Cause for excommunication and meaning?

[Olympiada]

Gosh there are some cats out there in yahoo. I hope not in here too.
Ok, can anyone tell me what the causes are for excommunication, what excommunication means, and if that varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction?
Thanks
Olympiada

[The Apostate]

I'm sorry. I answered your other question and touched on this topic before I saw this thread. As both threads deal with much the same thing, perhaps it's better to have the discussion on one thread, as dividing it into two could become confusing.