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I saw someone's profile with

"This account is temporarily suspended for rule violations. The suspension period ends on Sep 20 '14 at 12:21."

However, it seems as though the person has been active since then but is still stuck at a reputation of 1. Why?
Additionally, is it possible to find out why someone was suspended? Not only for curiosity's sake but also to learn what constitutes bad behavior.

P.S. I did read the FAQ and 'about' section but it wasn't specific enough.

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  • I think that the reason is that the user being suspended temporarily loses all privileges that come from earning reputation, as you may know. That's the reason behind the reputation locked at 1. But let's wait for a moderator to explain better. :)
    – Alenanno
    Oct 5, 2011 at 12:01
  • can you please define what you mean by "has been active"?
    – Jeff Atwood
    Oct 5, 2011 at 12:48
  • On Septermber 28 the user asked a question with 35 upvotes and 3 favorites. Pretty active.
    – Mark
    Oct 5, 2011 at 13:00
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    @Mark: are you sure it was asked on September 28? (Maybe somebody edited an old question?) Can you link to the question?
    – Marthaª
    Oct 5, 2011 at 13:30
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    My bad, you're right. It was an edit. Sorry for the question. I'll vote to close. Although, I am still curious about whether it's possible to find out why someone was suspended.
    – Mark
    Oct 5, 2011 at 13:36
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    @Mark: in this particular case, my guess would be sockpuppetry (using multiple login accounts to game the system), although I'm not actually "in the know". This might be something to ask about in the chat.
    – Marthaª
    Oct 5, 2011 at 17:20
  • Am I reading it right: this suspension lasts for 3 years?
    – GEdgar
    Oct 23, 2011 at 13:51
  • yup. that's what it says. But when a user is suspended can they still be active and just not get reputation points?
    – Mark
    Oct 23, 2011 at 14:00
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    @Mark Yes, that's my understanding and see kiamlaluno's answer. Three years seems extreme, but it must have been an extreme case. See "Suspension, Ban or Hellban?" for the reasoning of different types of punishment.
    – Hugo
    Oct 24, 2011 at 15:16

2 Answers 2

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Additionally, is it possible to find out why someone was suspended? Not only for curiosity's sake but also to learn what constitutes bad behavior.

Generally, we don't disclose specific details about a user's suspension. The message should be fairly clear on a general level—in this case, the user repeatedly broke rules of the site.

This leads to the question—What are the rules? Don't try to game or otherwise abuse the system, or take unfair advantage of work other people have done, whether they be site users or those who have created other resources. In other words, if you use common sense, you should be fine. If there are problems, we'll probably contact you before such a drastic suspension. (Note that a warning will not necessarily be given in egregious cases of abuse.)

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However, it seems as though the person has been active since then but is still stuck at a reputation of 1. Why?

When an account is suspended, its reputation is set to 1 automatically. When the suspension term is over, the reputation is recalculated. What you see now is not the reputation the user has when his account is not suspended.

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