Advicenators Frequently Asked Questions

Being Banned

Who can ban people?
All moderators ranked at level II or above. Level III moderators can implement permanent bans, level II moderators can ban a user for up to five days.

How will I know when I am banned?
When you try to log in, none of the usual site functions will work. Instead, you will be directed towards a page telling you why you were banned and when you can come back.

What are some reasons that you ban people?
We ban people for violating our content and terms of service guidelines. Common reasons include:

• Asking the same questions over and over again
• Excessively obscene questions, answers, user pictures, or bio content
• Posting multiple questions or answers without consideration
• Multiple people using the same account.
• TYPING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
• Complete and utter inability to even consider spelling anything correctly
• Using public questions to post comments or questions that are not actually asking for advice on anything
• Posting personal comments in the form of public questions
• Being under the age of 13
• Stealing other people's answers
• Giving advice that's abusive or harmful
• Answering with something that doesn't answer the question. Example: "lol IDK hope I helped!" or anything that could be classified as a smart-ass remark. (Unless it is appropriate to the question AND provides a real answer.)
• Telling a lie about your age or gender.
• Not having a valid e-mail on your account. (Part I of the profile.)
• Asking questions for the purpose of starting a war.
• Posting in the forums for the purpose of starting a war, or "trolling" in any other way.
• Creating more than one account without supplying a reason on both the old and new account.
• Doing anything to legally endanger the site.
• Giving HOW-TO sex advice. (Explicit instructions)
• Suggesting anything that would HARM the asker will result in a permanent ban.
• Using this site as a chat board to sort of "IM" your friends.
• Advising or encouraging someone to commit a crime or illegal act.
• “Account Whoring,” or advertising your site by blatantly asking people to visit or hinting at it by giving your username. Your username is already displayed with your answer.
• Asking or answering questions of a less than legal nature: "I need to know what music to steal? Tell me what to download!"
• Answering a question with "Just Google it!" or any variation on that theme.
• Verbally abusing a questioner.
• Verbally abusing another columnist.

Can I be banned again?
You can be banned thousands of times, but after your third time your account will be investigated for permanent suspension.

Can I whine, bitch and complain about being banned?
You may e-mail admin@advicenators.com if you'd like, but it probably won't do a bit of good.

Can I still be a moderator?
If you can keep from being banned for at least six weeks, you can be a moderator.

How can I suggest that another member be banned?
If you see a member violating our policies, please use this page to file an abuse report:

http://www.advicenators.com/abuse.php

Our moderators check the report lists regularly, and they'll get to it within the next few hours.

Be advised: we don't just ban anybody who makes you mad. We don't care if they were mean to you, unless they were obscene. We don't care if they stole your picture, because pictures aren't really all that important to an advice column. We do care if they're really harassing you or stealing your answers, but that's about it.

When reporting someone, it helps to include as many links and direct evidence as possible. Don't just say, "This user stole my advice," give us a link to a question where they stole your advice.

Also, before you suggest that we ban someone, check to make sure they aren't already banned. If you try to ask them a question and get the "user banned" message, there's no need for you to take the time to suggest them.

Can I ban myself?
Yes, just fill out this form with the number of days you want to be banned: http://www.advicenators.com/deletec.php

Why was I banned for being under 13?
On Advicenators, we require all members to be at least 13 years of age. This isn't because we hate 12 year olds, it's because the Federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, puts a great deal of restrictions on information we can ask children under 13. When you registered on this site, you were required to check a box that says, "I am at least 13" and if you lied on that box, you are not eligible for membership.

If you slip up and admit to us that you're not 13, we have no choice but to ban you for a year. It doesn't matter how much work you've put into your column, this is a federal guideline. Don't come whining to us about how it was "just a typo" either. That's the one typo that we take seriously.

If you see a member who states in his or her profile that he/she is under 13, please file an abuse report, because these people put us in danger of violating federal guidelines and if we get in trouble, there's no more advicenators for anyone, 13 or not.

Will I be banned for having multiple accounts?
We don't ban people just for having multiple accounts, but if you do have multiple accounts, they'll all be banned at once. Also, if you get banned, then just go start a new account, you'd better be very careful and good at following the rules because if we go to suspend you and find out you've already been banned, we'll ban everything you've got for a long, long time. An important thing to note: If you are using multiple accounts to attack others on the site or for any other reason that is harmful to the site in general, you will be banned permanently.

I turned 13, can you unban me now?
When we find under 13 members, we ban them for at least a year. We do not unban anyone just because they claim to have turned 13. Having members who lie about their age doesn't just make us mad, it puts us in danger of breaking federal laws pertaining to underage internet users, so it's pretty darn serious... too serious for us to just bring you back. If you were underage we don't want you to come back, you're too high risk for us. Other members don't deserve to have their columns taken away because the feds shut us down.

Click here to start your own advice column!