Why is it so easy to get permanently banned, sometimes even taking multiple accounts with it?
My account was over 3 years old. I would occasionally comment on relevant posts and mention that I had built a web app that might help. I wasn’t blasting links everywhere, I wasn’t copy-pasting the same message, and I wasn’t even naming the app most of the time. These opportunities were rare enough that I might do it once a week, maybe twice at most.
Then one day: permanent ban.
Not just that account, but another account that was over 2 years old got caught in it as well.
Maybe Reddit’s systems detected it as self-promotion. Maybe there was another reason I don’t know about. But from a user’s perspective, it feels surprisingly harsh when years of account history can disappear so quickly.
What surprises me most is that they seem comfortable making these decisions knowing how frustrating it can be for legitimate users. Losing years of participation, conversations, and reputation in an instant is enough to make anyone pretty upset.
Has anyone else experienced something similar, or am I missing something about how Reddit approaches enforcement?
Yup! I got permabanned for suggesting (lightheartedly!) that the guy who had wrecked the local library be put in stocks so the community could pelt them with rotten fruit and veg. Permabanned for inciting violence! Account was, like, 10+ years old.
One thing I’ve always wondered about Reddit:
Why is it so easy to get permanently banned, sometimes even taking multiple accounts with it?
My account was over 3 years old. I would occasionally comment on relevant posts and mention that I had built a web app that might help. I wasn’t blasting links everywhere, I wasn’t copy-pasting the same message, and I wasn’t even naming the app most of the time. These opportunities were rare enough that I might do it once a week, maybe twice at most.
Then one day: permanent ban.
Not just that account, but another account that was over 2 years old got caught in it as well.
Maybe Reddit’s systems detected it as self-promotion. Maybe there was another reason I don’t know about. But from a user’s perspective, it feels surprisingly harsh when years of account history can disappear so quickly.
What surprises me most is that they seem comfortable making these decisions knowing how frustrating it can be for legitimate users. Losing years of participation, conversations, and reputation in an instant is enough to make anyone pretty upset.
Has anyone else experienced something similar, or am I missing something about how Reddit approaches enforcement?
Yup! I got permabanned for suggesting (lightheartedly!) that the guy who had wrecked the local library be put in stocks so the community could pelt them with rotten fruit and veg. Permabanned for inciting violence! Account was, like, 10+ years old.
That’s really bad. They’re really bad 🥲