Does Sololearn employ shadow banning? | Sololearn: Learn to code for FREE!
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28th Sep 2019, 1:12 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
41 Answers
+ 16
I don't think so--could be wrong. The type of stuff(text/meme/challenge) you post can make a big difference. Alongside username, avatar and related psychological reasons + the magical ones;)🐉👍 This isn't to say I haven't noticed some quirks in the algorithm which leads to ordinary post being boosted to top--that was surprising & no i'm not going to tell what or how🤐 Maybe the algorithm's just not that optimal🤷 To get an accurate answer ask sololearn via in-app feedback or their email(info@sololearn.com) BTW, i have feed posts disabled so unless some mutual or direct follower comments there it's just not present in my feed.
28th Sep 2019, 3:19 PM
Lord Krishna
Lord Krishna - avatar
+ 14
HonFu, when I first came across you in Q&A, you seemed to me to have a confrontational personality but I later figured that maybe it's because you either have strong opinions or require proof of differing opinions etc., neither of which is a bad quality. Or maybe it is a right wing characteristic, IDK. But I wonder if others just ignore your posts to avoid an argument or a fight, after having read your previous arguments or after seeing your avatar 😀 or both, rather than it being a conspiracy like a shadow ban. But then again, what do we mere users know?
28th Sep 2019, 2:25 PM
Sonic
Sonic - avatar
+ 9
~ swim ~, not sure. This place is quite instagramy after all, so why not? It would be very easy to increase or decrease the visibility of feed content if you want to. Personally, I feel like my feed posts are almost not seen at all by anybody, and if, they're all followers of mine. On the other hand, a lot of feed posts that don't seem spectacular (to say the least), are crazily frequented. I don't intend to say that the stuff I post necessarily has a high value or something, but I do feel a bit invisible whenever I'm not writing in an unfiltered place like here in q&a. And since I wrote many critical posts about Sololearn in the past... well, it would not *not* make sense. 😉 I don't want to spread conspiracy theories here - I just stumbled over the term... and wondered.
28th Sep 2019, 1:36 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
+ 8
HonFu I do agree if any spammer do an Ddos attack on website then shadow banning can be effective as they do those attack mostly by using proxy IP which tends hard to stop them by only ban. Instead banning the user ability of posting on forum can be removed or lock for those users is an good option
28th Sep 2019, 1:52 PM
Preity
Preity - avatar
+ 8
✳AsterisK✳, yeah, right? Clearly there's no relevance filter, because I have to read all the birthday wishes for people I didn't even know exist. On the other hand, if I scroll faaaaaar down, I sometimes find stuff where I think: This would make a lot more sense for me to see.
28th Sep 2019, 3:20 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
+ 7
If I remember correctly, shadow banning is not only used in case of spam but also with people who write radical or inflammatory stuff (and sometimes maybe far right people just claim they suffered shadow-banning 😉). Yeah, I don't see myself as a spammer either. But I think the difference in visibility between people is a bit strange. We often send beginners to post certain stuff in their personal feed instead of here, knowing they'll be posting directly into oblivion because they have no followers. I am approaching the 1000, though, and mostly, about five people seem to read what I write. I wonder how other users experience it...
28th Sep 2019, 2:12 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
+ 7
Sonic, lol, yeah... well, I can be a bit stubborn when I think I'm right - but I *want to* hear if I'm not as well! So, when I may come across as harsh, I may just want to get the fight... hum... discussion going, out of the relativistic 'now, now, well, well' into the 'Let's figure this out!' Should I change that? Or maybe I change the pic to a sunset or something - easier. 😂 I'm not necessarily just asking for myself, like 'Why am I invisible?', but for the users in general. It is all such a riddle, how that trending, hot today and all of that stuff works. Time and again, I wonder: 'How did this or that content climb that high? Doesn't make sense!' And vice versa.
28th Sep 2019, 2:41 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
+ 7
HonFu i have wonder too, but since am not paying for the service, its what they give i will take, most users i follow was for tbe purposes of there post and codes, but i see lots of irrelevant post even from users i don't follow, which is really absurd any way
28th Sep 2019, 3:17 PM
✳AsterisK✳
✳AsterisK✳ - avatar
+ 7
Maybe SL needs to introduce a birthday filter?? Or at least a custom filter where a user can filter posts based on keywords?
28th Sep 2019, 9:27 PM
Sonic
Sonic - avatar
+ 7
The point of shadow banning is that the banned people *don't* know. They keep on posting and don't realize that they live in a vacuum or a small bubble of followers.
28th Sep 2019, 10:25 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
+ 6
Thanks for the post HonFu . Shadow banning seems to be an effective ploy against all but the most persistent of spammers. The theory of spammers getting bored when they are shadow banned is an interesting one which also suggests that spammers actually thrive on the reaction of others to their posts be it negative or positive. As for your posts, I don't know, because you are not a spammer AFAIK.
28th Sep 2019, 2:04 PM
Sonic
Sonic - avatar
+ 6
Saurabh Tiwari, watch out - I have biiig muscles‼️🤣
28th Sep 2019, 4:40 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
+ 6
Well HonFu I don't think you have been shadow banned because this post of yours is currently #3 in the Hot Today list. It also has the third highest number of likes and the third highest number of comments out of the top 10 in this list as I write. It also has the 6th highest number of views in this list but the others which have more views were posted over 15 hours before yours.
28th Sep 2019, 10:50 PM
Sonic
Sonic - avatar
+ 6
Actually what first made me think of the unlikeliness of feed life was the pseudo-quote mania. Often the lines they write don't even make sense - they look like something that has been mangled by google.translate a few times. Still, hundreds of upvotes, literally whatever it is. In some cases it looks like they're all in the same school class or something, but not always. And since upvotes are not anonymous, they can't be automatized support from Sololearn's side.
29th Sep 2019, 3:28 PM
HonFu
HonFu - avatar
+ 6
Just saying that this post is now #1 in the Hot Topic list with over 900 views.
30th Sep 2019, 9:16 AM
Sonic
Sonic - avatar
+ 5
HonFu i do get tired of even using the feed because of lots of the irrelevant posts, it should just be filter according to followed user, that will have been better
28th Sep 2019, 3:24 PM
✳AsterisK✳
✳AsterisK✳ - avatar
+ 5
Sonic I totally agree with your views on HonFu 😅😂 Don't get me wrong!💐
28th Sep 2019, 4:38 PM
Saurabh Tiwari
Saurabh Tiwari - avatar
+ 5
HonFu dont worry I think I am quite fast😂😂
28th Sep 2019, 4:43 PM
Saurabh Tiwari
Saurabh Tiwari - avatar
+ 5
~ swim ~ in that case i better shut my mouth🤐
28th Sep 2019, 4:49 PM
Saurabh Tiwari
Saurabh Tiwari - avatar
+ 5
Saurabh Tiwari no one want to get into one with HonFu the muscles are in excess
28th Sep 2019, 5:03 PM
✳AsterisK✳
✳AsterisK✳ - avatar