Yesterday, I did something I thought was harmless—left two comments on an open source project’s discussion thread. One comment was a reasonable OpenAPI proposal for supporting Server-Sent Events (SSE), the other offered a counter-proposal to my own suggestion. No malicious code, no spam links, nothing but honest feedback intended to improve the project.
Fast forward to today: I fire up GitHub, only to find myself mysteriously logged out. I shrug it off, click “Sign in,” and…
Account suspended
“Access to your account has been suspended due to a violation of our Terms of Service. Please contact support for more information.”
A wash of disbelief hit me. A violation? What violation? All I did was participate in a community discussion.
The Comments That Sparked It All
My OpenAPI SSE Proposal
I suggested extending the project’s API spec to support Server-Sent Events, aiming to improve real-time updates for clients.The Counter-Proposal
Realizing my first suggestion might introduce backward-compatibility issues, I proposed an alternate design that preserved existing behavior while enabling optional SSE support.
Both comments were civil, clear, and collaborative. I even linked to a short proof-of-concept—no spam, no ads.
The Suspension Notice
When I saw “Account suspended,” my heart sank. I clicked Contact Support, only to discover that you must be signed in to open a ticket. Irony alert: my account is suspended, so I can’t contact support with it.
Creating a New Account—Déjà Vu?
Left with no other choice, I created a brand-new GitHub account just to submit a support request. I explained:
- Who I am (same email, same contributions)
- What happened (logged out, suspended notice)
- What I’d done (two comments)
- My plea (please reinstate access)
I clicked Submit, and now I wait.
The Allegation: “Spamming”
In their terse email acknowledgement, GitHub claimed I was “spamming.” Here’s the kicker: I still have no clue when or how I spammed. No bulk messages, no unsolicited links—just two thoughtful comments.
What’s Next?
- Await Support Reply I’ve opened the ticket. Now it’s out of my hands (mostly).
- Document Everything Sadly, I couldn't even access the comments I left. Github has all the proof while I don't have any
- Share My Experience That’s why you’re reading this—so you know the potential pitfalls of open source participation and platform policies.
Lessons & Takeaways
- Always Keep Records: Screenshots and local copies of your work can be lifesavers.
- Be Prepared to Appeal: Even “harmless” community contributions can trigger automated moderation.
- Know Your Rights: Familiarize yourself with GitHub’s Terms of Service and Code of Conduct.
- Github as Oauth: Think again before using Github as oauth, they can easily remove your access
- Storing all repo data: If I have no backup, all my existing repo would be lost.
Stay tuned—once GitHub gets back to me, I’ll share the full story: how long it took, whether they reinstate me, and what (if anything) I could have done differently. In the meantime, remember: open source is a community built on mutual respect, but even well-meaning contributions can sometimes land you in hot water.
Have you ever been unexpectedly suspended or moderated on a platform? Drop a comment (while you still can 😉) and let’s talk about keeping our online communities fair and transparent.
