I know Reddit now has a stupid rule or policy about new accounts posting or commenting. They punish new users for just trying to have a conversation. Why does Reddit hate privacy? Is it just in the system trying to filter out bots? Well, it is doing a shitty job since bots are still a high percentage there. Reddit banned me, even when I was on the new user friendly subs. I tried with multiple locations with a VPN too. This has to make people go to other platforms. Like I did, I moved here.
It’s pretty much my first time creating a Reddit account. I posted a question about a camera, and it immediately ran into issues—deleted, probably. The subreddit moderators privately messaged me saying it was likely auto-removed by Reddit’s system, and they mentioned they could manually approve and restore it. In the end, my post finally went live, but after that incident, my account was shadowbanned, and now it’s permanent. I have absolutely no idea why.
I created my second account about a few months later. I commented normally, but as soon as I made a post, I got shadowbanned. About half a year later, I created a third account, and the exact same thing happened: commenting was fine, but the moment I posted something, I was instantly shadowbanned.
A few months after that, I made a fourth account. I managed to keep it going for 5 days, built up my interaction to around 14x karma, and decided to try commenting in a SaaS subreddit. Boom. I couldn’t see my comment anywhere, and I knew what that meant. At that point, I hadn’t seen the red server error message yet, so I tried posting in another casual, friendly subreddit. Right then and there, I got hit with a shadowban. The next morning, I created a brand new account; the very first comment I sent out resulted in a shadowban in less than 60 seconds.
I once read a post where someone mentioned:
Old account left inactive for a long time, reactivated just to comment => ban. New account created on a banned device => ban. Randomly commenting out of context => ban. Buying an old account, logging in, and trying to comment => ban.
As for me, I’ve probably been device-banned.
It’s a vicious cycle. They really should just say it bluntly: “New account? Go get 200 karma and make sure it’s at least 30 days old, otherwise your account will be banned, which will lead to a device ban!”
Since I started using the internet, I have never seen a system designed in such a bizarre way. It’s truly brutal.
As a tech guy, I love discussing AI topics and introducing my own side projects, but dealing with Reddit like this is just tragic. I feel like I have no right to speak just because I don’t have enough karma or my account isn’t old enough. Then, sitting around waiting for an appeal feels like gambling, with no idea when the results will come. Meanwhile, the chances for a new account are as fragile as sea foam.
I even tried building an app to break Reddit’s dominance, but in the end, it went nowhere.
And that’s why I’m here, on Lemmy. I’m trying to figure out a way forward, because honestly, things can’t go on like this, LOL.
I thought I was going crazy at first, but coming here. People were having the same issues with it. You see all those bot accounts farming for karma but when you post a simple comment, boom! You get banned.
Should we cry? f**k off reddit. Like I said many months ago, I thought we left reddit to rot, die, but hey, we make posts on lemmy, fediverse about reddit. Feel free to downvote me, like they did on my comment many months ago.
Same here. That’s why I came here and never looked back. :) There is no point in trying to reason with or figure out a profit driven, bot riddled platform like Reddit.
Personally use redlib if i need to open reddit, works like a charm + no account needed.
Deleted my account months ago and spun up my own redlib instance behind a VPN container. Definitely one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time.
I did make a new account since but it’s literally just for trying to trade items in a game, I explicitly don’t use it to browse or comment on any thread but my own.
I get permabanned after 12 years and a million Karma during the post-Inauguration bloodbath, but I’d like to get back on, just for guitar and music subs.
Will Redlib allow me to get back on Reddit? I looked at it, and I can’t make heads or tails of it. I need an idiot-proof solution, because I’m an idiot.
It’s basically a read-only frontend, mostly meant to enable browsing the site but blocking out all of their tracking etc. You won’t be able to comment or vote or anything, but you can browse and subscribe to subs as “normal” (though it’s cookie-based, so if you clear your browser out you’d need to rebuild it up, unless you’re hosting your own instance in which case you can set your own defaults).
Using a VPN makes it difficult to categorise the user. You’re obfuscating the data they want to mine and on sell. As such, your account is deemed “suspicious” (aka same profile as “bad actors”) and gets banned.
It’s all algorithmic theatre. The rules are intentionally opaque. Pay it no mind; it’s not about you, it’s about them. Their algo is coarse and binary.
Tldr: you made it too hard to sell your data (you’re the product). Fuck reddit. Speed its death by taking the good stuff elsewhere.
You are right, I was getting it confused, and didn’t think about the hidden fingerprint stuff.
Why does reddit hate privacy?
Because their business model is to sell the data you give them and generate on their site.
You are the product.
They do not want bad product.
Same… Banned my account of nearly 20 years. Still to this day no reason or email why. Then every account I made was banned presumably because I used alias emails on a VPN.
So I find myself here.
Me too. 14 year account and it never bothered me much because it’s like being banned from a dumpster fire.
I’m wondering how driving out users will assist their bottom line? Particularly those of us who were providing content that they can sell. 90% of Reddit accounts are bots and lurkers.
Those 10+ year old accounts like yours and mine are the people who BUILT Reddit, back when nobody had heard of it. Now they’ve kicked us out, but they let the bots roam free, because they don’t criticize MAGA.
True, my friend. But Reddit is set on automatic self-destruct mode. Nothing can be done except sit back and watch from a distance. Unfortunately it will be pretty boring to watch.
Holy shit! 20 years?! I would be so pissed!
Who gives a shit about reddit, everything owned by a corporate is a propaganda machine with one goal only, dictating the narrative. Thats called dictature. #selfhosting #privacy #fuckdictature #fuckreddit
I give a shit about poisoning all the LLM models scraping Reddit and in doing so undermining all the traffic measurements pandered to Wall St. every quarter.
Everything? Probably not. The important stuff like major subs pertaining to news, politics, religion, and specific culture topics? Most definitely. I doubt r/dragonsfuckingcars is deep state reddit propaganda.
Who mentioned deep state? You make is sound like a conspiracy, but facts are undeniable. Reddit delete posts and ban users leaving exclusively posts and users that serve their purpose . Considering who owns reddit (Advance Magazine Publishers (Condé Nast’s parent), Fidelity Investments, and Vanguard Group) we can include the deep state so thank you for the reminder. r/dragonsfuckingcars and similar subs with 3 users and 100s bots are there to keep the barrack credible.
You see, even if i didn´t agree with you didn´t get downvoted, shadow-banned or banned. It is called freedom of speech.
Its sarcasm, I guess I could have added the /s for clarity. I mean yeah you’re being reasonable but I’ve definitely been downvoted around some parts of Lemmy for not being fervently in agreement (not even technically in disagreement). Some parts around here get pretty kooky and cultish, particularly revolving around some countries and political ideologies, and AI but to a degree that’s always expected online.
I got banned for replying every automod threat with a three letter message. They got so mad, they even track every IP I log in and block me again.
I can log in, save posts, read comments but I cannot post comments, thus sparing myself thousands of hours working for them
well NOW they are probably just straight up banning you for ban evasion so that’s more motive to ban someone than they even usually care to have.
same vibe as arresting someone for resisting arrest
I got a new phone, was in a new city, on a different wi-fi, using a VPN, and they still tracked me down and permabanned me AGAIN, within hours.
I read that they are using AI to track and consolidate information that creates a sort of fingerprint, and it can identify you regardless of IP.
The IP and email are totally different on each account set up. I tested it. All cookies are removed before. There would be no way they could tell, I say. But, they can tell that I am using a VPN.
Browsers are dead easy to fingerprint.
MAC address or unique fingerprint from the initial banned account when it was first registered has to be the constant here.
Yes, I am realizing that too. A side note, no way I would use apps like that on my actual phone. Using the cell towers, they can find out right where you are, I’m guessing.
Your phone, display size, apps installed, language, android build version etc etc make your anonynouse device unique when they query the browser.
All that meta info would need to be spoofed. Even spoofing the 80%, rather than all, might be enough.
corpos are virulently, malignantly predatory and untrustworthy. remember when a music label got sued for literally installing malware on the computers anyone played their discs in?
i suspect they’re doing some other shady shit to track you. wonder if it’ll still do that if you go to a public library and install it there.
my job uses a vpn too, although i don’t know why; for some reason my reported dirtspace location as far as network stuff goes is like 300 miles away from me >.> but for some reason i ain’t blocked or banned despite an old account of mine catching a permanent suspension
killing that account was kind of an impulsive act… and i have two other accounts that were both registered from drastically different places, and on different machines. so, i dunno, maybe these are all contributing factors to just not having any traceable meta-data that could establish a pattern sufficient for their automated systems.
There would be no way they could tell, I say.
You would be wrong
Of course, you say this and don’t explain why I would be wrong. That is a very Reddit like response. Say I am wrong and then don’t explain why. I even tried different browsers. It is because of the VPN. That’s why all the banning.
Browser fingerprint
Also I use temp emails. That could also be why. Wow, can people actually be private online now? I am scared for the future. Have you ever seen that movie “The Enemy Of The State” (1998)?
Nah, their fingerprinting goes deeper.
Luckily, I don’t hate to type it out!
https://chameleonmode.com/reddit-fingerprinting-detection-9-device-signals-that-burn-accounts/
It’s possible to get around, but then you hate to be completely passive and not change anything in how you got it done, because even just switching to a different but new device triggers a check by their automation, and it usually just bans.
So, there is no use in even trying Reddit anymore. Imagine how Edward Snowden feels. Always scared of getting his exact location found out. Thanks for the info.
For information about fingerprinting techniques there’s this site:
https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/
It has been around for a few years so there are almost certainly other techniques it doesn’t mention.
I never even thought of the fingerprint stuff. I guess if you are somebody hiding, you would have to.
I think there might also be fingerprinting techniques that do not rely on the browser, so it’s not conclusive. Not sure why people are being so negative, people trying to ban evade Reddit should be empowered to succeed imo, fuck Reddit
I use different browsers too, but yes, if I made so many new accounts with the browsers. They could tell from a browser. That makes sense.
yea. I guess I’m just a dick. Websites fingerprint everything about you. This should be comically obvious to people now.
But yea, reddit doesn’t like VPNs.
What if most websites somehow bans VPN users in the future? Now that is my dark prediction.
Privacy is too hard to monetize so they actively avoid privacy.
What’s worse is the number of actual bots that get through easily and unpunished while they shadow ban anyone with a VPN
You use a board farm like This. Each has its own IP address and if need be you set up a static IP for them over VPN.
Wow! That is crazy!
It’s big business. Pretty much every social network got its start with bots, major creators and influencers used artificial engagement to get their start, websites use tons of artificial traffic to rank higher on search results.
The other tactic is using a traditional bot net aka a hacker infects as many machines as possible essentially just to use them as a click farm.
It’s a whole grey or black market.
Punishing human users and rewarding the bots. How tragic…
The majority of traffic on reddit is bots. Its scary that its getting harder to tell. They’re probably sticking AI chat bots in there too.
I assume over 50% of users on there are bots.
I assume over 50% of users on there are bots.
Me too. And in the political subs, I’ve read estimates it’s more like 80-90%. Tho it’s impossible to know for sure what the % is.
I don’t know what would stop lemmy from the same fate or worse. Just a matter of time.
I received notice of replies to some posts of mine of FOUR years ago. I assume bots scraping the barrel.
I had a guy reply to my 8 year old post once, seemed legit
Sometimes people revive ghost threads from google searches.
Maybe take a hint and stop using that platform. It’ll be a lot better for your health.
This is true, it is so toxic. Most of the time you can’t even tell if you are replying to a bot or not.
this is called ‘preaching to the choir’. though cathartic, its not really productive for discussion.
no on here cares, because reddit
So stop going to reddit.
