ph-ban-prevention skill

---
name: ph-ban-prevention
description: Avoid shadow bans and penalties on Product Hunt. Use this skill to understand platform rules, identify risky behaviors, and ensure your launch practices are fully compliant.
---

# Product Hunt Ban Prevention

This skill helps you understand and avoid behaviors that could get your product unfeatured, votes removed, or your account banned on Product Hunt.

## When to Use This Skill

- Planning your launch strategy
- Training team and supporters
- Reviewing outreach materials
- Checking compliance before launch
- Responding to flagged activity

## Types of Penalties

### 1. Vote Removal
- Individual votes discounted or removed
- Happens automatically via algorithm
- May not be immediately visible

### 2. Product Unfeatured
- Product removed from homepage
- Still exists but not visible
- Can happen mid-launch

### 3. Shadow Ban
- Account actions don't count
- Not notified you're banned
- Activity appears normal to you

### 4. Account Suspension
- Complete account ban
- Public or private
- May affect all associated products

## Prohibited Behaviors

### Category 1: Vote Manipulation 🚫

**Absolutely Forbidden:**
- ❌ Buying upvotes
- ❌ Using upvote services (Fiverr, etc.)
- ❌ Creating fake accounts to vote
- ❌ Vote exchange schemes
- ❌ Paying for votes (even indirectly)

**What Happens:**
- Votes removed
- Product unfeatured
- Account banned
- Reputation destroyed

---

### Category 2: Incentivized Voting 🚫

**Forbidden:**
- ❌ "Upvote for discount"
- ❌ "Vote to enter giveaway"
- ❌ "First 100 upvoters get X"
- ❌ Any reward tied to voting

**What's Allowed:**
- ✓ General launch discounts (not tied to voting)
- ✓ "PH community gets X" (regardless of vote)
- ✓ Offers for anyone who visits

---

### Category 3: Explicit Vote Requests 🚫

**Forbidden in Any Communication:**
- ❌ "Please upvote"
- ❌ "Every vote counts"
- ❌ "Help us reach #1"
- ❌ "Your upvote means everything"
- ❌ "Vote for us"

**What's Allowed:**
- ✓ "Check it out and share your feedback"
- ✓ "Would love your support"
- ✓ "Let us know what you think"
- ✓ "We launched — take a look!"

---

### Category 4: Coordinated Activity 🚫

**Suspicious Patterns:**
- ❌ All votes from same IP/location
- ❌ All votes in same 10-minute window
- ❌ Votes from brand new accounts
- ❌ Identical comment text
- ❌ Voting rings/groups

**What's Allowed:**
- ✓ Staggered supporter outreach
- ✓ Genuine community members voting
- ✓ Natural geographic spread
- ✓ Varied comment styles

---

### Category 5: Self-Promotion Abuse 🚫

**Forbidden:**
- ❌ Commenting self-promotion on other products
- ❌ Spamming discussions with your product
- ❌ Creating fake discussions about your product

**What's Allowed:**
- ✓ Genuinely helpful comments
- ✓ Mentioning your product when relevant
- ✓ Participating in related discussions

---

### Category 6: Spam Behavior 🚫

**Forbidden:**
- ❌ Mass messaging users
- ❌ Automated outreach
- ❌ Repeated submissions
- ❌ Misleading product information

## How Detection Works

### Algorithm Signals

Product Hunt's algorithm looks for:

**Account Quality:**
- Account age
- Activity history
- Engagement patterns
- Social connections

**Vote Patterns:**
- Vote timing distribution
- Geographic clustering
- Account similarity
- Velocity anomalies

**Engagement Authenticity:**
- Comment depth
- Response quality
- Discussion naturalness

### Human Review

Moderators also check for:
- Reported violations
- Unusual patterns
- Community complaints
- Obvious manipulation

## Risk Assessment Checklist

### Before Launch

**High Risk (Don't Do):**
- [ ] Are you using any vote service?
- [ ] Are you offering rewards for votes?
- [ ] Are you asking directly for upvotes?
- [ ] Are new accounts being created to vote?

**Medium Risk (Be Careful):**
- [ ] Are you sending mass emails at once?
- [ ] Are all supporters voting same time?
- [ ] Do all comments look similar?
- [ ] Are you messaging PH users directly?

**Low Risk (But Stay Alert):**
- [ ] Is your product clearly explained?
- [ ] Are your claims accurate?
- [ ] Is your offer clearly communicated?

### During Launch

**Watch For:**
- Sudden drops in vote count
- Product disappearing from homepage
- Comments being removed
- Unusual metric patterns

## Safe Practices Guide

### Safe Outreach

**Email Best Practices:**
```
✓ DO: Send to segmented lists in waves
✓ DO: Personalize messages
✓ DO: Ask for "support" or "feedback"
✓ DO: Respect unsubscribes

✗ DON'T: Send to purchased lists
✗ DON'T: Use same message for everyone
✗ DON'T: Ask for "upvotes"
✗ DON'T: Spam non-subscribers
```

**Social Media Best Practices:**
```
✓ DO: Share authentically
✓ DO: Spread posts throughout day
✓ DO: Engage with responses
✓ DO: Thank supporters

✗ DON'T: Post same link repeatedly
✗ DON'T: Use engagement pods
✗ DON'T: Ask for votes publicly
✗ DON'T: Spam hashtags
```

### Safe Supporter Activation

**Do:**
- Activate in waves (not all at once)
- Use different time zones
- Encourage genuine comments
- Let people vote if they want

**Don't:**
- Coordinate exact voting times
- Script identical comments
- Pressure reluctant people
- Force anyone to participate

### Safe Messaging Templates

**Instead of:** "Please upvote our product!"
**Say:** "We just launched — would love your feedback!"

**Instead of:** "Every vote counts!"
**Say:** "Your support means a lot to us."

**Instead of:** "Help us reach #1!"
**Say:** "Check it out and let us know what you think."

**Instead of:** "Vote to win a prize"
**Say:** "PH community gets 20% off (no vote required)"

## If Something Goes Wrong

### If Votes Are Removed

**Don't:**
- Panic
- Spam more outreach
- Create new accounts
- Complain publicly

**Do:**
- Review your practices
- Continue quality engagement
- Focus on genuine community
- Accept the result

### If Product Is Unfeatured

**Steps:**
1. Stop all outreach immediately
2. Review potential violations
3. Contact PH support (calmly, factually)
4. Prepare explanation if asked
5. Learn for next time

### If Account Is Flagged

**Steps:**
1. Do not create new accounts
2. Contact [email protected]
3. Be honest about practices
4. Accept the decision
5. Rebuild reputation over time

## Compliance Checklist

### Pre-Launch Audit

**Outreach Materials:**
- [ ] No explicit vote requests
- [ ] No vote-for-reward offers
- [ ] Genuine, helpful language
- [ ] Personalized content

**Supporter Briefing:**
- [ ] Instructed not to script comments
- [ ] Explained staggered timing
- [ ] Emphasized genuine engagement
- [ ] No pressure to participate

**Technical:**
- [ ] Not using vote services
- [ ] Not using bots
- [ ] Real user accounts only
- [ ] Natural geographic distribution

### Launch Day Monitoring

- [ ] Watching for unusual patterns
- [ ] Not over-activating if behind
- [ ] Responding genuinely to comments
- [ ] Not panicking about ranking

### Documentation (Just in Case)

Keep records of:
- Your outreach list (legitimate contacts)
- Your supporter communication
- Your email/social templates
- Timeline of activities

## Output Format

```
COMPLIANCE CHECK FOR: [Product Name]

RISK ASSESSMENT:

High-Risk Behaviors:
☐ [Behavior] - [Status: Clear/At Risk/Violation]

Medium-Risk Behaviors:
☐ [Behavior] - [Status]

OUTREACH REVIEW:
Email template: [Compliant/Needs revision]
Social posts: [Compliant/Needs revision]
Supporter briefing: [Complete/Incomplete]

RECOMMENDED CHANGES:
1. [Specific change needed]
2. [Specific change needed]

OVERALL STATUS: [Ready / Needs Work / High Risk]
```