I’ve recently logged into my usual Forum account (“Ebab”) after a longer period, and had to find that I’d
been “banned”, i.e. the possibility to ask a question or to search the forums is being denied to me. The page reads “Banned User. Your account does not have access to the forums system.” It happens on both Internet Explorer and Firefox,
I’ve cleared all history, cookies and caches, so I don’t think it’s a technical glitch. It seems I’ve actually been banned.
Now I understand the necessity of users being banned occasionally from a forum, however I haven’t the slightest idea why that should
have happened in my case. I’ve posted to the Forum Support describing my concern, and what I got back was a snippet from the FAQ:
Why would a user be banned from the Forums?
A user may be banned from Forums for using abusive language in posts, display names, using an abusive avatar, or spamming, among other undesirable activities. Each case is considered carefully and a user is generally banned only if there is no other recourse,
or the abusive action is repeated and blatant.
None of these issues remotely apply to me. I believe I’ve behaved professionally in these Forums, and always in appropriate tone.
(The account in question is “Ebab”, so you can review my postings.)
I also have a strong password and protect my computers, so I don’t think anybody has misused my account.
I’ve written back to Forums Support, but got no further answer.
Now I don’t doubt that “each case is considered carefully”, but to err is human. There
has to be a way to have a ban reviewed, and lifted, as I don’t doubt will inevitably be the result of that review.
Thanks for any pointers or suggestions.
