# Is there any way to find out why a poster was banned?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [August 1, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901 "2018-08-01T00:44:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 10\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/1 "2018-08-01T00:44:10Z")

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I tried to do my due diligence by checking FAQs, but I didn’t find anything. Is there any way for me to check why a given poster was banned?

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**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/2 "2018-08-01T00:46:16Z")

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PM a mod.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/3 "2018-08-01T04:04:45Z")

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For a poster that has been around a while there will usually be a banning announcement listing some recent warnings. Sock puppets, however, usually don’t get an announcement unless they were very prominent. If there is no announcement, you can be pretty sure it was a sock.

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**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/4 "2018-08-01T06:17:08Z")

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ahh I wondered if Erica roche was a sock for femmejean like people were saying after I noticed the banning

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**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/5 "2018-08-01T06:22:30Z")

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> [@nightshadea](#):
>
> ahh I wondered if Erica roche was a sock for femmejean like people were saying after I noticed the banning

The mods won’t give this information out in public. The best way to find out is to PM one.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/6 "2018-08-01T06:41:56Z")

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And usually they won’t identify the sock’s other identity.

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**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/7 "2018-08-01T10:34:47Z")

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Yeah, sending a mod a PM is your safest bet. Even then, we’re in the habit of making straightforward replies like ‘trolling’ or ‘sock’ or whatever.

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/8 "2018-08-01T16:54:16Z")

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An overly attentive board-watcher might also notice two or more unannounced bannings around the same time.

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**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/9 "2018-08-01T21:08:20Z")

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Thanks, I did PM a mod and will await a response.

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-to-find-out-why-a-poster-was-banned/818901/10 "2018-08-01T21:30:58Z")

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> [@TSBG](#):
>
> Thanks, I did PM a mod and will await a response.

Then post it here for all of us to read!

(kidding, I’m kidding).