Bans & Timeouts

GO Shortener provides granular disciplinary controls allowing administrators to enforce community guidelines and mitigate automated abuse without permanently expelling users when a temporary cooldown is sufficient.

Temporary Timeouts

A timeout temporarily suspends a user account for a specified duration:

Available Timeout Durations

• 30 Seconds (ideal for testing)
• 5 Minutes
• 1 Hour
• 24 Hours
• 7 Days

Effects of a Timeout:

• Authentication Blocked: If the user attempts to log in or issue API calls while timed out, the server responds with an HTTP 403 Forbidden error displaying the remaining timeout duration.
• Existing Links Remain Accessible: Active links owned by the timed-out user continue redirecting normally unless individually disabled.
• Automatic Expiry: Once the timeout timestamp lapses, full account privileges are automatically restored without administrator intervention.

Permanent Account Bans

For serious offenses such as malicious phishing, malware hosting, or repeated violations, administrators can issue a Permanent Ban:

Bulk Link Deactivation Feature

When confirming a permanent ban, administrators are presented with a checkbox:

[x] Deactivate all active links owned by this user

Enabling this option automatically cascades an update across all links associated with the banned user's owner_id, setting status = "disabled". This instantly terminates traffic to any abusive links the user may have distributed across the internet.

Restoring Accounts (Unban)

Administrators can reverse a timeout or permanent ban at any time:

1. Navigate to /admin/users and filter by Banned or Timed Out.
2. Locate the user and click Restore User (or POST /api/admin/users/{id}/unban).
3. The user's status resets to active, restoring login privileges.