Help! I've just been given a 'Warning/Infraction'! What happens next?
Well that depends on what you did wrong & what you received.
Warning
Normally theses are issued on first time offenders or little issues.
This isn't anything to worry about too much. Its just our friendly way to point out you haven't followed the forum rules completely.
You should have a message in your notation inbox (if you have it enabled) & a email notification (also if you have it enabled). This will explain what you did wrong (which rule you broke), with a copy of the offending article.
Depending on what caused the warning, the post that caused the issue may have been removed, so if you wish to re-post please amend the post to make sure it abides by the forum rules. We recommend that you also check your post covers everything in How To Make A Valid Thread.
You will not receive any 'points' on your profile (This is explained later).
The warning will expire after a certain amount of time. How long depends on the reasoning of the warning.
Infraction
Theses are reserve for members that repeatedly break the rules (either the same rule multiple times and/or different rules) or a major 'no no'.
We only issue these when we have to.
You should have a message in your notation inbox (if you have it enabled) & a email notification (also if you have it enabled). This will explain what you did wrong (which rule you broke), with a copy of the offending article.
The post that caused the issue will be removed. You may be able to re-post. We highly recommended that you check the forum rules & How To Make A Valid Thread incase you re-break the rules that could lead to more points on your profile.
You would have received 'points' on your profile. How many depends on the reason on the infraction.
The infraction may expire. Again, if/when depends on the why it was given.
Points
You can only get them if you're issued a infraction.
Once you reach a certain amount - your account will be banned. Currently you need '7 points' for this to happen.
Depending on how serious the infraction is, will depend on how many points you will receive. We do issue enough points for instant ban.
If your account is banned, you'll no longer have access to the forum (e.g. no more new posts or editing old ones).
If you're credited any points, these may be removed after a period of time. This is up to the staff if they decide to do this (and nagging/pestering doesn't help!)
Once you have been banned - that's it. There's no going back.
