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Although rare, account suspensions can happen to users on SE sites. In most cases the reason has been discussed in length by the defendant, site moderators, and SE team admins. With details privy to the parties involved.

However for those who are interested in how the appeal process works, I wanted to ask, just how does one appeal an account suspension?

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When a user is suspended, they receive a message (a "mod message") in their Stack Exchange inbox giving the reason for the suspension. They can then write a response to that message. If they believe that the suspension is in error ("Did you mean to suspend the user ff523, not ff524?") this is a quick way to clear up the misunderstanding. Note that you can't keep sending multiple responses, one after the other; you get one response per mod message, so use it wisely.

All mod messages and the responses to them are copied to all the diamond moderators on the site. So if there's a rogue mod acting up ("You voted to close my post? See how you like a ten year suspension!"), other mods will see and intervene.

Finally, if the moderator team on Academia.SE is not willing to lift your suspension that you believe is unwarranted, you can use the "contact us" link in the footer of every SE site to ask the SE team to look into the matter.

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    +1, why can’t upvote twice!? So there are checks and balances given the hard coded messages to all moderators and a final appeal to the SE team. With this in mind, is this appeal process the same for all actions that can happen to a user? E.g account deletion, question restrictions, voting restrictions.
    – Bluebird
    Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 8:08
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    @Frank some restrictions are applied automatically by the software based on certain conditions and can't or won't be undone (e.g.: if your IP address is automatically spam-blocked for a day because your neighbor who steals your WiFi keeps posting spam here, we can't do much for you.)
    – ff524 Mod
    Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 8:12
  • I see. Understood now. Thanks for your time and input. A class act as always.
    – Bluebird
    Commented Jan 2, 2018 at 8:13
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    But what if you use the "contact us" link and nothing happens? (As in, no response at all for four weeks) And then you try again, and still nothing? How long should one wait before losing hope? Is four weeks too little time to wait? The moderators at Parenting Beta suspended me for posting a comment that they felt should have been posted as an answer. I mentioned to them that my appeal had received no response, and asked if there was some better way to appeal the decision. They said the team is very busy and to be patient. How patient?
    – aparente001
    Commented Jan 15, 2018 at 5:49
  • @aparente001 If this was over the holidays, it probably got lost by mistake. I would try again now that holidays are over. And then wait a week after that. (See “Contact us”… and then what?.) Don't really have any advice beyond that... I see you've used the 'contact us' form before and got a response, so you already have some experience with that.
    – ff524 Mod
    Commented Jan 15, 2018 at 18:12
  • @ff524 - Thanks, I will try once more, as you say, because of the holidays.
    – aparente001
    Commented Jan 16, 2018 at 2:21
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It is described at the end of this meta.se post:

How do I escalate my individual suspension/conflict with a moderator?

There are, I think, three options:

  • Reply to the moderator message directly. This both preserves privacy and notifies other moderators and a community manager. It's also the best way to show you are a reasonable/misunderstood/repentant user. Note you can only reply once, so make it count.

  • Use the "contact us" link. If you used up your reply or feel the need to elevate your concern, the contact form is a direct line to a community manager. We take complaints against moderators seriously. See also, the advice in the previous item.

  • Post a question on meta. (Not recommended.) Obviously, you can't do this during your suspension. (Though some folks come here to Meta Stack Exchange instead.) This is a master-level move that requires discipline. Be aware that most communities appreciate the hard work of their volunteer moderators so they tend to get the benefit of the doubt. You really need to go the extra mile to show yourself reasonable.

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