The comment I got banned for? Yes.

Since I was banned and my posts removed (not sure if manually removed or just disabled while the ban was in force), I don’t know if I can go find the comment chain any more. If you know of a way to search for comment replies from another user, I’d be happy to go find it.

But basically the discussion was about GrapheneOS. The mod really didn’t like the lead dev and recommended people avoid the software, and my position was that the software should be evaluated on its merits, not its association with any particular individual. I agreed that the lead dev was toxic (they’re autistic and very vocal, which can lead to issues), but that fact is irrelevant to whether someone should use a particular piece of software. They threatened to ban me, and I said something like, “If you choose to, that’s your prerogative, I obviously can’t stop you,” and then they mentioned something vaguely related to Russia (I think saying they’re privacy friendly because of Snowdon? I honestly don’t recall), and I replied that Russia doesn’t have a particularly good track record for privacy, and that’s when I got the ban. All of my communication was in pretty neutral language (like I’m doing here), and throughout the comment chain I linked to a lot of sources, so I obviously wasn’t trying to hide anything (the mod mostly linked to screenshots of their own posts from Reddit about their “research”).

I’m not going to mention their username here because I don’t want anyone to go harass them, but they were one of the mods at /c/privacy and they post quite a bit there, while the other mods don’t seem to. I reached out to one of the mods there over private DM about it, and here’s that message (they never got back to me). I don’t recall saying anything about Israel or Palestine, but maybe our conversation briefly touched on it.

And here it is in text if that’s easier (redacted usernames):

Hey, I’m messaging you since you’re a mod on [email protected] about one of the other mods, redacted. I recently got banned (temporary, 10 days) with the following justification:

calling Palestine military terrorists (Zionism), calling mods Russian shills

I believe I did nothing of the sort, and you’re obviously welcome to review our interaction. I only noticed because I got unsubscribed (looks like there’s a feature pending to notify users of bans).

I’m not asking you to unban me or anything like that, and it’s probably for the best that I take a step back for a few days anyway. I did want to point your attention to it since I’m concerned that mod may be making emotional modding decisions.

I noticed one other user got banned for supporting GrapheneOS, here’s the modlog (user redacted):

GrapheneOS propaganda posting (fearmongering that it is the only mobile privacy/security solution)

Basically, that user said GrapheneOS was the most secure Android ROM, and that mod flipped out.

You’re the only mod I reached out to, and I’m not trying to stir any drama or anything like that. I’m just concerned that free, relevant discussion is going to be restricted if it’s about a project headed by someone that mod doesn’t like. That mod was also very vocal about Jonah Aragon from privacy guides, which is a commonly cited resource, so I’m worried more users will get banned as well.

Anyway, thanks for listening.

I don’t recall talking about Palestine, but I did imply that maybe this mod in particular is from Russia or supports Russia and thus doesn’t see the privacy issues they have over there.

Anyway, feel free to look for that comment chain. I think I messaged the mod on the same day that it happened, so the 5 months ago time should be pretty accurate. Be warned, the comments were very long because we went back and forth over various disagreements, with me citing sources and them (IIRC) basically spouting FUD.