How to remove a persistent element from Reddit? I got banned.

[jebus197]

Hi OK I will just come right out and say it. I got banned on Reddit. I'm not going to complain about it, other than to say that it was for the dumbest reason. A Spanish military trainer was shouting at a raw Ukrainian military recruit on a training field in Spanish. I don't speak Spanish so I took a rough stab (from my own days in basic training) at what the trainer might have been saying. There may have been some profanity in my interpretation, as you might expect in this kind of military setting. I thought nothing of it. I'm an adult after all and I assumed others who might read the comment were adults. Anyway I went to sleep blissfully unaware of any potential problems as, I truly did not feel I had said anything at all out of place. However to my considerable surprise, when waking up next morning and visiting reddit, I found that I had been banned 'for threatening and violent behaviour!' To be very clear the video I commented on was of a soldier on a firing range firing a gun at an inanimate target. The commander/trainer was screaming at the recruit (as commanders do) in what I assumed was very colourful language, so I left a comment along the lines of "Come on! What are you? Some kind of p*ssy? Kill him!'  But in all seriousness the thing the recruit was shooting at was just a wooden target.

So I have yet to figure out how it is possible to be banned from a web site, for threatening an inanimate object, lol.

In any case I have concluded from this that it is literally impossible (even after 14 years and a very high Karma count), to know what Reddit admins might ban you for. So even if I could do it, there is no point in risking commenting at all there, because you could be banned at any time for a completely random thing. Nevertheless Reddit remains (for better or for worse) an important news amalgamation site for many significant events in the world - and there is little else I am aware of so far that can rival it.

So I can live with the ban (not that I have a choice anyway), but what I can't live with is the stupid banner at the top of every page that reminds me I have been banned. I've tried ublock Origin's element picker, Nuke this (Firefox extension) and a bunch of other stuff too. But I can't get rid of it.

Can anyone here please help me to just get rid of this stupid banner?

I've attached a copy of this here.

[xrobwx71]

Have you checked to make sure your account wasn't compromised? Perhaps it was "someone else" who said, "something else" and got you banned?

 

You could possibly extract the data to that banner by using the inspect element function in the browser. Then add that to Ublock manually.

 

[Software Dev Expert]

Not sure what you mean? Banned means banned.

It's ultimately your decision whether or not to register a new account, bearing in mind that if you DO get found out you're at risk of banned again, potentially from the entire site and not just a sub-reddit if reported to reddit.

I'm not convinced this is a programming problem, sorry.

[jebus197]

On 11/02/2023 at 18:53, Software Dev Expert said:

Not sure what you mean? Banned means banned.

It's ultimately your decision whether or not to register a new account, bearing in mind that if you DO get found out you're at risk of banned again, potentially from the entire site and not just a sub-reddit if reported to reddit.

I'm not convinced this is a programming problem, sorry.

I just want to remove the account suspension banner. I thought I was being very clear about this? Sorry. I did post an image of this however. It's at the top of every page.

 

I don't care so much about writing something there again. As I said if you can get banned for 'threatening behaviour towards an inanimate object', then it simply isn't worth actively participating there. But it is still the one place where I consume 95% of my daily news. All I want is to get rid of the annoying banner reminding me of just how utterly moronic many Reddit admins are.

[jebus197]

On 11/02/2023 at 18:47, xrobwx71 said:

Have you checked to make sure your account wasn't compromised? Perhaps it was "someone else" who said, "something else" and got you banned?

 

You could possibly extract the data to that banner by using the inspect element function in the browser. Then add that to Ublock manually.

 

It's not even possible (or at least practical) on Reddit to query this. You you get 150 characters or so (it's very little) to submit an appeal, so you have to be highly selective in what you say. The original post got deleted, so I assume that this was the post the mod took issue with.

I mean 100% all that was said was (in quotes) "Don't be a p*ssy and kill that damn target!", where I imagined (since I don't speak Spanish), what the trainer might be shouting at the Ukrainian recruit. But in this case the target was a wooden silhouette. The reason given for the ban was 'threatening and violent behaviour". (Towards an inanimate object!) That was it. 14 years of trouble free posting history and a very high Karma count down the toilet.

I'm no coder and I used inspect element. I have the option to copy 'inner html' 'outer html', 'CSS Selector', 'CSS Path', or Xpath. What Am I looking to copy here and where should I add it to Ublock Origin?

Thanks.

[C:Amie]

I'll say up front that I'm not  Reddit member but... the fact that it knows that your account has been banned and is reporting to you as such, suggests that there is still a cookie session in place between the servers and the browser. Unless they have banned your IP address (reboot your router if you aren't a static IP), presumably all you need to do here is 'sign out' i.e. clear the browser cookies and local storage for the reddit domain. You can do it by going to the site, pressing F12 and going to the storage/application tab and just delete the contents of all the storage locations.

I cannot see why any DOM manipulation would be needed.

[jebus197]

To be clear I tried this prior to reaching out here. I have no idea how Reddit do it. They are very clever in one regard I guess in that they have a legion of tech 'dweebs' who are evidently great at coding but not so hot at grasping every day life. But things I have tried are, block element in Ublock Origin, 'Nuke Anything' (similar to block element) 'Remove HTML Element' (again similar), Chameleon (which on paper seems like a kick ass privacy extension for Firefox, although even this did not fool Reddit) and I used a very good VPN. (Express VPN). But nothing appears to have been successful in preventing Reddit from  either detecting me, reapplying the ban, or in removing the banner indicating that I have been suspended. (As above). With all the privacy features in the world enabled, how can Reddit still know who I am?

[Software Dev Expert]

On 11/02/2023 at 21:38, jebus197 said:

To be clear I tried this prior to reaching out here. I have no idea how Reddit do it. They are very clever in one regard I guess in that they have a legion of tech 'dweebs' who are evidently great at coding but not so hot at grasping every day life. But things I have tried are, block element in Ublock Origin, 'Nuke Anything' (similar to block element) 'Remove HTML Element' (again similar), Chameleon (which on paper seems like a kick ass privacy extension for Firefox, although even this did not fool Reddit) and I used a very good VPN. (Express VPN). But nothing appears to have been successful in preventing Reddit from  either detecting me, reapplying the ban, or in removing the banner indicating that I have been suspended. (As above). With all the privacy features in the world enabled, how can Reddit still know who I am?

Your account.Are you still logged in? Is the issue basically that you can’t log out ? You want to browse as a guest, is that correct?

 

If I’ve understood correctly then the solution is to clear your browser cookies if you do not see a logout button.

Also even if you DO edit the CSS to remove the banner, the CSS will reappear when you switch page.

[PriitU]

On 11/02/2023 at 23:38, jebus197 said:

With all the privacy features in the world enabled, how can Reddit still know who I am?

Did you forgot to:

Clear your browsers saved cookies and cache?

Use private browsing to make sure no cookies and cache is kept?

Disable IPv6 or use ExpressVPN app’s IPv6 Leak Protection feature?

https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/disable-ipv6-for-better-vpn-protection/

[Software Dev Expert]

I take it that your issue has been solved @jebus197? :)

[binaryzero]

Wtf lol!

[jebus197]

I can log out. But logging out incurs a penalty in that you loose all the 'subs' you are subscribed to. A logged in user can still see all their subs, but they just can't participate in any discussions. If for some reason you are not familiar with Reddit, it's basically the central hub of the internet for anyone who has a passion, or a passing interest in anything - where you can connect with others who share your views and interests. Personally I have tended to use it as a non-mainstream media news aggregation site - as it can easily be used for this just as much as for any other purpose. News tends to make it there, probably days in advance of it reaching the mainstream media news outlets. (I mean a lot of it is trash too, but the big news tends to make it there first.)

It could be great, but it has the same failing as Twitter, Facebook or any other social media site in that whatever a small select core of Reddit mods (who nobody knows who they really are) decide is a newsworthy or noteworthy opinion, it's them who decide who gets to have a voice and who gets to participate and who doesn't.

I never really imagined this would be an issue for me, until I 'threatened' a piece of cardboard with harm (as in urging the Ukrainian recruit to shoot at the target) and somehow got banned for this.

In any case just logging out, deleting all cookies associated with the site, deleting the cache, changing IP addresses and using a VPN and using  Chameleon Privacy extension for Firefox to randomly switch User Agent and to obscure your bowser fingerprint/device ID appear to have no effect. Eventually Reddit will detect that you are either trying to circumvent the block and will reinstate it (even with all of the above and a new account), or it will place the banner saying that your account has been suspended at the top of every reddit page in any case. I thought I had done everything humanly possible to obscure my ID, but I clearly have still not done enough.

I mean to be clear I did try signing up again having tried all of the above, but my account is quickly suspended again after only a few hours. I still have no intention of actively participating. There is no point in this if even upsetting a piece of cardboard can lead to a ban, lol. I signed up again just to try to get rid of the annoying account suspension banner. But nothing works.

Edited February 11, 2023 by jebus197

[Software Dev Expert]

I don’t think it’s possible unfortunately, as per my comment about CSS.

 

Any attempt to make unauthorised  changes to the site on the server side is considered hacking. You have been warned!

[Software Dev Expert]

Ah you got busted for ban evasion!

Regarding detection, a lot of forums these days utilise device fingerprinting tools, there are data brokers where device identifiers and IP addresses are stored centrally, and all this information can be combined to form a unique hash. I don’t know exactly what information the device fingerprinting solutions entails but perhaps @Brandon Hcould provide some guidance.

 

This level of information is often hidden from the privacy policy because site admins may not be aware of truly what goes on behind the API regarding cross-site tracking. Also yes... it’s uncertain whether such tools comply with GDPR regulations. A grey area legally. 

 

It’s also possible to place ever-cookies on your computer. This means cookies are stored in multiple locations. 

 

Just a thought - perhaps proxies/VPNs are not allowed on reddit.It’s easy to identify even if a proxy claims to be anonymous and doesn’t include the relevant HTTP headers. There are databases available to blacklist proxies.  Have you tried just changing your IP address, does that help?

 

Just a thought - were you given a ban reason along the lines of multiple accounts or ban evasion?  

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Software Dev Expert

[Software Dev Expert]

But essentially in order to hide your information from sites online, you’d have to use a completely separate device profile and attach it to an IP address that’s NEVER been used with your blacklisted device profile. On ANY site. And also NEVER use the separate device profile to login to any other accounts you use etc. Or with your real IP address. This means the email address you use to register also needs to be via the VPN and separate device profile. 

 

Online anonymity is challenging!

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

Rather than attempt to circumvent bans by creating new accounts, I would suggest using the form at https://www.reddit.com/appeals to appeal the suspension.

 

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[jebus197]

On 12/02/2023 at 00:09, Software Dev Expert said:

Ah you got busted for ban evasion!

Regarding detection, a lot of forums these days utilise device fingerprinting tools, there are data brokers where device identifiers and IP addresses are stored centrally, and all this information can be combined to form a unique hash. I don’t know exactly what information the device fingerprinting solutions entails but perhaps @Brandon Hcould provide some guidance.

 

This level of information is often hidden from the privacy policy because site admins may not be aware of truly what goes on behind the API regarding cross-site tracking. Also yes... it’s uncertain whether such tools comply with GDPR regulations. A grey area legally. 

 

It’s also possible to place ever-cookies on your computer. This means cookies are stored in multiple locations. 

 

Just a thought - perhaps proxies/VPNs are not allowed on reddit.It’s easy to identify even if a proxy claims to be anonymous and doesn’t include the relevant HTTP headers. There are databases available to blacklist proxies.  Have you tried just changing your IP address, does that help?

 

Just a thought - were you given a ban reason along the lines of multiple accounts or ban evasion?  

 

There are two reasons for my current predicament. First I was issued a permanent suspension for  encouraging a Ukrainian military recruit on a shooting range in Spain to behave in an aggressive way towards a cardboard target. The instructor was shouting at him vigorously (as military instructors tend to do, including no doubt some profanities) and I imagined what is was (and since I don't speak Spanish) the instructor was saying to him. So I wrote in quotes (making it clear I thought that I was imagining what the instructor was saying) "Come on! What are you? Some kind of p*ssy? Kill that damn target!'

This was the comment that earned me the original ban. The reason given for the ban was 'aggressive  and violent behaviour'.

If this seems incredulous and hard to believe to anyone reading this, that's because it is. It literally makes no sense. Maybe the mod reading the comment was drunk, or on acid or something. Maybe somehow he misread it (or didn't see the quotes) and somehow believed I was being 'aggressive' towards the guy in the video. Even if I was (which I most certainly was not) it still makes zero sense, because this rule is designed to prevent members there being rude and aggressive towards each other. Not towards a guy in a video, thousands of miles away who has no idea people on Reddit (or anywhere else) are commenting on his video. The level of moronic logic that can lead someone to conclude that anyone would be upset by my comment is almost impossible to comprehend.

In any case the floating notice at the top of every page saying that 'your account has been permanently suspended' got old pretty fast. So I decided to re-register to see if I could get rid of it. But before I did this I took several precautions. I installed Chameleon privacy extension for Firefox which both randomly changes your useragent and spoofs your web browser and device ID fingerprint (and several other potentially identifying features) , I set up a VPN and I opened Reddit.com in a private tab, I deleted all cookies associated with the site and I emptied my browser cache and I rebooted my router.

But none of this had any effect. A few hours after registering for a new account when I returned to visit the site, I found that my new account had also been permanently suspended. I truly have no idea how they are doing this. It seems that the only way to open a new Reddit account might be to change ISP and to change my computer!

Yes I have appealed. But I know from past experience dealing with the moderation team there and speaking with other users, the results of these appeals is usually that they are only in very extreme and rare cases upheld, or that they don't get looked at at all. The second of these is the most common.

No I'm not looking to hack the reddit server as someone here suggested. But If I can't participate, I would at least like to be able to get rid of the floating banner above every reddit page reminding me that my account has been permanently suspended. You would imagine there might be some way to do this?

I've found something new for Firefox called 'Persistent Element Remover': https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/persistent-element-remover/ but I'm not at all clear how to use it to achieve this goal?  (Of removing the persistent account suspension banner on Reddit). It doesn't have a very intuitive interface.

Edited February 12, 2023 by jebus197

[neufuse Veteran]

Does hiding the banner even matter? Even if you did you still have the persistent reminder because you can't post 

[jebus197]

On 12/02/2023 at 21:02, neufuse said:

Does hiding the banner even matter? Even if you did you still have the persistent reminder because you can't post 

Yes, it's annoying. Annoying enough for me to have gone to considerable lengths to try to remove it.

It's not so easy to say 'oh well, I'll just give up using Reddit in that case too then.' It's been a daily part of my life for at least the last 14 years. It's my go to place for news consumption. There are no equivalents.

[Software Dev Expert]

I’d suggest a combination of a VPN, Trace, Privacy Badger, uBlock Origin and Ghostery browser extensions. These block the ad trackers frequently used to identify multiple accounts

[binaryzero]

This entire thread is eye cancer.

[neufuse Veteran]

On 12/02/2023 at 16:52, jebus197 said:

Yes, it's annoying. Annoying enough for me to have gone to considerable lengths to try to remove it.

It's not so easy to say 'oh well, I'll just give up using Reddit in that case too then.' It's been a daily part of my life for at least the last 14 years. It's my go to place for news consumption. There are no equivalents.

I can think of multiple ways you can still use reddit and not give up without having to worry about this... just change your IP get a new account and hope no one cares if it's you, more than likely if you don't do anything stupid no one will notice

[i_was_here]

On 11/02/2023 at 15:44, jebus197 said:

I can log out. But logging out incurs a penalty in that you loose all the 'subs' you are subscribed to. A logged in user can still see all their subs, but they just can't participate in any discussions. If for some reason you are not familiar with Reddit, it's basically the central hub of the internet for anyone who has a passion, or a passing interest in anything - where you can connect with others who share your views and interests.

As a workaround could you not just bookmark all the subreddits you were subscribed to and just browse without being logged in?

Or does the banner still show even without an account being logged in? Your posts didn't seem very clear.

[JustGeorge]

Ublock Origin allows you to select/block elements. I used t to get rid of an annoying subscribe popup on twitter that wouldn't allow me to close and prevent you from reading anything else. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jebus197]

On 13/02/2023 at 11:11, JustGeorge said:

Ublock Origin allows you to select/block elements. I used t to get rid of an annoying subscribe popup on twitter that wouldn't allow me to close and prevent you from reading anything else. 

 

 

 

 

Yes Ublock origin element picker and Nuke Anything Element blocker don't work. Nor do any of the privacy extensions mentioned here that are designed to block ads work either. I assume that is because they are designed to block ads and not a persistent banner like this.

Remembering the 30+ subs I am subscribed to either is an issue, I'm 56 years old. I can barely remember my age most days, lol, so I won't be able to remember all my favourite subs. If you're subscribed to a topic, posts from that sub will appear on your front page. That's how this web site works. So logging out and browsing while logged out isn't such a hot option.

I know people who get booted from web sites might complain about the injustice of it all. But really in my case it's deeply unjust. How can someone be accused of violent behaviour towards a cardboard cut out target? Lol. I am also autistic. Reddit was one of my (very) few social outlets for the last 14 years that let me connect to other people. Mods there have no consideration for the emotional and psychological damage their actions can have.

[Dick Montage]

On 13/02/2023 at 12:33, jebus197 said:

But really in my case it's deeply unjust.

As said by literally every person on the receiving end of moderation