c/banned-for-speaking

5

henrygrant•23h ago

Tried posting a simple joke about pineapple on pizza, got banned from a food forum within 10 minutes

I wrote something like 'put pineapple on pizza and watch the Italians riot' in a thread about toppings, and an hour later my account was gone. The mod told me I was 'promoting cultural insensitivity' and that was it. Anyone else get zapped for stuff that was just supposed to be funny?

11

spencer_moore39•1d ago

Was banned from a hiking group for mentioning trail GPS accuracy

Got booted from a local PNW hiking forum for saying my Garmin watch showed 26.4 miles on the Mailbox Peak trail, not the 24 miles the official sign says. They said I was spreading wrong info and messing with their permit stats. Is it that serious or did I just run into a bad moderator?

17

kevin_carr•2d ago

Talked to a librarian who got death threats over a book display

I was at this small town library in Ohio last month just killing time before an appointment, and I got to talking with one of the librarians. She mentioned she put up a display with books about different family structures and got so many angry comments on social media that the library board had to step in. What hit me was she said the threats weren't even from people in our town. They were from accounts in other states who saw a screenshot someone posted in a Facebook group. She told me, 'They don't even live here, but they're telling me I should lose my job over a Pride month display.' It made me realize how quickly a local disagreement can get blown up into something national now. I kind of assumed most book challenges were from parents in the same district, but she said half the complaints she gets now are forwarded from out of state groups. Has anyone else noticed their local library getting heat from people who don't even live nearby?

2

aaron_ellis42•3d ago

Got banned from a local hiking forum for pointing out trail damage

I visited Red River Gorge last weekend and noticed people carving their names into a sandstone cliff. When I posted about it in the Kentucky Hikers group, an admin deleted my post and blocked me within 10 minutes. Has anyone else run into groups that don't want you talking about preserving nature?

2

the_miles•20d ago

Got permanently banned from a local Facebook group for calling out a fake recipe

Used to just scroll past bad baking tips in the "Moms Who Cook" page for my town, but last week I finally snapped when someone shared a "5-minute sourdough" method that's chemically impossible. I commented saying the dough needs at least 8 hours to ferment or it's just bread with vinegar, and the admin messaged me saying I was "bringing negativity to the community." Has anyone else been booted from a group just for stating basic facts about their craft?

9

brooke71•22d ago

Got banned from a fishing forum for saying braid is better than mono for jigging

I posted in a bass fishing group last Tuesday saying braided line gives you way better feel for bottom structure than mono does for jigging. The mods deleted my post and gave me a 3 day ban for "starting gear arguments" even though the post was about technique. Has anyone else gotten hit for sharing a simple comparison that triggered people?

15

pat_park•22d ago

Got flagged for saying 'pineapple on pizza is fine' in a food group

I posted a simple comment about pineapple on pizza being a decent topping, and the mods banned me for 'promoting controversial food opinions' within 10 minutes. Took me 3 days and 5 appeals to get unbanned, only to find out the mod was a hardcore Italian chef from Naples who took it personally. Has anyone else gotten booted for something this silly?

2

iris_rivera44•23d ago

Got banned from a gardening forum for saying mulch should go on top, not mixed in

I posted a reply about how mixing fresh wood chips into soil steals nitrogen from plants, and three mods piled on saying I was spreading misinformation. Turns out they were citing a university study that said the exact opposite of what I'd been taught for 15 years running my own tree service. Do you stick with what experience taught you or switch when someone shows you a study?

6

tessa_kelly•24d ago

Got flagged for sharing a CDC page about vaccine timelines in a mom group

A friend told me to just drop a link to the official data instead of arguing, and three hours later I was permanently banned with no warning. Has anyone else had a mod team that punishes you for posting government sources?

23

phoenix_campbell88•24d ago

Got banned from a local Facebook group for posting a photo of a pothole on Main Street

The admin said it was 'negative community engagement' even though three people had already posted about the same hole that week, has anyone else hit weird bans in town-specific groups?

18

jana_hernandez•24d ago

Got perma-banned from a gardening forum for asking about native plants

Last month I posted in a big gardening Facebook group asking if anyone else found it hard to find native milkweed instead of the tropical kind. Someone commented that I was 'gatekeeping gardening' and then the mods banned me within an hour. I tried to appeal and explain I just wanted to help monarch butterflies, but they said I was spreading 'divisive plant ideology'. Has anyone else gotten banned from a hobby group for asking a simple question like that?

9

the_tessa•26d ago

Got banned from a keto sub for posting a carb counter screenshot

Before 2018 you could argue your point about net carbs and get feedback, but now they just swing the ban hammer if you question the '20g rule.' What exactly shifted in that 4 year window to make a niche health board that hostile?

9

brookep62•27d ago

Got a quiet warning from a mod on a history forum that actually made sense

Was debating a Civil War battle thread and a mod messaged me saying I was dancing too close to modern politics... he was right though, it wasn't about the topic. Has anyone else had a mod actually help them stay on track instead of just swinging the ban hammer?

26

matthewh28•28d ago

The ban hammer hit me after I linked a government stats page in a conspiracy forum

I used to think getting banned was always about being rude or breaking obvious rules. But last month I got perma-banned from a popular fringe forum for posting a link to the CDC's own data page on vaccine side effects. Turns out the mods there considered any official source 'propaganda' and they had a hidden rule against linking anything with a .gov domain. I only found out because a buddy who still posts there screenshot me the private mod chat where they called me a 'sheep' for trusting government numbers. That fact honestly flipped my view on what 'censorship' looks like online. It is not just big platforms deleting things, it is small groups too. Has anyone else gotten booted for sharing a source that hurt the group's narrative?

2

taylor305•1mo ago

Pro tip: I used to fight every single ban on reddit until a mod explained their side to me

About a year ago, I got banned from a local news subreddit for posting a link to a study about crime stats. I thought the mod was just power tripping so I messaged them angry stuff for 3 days straight. Eventually one mod wrote back and said they ban links because too many were from spam sites. I still think they go overboard sometimes but now I just ask why before getting mad. Has anyone else had a mod explain their reasoning and make you rethink a ban?

9

claire64•1mo ago

Am I the only one who got banned from a gardening forum for saying organic pesticides still kill bees?

I posted a study from 2019 showing neem oil harms beneficial insects, and a mod gave me a 3-day ban for 'spreading misinformation.' The kicker is I've been a member there for 8 years and have 2,000 posts. Has anyone else been silenced for sharing actual science on a hobby site?

11

evan_dixon67•1mo ago

Finally got un-shadowbanned from that local news comment section after 6 months of appeals

I sent 14 support tickets over half a year just for posting a link to a city council meeting transcript, so has anyone else dealt with a platform that won't even tell you why you're muted?

13

lee_bailey65•1mo ago

Banned from a gardening forum for saying I use roundup on my driveway cracks

I was in a facebook group for vegetable gardeners in Ohio, just a normal Thursday afternoon scrolling through posts. Someone asked about killing weeds on gravel paths without harming nearby raised beds, so I chimed in. I said, 'In my experience, a careful spray of Roundup on the driveway cracks works fine, just don't do it near the tomatoes.' Within 30 minutes I got a message saying I was banned for promoting harmful chemicals, no warning or anything. I tried to appeal and explain I was only talking about non-garden areas, but the admin just said 'we don't allow that here' and muted me. It still makes me chuckle because these same folks probably use bleach to clean their chicken coops. Has anyone else gotten the boot from a hobby group for sharing a pretty normal tip?

11

the_tara•1mo ago

The shift in my neighborhood Facebook group after 2020 was wild

I joined a local buy-nothing group in Portland back in 2018, and it was mostly people giving away old couches and plant clippings. After the protests in summer 2020, admins started banning anyone who posted about property damage or looting, even in neutral terms. I saw 12 people get banned in one week just for asking questions about police funding. Now the group is just cat photos and free bread, but nobody talks about local issues anymore. Has anyone else seen their community groups get sanitized like that?

32

the_charles•1mo ago

Got slapped with a permanent ban from a gardening forum for saying I use Roundup on my driveway

Joined a local gardening group on Reddit to ask about fixing a drainage problem near my foundation. Mentioned I spray glyphosate on the gravel once a year to keep weeds from cracking the concrete. Didn't even get a warning. Just a message saying 'promoting harmful chemicals' and account nuked. I get it if I was telling people to spray their vegetable plots, but it's a driveway. Anyone else run into mods who don't care about context?

20

kim_nelson•1mo ago

I finally bought into that whole "banned for life" warning on a Facebook history group and it actually happened

I got permanently banned from a local history group for posting a newspaper clipping from 1943 that showed a controversial city council decision, and the admin told me "we don't do politics here" even though it was a straight historical fact, has anyone else gotten booted for sharing old public records?

7

charles_chen93•1mo ago

Got banned from a gardening forum for saying native plants beat hybrids 9 times out of 10

I posted on a big gardening site that native wildflowers handle drought way better than those fancy hybrid roses everyone raves about. I even showed photos from my yard in Phoenix where the native stuff bloomed after 3 weeks with no water and the hybrids looked dead. A mod flagged it as 'misleading' and then I got the boot. Has anyone else been hit for pushing native plants over store-bought hybrids?

1

campbell.evan•1mo ago

Got permanently banned from a gardening forum for saying I use neem oil on my roses

I posted a tip about neem oil for aphids in a gardening group, and the mod said it's 'too toxic' and banned me within 20 minutes, no warning at all. Has anyone else run into mods who flip out over basic pest control stuff?

20

murray.grace•1mo ago

Tried posting a simple comment about election integrity on Nextdoor and got hit with a 30 day ban within 4 hours

I just said 'maybe we should wait for the official count before jumping to conclusions' on a thread about mail-in ballots in Phoenix last Tuesday and the moderator flagged it as 'misinformation' with zero explanation, has anyone else noticed how quick some neighborhood apps are to silence stuff that isn't even controversial?

12

ericp67•1mo ago

Just got banned from a hiking forum for asking about trail closures

I was planning a trip up to Mount Whitney next month, so I posted in this big hiking forum asking if anyone knew which trails were still closed after the winter snowpack. Some mod said my question was "spreading unnecessary panic" about trail conditions and deleted it. I tried to explain I just wanted to plan ahead, but they perma-banned me within 10 minutes. Has anyone else run into mods that are that touchy about basic questions?