Trauma from Shadowban

The uniquely paranoid and gaslit cousin of a regular ban. Your posts, comments, or existence become invisible to everyone but you, turning you into a digital ghost. The trauma comes from the sustained psychological erosion—you keep shouting into the void, wondering why no one likes, replies, or acknowledges you. You question your sanity, your social worth, and the very fabric of online reality. It’s a slow-drip torture of self-doubt imposed by an automated system that refuses to confirm your punishment, making you complicit in your own silencing.

Example: "She spent months thinking her jokes just weren't funny anymore. Turns out she had trauma from a shadowban; the app had silently muted her for a sarcastic comment. Her entire online personality collapsed from the sustained, invisible rejection before she figured it out." Trauma from Shadowban

Trauma from Shadowban by Abzugal January 30, 2026

Trauma from Reddit Shadowban

A double-layered hell specific to the site's often-Byzantine moderation. You can still post, but your votes don't count and your comments are hidden unless a moderator manually approves them. The trauma is a masterclass in futility and paranoia. You meticulously craft responses in r/AskHistorians, only to never see them appear. You upvote a cause you believe in, providing zero support. You message the admins and get an automated reply about "server issues." It feels like being trapped in a glass box, pounding on the walls while the entire world scrolls past, oblivious to your existence.

*Example: "He wrote a 5000-word, sourced breakdown on economic policy, got two upvotes (both his own alts), and no replies. His trauma from a Reddit shadowban convinced him he was just deeply stupid and boring, until he discovered the ban a year later via a third-party website."* Trauma from Reddit Shadowban

Trauma from Reddit Shadowban by Abzugal January 30, 2026

shadowbunny 

A Shadowbunny is a virtual machine (VM) instance that is deployed on a compromised host to provide an adversary persistence and at the same time evade detections. The VM itself does not have any security monitoring and is entirely attacker controlled.

Ryan deployed a Shadowbunny during the red team exercise.

shadowbunny by hackerinmotion August 19, 2020

Shadowhunters 

Kickass demon-killers from Cassandra Clare's series: Infernal Devices and the Mortal Instruments.

These demon-killers protect all mundanes (humans) from evil demons who want to wreck havoc in the world.

-Did you see me kick that demon's ass?
-Damn, dude, your one out of the group of Shadowhunters I know that would do THAT to a demon.

Shadowhunters by Lurien March 10, 2011

Shadowboxing 

When a person punches in motion at nothing particular, preparing for a fight or physical fitness.

Rocky is well known for his Shadowboxing!

Shadowboxing by Strong Chuy July 15, 2009

shadowboost 

The selective promotion of a user on a web platform without the public being aware of it. It takes the form of unrestrained, covert, and artificial advancement of an individual over others in order to give them an unfair advantage. It involves advancing posts, profiles, opinions, videos, streams and other content from that individual to much larger than average and underinformed audiences without their knowledge or consent. It's harmful in that it's underhanded, subversive, manipulative and diverts public opinion from truths.

<half-asleep guy>: Why is my feed so full of statistical and moral falsehoods?

<awake guy>: Don't you know? It's one of countless examples of thousands of years of shadowboosting.

shadowboost by JonHoff March 22, 2023

Shadowhunters 

THE BEST DEMON HUNTERS TO EVER EXIST CLARY AND JACE FOR LIFFFEEEE BUT THEN HERES MALEC MALEC IS THE BEST SHIP OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE THEY ARE WAY BETTER THAN THE DOLAN TWINS THE SHADOWHUNTERS ARE ACTUAL QUEEEEEENNNNNSSSSSSS

GIRL ONE - YOU WANNA WATCH SHADOWHUNTERS
GIRL TWO - YAAAS BITCHHHH

Shadowhunters by Steven the frog November 8, 2018