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There is a particular user who has asked a large number of questions on what I would characterize as a particularly sensitive (World War II-based) topic. These questions are badly worded and are potentially hurtful, meaning that he has paid little attention to either the frequency or the tone of such questions.

Apparently he was been placed in a timed suspension for at least a second time. Given his actions, some disciplinary measure is in order, but I wonder if "timed suspension" is the right one.

I like (and have upvoted) some of his answers. I do not like his questions. So I wonder if the suspension can't be limited to one side of the equation, that is, a question ban?

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  • As a community mod I personally don't have the power to do such a thing (at least I don't believe so). Unless I'm wrong about that, this request might be better placed in meta.stackoverflow.com.
    – T.E.D. Mod
    Jul 6, 2016 at 0:53
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    Keep in mind that, much like with StackOverflow, downvotes are hugely important to actually getting a question ban in place. So downvote away, as ruthlessly and heartlessly as you can do to get rid of the troll.
    – Denis de Bernardy
    Jul 11, 2016 at 23:22
  • @DenisdeBernardy: And unlike downvotes on answers, downvotes on questions don't cost you a point.
    – Tom Au
    Jul 12, 2016 at 0:01

1 Answer 1

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Question (& answer) bans do exist, but are automatic and cannot be triggered or otherwise controlled by moderators.

The exact formula that triggers post bans is kept intentionally vague by SE, to minimize the risk of people trying to exploit it. However, I suspect reputation is a factor and I think this particular user is outside the range of users that can be automatically post banned. They have more than a few decent posts and managed to gain a fair amount of reputation before they started aggressively trolling the site with their holocaust denying questions.

That said, and even though the possibility of a mod controlled post ban may be worth exploring, I think the suspension was justified in this case. It wasn't just the steady flow of crap questions, there were also several very rude comments. And no sign that either would stop anytime soon.

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