# Question about warnings.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-warnings/754337>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [May 8, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-warnings/754337 "2016-05-08T20:26:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-warnings/754337/1 "2016-05-08T20:26:04Z")

</div>

Apologies if this is covered elsewhere. I had a look at the FAQ’s and couldn’t find an answer.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I got a warning for insulting a poster outside of the Pit (not complaining about that. It was a fair cop) but when I checked the specifics of the warning on my profile page it said that the warning never expired. Now, I was under the impression that warnings expire after about six months. It seems a little unfair for a warning to never expire. After all, nobody’s perfect. Also, if warnings never expire, how many does one need to accrue before being suspended/banned? Could someone let me know what the policy is what the policy is? Cheers.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [May 8, 2016, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-warnings/754337/2 "2016-05-08T20:39:37Z")

</div>

The mods have always said they look at the overall pattern/habits of the poster. Warnings don’t “expire” but they lose relevance the longer in the past they are.

Notice that the banned ones usually get several warnings in just a few months( or less).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-warnings/754337/3 "2016-05-08T20:41:54Z")

</div>

Ah, ok. That makes sense. Cheers.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-warnings/754337/4 "2016-05-08T20:45:30Z")

</div>

I’ve seen posters with 60,000 posts get banned for too many warnings, about 6 or 7 IIRC. And I’ve seen long term posters get banned without warnings.

So, learn from your mistakes, don’t repeat them, and you’ll do fine.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-warnings/754337/5 "2016-05-08T20:50:57Z")

</div>

Correct. Warnings never expire, but we attach relatively less importance to them the longer ago they are. When considering a suspension or a banning, the poster’s overall pattern of behavior is taken into account. Receiving three or four warnings in a few months will likely cause us to take action. Losing your temper once every three years won’t.

There is no fixed number of warnings that will result in a suspension or banning. When deciding whether to take action, we consider not just the number of warnings but the seriousness of the offenses and whether the poster shows any signs of changing his behavior.