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Platforms say it's for spam [1], which most people interpret to mean bots.

I've never seen a platform provide an explanation like the one you give here.

[1] https://old.reddit.com/r/TheoryOfReddit/comments/8k5qh3/if_y...




You can look up the Wikipedia article on the practice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banning

It has a fairly rich history, and evolution, as well as counter-measures, and counter-counter-measures and counter-counter-counter-measures.


That article barely scratches the surface of what's going on. Reddit alone has tons of secretive ways to remove or hide content, some of which I list here [1]. Others I mention in my talk [2].

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/reveddit/comments/sxpk15/fyi_my_tho...

[2] https://cantsayanything.win/2022-10-transparent-moderation/


I'm talking about the origination and evolution of a specific practice, called, specifically, "shadow banning".

Yes, other techniques exist. Sometimes people, being imprecise, ignorant and/or lazy, call those techniques "shadow banning", but that isn't what they are.


> Sometimes people, being imprecise, ignorant and/or lazy, call those techniques "shadow banning", but that isn't what they are.

What umbrella term would you use for moderator actions that are kept secret from the author of the content? "Moderation" on its own can be secret or transparent, so by itself isn't an apt description.




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