Hacker News

Subscribe to Hacker News feed
Hacker News RSS
Updated: 26 min 4 sec ago

Has anyone else had their Reddit account Kafka'd? How did you solve the issue?

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 7:31pm

I recently got a message that my Reddit account was banned, with the following message:

>Your account has been permanently banned for breaking the rules.

>This account has been permanently banned due to multiple, repeated violations of Reddit's Content Policy on your other account(s). For more information about what rules you broke and how to appeal, check your account inboxes.

>If you feel like this account was banned in error, visit our Help Center to learn more how to file an appeal.

Neither of my accounts had done this, and neither of my accounts received "information about what rules you broke and how to appeal"

When I filed an appeal stating the above: that I only have two accounts, neither has repeatedly violated the content policy, and I appear to have been lumped in with another user who uses the same wifi I do.

(I don't have a big data plan -- I usually use the wifi at coffee shops etc rather than pay for data)

I chalked it up to an algorithmic error, and figured if I just do as I was before... post in a wholesome and engaging way, and avoid logging in over Tor or VPN, it wouldn't happen again.

Today I got the same message on a brand new account: I'm banned, check my "other" account for information on how to appeal.

This is extremely troubling -- Reddit is a resource for legal, medical, and technical advice. Not being able to spin up a throwaway and ask a programming question, get insight on a dispute at work, or otherwise engage in civil society has a huge chilling effect.

Has anyone else on HN dealt with something like this?

I understand HN has a very different culture -- the admins prefer one nym forever, but on Reddit it's fairly accepted to use a nym.

IMHO it echoes the founding fathers, who published anonymously.

I may sometimes express controversial opinions, but I'm not a troll in the sense of doxing, threatening, or otherwise crossing the lines that would cause someone to nuke my accounts from orbit when they're created.

I know Reddit is a private site and can theoretically do whatever they want, but given their colored history[1] I'm surprised that someone like myself who isn't trading CSAM, expressing hatred towards women, or doing other extreme things would suddenly be targeted in this manner.

I spoke with a friend who's a journalist who said it might be an algorithm gone awry but if true... where do I go from there?

I feel like the main character in "The Trial"[2]

>The Trial (German: Der Process)[A] is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither to him nor to the reader.

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20121012213707/http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trial#Development

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40138613

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

American Flag Sort

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 7:26pm
Categories: Hacker News

Ideas.rip – Founder insights from ideas left behind

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 7:21pm

Article URL: https://www.ideas.rip/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40138530

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Problems with the Halting Problem [pdf]

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 7:21pm
Categories: Hacker News

How did my iPhone 7 plus get remotely hacked?

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 7:13pm

Hey everyone,

So, back when COVID first hit, I started noticing some really weird stuff happening with my iPhone. Like, whenever I got a call from my mom, instead of just showing her name, it would say "Mom and three others" on the screen. Super strange, right? And then there were these battery notifications popping up, but they didn't match the actual battery level. Like, it would say my battery was at 10% when it was really at 20%.

But it didn't stop there. I started noticing random stuff in my browsing history that I definitely didn't search for. I mean, it wasn't just out of character—it was stuff I'd never even think about searching for. And I always used Safari, but suddenly there were all these Google searches showing up.

Then, every time I opened an app from the App Store, it would automatically open in a web browser. Like, why? I have the official app, why does it keep doing that?

So, I decided to dig into it. I logged into iCloud and checked out my phone on the map. Everything seemed fine until suddenly the phone icon at my address disappeared. Total freak-out moment. And then I found some creepy stuff hidden in my iCloud—screenshots of my banking info and passwords. They weren't in my photo gallery, but they were there in iCloud.

Turns out, someone had hacked into my phone and was using it to access all sorts of stuff. They even sent out a link to their friends through my contacts, giving them access too. It was messed up.

I tried getting help from AT&T and Apple, but they were no help at all. Like, Apple support was basically useless—they just told me to change my password, even though I knew there was some serious spyware going on. Keylogger.

In the end, I had to cut off all my internet connections just to stop it. But it was a nightmare. I had to change my phone number and just ditching all my social media and email accounts.

I still try to figure out how the heck this happened and if anyone else has experienced anything similar. Any advice or insights would be really appreciated. Thanks, guys.

I am into tech A LOT. But I am not a developer, coder, IT professional, hacker (not implying anyone is using as example as they are highly tech advanced), cyber security or osint social engineering professional.

Not saying this to assume anyone is dumb. I want to paint the picture here, that I'm just a regular person not as tech advanced as most users here when that happened to me. I learned so much from that experience. I know more about it now but i had no clue then.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40138450

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Ask HN: Sponsorblock Equivalent for Podcasts?

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 7:10pm

I love podcasts and listen to a wide range of them. In fact do support a few of them that I listen regularly.

However, the dark pattern advertisements have gotten worse over the past few years. There are ads that pop up during deep discussions that throws off the chain of thoughts and reduces the value of these conversations.

I'm looking for a sponsor block equivalent for Podcasts that clips out these advertisements, while still allow options for whitelisting of podcasts that have sane advertisement segments.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40138430

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Categories: Hacker News

Parker Solar Probe

Tue, 04/23/2024 - 7:09pm
Categories: Hacker News

Pages