i thought i was just going to have a cozy little corner on tumblr — maybe make a cute blog, play with a macos-style theme, and enjoy the aesthetics. i did not expect to get banned in roughly 10–20 minutes of editing. but here we are.
here’s the timeline:
09:10 pm — i created my tumblr account, full of excitement.
09:12 pm — i verified my email. the blog was brand new, untouched, pristine.
09:15–09:35 pm — i opened the theme editor to paste a custom macos theme i found. i updated my html, saved a few times, and admired how my blog could finally look cute.
around 09:31 pm — i noticed my page wasn’t showing up in third-person view. confused, i sent an appeal immediately.
and then… boom. account terminated. in roughly 10–20 minutes of actual activity. no posts. no reblogs. no interaction. just me being… me — a human, curious, and apparently too competent.
looking back, i think i know why. tumblr’s automated system probably saw:
- a brand-new account.
- rapid html edits in a short burst.
- possibly external links or assets in the theme.
- an almost-immediate appeal after verification.
…which, in algorithm-speak, screams: “suspicious bot activity detected.”
so here i am, banned for literally just trying to make my blog look cute. nothing offensive, nothing nsfw, nothing against the rules. just… too fast, too curious, too human.
it’s wild, frustrating, and kind of hilarious when you think about it. compared to the endless chaos of instagram, reels, and tiktok, tumblr could have been the perfect cozy corner for creativity. instead, i got ai-terminated before i could even settle in.
moral of the story?
if you’re a human who actually knows html, loves aesthetics, or just wants to tinker, maybe give the ai a few hours before going full wizard mode. or stick to platforms that respect your speed and creativity — blogger, neocities, friendproject, spacehey, and the like.
lesson learned: being competent on the internet is apparently a crime.




