this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2026
9 points (69.6% liked)

Ye Power Trippin' Bastards

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This is a community in the spirit of "Am I The Asshole" where people can post their own bans from lemmy or reddit or whatever and get some feedback from others whether the ban was justified or not.

Sometimes one just wants to be able to challenge the arguments some mod made and this could be the place for that.

Posting Guidelines

All posts should follow this basic structure:

  1. Which mods/admins were being Power Tripping Bastards?
  2. What sanction did they impose (e.g. community ban, instance ban, removed comment)?
  3. Provide a screenshot of the relevant modlog entry (don’t de-obfuscate mod names).
  4. Provide a screenshot and explanation of the cause of the sanction (e.g. the post/comment that was removed, or got you banned).
  5. Explain why you think its unfair and how you would like the situation to be remedied.

Rules

Expect to receive feedback about your posts, they might even be negative.

Make sure you follow this instance's code of conduct. In other words we won't allow bellyaching about being sanctioned for hate speech or bigotry.

YPTB matrix channel: For real-time discussions about bastards or to appeal mod actions in YPTB itself.

Some acronyms you might see.

Relevant comms

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Flatworm7591@lemmy.dbzer0.com
unruffled@anarchist.nexus
9
Banned for Posting an Actually Unpopular Opinion, and Reporting Rulebreaking Comments (aussie.zone)
submitted 5 days ago by Zarobi@aussie.zone to c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com
27 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I made a post to https://lemmy.world/c/unpopularopinion

https://aussie.zone/post/34735670

One comment was very rude, so I reported it. Another comment admitted that they were going against the rules of the community and downvoting a post they disagreed with, so I reported it. Two total reports I've ever made in that community that I can remember. Suddenly I'm banned by @JonsJava@lemmy.world, who says I'm reporting "everybody" and starts shit talking me publicly in the comments.

I know I'm not supposed to include private communications to "prove my point", but at least it's interesting to read.

Tap for inadmissible evidence

They stopped replying after that.

I now know it's a guideline, not a rule, but Jesus, what an unfriendly community over there. Just a DM explaining it's not a rule makes sense. Or at least lift the ban after the explanation, and apologise for being so snarky.

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[–] ThorrJo@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 4 days ago

lemmy.world

Ayuh. There's your problem, right there.

[–] NotAnotherLemmyUser@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago (2 children)

I can see both sides to this.

Reporting the first user was warranted for breaking rule 2 (Be Civil).

However, reporting the second user for "downvoting a post they disagreed with" was not warranted.

The rules in that sub are specific, but, as the mod has stated, how you vote is not a part of any rule. It's a reminder of how you are expected to vote, but this should not be viewed as a rule that people can be reported for.

Tap for community sidebar

In my opinion, that second report should have been seen as a misunderstanding/learning opportunity for the mod to reach out and clarify, and they should have given you a warning rather than jumping straight to a ban. If you had continued to report users for this same reason I could see a 1 day ban making sense.

From this post, it's not clear if you've had other interactions with the mod warning you against reporting for this reason. Considering how new your account is on here I would doubt it.

I disagree with the mod that you "started reporting anybody that disagreed with [you]" however, given your reasoning it's not hard to see that you were willing to do this and you could have easily continued down this path. This could be problematic especially given how easy it is to see how individual users vote in the fediverse (those votes are not private like they are on Reddit).

Overall I think this should have been more of a warning, and the mod could have handled the situation better. A 14 day ban would have easily been PTB material. The correction to a 1-day ban still feels excessive for what should have been a warning, but that in itself doesn't feel like this reaches the PTB level.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 days ago (1 children)

given your reasoning it's not hard to see that you were willing to do this and you could have easily continued down this path.

What exactly are you basing this on, because from what I read, I got "I thought it was a rule violation so I reported it," which doesn't exactly support your idea.

[–] NotAnotherLemmyUser@lemmy.world 0 points 3 days ago

To clarify what I meant there, I'm not saying that they were willing to continue despite what the moderator said.

I meant that they would have continued to report other users for this reason until someone pointed out to them that this isn't really a rule violation.

[–] Zarobi@aussie.zone 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yeah it was basically just a misunderstanding. Since the guideline was written in a strict tone and next to the rules I thought it was also a rule.

I haven't interacted with this mod before (that I'm aware of), but I'm not sure if that's easy to prove. You could probably ask the mod themselves in this thread, they seem strangely calm and reasonable now, though they still haven't unbanned me.

I only reported that second person because they straight up admitted in writing what their intentions were, that went against the ~~rule~~ guideline. I feel like that's a pretty rare thing to happen, and my interpretation was it was like confessing to a crime that's hard to prove. How do you prove someone downvoted something they disagreed with? People downvote for all sorts of reasons. Unless you admit it.

The main part I disliked and feels PTB was how they disparaged me in the thread after banning me. They made me out to be a crazy person that whined to the mods because my feelings were hurt, with no way to defend myself, and they didn't even update or edit their comment after they found out it was a misunderstanding.

[–] JonsJava@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

This was out first interaction.

I think I may have jumped the gun, so I'll unban.

I don't explain my moderation approach, less bad actors leverage that knowledge, but suffice to say, account age and cadence is the reports played a role.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I like how, even though you've said this, your disparaging comment is still unedited in your history.

[–] JonsJava@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I own my messages. I never said I disagreed with what I said. Merely that my moderation was incorrect.

[–] Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

So, the idea that they were abusing the report button was wrong, but the public announcement that they were abusing the report button wasn't? Okay then.

Edit: You know, now that I think of it, you don't disagree with what you said? Well, you said that they "Reported everyone who disagreed with them." They claim they only made two reports. Do you dispute that?

[–] UniversalMonk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Well, it is a .world mod, so PTB!

[–] Zarobi@aussie.zone 3 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Are .world mods notorious or something?

[–] ThorrJo@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 4 days ago

The entire instance is notorious for being the most reddit-like, because it's the biggest server with the most normies who are un-detoxed from megacorp platforms.

[–] UniversalMonk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Yeah, the instance is sorta famous in this comm. The problem is it's sorta the biggest and first instance people join up with when they come to Lemmy, and it's the most reddit-like of all instances. So many of the mods there act like reddit mods. There are exceptions of course, but I personally view it as one of the worst instances here.

I've had more Lemmy stalkers from the .world instance than any other instance. The unhinged, "I'll find out where you live and then we'll talk" kind of stalkers. All because I fucking voted third party in the last US election and am proud of it. And many are still pissed about it, fucking 2 years later. LMAO

note to my stalkers: I'm gonna vote third party next election too! Thanks, friends! :)

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I’ve had more Lemmy stalkers from the .world instance than any other instance.

You get the most X from the instance with the most users? Say it isn't so!

[–] UniversalMonk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Hmm, you do make a good point. But I still think the .world people skew more extreme when it comes to fixation. Maybe it's just because of numbers, but my point still stands.

I also never had anyone from any other instances, or from Reddit (a much bigger platform), getting together and writing actual computer programs about me, all just so they could try to figure out my location by the times I'm posting. Yeah, that happened.

.world mods didn't do anything about it either. That's a level of weird unique to .world in my experience.

But I don't want to veer off from OP's issue. I meant my comments as a personal aside about how extreme Lemmy can be, which can also lead to the situation OP is having with PTB's on .world

[–] Zarobi@aussie.zone 0 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Damn… should I be worried I'll be getting a knock on my door because I think downvotes are dumb?

This is the first instance I joined, because it's hosted in my country. I like my data not being stored overseas if possible.

Edit: actually, reviewing my block list, like 70% of my blocked communities and users are lemmy.world… maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe not

[–] UniversalMonk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Damn… should I be worried I’ll be getting a knock on my door because I think downvotes are dumb?

Not really, but do be safe and never ever ever give any "real" personal location information about yourself.

Many of the people who come here, are here because they got banned at other places for being too extreme. Many have social issues too. So fixation and obsession seems to be a little bit more common here than other online forums.

I love Lemmy and what it stands for, but if you ever say something that is against the norm of Lemmy, some Lemmy's who disagree with you will make it their mission to bully you and try to get you to leave Lemmy. Especially if your comments were politics or AI-related.

My fav moment of when bullies tried to get rid of me: "I'm Calling For the Fediverse to Ban UniversalMonk" https://lemmy.ca/post/37043777

None of this has to do with OP though, and OP's problem can be a sucky situation. But please be careful about what you post on Lemmy if it can identify your exact location. People here can very fixated and extreme.

[–] Zarobi@aussie.zone 0 points 5 days ago (1 children)

That's a pretty impressive retirement ngl… I'm also retired but I'm not healthy enough to go for walks anymore. I think I have mentioned my city once, but it's on the other side of the world from NA so that's a pretty big deterrent lol. Ah well, it's probably fine.

I have experienced that strange thing you mentioned a few times. Where you go against the flow and the piranhas come out the woodwork. It happened on Reddit as well of course, but it seems more… extreme here. Like, I'm basically mecha-Hitler because I have a slightly different opinion and dared to post it.

I have this system where I put tags on people based on how much of a jerk they are, or if they're nice. Green: nice. Blue: wildcard. Yellow: rude. Red: complete jerk, but only once. Then after red I just block them. I find it helps to see like, oh it's just Mildly Racist (yellow) doing their thing again. Contextualises it. Most of the time it's the same 20 people being weird anyway.

[–] UniversalMonk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I’m also retired but I’m not healthy enough to go for walks anymore.

Sorry to hear that! I run several miles a few times a week, alternated with walking several miles the other days. I find that it really helps me stay centered and active with nature, my neighbors, etc. Hopefully you are still at least healthy enough to still enjoy your retirement!

but it seems more… extreme here.

Yeah, that was my main point. Sorry I veered off too much w personal experience. I have never experienced any users as extreme as Lemmy users. Reddit is a much bigger platform, but I think the stalker guys get banned there pretty quick, find a home here, and set up shop.

Like, I’m basically mecha-Hitler because I have a slightly different opinion and dared to post it.

Yep, the whole "Universal Monk must be a Trump supporter!" narrative started when I posted some news articles about how much Biden sucked. And I would post them right along with posts of how much Trump sucked. My point was that both parties sucked. But that nuance got lost quick. All my posts are public, so it's hilarious to me that people still ignore that I'm actually a socialist supporter. I even created and mod Socialist Party communities on here! lol

The groupthink here is actually worse than on Reddit. Because the most active communites on Lemmy are political, while Reddit has a bunch more active niche non-political communities. We have plenty of non-political comms here on Lemmy, but they don't get a lot of action. The extremists veer toward the political ones.

I love it though and will always stick around. But I can see how it might inhibit growth here, when non-political casuals come here and find that there is very little movement unless politics is being talked about. And I think that's why we have so many situations that are ripe for this PTB community.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

One particular mod of some very active news and political communites being terrible is extrapolated onto all of the other .world mods because the admins refuse to do anything about it. I don't recall single other .world mod getting flak more than once, just that one tool.

[–] Grainne@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 days ago

FlyingSquid got a lot. JJ gets a fair bit too.

Basically the prominent.world power mods and admins give the platform a bad reputation. The smaller comms are generally fine.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

PTB. I had a same experience with another community whwre i reported genocide apologists. If there is 10 comments that break rules and you report it, it iw still not abuses

[–] JonsJava@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

This was will written, and kept to facts as you see them.

I will add that you've been polite, and nice dealing with.

I won't defend my action until others tell me I should.

[–] Zarobi@aussie.zone 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Thanks. I was honestly expecting a perma ban or something for making this post.

[–] JonsJava@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago

I try not to be a PTB.

I know at times I can be snarky, but at times it can come off crass.

With that said, I'd never ban for you airing grievances.

[–] UniversalMonk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Just a DM explaining it’s not a rule makes sense.

I just wanna point out that doesn't always work either, and there may be reasons mods don't do that. I mod a few communites and one time I banned someone and followed up with a DM about why and explained the rules. The DM was something like, "Hey sorry for the ban. The reason was because...., but it's only temp, so feel free to come back after it expires." That's it. Two sentences

I thought I was being helpful by giving additional context. The user actually then created a post somewhere else talking about how weird I was for DMing them and how horrible I was for doing that. And most people in the thread agreed that my single "unsolicited" DM after banning them was not cool to do.

Even though I was polite and professional in my DM, their over-reaction pretty much taught me that I will never again feel the need explain myself for mod decisions. lol

I do think it was total PTB in your personal case though!

[–] curbstickle@anarchist.nexus 5 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I just wanna point out that doesn't always work either

Can confirm, I still do it but the responses can be anything from "Oh I understand" to "Totally see why you removed!" to "You're a complete piece of shit!".

I stand by my moderation though. And I offer them the opportunity to complain about me on !selfhosted@lemmy.world or here in reply. They can even post up about wanting me removed, and if the community wants that I'll pass along to someone else.

But the replies to explaining why what they did was against the rules can vary pretty heavily. Won't stop me from doing it though, I think its appropriate so its what I do.