Locked Out of WA.
You are Locked Out!
Its so cold and lonely out here. You feel isolated, hurt, angry desperate. You ask yourself a lot of questions. Why?, Why dd this happen to me, what have I done to deserve this.? There was no warning, no explanation just a sentence saying my ability to write was revoked and that was in every area of Wealthy Affiliate. I could not comment on anyone s site, I could not ask a question, I could not communicate with any other member other than seeking them out on Facebook or Twitter.
I was so ready to throw in the towel with Wealthy Affiliate, because I had not promoted any other interest on the WA platform that could be considered spam as far as I was aware. .I know WA does not like or tolerate spam. I certainly would not have intentionally done that.
I May Have Breached The RulesI sent an email to Admin to ask why and they responded by saying I may have breached the rules. Well I thought about that response and thought it was far too vague. If a police car pulls me over he always tells me why, usually I was over the speed limit in a particular area then he will either give me a warning or a fine. Not so in WA you are locked out in the cold no explanation given at all just suck it up. I respect that Wealthy Affiliate must have rules to maintain its integrity and high moral standard. We all benefit from that and as a consequence we can all be proud of the whole community and what it stands for.
Social Media to the RescueThe only way I could contact anybody at all was via social media. With the names of a few friends from WA I went to Facebook and sought them out. It took some days before I got a response. The very young Jerry Huang, who I am a real fan of was the first to respond. He gave me Kyles' Facebook page and finally after a few more days Kyle responded and came to the rescue. He very kindly intervened and had my rights restored but even he could not explain why this had happened.
For me that was the hard part. If I have broken the rules I am happy to pay the price to earn my redemption. But when no real explanation is given other than I might have breached the rules it leaves you questioning, which rules, what did I do wrong and how can I put right whatever it is.
" Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid."
Fyodor Dostoesky:
ConclusionThank you to those who helped me via Social media and especially to Kyle who has seen fit to allow me back into the fold. .
My final word is to all in WA to take care that you know and follow the rules because without warning you might be locked out and let me tell you it is no fun.
I have also been told that sometimes people will report something as spam just because they don't like it. If you do not like something someone else has written then at least have the courage to tell them. Several people commented that they did not like a particular blog post I wrote so I immediately deleted it.
We are here to help each other not to destroy each others confidence and have them locked out.. Friends let's be considerate and build each other up and if one of our friends in WA should err then tell him or her before reporting it as spam. Treat others as you would like to be treated. I am left wondering how many people might have given up on their dreams as a consequence of being locked out.
Thank you again to all those who have encouraged me during my time with WA, you are valued friends and I appreciate your advice and feedbck.
Recent Comments
54
Judy,
I do understand why you feel the way you feel - I know
a few people who have gotten banned for things they
have said - not all of them deserved being banned for
it - one thing you must be careful of is the Spam any
thing that promotes other programs is not permitted within
WA - we cannot post any URL's in live chat. This is WA
Rules reading over it might bring some light to you :) Spam is a NO NO! Very sorry that you were lost but now you are back
and so happy for you :)
Thank you for your comment Marley. I did mention Web Talk on Chat because it was new to me and I thought others might benefit from it. I did not see it as spam to share a social media site. However if that was it , it would just have been nice to be made aware of why I was penalized rather than just take away my ability to write with no explanation . Like I said the police would never just rock up and take away your driving licence without telling you why.
I could get no answers from anybody.
Personally I would never dob in a fellow member without saying something to them first in a private message. In the same way if they have made big mistakes on their website I will tell them in a private message and not in a comment.
In my mind that is one of the few flaws in WA . Some people are too quick to condemn, if you see a brother or sister going the wrong way do you tell them or let them continue?
Judy,
I have done both in Live Chat and with PM's to members
when they have put URL's in chat which is a NO NO
some respond in chat so I let it go other who do not then
I send a PM - I think this is the best way to handle it -
should they continue then they need reported so I agree :)
I'm glad you're back Judy, and it's all sorted.
Yes, it's always good to have a WA contact outside of the platform for eventualities like this.
I bet you felt like a fish out of water. I know I would.
All the best!
Thanks Jackie, it was not a nice feeling, I felt totally alienated from everyone and everything, but all good now.
Judy,
I am really sorry that you went through this.
WA, as awesome as it is, it isn't perfect. They aren't always able to weed out the ones who abuse the system.
I think some have their own way of how they take the rules and they abuse that right.
I honestly can't see you writing a post that would cause others to not like it.
I have come across ones that I didn't enjoy and if I couldn't leave a positive comment, I just moved on to something else.
Jerry is an AMAZING young man. He has such a great demeanor and has never let me down when I have asked for his help.
As for not having the answer as to why this happened, there may not be one.
I am not sure exactly what WA can see as for what everyone is doing.
I do think that Kyle coming to the rescue goes to show that he at lease was able to see that you were wronged and he corrected it.
I am sure it was a painful experience and it probably left an imprint.
Luckily, you are still with us and I am sure that you will be a little leary, but I would do my best to go back to doing as you did before.
It sounds like something that should never have happened to begin with and whoever was behind it, well I am sure Karma will find them.
Wishing you the best in all you do
Lee Ann
Thank you so much for your response Anne . It was a difficult time and I was really ready to lash out at WA . However my faith in the system has been restored thanks to all the lovely members who have responded.
Jerry is definitely a legend but there are many others like him in WA who are always ready to help.
Kyle is awesome in the way he responds too.
Its onward and upward now All the best to you.
This is so malicious sounding! How awful!
Thank you for sharing, especially the part on how you were able to get back in!
For future referrence as a just-in-case clause, I will keep Kyle's FB handy.
Glad you were able to get back in, I am now following you as well. Have a lovely day!
Stacie Fortson
Thank you Stacie, I am ready to roll again now and looking forward to connecting with everyone again. Thanks for the follow and all the best to you too.
This happened to me Freisia. First I went to Loes who explained that I probably angered someone who spammed me over a number of times that got me downed.
I always have Kyle's (who restored me) FB address handy.
There is no reason for this happening other than reaction as a cure.
The person who I suspect spammed me is no longer in the forum and probably was removed.
Thanks Mike, tried calling on you and Loes but I finally got on to Kyle who resolved it for me today. How did you feel when it happened to you and how long did it last?
Fortunately only 2 days. It is a basic flaw that people are given the power to do this I don't know what Kyle has in mind allowing it!. Probably well meaningness falling through the cracks.
This just goes to show that not everyone isn't genuine and kind. I think that it does show that evil doesn't prevail.
I couldn't see someone doing this to you. I will say, that no matter what, I love WA and the great members like you, that make this community what it is.
I am glad you won the battle my friend.
Lee Ann
Welcome back Freisia! I would hate to be locked out. Can you please go into detail to describe how you got locked out so we can all learn?
Hi John, If I knew how or why I could tell you but if you read the whole post you should understand a little more. Take care as WA likes to maintain a high standard and keep its integrity.
Hi Judy,
Sorry to hear you were locked out and so far no satisfactory explanation given as to why that happened. While your access to your account has been restored, we are all hanging with unanswered question. Thanks for sharing - we all need to be extra careful in our activities here in WA. But How?
:)Joe
Thank you for your feedback, I would like to know why too but even Kyle could not answer that question.
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An interesting story but thanks to Jerry (always on the job) you found a light at the end of the path.
So a happy ending but not a lesson well earned.
We need an appeals board to adjudicate on these decisions and explain the reasonings, we all probably run the gauntlet in one way or tother.
Now you be a good girl and follow the rules LOL
Regards
Peter H
Thank you for your response Hanley. Please read my response to Marley.