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I was reading the answer to How can I delete my account?, but I'm confused about a part of it.

Will deleting my account clear any restrictions placed on my account?

Unfortunately, deleting your account while you are suspended by a moderator or rate-limited or banned by the automated quality filter will not remove any restrictions placed on your account. They will simply be re-applied to any new accounts you create.

Note the bolded sentence at the end.

Suppose if I owned an account that was temporary suspended. I delete my account, and everything I earned under that account is lost.

Suppose I create a new e-mail account, and use it to apply for another account on Stack Exchange (for this example, let's assume under the same display name), if a moderator determines that the owner was in fact the owner of an account that was suspended and deleted, can they apply the same suspension to the new account? Or is it new e-mail = new user/account?

You would have to safely determine that the new user is really the previous user, because the display name could be a common name or a popular character in pop culture, and it could just be a coincidence, that you favor the same tags/topics.

I've been referred to this post, but it doesn't answer my question fully. When you have a new e-mail account, and use it to start a fresh Stack Exchange account, can any previous suspension or penalties be transferred?

As the quoted answer states, if you create another account, it won't remove the previous suspension, but it doesn't differentiate between the same e-mail or a new e-mail address for the new account. How does the Stack Exchange rules and system handle this type of situation?

I don't just mean editing your profile with the new e-mail, I mean hitting signup and filling out the fields only with your new e-mail address, so on the surface, to Stack Exchange, you are a new user.

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    Such actions aren't taken lightly. I doubt they'd take action unless they were absolutely certain... which isn't always a hard bar to reach.
    – Kevin B
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:25
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    What happens will generally depend on who notices the match, and how each site decides to handle it. If you're trying to bypass a suspension, it usually doesn't end well.
    – fbueckert
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:26
  • This is also a good reference: meta.stackexchange.com/q/327498/193762
    – fbueckert
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:28
  • @fbueckert - It does somewhat, I guess my real question is, because it's a new e-mail address, does it mean, new account? So any previous restrictions don't apply? (I don't mean just switching the e-mail in profile section, but using the e-mail address to create a fresh account).
    – user667682
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:32
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    No. Consequences are applied to the person, not the account. Try to get around it, and it just gets worse when you're caught. You're treated as an adult, and that means owning your actions.
    – fbueckert
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:33
  • @fbueckert - How can I clean up my question so I don't receive more down votes? Something I can clarify?
    – user667682
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:34
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    What questions are you talking about? Surely not this one, where you're talking about deliberately circumventing a suspension.
    – fbueckert
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:35
  • @fbueckert - I'm not talking about me specifically, I just read the answer and thought it, and I decided to ask. This question already has two downvotes, I was wondering if I can improve on it, so that it can get upvoted.
    – user667682
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:36
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    Simple. Act like an adult, interact with others in good faith. If you get a suspension, serve it, learn from it, and come back a wiser person afterwards. Accepting the consequences of your actions is part of growing up. Especially unpleasant consequences.
    – fbueckert
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:41
  • @fbueckert - Ah! Well said.
    – user667682
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 20:42
  • @Rob - It does somewhat answer my question, as I said above what's to stop a person from creating another e-mail account and using that to start a fresh stack exchange account? If it's determined that you're the owner of a previously suspended account, do it apply to the new account?
    – user667682
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 21:25
  • SinsofVodianova, yes. If you unsuccessfully (the system detects it) recreate a new account the suspension continues exactly where you left off. If you 'successfully' create a new account once it is noticed (by secret or non-secret methods) the one account or the other might be deleted / merged or the suspension extended. --- The other duplicate link cautions: "Don't use this as an example.". My duplicate links says: "If the account holder creates a new account to bypass the suspension, that account will also be automatically suspended for the same reason until the end ...".
    – Rob
    Commented Dec 12, 2019 at 21:52

2 Answers 2

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Suppose I create a new e-mail account, and use it to apply for another account on Stack Exchange (for this example, let's assume under the same display name), if a moderator determines that the owner was in fact the owner of an account that was suspended and deleted, can they apply the same suspension to the new account? Or is it new e-mail = new user/account?

If this is detected, they will usually not apply the same suspension; instead, they will apply an increased suspension. The user is deliberately trying to circumvent the rules, so the suspension will typically be extended from 7 to 30 and from 30 to 365 days (but this is, as always, at the moderators' discretion). This suspension is applied to the main (old) account, the alternate account is often deleted outright.

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  • If such a case is detected during the suspension, does it extend to 30 days, or 37 days?
    – Red
    Commented Jul 29, 2020 at 16:22
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Suspensions on SE are applied because of misbehaviors by users and the user is the one to whom it is attached regardless of what account they are using. Changing your username and email address doesn't change who is behind the keyboard making the decisions and thus doesn't change the consequences applied.

As for the length of the suspension, creating another account to avoid a suspension is against the rules. Often, a moderator catching this behavior will actually destroy the alternate account and then increase the suspension on the original account because of having broken further rules. This is not a hard and fast rule though.

Moderators have plenty of tools available to them to verify that users are indeed the same and to look for other behavior that breaks rules. Username is only one of many signals that we can see. And CMs/employees have even greater tools. Generally, a moderator will not act unless they are sure a user is the same. If they are not sure they often will escalate for a CM to look into it and to confirm with their greater access.

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  • What about if there are already multiple active accounts? If Nog Shine were suspended, would Shog 9 have the same suspension imposed?
    – faintsignal
    Commented Dec 13, 2019 at 5:51
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    @faintsignal The spirit of the rule is that more generally the 'user' is suspended instead of just the user's 'account'. Suspending any other (new or old) account associated to the same email-address is one way how that spirit of the rule is being enforced.
    – Sextus Empiricus
    Commented Dec 13, 2019 at 9:54