Summary

The article discusses the suspension of Medium accounts for violating platform rules, particularly concerning the generation of inorganic traffic, and suggests a pattern that may hinder top-earning content creators.

Abstract

The author of the article brings attention to the recent suspensions of notable Medium accounts for breaching platform guidelines. The piece emphasizes the importance of understanding and adhering to Medium's rules, which prohibit actions that generate inorganic traffic, such as posting URLs in comments. The author provides insights into how to avoid account restrictions and what steps to take if one's account is flagged, including contacting Medium's support team. The article also shares the author's personal experience with account suspension due to being mistakenly caught in Medium's spam filter and the subsequent struggle to regain previous traffic levels. The author raises concerns about a potential pattern on the platform that seems to limit the success of high-performing writers, drawing a parallel to a protective "firewall" that prevents them from reaching the top 1% of earners on Medium.

Opinions

The author believes that Medium's rules are strict and can lead to account suspensions, especially when URLs are posted in comments to generate external traffic.
There is a suspicion that Medium's spam filter may disproportionately affect accounts that are gaining traction, potentially stifling their growth.
The author suggests that once a Medium account is flagged and reinstated, it is challenging to return to the same level of visibility and engagement as before.
A pattern is observed where successful writers are suddenly suspended for alleged violations, which the author suggests may not be coincidental.
The author questions whether there is an intentional mechanism in place that acts as a "firewall" to prevent content creators from reaching the upper echelons of earning potential on Medium.
The author invites readers to share their thoughts and experiences on the matter, indicating an openness to different perspectives and a desire for further discussion.

Is A Firewall Preventing Us From Reaching The Echelon Of The 1% Earners On Medium?

Your account is suspended for being in violation of medium rules.

I have just read a story about a few notable medium members whose accounts have been suspended. The story was written by Harsha Gurnani, “Medium Banned Ryan Canady, Saeed Sobhani, Jijo George…”

So, I have decided to pen this article to shed some light on the situation. First and foremost, please make sure that you take timeout to read and familiarise yourself with the medium rules that govern your activities on this platform.

Read the medium rules here.

One of the most important rules is that one should basically not generate inorganic traffic to their account. What constitutes inorganic traffic?

Please go and read the medium rules here.

One key violation that frequently arises pertains to posting URLs in your responses. This may appear innocuous at the outset but, according to the platform algorithms, it is not.

Platform rules strictly prohibit any actions intended to generate inorganic traffic to your account, a violation that might result from putting a URL in your responses. Such actions can raise red flags because they tend to redirect users to external pages, compromising the platform’s objective to maintain organic user interaction and engagement.

So, how can you avoid this and what steps should you take if your account is flagged?

Firstly, steer clear from adding URLs in your responses. This might appear to be an effective way to reference your sources or direct other users to your content.

However, such practices may contravene medium rules and can inadvertently make your account a target of restriction.

If you receive notification that your account is under investigation for violating medium rules. Your immediate response should be to contact the platform’s support team.

Use the email provided below to express your concerns, and provide all the necessary details related to your account or the notification you’ve received.

[email protected]

However, I must hasten to say, that there’s one common trend that I’m beginning to notice with the medium.

Whenever someone is making good strides on the platform. Then, out of nowhere, they will just get stopped in their tracks with a medium violation and bam!! Your account is being suspended for violating medium rules.

I experienced this first-hand, twice last year and this action was detrimental to my progress on the platform. The good old spam filter accidentally picked up my account as spam.

When I reached out to the medium support team. I received the following response:

“It looks like your medium account was mistakenly caught in our spam filter. I have now restored your account and/or any affected post(s).”

However, I must say from that point on I have struggled to generate any level of traffic close to what I used to before the so-called violations.

I do not doubt that these writers will be reinstated to the platform but what I am certain of is that the level of success that they previously achieved will be greatly diminished.

I can’t help to shake off this feeling that there seems to be a protective mechanism. It’s like a firewall that prevents us from reaching the echelons of the top 1% earners on this platform.

Maybe, I am overthinking this too much or being paranoid but when these occurrences happen so often it is no longer a coincidence.

What do you think?

Please share your thoughts, I want to know your views on this matter.