universe infinitely large immediately after the Big Bang?”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/3 "2024-11-06T00:21:57Z")
I suspect that they mean “a forum ban.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/4 "2024-11-06T00:25:55Z")
For what it’s worth, @Wrenching_Spanners, you can effectively self-ban yourself from a particular forum/category. Go to your User Profile, then Preferences. Under “Categories,” on the left side, you can mute one or more forums/categories. You don’t even see them if you mute them. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/5 "2024-11-06T00:26:16Z")
kenobi\_65 is right. I meant a forum ban. Except, I think I’ve seen thread bans commented on somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/6 "2024-11-06T00:27:13Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > Except, I think I’ve seen thread bans commented on somewhere? Thread bans are where a poster is instructed, by a moderator, to no longer post in a particular thread; a thread ban doesn’t extend to the entire forum/category in which a thread appears. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/7 "2024-11-06T01:10:11Z")
Thread bans are instructions given by moderators. The Discourse software does not enforce that ban and does not hide the thread from you. Enforcement of thread bans is done through moderator actions. We keep a list of all topic and thread bans and if you post to a thread that you are banned from, we’ll issue a warning or possibly take other actions as needed. Your best bet is to mute the forums (Discourse calls them “categories”) that get you into trouble, as was already mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/8 "2024-11-06T01:17:27Z")
OK, that’s funny. The thread under discussion is whos-flying-the-gigantic-lets-go-brandon-flag-at-my-polling-place/ I’d obviously prefer a thread ban than a forum ban. I’d like to think that I sometimes offer insight, or at least an alternate viewpoint in UK politics. In general, I have a small-C conservative outlook which I prefer to think of as centre-right. For US politics, that applies regardless of the party under discussion. But while I find politics interesting, I find science fascinating. So if I’m subject to some sort of a ban, I’d really like to participate in the Factual Questions forum, even if I don’t ask questions very much. Although, ironically, I asked my latest question a few hours ago before I started this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/9 "2024-11-06T01:23:37Z")
I believe you can also mute individual threads (which Discourse calls topics). Click on the little bell icon next to the last post. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/10 "2024-11-06T01:30:09Z")
Have you considered not posting in that thread? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/11 "2024-11-06T01:32:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I believe you can also mute individual threads (which Discourse calls topics) Yes, you can, and I’ve done this in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/12 "2024-11-06T01:51:12Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Have you considered not posting in that thread? I have no intention of posting again in that thread. I have an anti-Biden perspective, which I will happily argue, but if my argument was off-topic, then I’m happy to move on. I just want to know what restrictions will be applied to me, and if I can participate in the non-Politics forums. But God, as I wrote that sentence, it felt like an acceptance of censorship. Was the rule I violated being a jerk? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/13 "2024-11-06T02:02:47Z")
To tell the truth, that is the _first_ question I ask myself when I get in trouble here. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/14 "2024-11-06T17:18:40Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Go to your User Profile, then Preferences. Under “Categories,” on the left side, you can mute one or more forums/categories. You don’t even see them if you mute them. I have one entire category muted that way, and I’ve also muted tags similarly. I think it’s one of Discourse’s best features. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/15 "2024-11-06T20:29:37Z")
Moderating: > [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > kenobi\_65 is right. I meant a forum ban. After discussion in the mod loop, we have decided to grant your request for a forum ban from the Politics and Elections forum. You are prohibited from making further posts in any P&E thread. If it’s helpful to remove temptation, you can mute the entire forum as has been previously outlined by @kenobi_65. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/16 "2024-11-07T00:35:56Z")
I did not request a ban from the Politics and Elections forum and do not believe that I deserve one. 1. If the mechanism for me knowing that I’ve been banned from a forum is to check an ATMB thread, that’s a poor mechanism. My notification of my P&E ban was an email warning that I was violating the ban. 2. My preferences were: a) No Ban b) A Thread Ban c) A Forum Ban. I don’t know what the moderators’ capabilities are but it should be clear from the thread title that I was asking for a thread ban. I do acknowledge that in my post starting this thread, I was calling “forums” “threads”, but I think the context was clear and definitely made clear from later posts. kenobi\_65’s response made me think the options were a forum ban or a board ban. While I don’t think I was crossing the line for a thread ban, I accept that I did go off-topic and along with others deserved a “stay on subject” comment. But having received a mod note, I volunteered to leave that thread and started this ATMB thread to ask for leniency. I did not volunteer for a P&E forum band. 1. My ban is for hijacking a thread and then asking why I was targeted for hijacking the thread when I was replying to a poster who had started the off-topic conversation. There were several posters in that thread who were off-topic, and while I may have strayed off discussing the “Let’s Go Brandon flag” topic, I at least consistently discussed politics other than one joking reply to a post that was also off-topic. > [@Who's flying the gigantic "Let's Go, Brandon" flag at my polling place?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-flying-the-gigantic-lets-go-brandon-flag-at-my-polling-place/1009550): > > By “gigantic” I mean the thing could easily cover three full-sized automobiles. I’m assuming it’s being flown by Trump supporters, because who else would do something whose meaning is so obscure to me, but what’s the point? To make fun of Biden? To mock Harris supporters (somehow)? To show off how clever they think they are? Someone went to a lot of trouble and expense to custom-make this flag, and I’d just ask the people flying it except I don’t want to talk to a Trump supporter, ever again, fo… ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/17 "2024-11-07T00:53:26Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > I think the context was clear and definitely made clear from later posts I think you overestimating the clarity of your request. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-apply-for-a-thread-ban/1009745/18 "2024-11-07T01:11:21Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > I did not request a ban from the Politics and Elections forum and do not believe that I deserve one. You did, though, when you agreed with kenobi\_65 that this is what you were requesting. > [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > kenobi\_65 is right. I meant a forum ban. As for “deserve,” you are considered a jerkish poster by P&E moderators and we had no difficulty in agreeing to accede to your request. Your posts generate many flags and you are fast closing in on “more trouble than they’re worth” poster territory. That’s another option we have, but we’re trying to preserve your wishes to post in forums other than P&E. > [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > If the mechanism for me knowing that I’ve been banned from a forum is to check an ATMB thread, that’s a poor mechanism. My notification of my P&E ban was an email warning that I was violating the ban. You were sent a PM indicating that you had received a forum ban. You then received a Warning for violating that ban after the PM was sent. Those were 2 separate communications. We can’t make you pay attention to the notifications you receive. That’s up to you. The forum ban was also noted in the ATMB thread as indicated above, highlighting your request, which would have generated yet another notice to you that the ban had been imposed. Lastly, it was noted in the P&E forum Topic and Thread Bans pinned to the top of the P&E forum. If you were unaware this action had occurred, that wasn’t our fault. I am making this post solely to clarify events as they have occurred to this point. ATMB is not my forum to moderate.