Banned Worries

We are at the mercy of things larger than we are and out of our control and we're putting ourselves into that position more and more as technology and our dependence on electronic media grows.   Today, a friend of ours woke up at 4AM to find his TikTok account banned.  He had 3.7 million followers and has been creating content in the 3D printing space the entire time.   

His videos are family-friendly, he doesn't swear or use bad language of any kind.  He is supportive of everyone, never says inflammatory things, is non-confrontational, and doesn't pick fights or respond when people say unkind things about him.  He is a positive person who wants to inspire adults, children, and families interested in 3D printing.   He's a very kind person and I'm glad I've had a chance to get to know him.

He doesn't know why his account was banned as there is no information as to what the reason was.  He doesn't know if it was a particular video and if so, typically a video is removed for not adhering to community guidelines in that case.  We've had that happen to us twice, both times by the algorithm going through the videos and thinking there was something that shouldn't be there.  Both times we appealed and the video was restored.   

Ben said that with an audience his size, he invariably had people report him for various things but that the reports were always declined.  So he's left not knowing why his account was banned and little recourse to try and get the decision reversed.   The reason I'm writing about this is that it has been alarming to those of us who have been working alongside Ben, creating similar content in the same space, making family-friendly videos that aren't inappropriate, and being supportive of all people.    Could the same thing happen to us?

We don't know.  We all hope Ben gets his account back, in the meantime, there is little we can do other than to let people know he has started over, from scratch, with his personal account and to warn them that the impersonator accounts (he was not verified, so he also can't appeal these fake accounts) are not him.   I hate it for him. 

The Big Boy Tiny Girl Biting Trampoline Update:  On the trampoline today there were three large boys, my son a six-year-old, and a two-year-old.   That's two too many.  I yelled out to drop it to four.  I yelled out a few minutes later to drop it to FOUR!   When that didn't cause action in a few minutes I stormed outside and yelled at them all that if they could not respect the well-known rule of four on the trampoline at one time, everyone was going home.  I got some, "I'm sorry" responses.  This was in part anger due to my ten and eleven-year-old children getting in a fight and biting each other.  Biting?  Really?   My daughter cried and went outside to make sure they didn't go home but my son came in and was screaming at me.  He was utterly embarrassed.   I had a very intense conversation with him about our potential liability if the very small little boy got hurt (or anyone for that matter).  My son didn't care.  He went on about how they all hated me and I said I would rather be hated if it took the rules being respected.   My son said we should write them down.  I reminded him that it was on the trampoline laminated beside the entrance.  He told me to just go into the bedroom and leave him alone.  So I did, and I locked the door. he said a lot of other mean things.  I called my husband to tell him what had happened and my son told him when he came home how sorry he was for what he said.  He came to find me later and hugged me and told me he was sorry.   I hugged him and told him I loved him very much.