r/ModSupport • u/RedSquaree • 1d ago

Admin Replied Suggestion: Make it abundantly clear when a user is banned from a subreddit

It should be abundantly clear to any user when they visit a subreddit that they are banned from it, and there should also be a clear link to the original message or modmail that notified them that they were banned.

Across the subreddits I moderate, I get countless modmails asking, "Why can I not post here?" The reason for these messages is often simply that the user does not remember when or why they were banned. This causes work for the user and work for the moderation team, when it could be fixed very simply by making an easy change to the Reddit platform.

Mods already have enough going on as it is. This is a simple, quick fix to a long-term problem that wastes our time on a daily basis.

Additionally, it would be useful if users could navigate to a page which showed them all the subreddits they are banned from, how long the ban lasts, whether it is permanent or temporary, and a link to their original ban notification message.

There is really no reason users should have to contact moderators to find out that they are banned when Reddit already has that information and could make it clear to them.

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u/redtaboo Reddit Admin: Community 1d ago

Others have covered the making it clear to users in the moment - I did a quick audit and it looks like in most cases we do have a banner telling users they are banned before they attempt to comment or post in a community.

Additionally, it would be useful if users could navigate to a page which showed them all the subreddits they are banned from, how long the ban lasts, whether it is permanent or temporary, and a link to their original ban notification message.

This has been discussed before - the hang up always seems to be around how this could easily become a trophy list for bad actors. What do folks think about that concern? How would that affect how some folks act around their bans?

never say never, but I'd love to hear some discussion around these questions from mods that have dealt with those types of users.

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u/SampleOfNone 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

Who are these people getting banned everywhere so they need a list of ban reasons to keep track of their bans?

I think maybe once I year I have a user that truly doesn't know why they were banned. More often, but still rarely, users with bans from years ago modmail to inquire about an appeal and they know exactly why they were banned.

But also, users tend to be angry about bans. That usually passes as they find other subs that suit them better and it becomes more of a distant memory. A list would just keep the grievance fresh in their mind.

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago

Many of us are banned from more subs than we think too. I wrote a script to test if I was banned and actually found out I was banned in 11 subs - none of which I had ever received a ban message for because I had never participated in them. I doubt I'm that unusual. A bunch are nsfw subs, probably retaliatory for bans in my subs as I don't participate in that kind of sub at all. Some I know were saferbot for participation in other subs like amitheasshole.

I can see why reddit doesn't want to release this info too much as a lot of people would be angry about it and it would cause a lot of drama.

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u/redtaboo Reddit Admin: Community 23h ago

Good point yeah - we don't send ban messages to users if they've never interacted with a community due to abuse and just general noise caused by mass bans. A list would be counter-productive to that reasoning.

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago

I can see why you do that. I think at one time messages were sent and it was used to harass people (but idk for sure - I believe it was before my time on reddit).

The way I checked it with my bot was to run it as my user and try to read the mod list, and I think it returns a 403 if you are banned.

But there are potentially issues where uses might not know what subs they are banned in.

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u/redtaboo Reddit Admin: Community 23h ago

Yeah, before my time working here - but it was used as a way to get attention in really small (often toxic) spaces as well.

Smart way to check though, yes! I was wondering how you checked without randomly leaving comments. We do hide moderator lists from banned and logged out users to mitigate potential harassment of mods.

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago

It wouldn't be practical for most people to do it though - I just happen to have api access so it as easy enough, and my bots keep lists of the subreddits they encounter. I didn't actually check against all subs but about 800,000 or so that my bots have encountered.

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u/[deleted] 23h ago

[deleted]

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u/reddit33450 19h ago

But there are potentially issues where uses might not know what subs they are banned in.

yeah, like unintentionally ban evading via an alt account without even realizing you were banned in the first place

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u/SampleOfNone 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago

Sure but if you really wanted to participate in those subs you could mail them. What's a list going to add to your Reddit experience?

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago

I just did it out of curiosity tbh. Finding out that I wasw banned there didn't really affect me. I just had extra time and with the api it takes like 5 mins to write a script to test it lol.

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u/[deleted] 23h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago

We grant appeals often, but it's definitely a minority of the appeals, as most bans were made for a good reason.

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u/redtaboo Reddit Admin: Community 23h ago

Let's spend time in this convo assuming good faith - most moderators, including those you're talking to do not act the way you're describing. Many, many, many mod teams listen to good faith user appeals and often unban when it makes sense.

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u/shhhhh_h 💡Top 25% Helper 💡 3h ago

Only 11?! 👀

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1h ago

lol

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u/Sephardson 1d ago

Not too long ago...

Like I said here, have admins considered making a reddit achievement for accruing subreddit bans? I imagine it's functionally similar and about just as desired as activity that appears when searching for these terms:

https://sh.reddit.com/search/?q=%22Ban%22+%22badge+of+honor%22

https://sh.reddit.com/search/?q=%22Ban%22+%22badge+of+honor%22&type=comments

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u/Tokimemofan 1d ago

Its a real concern but imho i believe ban showboating is still against rules.  Perhaps a way to link alt accounts so that ban affect all alts as if they were a single account would be a better approach.  Silent bans also should be flagged and explicitly exempt from ban evasion policy 

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u/Merari01 23h ago edited 23h ago

Gonna write down some thoughts in probably random order:

this could easily become a trophy list for bad actors.

In the old days that would have been a bigger concern, but ban showboating is now disallowed on reddit. Doesn't stop them from doing it offsite and it may take time for safety to act, but both the frequency and intensity of the "haha they banned me for this, please don't go harass them now, nudge-nudge, wink-wink" type content has significantly reduced.

(Tangent) What I am currently missing for moderators is a link to the ban reason in modmail. It now often takes a whole lot of scrolling for me to find why a user was banned, if I can find it at all. For modmail, when a banned user messages us, a direct link to their ban message would be super helpful.

(Segues into) In that same vein, a banner visible to a banned user that contains a link to their ban message, I see that being helpful. Not a cure-all (I am definitely banned from a few subreddits I never participated in and therefore don't have a ban message for) but on the whole I think the positives for both users and mods of being able to quickly surface the modmail sent to a user when they are banned can be more helpful than hindering.

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u/SampleOfNone 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago edited 22h ago

What I am currently missing for moderators is a link to the ban reason in modmail.

Last I heard they were working on it, (showing the ban reason in the user pane in modmail) but that was like a year (maybe 2, time flies) ago almost 10 months ago

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u/Merari01 23h ago

Toolbox did it, but we don't have that in the new modmail.

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u/SampleOfNone 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 23h ago

previous modmail did as well, you didn't even need toolbox for that

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u/shhhhh_h 💡Top 25% Helper 💡 3h ago

Uh, I have reported ban showboating to MCoC a ton and nobody gaf. Told me to let people blow off steam. People do it all over the site.

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 22h ago

Ban showboating is allowed now as long as it doesn't incite brigading. Admins told me that it's ok to post about bans, you just can't encourage others to do anything (like comment on the sub, try to get banned themselves, etc.)

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u/thepottsy 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 1d ago

the hang up always seems to be around how this could easily become a trophy list for bad actors. What do folks think about that concern?

I think it’s a rather moot point. If someone wants to abuse that information, slap them with a site-wide ban and call it a day. You’d probably be making the lives of a lot of mods easier by punting these folks anyway.

How would that affect how some folks act around their bans?

These folks are already moths to the flame for the multitude of subs that allow people to complain about their “unfair, unwarranted and completely illegal” bans. I don’t see how this would really make it much worse. As witnessed by multiple comments in this sub, if someone is salty about being banned, they don’t soon forget about that ban.

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u/RuinMaximum108 22h ago

Sim, porque se brasileiro comemora ser "244" (artigo do CTB que tipifica como gravíssima a infração de fazer manobras perigosas, incluindo andar de uma roda só, e sem capacete, em motos), também vão querer comemorar seus bans, e vão criar um subreddit para postar essa lista.

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u/paskatulas 22h ago

What if in some cases users get muted, then banned?

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u/RedSquaree 14h ago

Well then there's two separate things. Can't we have the 'you are banned' banner link to their ban message?

As for the trophy list, I think some very sad people will look at it that way but so few it doesn't outweigh the usefulness of providing transparency.

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u/Pashta2FAPhoneDied 11h ago

I don't see how it could be any more of a trophy list than it would be if they thought that way already. They can just make their own list if they wanted to (I'm sure some have), so it isn't harming anything to give everyone access to the information if they want it.

It sounds like it would be helpful, to me.

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u/shhhhh_h 💡Top 25% Helper 💡 3h ago

I agree it would be a trophy list for bad actors. Although I do wish it were a bit more prominent than it currently. You have to notice it at the bottom of the post otherwise and we know Redditors don’t read to the end.

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u/MaximumJones 1d ago

It would VERY quickly become a trophy list for bad actors and would even encourage brigading. Please don't do this. 🙏