I've been a Discord user (namrog84) since Jan 2016 and it's crucial for my personal friendships and professional game dev work. Three months ago, I was permanently banned (Oct 2026?) without any warnings. Apparently because an old server I created for the game Dark and Darker was left abandoned and unmoderated.

Now, not only have I lost contact with friends and collaborators, but I'm also cut off from essential support channels for development tools and communities. Despite multiple appeal attempts (all seemingly automated rejections), I don't think I've had a real conversation with Trust & Safety. I acknowledge as a server creator I share responsibility for moderation, but without any prior warnings a permanent ban seems disproportionate.

Discord was my primary social outlet after I left my role at Microsoft, so losing that network has been personally tough and professionally limiting.

Is there any proven path forward or guidance from the HN Community? Are there lessons from others who've faced similar bans and found success either in reinstating their accounts or otherwise? any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.

Full additional details (timelines, appeals, screenshots, and such here): https://gist.github.com/namrog84/684f5e8ea854d7d04c149854b84bdce7

For context, I'm a former Microsoft employee turned full-time indie game dev: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-gorman-b3544412/

Thanks for reading and any tips or advice is welcome.

Adam (namrog84)