Hey all. I’m here to tell you about my experience getting “shadow-banned” on my 8-year-old Reddit account. Short alike others: https://lemmy.today/post/49087735, https://lemmy.today/post/48784920, https://lemmy.today/post/47876190, https://lemmy.today/post/47779751

Almost smart

I basically stopped using Reddit 3 year ago around the whole “Reddit’s killing Thirdparty APPS” but, got sucked back in to a niche health/lookmaxing style Sub that I helped Mod for 10 months.

The day of

About a week ago I’m making posts, commenting, Moding, etc, and interactions stop working strangely lets of red error popups, and the “Important Information About Your Reddit Account” notification, saying “after detecting some technical irregularities on your USER_NAME account, we took the extra precaution of locking your account. To unlock your account, reset your password now.”

Figuring it out

So, I reset it via my email and log back in. Worried, but it seem top be working… then a few hours later the same red banner errors when I try to interact with users. So, I view my account on a logged out browser and it says “account suspended”

What to-do?

After filling out both https://www.reddit.com/appeal & https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000600232 I waited for an email, Reddit notification… And got nothing about it.

Now, the current non-signed in status is “This account has been banned” & all posts/comments are removed (Mods can still see them as from u/deleted & manually approve them)

When signed in:

  • No banner on my account or reason for being banned.
  • All public interactions fail with a Red popup error, and my entire history of posts and comments says “Sorry, this post was removed by Reddit’s filters.” or “Removed by Reddit”

Why?

What did I do wrong? Only reddit knows that! We can speculate, but, there is no point really. Reddit’s TOS allows them to!

How I feel about it

I feel disrespected, gaslit, lied to, and discriminated against. Sad, angry, depressed, etc… :( You all know the stages of grief.

Reddit pretending there’s a technical issue to me, but banning me without even saying it, and removing all my past posts & comments is very disheartening. From my personal experience, Reddit has proven to be largely a waste of time, and very much uninvestable.

Moving forward

Well, I’m not gonna make another Reddit account just for the same thing to happen, that would be me participating in (as I see it) a toxic relationship. I still get other random Reddit notifications (modmail, streak messages, etc) I can’t do anything with. It’s like Reddit is teasing me now. This guy has a good point https://lemmy.today/post/47176601/22123471

A little help?

Anyway, I know there is a lot of hate for conservative/Christian views around here, so any TIPS on where to find a ‘safe space’ to be me & express my self, and how to limit/block toxicity would be appreciated.

Maybe this is a sign from God, that my time is better offline.

  • southsamurai@sh.itjust.works
    6·
    2 days ago

    I really think your last line says it.

    I’m not being a smartass, just framing the concept in the same language you used.

    When shit like that goes down, taking a step back and a break is exactly what most people would benefit most from. Since you believe in a higher power that actively guides your life, you have to assume that is exactly what that higher power is arranging.

    Take the time you’d normally spend scrolling in prayer. The time you’d spend commenting studying your religion of choice.

    If after a few days to a week-ish you feel it’s right, then go looking for places where you can both find interaction and enrich yourself according to your faith. Truth is though, I suspect you’ll find greater fulfillment out in the real world with the people in your life than you ever could online.

    Look, no bullshit, that’s true no matter what religion or philosophy you follow. This shit? Reddit? It’s for the time when more direct human interaction isn’t available. It’s for the toilet and insomnia and waiting rooms.

    The religion side of it, you’re better off with some church group than an online space. I would hope you have the good fortune to be in a church that’s low on toxicity (not a guarantee at all lol) that also teaches love, compassion, and the principle of the Golden Rule.

    So, yeah, take this as a sign and a chance to reengage with important things.