r/help • u/scaramangaf • Oct 06 '24
Reddit automated punishment?
Contributing member of the Reddit community here.
I have received "Your account has been given a warning" for "threatened violence and physical harm".
This is absolute nonsense and I am waiting to hear back on an "apeal".
But the part that is troublesome is that the punishment was automated:
At the bottom of the message:
“Note: This content was flagged by Reddit's automated systems. This decision was made using automation.”
So I am being punished with a warning by an automated system??
How does this make any sense?
5
u/michaelpaoli Oct 06 '24
How does this make any sense?
Huge number of users. Not much staff. Do you want to pay lots for your Reddit membership so they can have staff to personally review the item?
And how many dozens/hundreds of hours have you volunteered to help Reddit out on reviewing such items?
Uh, yeah.
It's "free". That meas you're not the customer. You're the product being sold. They really don't need you - you can always walk and they won't much care. So, good luck with the bot(s) and appeal, etc., hopefully it works out okay. But can only expect so much from "free" service. Yeah, it kind'a sucks, but ... there you have it.
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u/jakeoverbryce Oct 06 '24
I got the same stupid warning when discussing retaliation in relation to Iran shooting missiles at Israel.
How is that threatening violence?
If I directly threaten another member that's one thing.
If I try to incite violence against some innocent human that's also something.
But talking about retaliation against criminals terrorists or Evil countries isn't threatening violence.
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u/Always-Be-Nice Oct 10 '24
AGREED... you have an opinion and you let it out there for discussion... who knows... you might get a response that changes your view... or you may get someone to see it your way... heck... you might get others that support your view...
Open Discussion is what ultimately reveals the flaws and/or the positives of any idea... having a robot or a human moderator in place gives ultimate power to someone else to decide what is right and what is wrong... by shutting down people's voices... not good...
Good Luck... Be Safe...
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u/PaddyLandau Helper Oct 06 '24
How does this make any sense?
All of the big social media sites have been replacing many of their human moderators with AI. Unfortunately, as can be expected, the AI is far from perfect. (On some of them, the AI is actively worse than imperfect, e.g. see what's been happening on Facebook and Instagram.)
That's what's happening. So, you need a human to check the AI's decision to see that it's incorrect (assuming that it is indeed incorrect).
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u/CollectionDue3026 Experienced Helper Oct 06 '24
It doesn’t seem that your account is restricted or suspended because of it. If that is the case, there is nothing to appeal.
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u/scaramangaf Oct 06 '24
Thanks for replying. Am I mistaken in seeing the warning as a first step toward a suspension? Is it not a black mark on my account? How is that not punishment?
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u/CollectionDue3026 Experienced Helper Oct 06 '24
Sure, it will probably be taken into account if you do end up getting suspended but it doesn’t affect your ability to post/comment/message at this point in time. If you were handed a suspension, you might’ve needed to appeal at https://www.reddit.com/appeal in order to be able to continue commenting or posting on the platform.
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u/Itchy-Negotiation-80 Oct 06 '24
Chances are that won't help though. Within like, minutes, of me submitting appeals for some recent baseless/no-reason-given bans, I got a "the decision stands and we won't reconsider" messages. No replies to support emails over months of trying, either. I really wish there was better support throughout Reddit - that should be part of their goal for making more money, I'd hope.
3
u/notthatkindofmagic Oct 06 '24
Yeah, that kind of thing happens, unfortunately.
Early on, it was adolescent moderators. Now it's AI.
Every day I get a little closer to abandoning Reddit altogether.
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u/A-D808 Oct 07 '24
Reddit is literally moderated/controlled discussion. I got banned from r/inflation because I mentioned they changed the way they calculate unemployment within the last few years. I have no more faith in reddit even tho I still enjoy it more than twitter.
1
u/scaramangaf Oct 07 '24
To punish the people who are generating content on your platform has got to be one of the dumbest things you can do. Sure, it won't register initially but over time, it will corrode the place the same as termites in a house.
2
u/Barbell_Loser Oct 07 '24
yeah reddit is absolutely terrible. overmoderated so hard that most subs literally will not make you a post bc you're supposed to put that in the dead thread on thursdays only.
the moderation situation is getting worse by the year, and with AI just expect more of this going forward. honestly we should just stop wasting our time here
2
u/Xaloros Oct 07 '24
Be lucky you weren’t me. My other account got banned for three days for making a post defending the death penalty, flagged for inciting violence. Thank god there was an appeal. But yeah it’s crazy.
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u/Always-Be-Nice Oct 10 '24
Fighting an automated system is like screaming at the anchor on television or the talk show host on the radio... no one will ever hear you...
We were all 'warned' about this in the book 1984... (if you have not read the book it is a must read... especially for younger people)... it's kind of slow and boring... but it's kind of difficult to make despotism exciting...
Good Luck... Be Safe...
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u/TheShambhalaman Oct 06 '24
I'm surprised no one has asked for context. How are we supposed to know if it makes sense without the original text for reference?
1
u/scaramangaf Oct 06 '24
That's the crazy thing, they do not provide the text in question, so I'm not sure what my comment was, though I know it couldn't have been threatening violence. Also, the real kicker is that an automated system is doling out punishment to an real person.
3
u/TheShambhalaman Oct 06 '24
I wouldn't exactly conflate a warning with a punishment, but I do agree it's wild not to include the flagged communication in the warning.
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u/suoretaw Oct 06 '24
They’re asking how it makes sense that they were issued the warning by an automated system specifically, not for a reason based on context. The ‘how does this make any sense’ is linked to the previous sentence.
Though I am curious as well.
1
u/TheShambhalaman Oct 06 '24
I understand, but without knowing what's said, it's hard to say. If it was something excessively discriminatory, uses obviously flagged insults, etc., then yes absolutely it would make sense to automate that. More nuanced language, less so.
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u/Why_Lord_Just_Why Oct 27 '24
I had the same thing happen to me last January. They sent me a link to "prove" what I said, but the link was to a banned subreddit that I had never visited. I couldn't view the comment I supposedly made because of the ban. I asked them at lest six times to show me what I said, but they ignored me and I finally gave up. It's horseshit.
0
u/Eastern_Statement416 Oct 06 '24
It doesn't. I am waiting for an appeal regarding being banned in r/israel. I denounced their violence and was banned for promoting violence, which is the main activity of that sub.
5
u/dream-smasher Experienced Helper Oct 06 '24
Ok, forget about that sub.
Sub mods can ban whoever, whenever, for whatever reason. And you can't do anything about it.
Why do you care about being unbanned from that shithole of a sub? Do you think that you decrying their violence and genocidal tendencies will somehow....change any of their opinions? Or that it will help the situation in Gaza in any way?
It won't. I understand your sentiment. Truly. But forget about that sub, and maybe do something constructive if you wish to help?
1
u/Eastern_Statement416 Oct 06 '24
No I certainly don't believe it will help. Just somehow expecting free speech there..but that's absurd. At least I wasn't killed in a "surgical" strike.
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u/notthegoatseguy Experienced Helper Oct 07 '24
Just somehow expecting free speech there.
Is that the focus of the sub? Do they guarantee free speech there?
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u/DevonDonskoy Oct 07 '24
Heaven forbid someone assume that differing opinions would be allowed.
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u/notthegoatseguy Experienced Helper Oct 07 '24
That's not how free association works.
Anyone can start a club and set membership requirements.
If you don't agree with their rules, you can go start your own club and run it as you see fit.
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u/scaramangaf Oct 06 '24
Was it an automated system or manual?
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u/Eastern_Statement416 Oct 06 '24
first time automated..I appealed to moderators and was banned permanently. appealed to redditt
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u/Zlivovitch Oct 06 '24 edited Oct 06 '24
Promoting violence, which is the main activity of that sub.
That's a lie. A casual overview of posts is enough to confirm this. Maybe it's those rules you don't like :
- No antisemitism.
- To make sure information is as accurate as possible, and to promote valuable discussions : no unsourced screenshots or news. Misinformation will be removed.
This is obviously a pro-Israel sub. Israelis and Jews have the right to enjoy their own communities, too. But political opposition is permitted, as is obvious through such posts and comments.
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u/stevenjklein Oct 06 '24
banned in r/israel. … promoting violence [is] the main activity of that sub.
That’s a pretty blatant lie. I would encourage anyone who thinks that statement might be true to go to the sub and read the messages there.
Don’t rely on some racist to tell you what a subreddit is like.
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u/DevonDonskoy Oct 07 '24
Reddit administration is easily the worst I have ever had the mispleasure of dealing with. I have never seen such a lackluster team in my life. Not trying to be rude to them, it's just a statement based in the fact that I've dealt with countless admin teams and they are all superior to Reddit.
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u/derickj2020 Oct 06 '24
Bots are only as intelligent as the programmers and will never understand the subtle nuances of language. Thus we are subjected to arbitrary, meaningless warnings and bans.