What's the difference between suspended, purgatory, and warned?
Warned is a punishment for a moderate violation or repeated small violations. You lose 10 karma and your user level is reduced for 48-72 hours, preventing you from posting on a lot of boards during that time.
Suspended is for a more severe violation. While suspended, you cannot use your account at all until an administrator reviews the violation, at which point he can downgrade it to a warning or upgrade it to a purgatory or ban.
Purgatory is the highest punishment level outside of a ban, used for major or repeated moderate violations. Purgatory can last anywhere from 7 days to 180 days, depending on the admins discretion. Youll lose a lot of karma and most of your posting privileges for the duration.