My first shadowban I think took me about 2 months to realise why I wasn’t getting any replies… I had posted numerous help topics and just started to think that Reddit wasn’t that useful anymore.

Then I realised I’d been shadowbanned. I didn’t even know what it was.

I guess my IP or something got flagged because generally I was never able to make an account that lasted more than a few days without getting shadowbanned. At first it was okay even, some subreddits your account was working fine. Posting in the homelab subreddits or datahoarder etc. other subs like news, worldnews etc. my comments never got any replies.

I only ever used my acc mostly to ask questions. When I got my answer, I abandoned the thread. Didn’t have time for drama and I generally didn’t even reply to comments except to give more info on a request.

Month-on-month it got worse. Accounts which had no right to be flagged, got shadowbanned. One day I’d be posting fine, the next. Shadowbanned.

Then I’d make another account. Different device, different IP, even from a friend’s computer in another country. I realised later they’d track you through everything. If you went to threads of a person who was shadowbanned, you also got it. Ultimately I spent ages trying to have even just one account with enough karma that I could post without captcha or 10 minute delay.

I wasted months and despite how much I read about it. I could never figure out how it worked. Reading about it also felt like a waste of my time.

When reddit finally shut down the public api and the apps I was using stopped working. I ditched it immediately. Gradually I also went back to stackoverflow. Even if it takes longer to get an answer, they are so much higher quality.

Looking back, I knew reddit sucked but boy was I mad when I thought of how much time I wasted. Just because I didn’t spend 7 years of my life building a 75k karma account…

  • BornVolcano@lemmy.world
    0·
    1 year ago

    Okay so you took a basic statement I made and turned it into a black and white extreme. Prioritizing your NEEDS above others is crucial because if you don’t attend to your needs, you can’t be sure anyone else will. You also can’t effectively attend to the needs of others without first attending to yours.

    I never said that you should act in a way that infringes on others’ needs or boundaries, but your needs are not their responsibility and their needs are not yours. Anything beyond that is the application of empathy and connection, which is important, but not something to be shamed when there is a lack of it.

    In a survival situation, you cannot reasonably expect people to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. That’s just not a viable expectation. There is a grey area here in which some degree of self prioritization is necessary. Society is not a hive mind and I’m not saying “it’s all about me, fuck everyone else” but you’re also not responsible for how they feel or act. Personal accountability as well as caring for yourself.

    • stevehobbes@lemmy.world
      01·
      1 year ago

      Reddit or lemmy is not a survival situation. Prioritizing your own needs to the exclusion of all else is selfish.

      OP self declared that he never prioritizes anyone else.

      You’re inferring gray where none seems to exist.

      We live in a society, other people’s needs should be your needs when you’re able to easily help or provide. It costs virtually nothing to contribute back.

      If everyone acted like OP, no one would get questions answered or receive help here or on Reddit.

      People without empathy surely should learn some, and shame is what society uses broadly to enforce positive (and sometimes negative…) behaviors.