Last week, my account (loganlenz) was terminated from Digg.com. I didn’t need to post anything to Digg until earlier this week, which is when I found out that my account was unexpectedly terminated without any forewarning. At first, I figured it was a cache problem on the computer I was on or an internal error on their site, so I figured I would wait it out and check again the following day. Little did I know, that my account didn’t exist anymore because Digg decided to shut it down out of nowhere.
Yesterday, I decided to inquire directly to Digg about the reasoning behind my account’s termination. While I commend them for their quick responses throughout our conversation, I was very displeased with the outcome. Here is the exact “dialogg” as they call it:
My Initial Email to Digg Support:
Bug Reported
Login: anonymous
Email: loganlenz@gmail.com
Page:
Description: My account, “loganlenz” is saying “inactive” and has been shut down, yet I don’t know what I did. If you check my account, I post my blogs up a few times a week. I would like to hear about what I might have done wrong so that I don’t do it again.
OS: Windows XP
Browser: Firefox
Digg’s Response:
Hi from Digg.com,
Your account was reported to us as being in violation of our Terms of Use (http://digg.com/tou) that you agree to when you registered for Digg.com.
Specifically spamming Digg with submissions.
From Digg Terms Of Use (http://digg.com/tou): 5. USER CONDUCT
7. to submit stories or comments linking to affiliate programs, multi-level marketing schemes, sites/blogs re-purposing existing stories (source hops), or off-topic content;
10. to advertise to, or solicit, any user to buy or sell any products or services. It is also a violation of these rules to use any information obtained from the Services in order to contact, advertise to, solicit, or sell to any user without their prior explicit consent;
We must be vigilant in protecting against activities that compromise the Digg community, this decision is final and irreversible.
Thank you,
-The Digg Support Team.
Me:
I appreciate the quick response. Please point me to the post where I am selling something. I am just a guy with a blog and have no affiliation with affiliate programs or anything of the sort. I am baffled by this. Please Google me. I need my Digg account because it is a staple for my networking and social media presence.
If you tell me which post(s) violated the terms of use, I will be more enlightened on the situation and can ensure that the sort will never happen again. Additionally, I would expect those violating posts be taken down if you feel it’s necessary to do so. I just NEED my account back.
Thank you so much in advance.
Digg:
Hi Logan,
We also identified multiple accounts held by a single user.
From the TOU:
“By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree not to use the Services:
with the intention of artificially inflating or altering the ‘digg count’, blog count, comments, or any other Digg service, including by way of creating separate user accounts for the purpose of artificially altering Digg’s services; giving or receiving money or other remuneration in exchange for votes; or participating in any other organized effort that in any way artificially alters the results of Digg’s services;”
From our FAQ (digg.com/faq):
Q: Is it ok to have more than one account on Digg?
A: Unless you exist in two parallel universes at once, unfortunately no. To protect the integrity of the system, our policy is one person, one account. This is to help prevent users from artificially inflating Digg counters, which is explicitly against our Terms of Use.
– Digg Support Team
Me:
I know exactly what you are referring to. There was a day last week where I was setting up accounts for some clients and employees. They were going to be given to someone else other than the user that set them up.
Please look at my current Diggs for my old posts. I have never altered counts and have never even had a post reach higher than 3 diggs. I’m just trying to save my “loganlenz” username here. I don’t care if you throw out the other accounts.
Please help me out.
Digg:
Hi from Digg,
While we appreciate the desire to Digg, we cannot reverse the decision.
Best,
– Digg Support Team
I was completely flummoxed by the conversation. Surely, whomever is behind this could reverse the action and reinstate my account. A simple search of “loganlenz” on Digg shows that I submitted a story but once a week and never tried anything outlandish at all. In all honesty, I just wanted to be present and active (as I try to do on all social media networks).
The worst part of all of this is that they have also shut down every single account that I had anything to do with. As most of you know, I work with a ton of brands, and digging is a major part of our SM campaigns for them. Somehow, all of those client accounts have been terminated as well. How am I supposed to explain that to all of my clients?
Furthermore, before I began writing this, I tried registering for another account to replace my “loganlenz” one. In my attempt, the Digg system has banned the entire sequence of “loganlenz” or “Logan Lenz.” Therefore, I couldn’t use any of my alternate email addresses, such as loganlenz@hotmail.com or yahoo.com, nor could I use my real name for my profile.
I feel like Digg thinks I am a digital criminal. Yet, I didn’t do anything that would warrant such harsh and immediate actions.
So I ask all of you to help push this post to Kevin Rose and everybody at Digg. If they are going to stick to their guns on this, they should at least acknowledge that there should be some sort of warning or “head’s up” email that enlightens the user of what he/she has done. I would also like answers as to how they expect a marketing firm to create, monitor and maintain all of their clients’ Digg accounts.
I can’t be the first person this has ever happened to. But, regardless, I hope I can be the first person to step up and request action to make a great, and much needed, website better and more accommodating.
Are you with me?