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Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

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Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#32
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"seems excessively harsh" seems like a knowing understatement. It is not "excessive", it is incorrect . The link you posted provides clear language: "Your profile photo may be removed by LinkedIn if it doesn’t comply" According to this, the reason they were banned is not due to their avatar (but we can't know because LinkedIn has declined to elaborate, according to the OP).

>According to this, the reason they were banned is not due to their avatar That doesn't really follow. Especially since they specifically said the avator is the issue: >they removed my avatar for not complying with the TOS. Though unclear how OP is talking about both avatar removal AND account ban? Feels like perhaps half the story. How they got from avatar issue to a whole account ban I can't tell you but I'd imagin…

I bet $10 that OP re-uploaded the avatar after having it removed the first time.

Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#34

What part of the TOS did it violate?

In the follow up email (sent after the ban, and with a helpful "Please upload a new one", which I cannot do because it's restricted), they cite that "profile photos can get flagged for: (...) Not being an image of you or an actual photograph".

> they cite that "profile photos can get flagged for: (...) Not being an image of you or an actual photograph".

That actually seems fair to me, considering what LinkedIn is.

Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing. I just logged on and got hit with a captcha + ID verification. They just said they do it when there is a potential account compromise.

Potentially someone or some bot was spamming login attempts to your account or something? Or actually got in? And their automated tools detected and triggered your account to enter a state where it required ID verif. before login is possible. Sounds like their appeals process is broken/bugged or they just don't staff it (and auto-close / auto-reject appeals).

Yeah, if OP was getting popular (and getting money out of it), the account would have become a juicy target.

And LinkedIn had probably put it in some "extra checks" list for the same reason, thus triggering the ID check.

Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#36

I don't know why people even use the cesspool that's LinkedIn. I deleted my account in 2012 because of their spam emails and haven't looked back since.

Honestly so did I. I recreated it last year after managing /not/ to use it for a long time. But my sector is particularly LinkedIn-heavy and when you're fundraising it's nigh impossible not to use it.

Plus it's for a legaltech, so a LinkedIn page for it is important from the marketing side of things.

Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#37
post #23

Congratulations, you have successfully reached The One True Customer Service: HN front page. Expect your issue to be resolved promptly. The HN front page proudly serves customers from all megacorporations, including but not limited to the classic FAANG, Microsoft and many others. Is your account locked and customer service unwilling to review your case? Did all your data disappear and you can only reach a chat bot fr…

I have lots of complaints about this website, but seeing how quickly things get solved when you're getting a bad rep in the whole damned industry is always fun.

Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#38
post #32
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>According to this, the reason they were banned is not due to their avatar That doesn't really follow. Especially since they specifically said the avator is the issue: >they removed my avatar for not complying with the TOS. Though unclear how OP is talking about both avatar removal AND account ban? Feels like perhaps half the story. How they got from avatar issue to a whole account ban I can't tell you but I'd imagin…

I bet $10 that OP re-uploaded the avatar after having it removed the first time.

I didn't have it removed until after the account got restricted. I'll happily forward you the emails if you send the $10 to anything listed here: https://help.gov.ua/en/

Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#39
post #22

In the days of deep fakes I find it weird that real photos are a requirement on a social media site. I'd prefer to limit photos floating around.

I've gotten so many "recruiters" message me whose PFPs are obviously AI generated

Re: Tell HN: LinkedIn banned me because of my avatar, in the middle of my fundraise

#40
post #23

Congratulations, you have successfully reached The One True Customer Service: HN front page. Expect your issue to be resolved promptly. The HN front page proudly serves customers from all megacorporations, including but not limited to the classic FAANG, Microsoft and many others. Is your account locked and customer service unwilling to review your case? Did all your data disappear and you can only reach a chat bot fr…

Tbh I don't mind learning about the latest frenzies in big tech.

Serves as a good warning at times, don't you think?

Esp. if potential data loss is involved.

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