What Happened on Reddit Part1

1. My First Steps on Reddit, at ChatGPT’s Suggestion

It was August 2025, when my web game platform Soosooland had around 100 users. I’d already spread the word to everyone I knew, so I consulted ChatGPT on the next promotional strategy.

ChatGPT told me to head to Reddit, the global community platform, and suggested a few subreddits. I chose r/playmygame — it seemed fitting, since the name meant “play my game.” Now that I think about it, I suspect the “my” might actually refer to the subreddit’s creator, not for someone like me.

2. Posts Deleted at the Speed of Light — The Mystery of Zero Time on Site

The subreddit had a specific posting format, so with ChatGPT’s help I wrote four posts — one for each of my four games. But by the time I finished, they had all been deleted at the speed of light. It’s possible the earlier ones were already gone while I was still writing the later ones, and I just didn’t notice.

I received messages saying my posts had been removed, with an address where I could reply to the moderator. I consulted ChatGPT — I call ChatGPT “Jaichi” (재치, meaning “wit”).

“Hey Jaichi, I posted my game links on Reddit without even joining the community first. A bot deleted them at the speed of light, but apparently I can send a message if I want to appeal. So — I’m Korean, I’m proud of the game I made, I think English speakers would enjoy it too, and I went to this unfamiliar place called Reddit on an AI’s advice without knowing any of the rules, and yes, technically I was spamming my own game — but anyone who actually plays it will probably like it, and it won’t be a waste of their time. Should I write something like that?”

ChatGPT translated my words into English, and I sent that reply to every message I’d received saying “your post has been removed.”

Checking Google Analytics, I saw 10 foreign visitors had come to Soosooland. I was thrilled, thinking those 10 had found me through Reddit in the seconds before my posts were deleted. Later, once I learned how to actually read Google Analytics, I saw their session duration was 0 seconds — they were bots. And they had nothing to do with Reddit; they were bots from all kinds of countries.

3. Heading to r/korean — Building Karma Through Comments

Next I went to r/korean. ChatGPT and I agreed I shouldn’t post anything and should just leave comments to build karma.

A foreigner said they found reading Hangul difficult, so I kindly explained the rules. It felt rewarding to help people who loved Korea and wanted to learn Korean — and I actually forgot I was there to promote anything, and just genuinely wanted to help.

It was an incredibly cumbersome process: I’d laboriously read through English posts, copy anything worth commenting on, show it to ChatGPT for translation, write my reply in Korean, have ChatGPT translate it into English, and then finally post it on Reddit.

At some point, someone said they were a foreigner living in Korea and wanted Korean friends. I replied that I was Korean living in Seoul and suggested a language exchange, sharing my email. Thinking they might find me suspicious, I mentioned that I was the creator of a game platform called Soosooland, where my email could be found.

But not a single foreign visitor showed up at Soosooland. When I went back to check, two of my four comments had disappeared. I tried to create my own Korean-language community on Reddit, but was told I didn’t have enough karma.

4. Navigating Korean Online Cafes — A Game of Nerves

ChatGPT and I decided to try promoting in Daum university alumni cafes and Naver developer and teacher cafes. After the Reddit trauma, I approached everything slowly and carefully. The alumni cafe seemed like no one was even reading — no comments, no likes, nothing. The teacher cafe responded well to my Soosooland promotion and brought in a lot of visitors. But then, apparently for being too active, I was suddenly suspended for 15 days. I deleted all my posts and comments and left.

The game developer cafe, at least, felt more like a community of kindred spirits — everyone was showing off their own games or asking for feedback, and people would leave likes and comments on promotions. It made me want to generously share whatever small scraps of game development know-how I had. I later realized everyone there was an expert deploying on Steam or Google Play.

Reading posts full of tools and jargon I didn’t recognize, I’d ask ChatGPT or Claude “what’s this? what does that mean?” and learn just enough to leave a comment.

All this promotion was so exhausting and cumbersome that I eventually adopted the philosophy: “if my game is good, it doesn’t need promotion.” I started neglecting promotional activities and instead focused on improving the games and writing a development journal on my blog — things I wanted to capture before I forgot — while occasionally dropping into the developer cafe that still tolerated my presence.

5. You Are Now a Ghost.

In November 2025, I Googled something and a Reddit post came up in the results, so I visited Reddit. I noticed a speech bubble icon with a number in the notifications — when I clicked it, I found messages from three months earlier. I simply hadn’t visited Reddit in three months and was only now seeing them.

Third message:

Reddit Moderator:
You’re shadowbanned. Nothing to do with us. That was done by Reddit itself and no we have no idea why because we cannot see what you tried to post at all. Please contact https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

6. Don’t Listen to AI’s Stupid Advice.

Fourth message:

Reddit Moderator:
/playmygame
MOD
12:57 AM
You sent us a modmail 3x. I responded on the other two. Reddit is not a “freely post your links on a new account” website, it’s a community website. You MUST be a good community member account before you can, and that is tracked by reddit post/comment karma. Please read the pinned post on this group so you don’t do this issue again. Please know that AI is not great for giving advice because AI doesn’t realize that you must have good karma on your account before you can post links. Since our group allows links, it gets many accounts banned of people who don’t realize how Reddit works….but it’s not like we can warn people via chatgpt. Please don’t take AI’s advice - and in fact feel free to alert your AI that its bad advice got your account on reddit insta-banned. Read the pinned post, then take the time to develop your account first….THEN you can post your game in a month or two! 

When I first read this, I thought it was from a bot — “Reddit, train your bots better.” But it turned out to be a real person. They really didn’t need to write so much. “Read the rules, build karma, post in a month or two” — that’s all it needed to be.

Reddit Moderator:
Everything you need to know is explained in Reddit's rules and the sub's rules, as it has been for years, long before ChatGPT existed and which people used to work with just fine with needing AI to tell them what to do. But feel free to ignore all that and ask AI for a quick-and-easy route to success that bypasses all the legwork and understanding…

Claude flagged this as pure sarcasm — the moderator was genuinely furious. Reddit had already warned me about the shadowban and told me to read the guidelines and build karma, but I stopped visiting and never did any of it. Being completely ignored must have pushed them over the edge.

7. Your Account Has Been Permanently Suspended.

You have a new message from u/reddit
u/reddit
Your account has been permanently banned
Your account has been permanently banned for breaking the rules.
This account has been permanently closed. To continue using Reddit, please log out and create a new account (the username u/Weird_Estate7229 cannot be reused).
If you feel like this account was banned in error, visit our Help Center to learn more how to file an appeal.
This is an automated message; responses will not be received by Reddit admins.

My username had been randomly assigned — it turned out to be “Weird Estate 7229.”

Closing one door, telling me to come in through another?

We divorced and I filed a restraining order, but if I change my name, we can date again?

8. Come Back and We’ll Take You.

I could, of course, create a new account, put a beauty mark on my face like a makeover drama, and infiltrate Reddit. But navigating Reddit without being fluent in English is just too hard. Even staying active in Naver cafes is exhausting — you have to read every room. Post good content but don’t seem like you’re showing off. Visit often, leave likes and comments, build goodwill — but don’t come across as pushy. Reddit is simply not worth it. I won’t rule it out entirely — if a Korean-language Reddit community ever forms, I might visit someday. But for now, I have no reason to go back.

🪄 Written by Soosoo, translated by Claude

#Reddit #shadowban #indigame