If your community's moderators banned you and you think it was a mistake, you can appeal (ask them to reconsider). This article explains which moderation decisions you can appeal, how to send an appeal, and how to follow it up.
Who can do this: Members who were banned from a community. · Where: Web and the Mateflow app for iOS and Android. · Plan: Available in every community.
Which moderation decisions you can appeal
Your community's own owner, admins, and moderators make moderation decisions and review appeals. Mateflow doesn't review them.
| Decision | What you see | Can you appeal it? |
|---|---|---|
| Ban | You can't sign in. You're taken to the Appeal Ban page. | Yes, from the appeal page |
| Suspension | You can't sign in until the suspension ends. | No. It ends on its own. |
| Warning | You get a notification. Your account keeps working. | No. Contact the community's admins if you disagree. |
| Content removed | You get a notification, and the post or comment shows as removed. | No |
What you see when you're banned
When a banned member tries to sign in, Mateflow opens the Appeal Ban page instead of the community. The same thing happens in the Mateflow app, which opens its Appeal screen.
Under Ban Reason, the page shows the reason the moderator wrote when they banned you. In the app, it reads "Reason for the ban:" followed by that text. Read it first, so your appeal can respond to it.
Submit an appeal of a ban
- Sign in as usual. You're taken to the Appeal Ban page.
- Under Appeal Reason, explain why the ban should be reconsidered. Add anything the moderators may not have known. The counter under the box shows how much space you have left. Text in some languages, such as Chinese, uses the space up faster.
- Click Submit Appeal. In the app, tap Submit appeal.
You'll see "Appeal submitted successfully". Your appeal goes to the community's moderators.
Track your appeal's status
To check on your appeal, sign in again on the web. The appeal page shows your appeal's status:
- Pending Review: the moderators haven't decided yet. You can't send another appeal while this one is waiting.
- Approved: the ban is lifted.
- Rejected: the ban stays.
The page also shows Your Appeal Reason, the date it was Submitted on, and the moderators' reply under Admin Response, if they wrote one.
You can appeal the same ban up to 3 times. If an appeal is rejected, you can send another one once 24 hours have passed since your last appeal. If you see "You appealed recently. Please wait before submitting another appeal." or "You have used all your appeals for this restriction.", you can't send another one right now.
What happens after your appeal is decided
- Approved: your ban is lifted, so you can sign in again. You get an email, and the notification "Your appeal was approved and the restriction has been lifted" appears in the community, with the moderators' note if they added one.
- Rejected: you get an email, but no notification in the community, because you still can't sign in. The appeal page shows Rejected the next time you sign in. If you still have appeals left, the web page says "Your previous appeal was reviewed. You may submit another one." and shows the form again. To appeal again after a rejection, use the web. The app doesn't let you send another appeal.
If the ban was lifted another way, the page says "This restriction has already been lifted — there is nothing left to appeal." Click Back to the community.
If your account is suspended
A suspension is temporary, and you can't appeal it. When you sign in, you see "Your account is suspended until {date}. You'll be able to sign in again after that." You can sign in normally once that date passes. If no end date is shown, the message asks you to contact the community's admins.
If you received a warning or your content was removed
- Warning: you get the notification "You received a warning from a moderator:" followed by the reason, such as spam or harassment. You can keep using the community. You can't currently appeal a warning. A warning doesn't affect how you use your account; if you think it's wrong, contact the community's admins. See Get help with your community.
- Removed post or comment: you get the notification "A moderator removed your" post or comment, with the reason. To see everything that was removed, go to Settings → Content review and choose Removed. In the app, open Member center → Content review status. A removal can't be appealed.
Troubleshooting: the appeal page says the ban reference is missing
Symptom: The appeal page says "We couldn't find the ban reference needed to submit a new appeal." Why it happens: You opened the appeal page directly, or from a bookmark or an old link. The page needs the details your sign-in passes to it. Fix: Click Back to sign in and sign in again. You'll be taken to the right appeal page.
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