Got a permanent ban from a car forum for posting a picture of a 'fixed' wiring harness with electrical tape

It was on a big forum for a specific brand of truck. A guy was asking about a check engine light for an O2 sensor, and his photo showed the wires to the sensor were spliced and wrapped in that cheap black tape. I posted a reply picture of a proper solder and heat shrink job I did on a similar fix in my shop last week, with a comment like 'This is how it should look. That tape will fail in a month.' Next morning, I was banned for 'promoting unsafe modifications.' The mod message said my 'correction' could encourage people to do their own electrical work. I've been fixing cars for 12 years. Since when is showing the right way to do something 'unsafe'? Has anyone else been banned for trying to give good advice that went against a forum's weird rules?

3 comments

3 Comments

willow_ellis92mo ago

Honestly that's ridiculous. Forums get so weird about DIY stuff sometimes. Tbh you were just showing the proper fix.

brookep622mo ago

Read a blog post once that called it the "tyranny of the lowest common denominator." Forum rules get written to protect the person doing the absolute worst hack job, so any better method gets flagged. Your solder job was a threat because it assumed a skill level higher than just using tape.

the_tara2mo ago

Agree completely, it's a strange way to run a help forum. They end up protecting the worst advice just to avoid any chance of liability. I've seen threads where people tell someone to ignore a serious brake fluid leak, but a post showing the correct repair gets deleted. It teaches people to be afraid of fixing anything right.