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Space Bans

Free & Pro

A space ban removes a member from a single space and blocks them from rejoining it, without touching their account anywhere else on the site. Space owners and moderators control their own ban list per space.

Single space home with member management where owners ban members from the space

Moderation queue where banned members and space moderation actions are reviewed

Why use it

Most disruption in a community is local. Someone is fine in the rest of the site but keeps derailing one space, ignoring its rules, or harassing its members. A site-wide suspension would be too heavy for that, and removing the member without a ban only buys you a few minutes, because they can rejoin the moment they notice.

A per-space ban is the right-sized tool. It lets the people who run a space keep it safe on their own terms: the banned member loses access to that space and cannot come back, while the rest of their experience on the site continues normally. Owners and moderators do not need a site administrator to step in for a problem that belongs to their space, and the wider community is never disrupted by a local cleanup.

For members, the result is a calmer space. The person causing problems is gone and stays gone, so conversations can continue without the same disruption returning an hour later.

How it works (for members)

These actions are for a space owner or moderator. Regular members do not see ban controls.

Ban a member

  1. Open the space, go to its settings, and select the Members tab.
  2. Find the member in the roster.
  3. Choose Ban. You will be asked to confirm, since the member will not be able to rejoin.
  4. Confirm. The member is removed from the space immediately and added to the ban list.

When you ban someone:

  • Their membership of the space ends. If they were an active member, the space's member count drops by one.
  • A ban record is kept for the space, so the ban holds even if their old membership row is later cleared.
  • Any future attempt to join or request to join the space is refused with a message telling them they are banned.

Note: The space owner cannot be banned. Transfer ownership first if you need to remove an owner from their own space.

View the ban list

The Members tab in the space's settings has a "Banned members" section showing who is currently banned from that space, oldest ban first. Use this list to review past decisions and to find someone you want to unban.

Unban a member

  1. Open the space's settings and select the Members tab.
  2. Scroll to "Banned members" and find the member you want to reinstate.
  3. Choose Unban.

Unbanning removes the ban record, so a space ban is never a one-way door. The member can join or request to join the space again like anyone else. Unbanning does not automatically re-add them to the space; it just lifts the block, and they rejoin through the normal join flow.

Setting it up (for owners)

Space bans need no configuration. Any owner or moderator of a space can ban, view bans, and unban for that space, and a site administrator can do the same for any space. There are no plugin settings to enable first.

The one related space setting is the default notification preference for new members, which is covered in Space Notifications, not here.

Good to know

  • A banned member who tries to join or request to join is refused. They are not silently dropped; they see a clear "You are banned from this space" message.
  • A ban affects one space only. It does not block, suspend, or restrict the member anywhere else on the site.
  • The ban list shows up to 50 bans for performance, oldest first.
  • Unbanning a member only restores their ability to join. It does not re-add them or restore their previous role; they come back in as a regular member if they choose to rejoin.
  • Removing a member (without a ban) and banning a member are different. A plain removal lets the person rejoin right away; a ban keeps them out until you unban them.
  • For broader, site-wide enforcement (warnings, suspensions across the whole community), see the site moderation tools, which are separate from per-space bans.

Free vs Pro

Space bans, the per-space ban list, and unbanning are all included in the free plugin. There is no Pro upgrade required to ban a member from a space.

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