New accounts getting banned—clones or what?

I used to see new accounts with just a couple of posts getting banned immediately. I figured they were just clones designed to spam, so the system wipes them out automatically. Because they're clones, right? I guess there's some giveaway that identifies them as a banned user's clone or something..

But lately, I'm seeing users who start posting and actually act like regular people. They communicate. On certain topics, they seem like relatively normal real-life individuals—not just some 11-year-old kid trolling, since they bring up actual real-world stuff and people in their posts. Their posts are fine, no provocations, nothing weird, no strikes on their record, yet suddenly they're banned.
Do the mods or admins know something about them that we don't 🙂 so they can eliminate them, or what's actually going on?

Thanks for the info ☕

ps
screw this forum. screw this forum. screw this forum.

It’s just a bunch of insane people creating 35 different clones of themselves, pretending to be someone else with every single one just to engage in these bizarre interactions. It looks like a targeted mindfuck aimed at normal users 🤮 or some kind of high-level trolling 😕

Look, users get banned for legitimate reasons. Since people can be pretty sensitive and there’s often private content involved, we don't just go around gossiping about them with outsiders. Just because someone hasn't racked up a huge post count doesn't mean they haven't broken the rules; you have to keep in mind that extremely offensive stuff gets scrubbed immediately, and a lot of the actual rule-breaking happens behind the scenes in private messages. That’s not something everyone on the site gets to see. If you ever find yourself facing sanctions, feel free to appeal them, even if you think they're unfair.

Fine, fine. Thanks for the heads-up. It looks like I need to deal exclusively with the long-term, vetted veterans on this forum... and even then, I’ll be keeping a massive margin of error.😁

I’ve been wondering about this myself, actually.

...for instance, if I were to just start over with a brand new profile, since technically I've had this account since February 2013 but didn't really dive in until about a month ago...
and maybe I'm just looking for a fresh start. 😁
if I end up posting in the wrong spot, assuming I'm not trying to troll or be dishonest, would I get hit with an automatic ban?

...and also, why isn't it possible to post within the same thread, provided I'm not actually trying to confuse anyone else?
does that rule apply to those super casual threads too, like the ones asking what people are listening to? I don't really care about those topics, but does it mean I have to scrutinize every single thing I post
to make sure I haven't already commented there before (even with a new username)?

It isn’t actually against the rules to maintain multiple identities; the issue arises when one uses them to manipulate an argument. You simply create a new handle and proceed. Once you find yourself back on the threads where you previously posted, you can reach out to the moderators to clarify your identity so they know who you are, then move forward without using the old nickname. It’s really as simple as that. 👍

William Bennett53 said:I mean, there's nothing wrong with having multiple identities, I suppose, as long as you aren't using them to be a jerk during an argument.

So, I guess it’s fine to switch between accounts once in a while without bothering anyone, if I'm understanding this correctly.

Got it, thanks. 🙂

Sam Alvarez4 said:says the supermod. 😂
What a total joke of a website.

I mean, I guess there isn't really anything weird about it, right?
If someone happens to lose their forum password and then also forgets the login for the email they used to sign up,
it’s obviously possible to just go ahead and create a new profile,

but I suppose it isn't exactly ideal to start churning out hundreds of accounts—especially banned ones—just to be obnoxious,
so those people will probably just end up getting banned all over again at the first opportunity.

Amanda Ruiz55 said:I mean, what's even weird about that?
If someone forgets their forum password AND loses access to the email they used to sign up...
of course they can just make a new profile,

Oh, please, don't try to crack me up here.

I'm not looking to collect any more useless junk... especially for stuff like this.
Seen it all before. Like, a hundred and fifty times...

I’d kindly ask you not to address other members this way. It feels quite unnecessary and out of line...

@Amanda Ruiz55/">@@Amanda Ruiz55, when you set up a new profile, just let the moderators know which specific threads you want to keep posting in, and that should cover it...

@Pringles, I might not even bother starting a new thread, but thanks... I think I finally get how this all works now.