By "this sort of situation" I mean where someone went off the rails and then tells us that they're back on.

No, she didn't ask (which just makes her seem more sincere to me personally), but she was a enthusiastic part of the community when she in good shape and it seems like a nice thing to do.

Personally, I think it's not worth it.

Imagine the debate about defining "rails" and being on and off them. And then we get into doctor's notes.

Imagine the debate about defining "rails" and being on and off them. And then we get into doctor's notes.

Hee!

I'm just tossing it out there-- spirit of the season and all that.

Good for Zoe's mental health.

I cannot express how strongly I think that, since she didn't ask to be reinstated, we just leave it alone. Please.

she was a enthusiastic part of the community when she in good shape

She never was in good shape, IIRC. I mean, while she posted here.

And maybe we could come up with some sort of probationary reactivation of an account policy for this sort of situation...

Absolutely not, at least not now. I'm sorry Zoe was having problems and I'm glad she's feeling better, and I think we should send her a message saying as much. But reinstating one banned poster would make it much harder to keep up the policy that bannings are permanent.

I'm glad she's doing better. I was thinking about her when we were planning to be at PF.

I think Beverly has the right idea.

But reinstating one banned poster would make it much harder to keep up the policy that bannings are permanent.

Yep.

A few of us have never been comfortable with permanant exclusion. Someone who was ill and now has their situation under control is a good example of why.

Oh, lordie. I'm really reluctant to get back into this right now. It's the holidays and all.

Can it be moot until someone who is banned for an extended period of time brings it up? Please?

I'm with 'Suela. Personally, right nowI'm too tired and frazzled to deal with this, even hypothetically. Especially since no one has actually asked to be reinstated.

Someone who was ill and now has their situation under control is a good example of why.

My problem with that is that there is no way to prove someone had been ill, short of demanding doctor's notes. Which seems just a tad extreme. And it seems almost insulting to the posters on this board who have remained civil through cancer, divorce, miscarriage and severe depression to say someone else who deals with those things by lashing out at the board should get a free pass if they promise to play nice.

To me, whether bannings should be permanent is a different question than whether we should invite Zoe back. I guess my vote would go yes on allowing any and all banned posters back after a year, no on making case-by-case exceptions.