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I'll be the first to admit that I'm horrible at asking a question. I either ask a question that Is too complex and is very localized to the general public, or I ask a "Oh duh, I must be extremely tired" question I solve moments after posting.

I've read the FAQ and the URL displayed when I try to ask a question, but i'm still unclear on:

  1. How can this question-ban be lifted? "The only way for the ban to be lifted is by contributing positively to the site in other ways." What exactly are these other ways?
  2. What are the set conditions for the auto ban?
  3. What behavior did I exhibit in order for this to happen? Can you point out any specific questions of mine that might of triggered this? That way I know not to do it again in the future.
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2  
So you have been question-banned? – Bart Feb 10 '13 at 0:00
    
Answering, and improving your questions so they receive upvotes. – Martijn Pieters Feb 10 '13 at 0:00
    
@Bart Indeed, I have been question-banned. – David Eugene Peterson Feb 10 '13 at 0:02
2  
I believe your biggest problem was with the six deleted questions you had, four of them deleted by you. I've undeleted those four, plus one where it looked like you might have been targeted by the PHP chatroom. This should give you an opportunity to edit those into shape, and might be enough to lift the ban by itself. – Brad Larson Feb 10 '13 at 0:09
    
As indicated at the linked question, deleted questions work against you in the question-ban heuristics, so try to improve questions before deleting them. This is something that trips up more than a few well-meaning users, because they think that it's better to just remove the downvoted content. – Brad Larson Feb 10 '13 at 0:12
    
@BradLarson Thank you very much, apparently that was the reason for my ban. That was enough to lift the ban, thanks and lesson definitely learned. +1 – David Eugene Peterson Feb 10 '13 at 0:13
1  
@DavidEugenePeterson Keep in mind that you might still be balancing on the edge though. Improve as much as you can so you don't fall back. Good luck. – Bart Feb 10 '13 at 0:13
    
@Bart, ban is back and I haven't asked any questions. I'm seriously considering investing my time in Quora/github. This reputation stuff is really interfering with my well being. – David Eugene Peterson Feb 10 '13 at 7:39
    
@DavidEugenePeterson Well, now you know what needs to happen. As I said, you were most likely still balancing on the edge. You received some downvotes which might have tipped you back in. It also means you most likely won't need a whole lot of positive feedback to get you out again. I can understand it's frustrating, but with some effort you'll get there. – Bart Feb 10 '13 at 9:56

2 Answers 2

up vote 7 down vote accepted

How can this lift be banned? "The only way for the ban to be lifted is by contributing positively to the site in other ways." What exactly are these other ways?

If you're not answer-banned as well, answer questions and gain rep. If you have a decent grasp of the English language and what a post should look like, edit posts. If you're below 2k in rep, you'll get 2 points for each accepted edit.

And besides that, improve your posts. Improve them as much as possible. Even the already upvoted ones. And gain reputation by doing so.

What are the set conditions for the auto ban?

This is not public information.

What behavior did I exhibit in order for this to happen? Can you point out any specific questions of mine that might of triggered this? That way I know not to do it again in the future.

Given that your profile does not show a whole lot of clear information on that one, I have to make a broad guess made for many banned users. You either have had a number of questions deleted, or you deleted them yourself. And perhaps you did so because they were significantly downvoted or closed. All these things are negative indicators to the automatic system that decides whether or not you should be banned from posting.

Edit:
And it seems that guess was correct. You had a fair amount of (self-)deleted content, part of which is now undeleted by a moderator. Don't delete. Improve.

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How can this lift be banned? "The only way for the ban to be lifted is by contributing positively to the site in other ways." What exactly are these other ways?

Improving your questions and providing good-quality answers.

What are the set conditions for the auto ban?

If you're asking why you got auto-banned... I guess it's a secret.

What behavior did I exhibit in order for this to happen? Can you point out any specific questions of mine that might of triggered this? That way I know not to do it again in the future.

There are many things that can contribute to the auto-ban: many downvotes, many deletes, etc. We cannot disclose the exact reasons (and I think only the devs actually know the exact thresholds).

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