c/behind-the-ban

The $40 "premium" Discord role that got my server shut down

I ran a small gaming server with about 300 members, and I sold a $40 monthly role that promised early access to new maps. Someone paid, got the role, and then posted a leaked build in a public channel. The devs found out, blamed the server, and nuked it within 48 hours. I lost the community I spent 9 months building over one bad decision. Has anyone else had a paid perk backfire that hard?

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evan_dixon67•20h ago

Got banned from a local swap group for calling out a $150 lawnmower scam

Last Tuesday I posted in our neighborhood Facebook swap group about a guy selling a used mower for $150 that was clearly a $60 Home Depot special with a fresh coat of spray paint. I even linked the exact model and pointed out the missing safety guard. The admin took it down within an hour and then banned me for 'harassing a community member.' The kicker? Two days later the same guy listed a leaf blower that was just as sketchy and it sold in 10 minutes. I get that the group likes to keep things civil, but warning people about an unsafe mower feels like the whole point of a swap group. Has anyone else been kicked out of a local buy/sell page for trying to protect people from a bad deal?

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margaretrivera•1d ago

Got kicked out of a Facebook group for posting a screenshot of my own ban

Last Tuesday I got banned from a local gardening swap group after 4 years of posting. The mod said I was 'stirring drama' because I posted a screenshot of a private message where another member told me my tomato seedlings were 'genetically suspect'. I didn't even name them, just asked if anyone else had heard that phrase. Boom, permanent ban with zero warning. I messaged the mod asking for specifics and they replied 'you know what you did' then blocked me. Has anyone else been hit with a vague ban like that where they never actually tell you the real reason?

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tessa_kelly•3d ago

The mommy blog that nuked my account over a recipe tweak

Got booted from a parenting forum last Tuesday after I swapped oat milk for whole milk in a posted pasta recipe. The mod said I was 'promoting unsafe substitutions' even though the thread was full of people swapping ingredients daily. I found out later from a friend who still has access that they flag any post mentioning non-dairy milk as potential allergy advice, which is crazy strict. Their policy page buried under 4 menu clicks says all recipe edits need prior approval, something I never saw in the signup terms. Anyone else hit a weirdly specific dietary rule in a group that seemed to target one random thing?

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henry_moore55•4d ago

The mod who banned me sent a message that actually made sense

I got the boot from a gardening forum for telling someone to use roundup instead of pulling weeds by hand, but then the mod sent me a 3 paragraph reply about how chemicals get into local waterways near Portland, and that specific example made me realize I was being careless.

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henrygrant•4d ago

Group chat got nuked because I posted a screencap of a deleted message

Happened in a local hiking meetup group on Facebook, about 4 weeks ago. Someone posted a controversial trail reroute opinion and then deleted it after people started arguing. I took a screencap and reposted it in the comments, thinking it was fair game since they said it publicly. Mod banned me within an hour, no warning, and then the whole thread got locked. Still not sure if I broke an actual rule or just annoyed the wrong person. Has anyone else gotten booted for screenshotting something that was already out there?

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abbyc33•4d ago

Moderator AI flagged my plumbing diagram post, had to appeal twice

Posted a detailed drain venting sketch in a plumbing forum and their auto-mod killed it for 'spam-like image content.' Turned out the AI misread the pipe layout as gibberish. I had to message a human mod directly and explain it was a real diagram from my 1960s house in Portland, took 3 days to get it restored. Anyone else fight with automated filters over legit technical drawings?

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lily97•4d ago

Why does nobody talk about the 24 hour appeal window?

Got banned from a Discord server for a joke that got taken the wrong way, but I found out after digging through their terms that you can appeal within 24 hours of the ban. I used it and got back in same day, has anyone else pulled that off?

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janac59•11d ago

Got booted from a hiking forum for posting trail conditions

Last month I hiked the Tonto Trail in Arizona and posted a quick update about the water levels at Havasu Creek. Some mod there removed it saying I was 'endangering readers' because I mentioned a washed-out section near mile 12. I wasn't telling anyone to go, just flagging the danger! Has anyone else been silenced for sharing practical safety info on a group? It feels backwards to me.

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tessa_kelly•14d ago

Hit 1,000 forum posts and got banned an hour later for 'spam'

Was on this hobby board for like 6 years, mostly lurking and occasionally posting about my fish tank setup. Last Tuesday I hit 1,000 posts exactly, which felt like a milestone so I made a quick thread saying thanks to the regulars who helped me with my filter issues over the years. Not even 60 minutes later, a mod banned me for 'suspicious frequency of posting' even though I averaged maybe 2 posts a day. I messaged them asking what the deal was, and they said my account behavior matched a bot pattern because I always posted at the same time in the morning. That time was 6:30 AM because that's when I feed my fish before heading to a job site. Anyone else get flagged for being too regular in your habits?

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charles_chen93•15d ago

Got banned from a local fb group for calling out fake hiking pics

I posted in a PNW trail group after I spotted a photo of someone at a viewpoint that was clearly doctored, like clouds added and colors turned up to 11. The mods took it down and banned me for 'negative vibes,' which is wild since the whole post was just me asking if anyone else noticed the same weird glow. I get protecting the community, but now it's just an echo chamber where every summit looks like a fantasy movie. Has anyone else been tossed from a hobby group for questioning photos instead of praising them?

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umabailey•16d ago

The mod's note about my screenshots made me rethink everything

I got banned from a gardening group on Facebook for posting screenshots of a seed scam. The mod said my screenshots had personal info visible and that I was 'doxxing by accident'. At first I was mad, but then I looked closer and yeah, the seller's phone number was right there. I never even thought about that because I was just trying to warn people. So I changed how I do callouts entirely. Now I always blur out names, numbers, and emails before posting anything. It's a pain and takes an extra 5 minutes, but I haven't had a single ban or warning since. Has anyone else gotten banned for something that was actually a fair point once you stepped back?

2 comments

tessa394•17d ago

Banned from a restaurant's Facebook page for posting a photo of my receipt

Went to a diner in Cleveland last month, they added an automatic 20% tip for a table of 3 without saying anything. I posted the receipt photo and asked if that was normal, got blocked within an hour, has this happened to anyone else?

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troy_wilson8•18d ago

Update: Hit 200 appeals overturned, turns out persistence pays off

Took me 11 months to get that count after getting banned from a niche forum for quoting a study they didn't like, and the win was getting a second chance to post again, has anyone else tracked their successful appeal numbers like this?

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ryang77•22d ago

Permanently banned from a hiking meetup group over one trail photo

I got kicked out of a local hiking group on Facebook after posting a picture of a faded trail marker I found near Mount Elbert. The admin said it violated their rule about sharing 'unsafe navigation tips' because I mentioned the marker was hard to see. I've been on 40 hikes with these people over two years, never had a warning. I even offered to take the post down and apologize, but they ignored me. What's the line between helpful info and breaking a group rule for you all? Has anyone else been booted for something that felt this small?

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taylor305•26d ago

Got banned from a local history group for correcting a date, still not over it

This happened about 4 months ago in a Facebook group for my town's history. Someone posted a photo claiming the old train station burned down in 1948. I knew it was 1951 because my great uncle's diary has the whole week written down, I even quoted it in my comment. The admin deleted my comment, then banned me when I asked why. Said I was being 'disrespectful to the group's narrative.' The photo was literally from 1952, you could see the new sign. Has anyone else been tossed from a local group for just sharing proof? What's the point of a history group if you can't correct history?

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spencer_moore39•26d ago

Mods nuked my post for mentioning a rival subreddit's name

Tbh I got banned from a local hobby group on Reddit last Tuesday for dropping the name of a different sub that had a tutorial I liked. The rule said no cross-promotion, but I wasn't promoting anything, just referencing a video. I messaged the mods twice, and they kept saying it's to prevent brigading, but my post had 40 upvotes in 10 minutes before it vanished. Has anyone else been axed for a rule that reads one way but gets enforced another way?

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clark.lily•27d ago

A random comment about my pixel art critique finally clicked

I got banned from a pixel art subreddit last month for saying a piece looked 'flat', but one mod PM'd me saying my feedback was vague and unhelpful, which honestly stung. I started adding specifics like 'your light source is inconsistent on the roof tiles' instead of just opinions, and now people actually reply with thanks. Has anyone else had a ban or critique that forced them to change their whole approach?

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margaretrivera•1mo ago

That Wikipedia editor who told me to "cite your sources like you're proving it in court"

I got banned from a history forum a few months back for posting about local folklore around a supposed ghost town in Kansas. The mod said I was pushing "unverified claims" and gave me a warning. But I had a specific conversation with a Wikipedia editor last year (through their talk page) who told me to back up every single sentence with a published source, even stuff that seems common sense. I followed his advice after the warning and dug up a 1930s county record and a newspaper clipping from the Wichita Eagle. The mod still banned me after three days because one of my sources was a self-published memoir from a local historian. The editor would've said that counts as a valid source if it's the best available, but the mod didn't care. Has anyone else run into this where the same rule gets applied differently depending on who's enforcing it?

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taylor_fox•1mo ago

Vent: Got banned from a local facebook group for arguing about deer feeders

I live in Texas Hill Country and this group was all about wildlife management. Last month I posted that automatic corn feeders do more harm than good because they spread disease and mess with natural foraging. Admin said I was spreading misinformation and banned me within the hour. I even linked a study from Texas Parks and Wildlife but nobody cared. Has anyone else been kicked out of a hunting or wildlife group for questioning common practices?

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angelac63•1mo ago

The week I got banned from a beekeeping forum for asking if honey crystallizing meant it was fake

I posted a simple question after a jar of honey from a farmer's market in Flagstaff turned solid in three days and a mod named BeeLady42 went nuclear on me, calling me a 'honey denialist' before perma-banning me, so has anyone else run into weirdly aggressive hive minds over totally innocent stuff?

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victor759•1mo ago

Got banned from a city sub for pointing out a public park cost $14 million more than budgeted

Found the audit report buried on the city website after a 3 hour search, and when I posted the exact figure showing the $14 million overrun a mod deleted it for 'misinformation' even though I linked the PDF, has anyone else had mods ignore official documents like that?

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the_riley•1mo ago

Hit 500 consecutive days on a language app and got a surprise ban

Reached a 500 day Duolingo streak last week and woke up to a ban for 'suspicious activity' - turns out their algorithm flagged me for practicing too many lessons in one day. Has anyone else gotten dinged just for being consistent?

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alex524•1mo ago

Got kicked out of a local history Facebook group for posting a photo I took at the old mill.

I live near this old textile mill from the 1800s that's mostly abandoned now. I snapped a picture of a weird graffiti tag on the wall and shared it in the group asking if anyone knew the story behind it. The admin messaged me saying I was 'promoting vandalism' and banned me on the spot. Has anyone else been banned from a community for just trying to learn something?

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maxmurphy•1mo ago

Got banned from a local hiking forum for mentioning trail erosion

I posted about a specific switchback on the Mount Whitney trail where folks were cutting across, and the admin said I was 'fearmongering' and locked me out. Has anyone else run into a group that shuts down conservation talk?

2 comments