Meta just suspended the Facebook account of Neal Stephenson

Platform Dependence and Cyberpunk Irony

• Many note the irony that the coiner of “metaverse” had his Facebook account suspended for “impersonating someone noteworthy,” and that he had to complain on a competing silo (X) to get attention.
• Commenters highlight how deeply embedded Meta is in everyday life (HOAs, school groups, Scouts), making bans or glitches more than a trivial inconvenience.
• Stephenson’s account was later restored, but people say the episode still perfectly fits the dystopian tone of his work.

Meta’s Systems, Support, and Opaque Policies

• Multiple users recount being locked out of Meta products (Facebook, Instagram, Oculus/VR, Ray-Ban glasses, WhatsApp Business) with either no explanation or contradictory ones.
• Appeals are often instant and boilerplate, suggesting fully automated review; even large ad spenders say internal contacts can’t help.
• Some contrast this with occasionally good support from other big firms (e.g., Microsoft business support), but say that for consumer accounts, real help is nearly unreachable.

Content Moderation and Algorithmic Incentives

• Several stories describe people being penalized for calling out racism or Nazism, while the original hate content remained up.
• Appeals to remove blatantly racist or neo-Nazi material are often rejected; some suspect an engagement-driven algorithm that is indifferent (or even favorable) to outrage.
• Others frame it as a general pattern: platforms treat direct offense to individuals (calling someone a fascist) as worse than broad offensive ideology.

Misclassification, Geo Issues, and False Positives

• Users describe geo-detection bugs (wrong country assignment) that lead to feature loss or outright bans, with no visible way to correct it.
• Innocuous behavior (offering free lumber, asking to meet for lunch, buying bandages on Amazon) has triggered automated fraud/abuse systems and permanent account loss.

Silos, Alternatives, and Powerlessness

• Discussion touches on “megacorp turf wars,” with nostr/Matrix/etc. seen as niche because of poor product design and distribution.
• Some ask about suing; replies note ToS language and mandatory arbitration make legal recourse effectively impossible.
• A few argue authors and users should rely more on blogs and RSS instead of corporate platforms, but concede that reach and “where the readers are” keeps people locked in.