User accuses Reddit of holding organic posting ‘hostage’ unless he buys ads, shares email screenshot
piunikaweb.com
After a shadowban that even moderators were unable to reverse, a Reddit user was asked to pay for ads to get the ban removed.

Mike Hardaker, who has maintained a Reddit account for 20 years, has been shadow-banned on Reddit. He has posted an update on X, stating that Reddit requires an ad spend to restore organic posting. This demand was given to him in writing.

  • tidderuuf@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1076·
    10 hours ago

    So let me get this straight. Some jerk off looking to advertise his site by spamming links on several subs was hoping to AstroTurf COUGH I mean organically post… And Reddit Ad Team saw that and figured they could milk him for some dollars? So this doucher takes to Xhitter to try to get sympathy?

    Ahh capitalism at its finest.

    • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.worldEnglish
      113·
      6 hours ago

      wut

      Unless the article is absolutely lying, it mentioned the subreddits wanted the posts and couldn’t overcome the sitewide ban (i.e. manually approving the content). Your comment is a really huge stretch there.

      • tidderuuf@lemmy.worldEnglish
        121·
        6 hours ago

        Hardaker is the operator of Mountain Weekly News, and he regularly used to contribute to three or four subreddits

        So I am going to stop right there and ignore any conceivably ingenious reply you may come up with to justify and spin what the dude is actually doing. Spend enough time on Reddit like the grownups around here and you’ll eventually understand.

        • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.worldEnglish
          356·
          6 hours ago

          Listen, kid, I’ve been on reddit since 2009. I hung out with the admins in IRC back in the day. I was a default mod for a while, and I’m the “father” of /r/nottheonion.

          There’s plenty I don’t know about reddit and life in general, but on this topic, clearly I know a fuck ton more than you.

          There was a time on reddit when self-promotion was against the rules. That rule was dropped something like a decade ago.

          The simple fact is that - from at least the article’s telling - the subreddits wanted the content, and in that case, it is absolutely fine and encouraged for someone to submit.

          There’s a guy making youtube reviews of restaurants in my local city’s subreddit. The content is popular - people like it. So we absolutely are happy to see him post. Is it self-promotion? Yes, technically. It’s also relevant to the subreddit and desired by the mods and members of the subreddit.

          You’re like the people saying “dis a repost” when someone CROSS-posts. Note that reddit has a BUILT IN SYSTEM for cross-posting, but there are redditors who don’t know that.

          So, little boy, you can take your condescension and /r/confidentlyincorrect along with /r/iamverysmart and fucking LEARN something, or go off and continue to be willfully ignorant.

          Disclaimer: If the article’s reporting is incorrect and the subreddits considered it spam, well, that’s not what the article said, and I don’t otherwise have other knowledge of it, nor do I care enough to google for any other possible sources. But that’s the informatio you’re working off of as well, so there’s that.

          PS: To add a light-hearted end: I’ll go to /r/dontyouknowwhoiam now :) (that name seems too long. Is that the right one/ Well, you probably know what I mean and I’m too lazy to look it up :P )