Facebook Banned Me for Life Because I Help People Use It Less (2021)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Tools to Tame Facebook and Other Platforms

  • Multiple browser extensions are discussed:
    • FB Purity and Social Fixer to hide “suggested”/sponsored posts, reels, comments-on-others’ posts, and to restore chronological, friend-only feeds.
    • Similar tricks on LinkedIn (unfollow everyone or hide the feed via SocialFocus or uBlock Origin custom filters).
  • Users report that when these tools show only 10 posts at a time, often 9 are filtered as junk, making visible how much of the feed is non-friend content.
  • Some see these tools as essential; using Facebook without them feels unusable.

Experience of Facebook’s Algorithm and UX

  • Many describe feeds dominated by ads, suggested groups, rage-bait, political garbage, AI-generated junk, and scammy ads.
  • Unfollowing or unliking everything often leads to the feed being refilled with random content; “X”/“not interested” is widely viewed as ineffective.
  • Several note that friends and family post much less; Facebook feels like a ghost town except for groups and Marketplace.
  • Similar complaints are made about Instagram (poor reach, irrelevant recommendations, bot engagement) and increasingly about X/Twitter for some.

Dependency on Platforms for Social and Practical Life

  • Some argue you don’t need Facebook; you can call/text or maintain a smaller, closer circle.
  • Others counter that:
    • Many important contacts (teachers, landlords, doctors, parents in school groups, local communities, volunteer groups) only use one platform.
    • It’s hard or impossible to move entire groups off a chosen messenger.
    • Introversion, phone-call discomfort, and privacy concerns about sharing phone numbers make alternatives non-trivial.
  • There is frustration that major platforms effectively gate access to social and professional life.

Rights, Due Process, and Bans

  • One camp says platforms can ban at will; ToS grant no “right to an account.”
  • Another argues large platforms should face stricter rules:
    • No arbitrary closures, clear reasons, and the ability to challenge bans.
    • Cites jurisdictions where regulators have already constrained arbitrary account closures.
  • Debate over whether “loser pays” legal systems make challenging big platforms too risky for individuals.

Alternatives and New Projects

  • People experiment with:
    • Self-hosted or open-source group/event tools (e.g., Haven, Weavus, Discourse communities).
    • Personal blogs and email-based connections.
  • Common theme: desire for smaller, ad-free, non-addictive spaces focused on real relationships and events rather than endless feeds.