Appeal a refusal

The blocklist is automatic, and automatic things are wrong sometimes. If it refused a word it should not have, tell us here. A person reads every appeal.

What happens

If we agree the blocklist was wrong, two things happen: the rule is removed or narrowed so it stops catching that word, and you get your day back. The refusal itself stays on the record — what happened is part of the piece — but the day becomes yours to write again.

If we think the blocklist was right, the refusal stands and we will say so plainly rather than leaving you wondering.

What can be appealed

Only a day that a refusal actually spent — that is, a second refusal in one day. A first refusal is a warning that costs nothing, so there is nothing to give back, though you can still tell us the rule is too broad and we will look at it. An accepted word cannot be appealed: words are permanent, including the ones their authors regret.

The rules the blocklist enforces, and the reasoning behind the free first strike, are on the blocklist page.