Meta:Guide to appealing blocks
 | This page is an essay, containing the advice or opinions of one or more Miraheze contributors on appealing blocks. Essays are not Miraheze policies or guidelines. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Blocks are not meant to punish users for misbehavior, but rather to guide and/or educate the users on how to act in a positive manner. |
Let's pretend you were blocked for something disruptive editing or behavior. An administrator warns you about something you should refrain from, then you proceed to continue the disruption, you get blocked for ignoring the warning. You should try appealing your block if it was found to be in error. This policy listed here should list the common grounds on how to properly appeal your block. You should try to explain the reason why you think you should be unblocked. Use the {{Unblock}} template to write down said reason why you shouldn't have been blocked in the first place in about 2-3 sentences at the most.
Why was I blocked?[edit source]
- You may be an innocent bystander or a victim of collateral damage.
- Your account or an IP may have been blocked to prevent any more damage done to Miraheze (like edit-warring, or vandalism).
- You may have been involved in disruptive editing.
- You may have been acting disruptive such as trolling or other forms of disruption.
Things to avoid doing when appealing a block[edit source]
- Refrain from writing gibberish or nonsense in an unblock request.
- Trolling or rather childish behavior will not be accepted and will likely get your unblock request declined as a waste of time.
- Sockpuppetry: It won't get you anywhere.
Consider the following actions if your unblock request is denied[edit source]
- Take a break from editing Meta until you either own up to your mistakes or wait for your block to expire (if you've been blocked for a substantiary amount of time).
- Listen to the other editors and consider why they have blocked you in the first place.
- Competency is required while communicating about your block.
- Please refrain from using another account to go around a block.