The Downfall of Quora: How I got banned
My banned profile: https://www.quora.com/profile/Anurag-Kumar-253
Two days back, I was sitting in the library of my college. At 7:30, I opened Quora on my mobile to check if I had got any comments on my answers. When I opened the website on my browser, the homepage popped up. I was surprised, as I never log out. When I tried to log in, I saw this:
I was stunned. What did I do to deserve this fate?
After coming back from library, I talked to a Quoran on Instagram about it. She told me that I was banned because of having multiple accounts.
I realised that I had used my mother’s account on my phone multiple times. I immediately asked her to send me a photograph of her Voter ID card and wrote a letter to Quora, describing the situation.
Next day was Monday. After going to gym in the morning and attending classes, I went to library as usual. I anticipated an email from Quora, which I didn’t get. I however got messages from a few people (One friend, Archchi Ajita kept me updated about the developments like a question about my ban being posted etc.).
Next day I went to library in the morning after skipping classes. I stayed there in afternoon as well, as my Ophthalmology assessment is approaching in 10 days. I had forgotten about the incident as I knew that the mistake was at least partly mine.
In evening, I got a message from Dr. Venkatraman Radhakrishnan, an eminent doctor on Quora. He expressed his disgust over the decision and started a petition about my account. https://www.change.org/p/quora-users-quora-please-revoke-ban-on-anurag-kumar
I became hopeful again. I started waiting for the mail eagerly. In the meanwhile, I kept checking my profile (I googled my name for that). I was saddened to know that all my answers were collapsed as ‘Answer may need improvement’.
While observing my edits, I noticed that one of the Quora users had typed abuses on my answers just 2 minutes before my account got banned. He must have reported me, and Quora banned me in no time.
As I am on Medium, not Quora, so I don’t care about the identity of the person. Hence I am not blurring the name.
Now I doubted my hypothesis. Using my mother’s account was not the reason for the block, probably.
Within a few minutes, I got a reply from Quora too (warning: long screenshot)
As you can see, multiple accounts is nowhere in the appeal review mail. Now my suspicion was confirmed: I was banned due to hate. Pure hate. (They probably count multiple accounts in suspicious activity, and the BNBR reports added on that.)
I didn’t even get an edit-block. A straight-away ban. Even a fake named troll or an abuser doesn’t get that.
I have received abuses in four languages: English, Hindi, Spanish and Latin (latter of which I don’t know). I had to deactivate my Sarahah account due to it.
While I am banned, these troll accounts stand proudly.
What saddens me more is that my answers were all collapsed, as if they were useless or spam. Many of them were daily sent to Quora digest, and one of them was shared from official Quora Facebook page. I already had a hunch that my account won’t be restored, so I wanted to shift my content to medium. Now it will become difficult to do so. Secondly, I am worried that if someone googles my name in future, he will form a bad image of me due to the ban.
Apart from that, I am fine. My studies, startup (student editor of Medmiracle, a PG preparation app), Duolingo, Gym, Novel/Non-Fiction reading etc. are continuing. In the past 2 days, I resumed playing Color Switch on my phone and am among top 3% players.
I miss Quora, but only slightly. I miss Quorans more, with whom I had a bonding. I devoted a lot of time to it, correct, but I had devoted even more time to facebook in class 10th (when I used it for 4 hours the day before my English boards). I didn’t feel any difficulty in staying away from it during 11th and 12th. I used it again in 1st year, and deactivated again in 3rd semester. So, I’ll forget Quora in 1–2 days (even now I am watching Black Mirror).
This is a loss of Quora, not me (hence the title of the essay). Contrary to what you might think based on my activeness on social media, I am a busy person who is going to become a doctor in a few months and write his post graduate entrance in 2019. I had already reduced my time on Quora.
Quora has recently become sickening. Advertisements, strange links, trolls, unnecessary bans; The day is not far when it will become another Yahoo answers. Medium, although different in format, is gaining edge over Quora.
Quora, this is a wakeup call. Naman Chakraborty had already raised the issue of Trolls. If you don’t do something regarding it, you are doomed.
Lastly, why a lifetime ban? Even our judicial system frees criminals after few months or years, depending upon the crime. Then why can’t Quora introduce a ban of 6 months or 1 year?
Post script: I am shamelessly begging for claps and shares. I want it to reach as many people as possible, so that Quora improves its troll policies.