Banhammer

Why Trust Techopedia

What Does Banhammer Mean?

The term “banhammer” refers to the power of moderators and system administrators to effectively ban users from a digital space. It began in Internet chat rooms and progressed to use in online gaming platforms.

Advertisements

Techopedia Explains Banhammer

Experts commonly attribute the first use of the term “banhammer” to MSN chat rooms in the mid-1990s where a hammer icon was used for administrative banning privileges. Over time, various icons and memes have developed around the use of the term “banhammer.” It has also become useful in online gaming. For instance, a “code of conduct” on Battle.Net describes actions that may lead to banning, including real-life threats and objectionable speech on forums.

Advertisements

Related Terms

Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.