<story><title>Tell HN: My Reddit account was banned after adding my subs to the protest</title><text>As you may be aware, there is an upcoming protest[0] on June 12-14 where many subreddits[1] are going private for 48 hours in protest of reddit&amp;#x27;s API fee increase[2][3], which many expect will lead to the end of all third party apps.&lt;p&gt;I moderate a few subreddits for a niche hobby, and decided to join the protest. We&amp;#x27;re fairly small, if non-negligible potatos: altogether, maybe 10k-15k active users on a busy day, but still want to show support.&lt;p&gt;So, I commented to add the subs to the list[1] and made announcement posts based on the template[4] linked from r&amp;#x2F;modcoord.&lt;p&gt;Several minutes later, the site logged me out. I received an email from reddit that said my account had been locked for &amp;quot;suspicious activity&amp;quot; and I would need to reset my password.&lt;p&gt;The timing seemed curious, but as I was logged in over an Airbnb&amp;#x27;s wifi, I figured it could be legitimate.&lt;p&gt;When I logged back in, I saw that all of the posts and comments I&amp;#x27;ve made from this account had been deleted. The password reset requirement is understandable; the fact that the posts and comments were not restored, less so.&lt;p&gt;Looks like it&amp;#x27;s finally time to encourage my community to move to another site.&lt;p&gt;0. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&amp;#x2F;item?id=36187705&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&amp;#x2F;item?id=36187705&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;1401qw5&amp;#x2F;incomplete_and_growing_list_of_participating&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;1401qw5&amp;#x2F;incomplet...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;13xh1e7&amp;#x2F;an_open_letter_on_the_state_of_affairs_regarding&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;13xh1e7&amp;#x2F;an_open_l...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;evilbuildings&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140n3m3&amp;#x2F;hey_reddit_execs_stop_being_greedy_assholes_this&amp;#x2F;jmwbkpv&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;evilbuildings&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140n3m3&amp;#x2F;hey_...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;4. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ProCSS&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;api_protest_template&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ProCSS&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;api_protest_template&lt;/a&gt;</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>operatingthetan</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s strange but it appears that Reddit may be astroturfing their own site: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;Save3rdPartyApps&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140gd1y&amp;#x2F;bot_army_in_full_effect_to_downplay_the_changes&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;Save3rdPartyApps&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140gd1y&amp;#x2F;b...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>l-p</author><text>They are.&lt;p&gt;We caught &amp;quot;community builders&amp;quot; making disingenuous posts trying to pass reposted&amp;#x2F;translated content as OC to generate engagement. After getting caught doing so with their admin accounts they tried again using normal users.&lt;p&gt;They also had the bright idea to spam users via DM using a poorly templated message (verbatim &amp;quot;insert u&amp;#x2F;USERNAME&amp;quot;) to promote localized copies of low-quality subs (the kind of trash you see on r&amp;#x2F;all).</text></comment>
<story><title>Tell HN: My Reddit account was banned after adding my subs to the protest</title><text>As you may be aware, there is an upcoming protest[0] on June 12-14 where many subreddits[1] are going private for 48 hours in protest of reddit&amp;#x27;s API fee increase[2][3], which many expect will lead to the end of all third party apps.&lt;p&gt;I moderate a few subreddits for a niche hobby, and decided to join the protest. We&amp;#x27;re fairly small, if non-negligible potatos: altogether, maybe 10k-15k active users on a busy day, but still want to show support.&lt;p&gt;So, I commented to add the subs to the list[1] and made announcement posts based on the template[4] linked from r&amp;#x2F;modcoord.&lt;p&gt;Several minutes later, the site logged me out. I received an email from reddit that said my account had been locked for &amp;quot;suspicious activity&amp;quot; and I would need to reset my password.&lt;p&gt;The timing seemed curious, but as I was logged in over an Airbnb&amp;#x27;s wifi, I figured it could be legitimate.&lt;p&gt;When I logged back in, I saw that all of the posts and comments I&amp;#x27;ve made from this account had been deleted. The password reset requirement is understandable; the fact that the posts and comments were not restored, less so.&lt;p&gt;Looks like it&amp;#x27;s finally time to encourage my community to move to another site.&lt;p&gt;0. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&amp;#x2F;item?id=36187705&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&amp;#x2F;item?id=36187705&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;1. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;1401qw5&amp;#x2F;incomplete_and_growing_list_of_participating&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;1401qw5&amp;#x2F;incomplet...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;2. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;13xh1e7&amp;#x2F;an_open_letter_on_the_state_of_affairs_regarding&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ModCoord&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;13xh1e7&amp;#x2F;an_open_l...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;3. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;evilbuildings&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140n3m3&amp;#x2F;hey_reddit_execs_stop_being_greedy_assholes_this&amp;#x2F;jmwbkpv&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;evilbuildings&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140n3m3&amp;#x2F;hey_...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;4. &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ProCSS&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;api_protest_template&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;old.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;ProCSS&amp;#x2F;wiki&amp;#x2F;api_protest_template&lt;/a&gt;</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>operatingthetan</author><text>It&amp;#x27;s strange but it appears that Reddit may be astroturfing their own site: &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;Save3rdPartyApps&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140gd1y&amp;#x2F;bot_army_in_full_effect_to_downplay_the_changes&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.reddit.com&amp;#x2F;r&amp;#x2F;Save3rdPartyApps&amp;#x2F;comments&amp;#x2F;140gd1y&amp;#x2F;b...&lt;/a&gt;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>retsibsi</author><text>This would be a weirdly clumsy approach for Reddit to take. I don&amp;#x27;t know whether they&amp;#x27;re too ethical to do something like this, but surely they&amp;#x27;re too competent to do it in such a silly way. Simplest explanation is someone else did it, perhaps to frame Reddit or perhaps for a more boring spambot-related reason.</text></comment>