this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2026
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Here since !lemmy_support@lemmy.ml is unavailable as outlined below.

Hi

There have been some rather concerning actions taken by an admin of the !privacy@lemmy.ml community, dessalines@lemmy.ml. Based on recent moderation decisions and a complete lack of communication, it seems like their account may have been compromised, or even more concerning if these actions are deliberate.

  1. Erroneous Rule 4 Enforcement, First Instance: a guide posted to !privacy@lemmy.ml, despite receiving many positive votes and comments, was removed under Rule 4:

If you have a question, please try searching for previous discussions, maybe it has already been answered

However, this post was a guide and not a question, so Rule 4 does not apply. Attempts were made to reach out for clarification but there has been no response, despite their account showing recent activity.

  1. Erroneous Rule 4 Enforcement, Second Instance: an on-topic informational video also posted to !privacy@lemmy.ml, despite also receiving many positive votes, was again removed under Rule 4. This post was again not asking a question, so again Rule 4 does not apply. Again, no explanation has been given.

  2. User Bans in Completely Unrelated Communities: user bans of over a month have been applied for not only !privacy@lemmy.ml but several completely unrelated communities:

This is especially concerning given that the above posts have no relation to these communities, and no recent activity has been made in any of them, meaning none of their rules could have been broken. Moreover, a public track record of positive contributions across Lemmy has been established, with many positive votes and comments received over a sustained period. Given all of this, the bans appear to be highly disproportionate, only adding to the growing concerns around moderation practices.

  1. Repost with Disclaimer Removed: a repost of the guide, despite a disclaimer explaining the original removal appears to be in error and that attempts to contact the admin have failed, despite again receiving many positive votes and constructive comments, was once again removed. Again, no explanation has been given.

Given all of this, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that something is not right. Mistakes in moderation happen but the complete lack of communication, the disproportionate actions, and the ongoing bans from unrelated communities raise serious concerns. It seems as though the account is most likely compromised, or even more concerning if these actions are deliberate.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues with this admin, or does anyone have more insight into what might be happening?

TL;DR: Admin dessalines@lemmy.ml of !privacy@lemmy.ml appears to be making seriously concerning moderation decisions, including erroneous enforcement of Rule 4 in at least two separate instances, failing to respond to messages, and applying user bans in completely unrelated communities despite a long track record of positive contributions across Lemmy. This has led to speculation that their account is likely compromised, or even more concerning if these actions are deliberate.

Any thoughts or similar experiences would be appreciated.

The target account is on Lemmy.world but if there is a better place to post this please let me know.

Cross post with https://lemmy.world/post/43944145

top 11 comments
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[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

Subtle dig.

[–] zeezee@slrpnk.net 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)
[–] autonomoususer@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

The first was a guide on how to respond to the term "sideloading" and the second was a video about the rise of facial recognition in supermarkets.

[–] Doomsider@lemmy.world 3 points 16 hours ago

Cool, someone else to block before I get to experience their wisdom.

[–] mysticpickle@lemmy.ca 2 points 19 hours ago

Sorry this is different from his usual behavior how? πŸ˜‚

[–] Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

dessalines is a lot more than just the mod of a privacy com https://github.com/dessalines

[–] autonomoususer@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Thank you for sharing this. It really emphasises the seriousness of this situation.

[–] TootSweet@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago

Fortunately ActivityPub is a fully open standard and Lemmy (and Lemmy-UI) are FOSS and can be forked if necessary.

[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 18 hours ago

You must be new here. Desalinator is one of the creators of lemmy, he didn't like how he and his tankie buddies got banned everywhere for being tankies and so he created this place so he could be the heavy handed admin for a change, it's like his whole thing. Just don't use .ml comms, you're already on .world so his influence on you is limited.

[–] wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 17 hours ago

As others have said, welcome to lemmy.

Dessalines is one of the lead devs, admin of the flagship instance lemmy.ml (and mod of many of its comms as you've seen). He is known to be incredibly heavy handed in his admin/moderation choices.

As far as using communities goes, just steer clear of .ml comms if it's a problem for you. Plenty of equivalent comms on other instances.

And if you don't like using software made by someone like that, piefed is interoperable. Made by a user that goes by rimu.

The takeaway is that this isn't unusual or concerning behavior for dessalines.