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I also developed a website young (mid teens), which was essentially a "beautiful/unique website ranking" based on visitor submissions and upvote/downvote system

I also developed a website young (mid teens), which was essentially a "beautiful/unique website ranking" based on visitor submissions and upvote/downvote system. I had the essential pieces done and launched the website, super excited as my first real project. I decided to toss on Google AdSense to see if I could potentially monetize the website by putting a single picture advertisement on the right side of the website. I was starting to generate some money (small, but exciting for a young developer). I was talking to my high school friend about what I was doing and how AdSense worked. Unbeknownst to me, he later visited my website and clicked the ads repeatedly expecting to make me hundreds of dollars... well, my account was shut down. I tried to plead my case, Google didn't care at all. I was "banned" and a small fish. Years later (in my early 20's) I considered revisiting the idea of monetizing a site I had for an online community. I tried to appeal to Google again lifting the ban and was denied. I was effectively banned for life from using Google AdSense as a young teen because of a friend "trying to make me rich" without him knowing the repercussions. I know there are alternatives to Google AdSense, however, Google was the one that payed the best. Still irks me to this day when I think about it...

vortico 7y ago
How is this system immune to me clicking on an enemy website's ads 100's of times to get them banned from AdWords?
- Phillips126 7y ago
  That was part of my argument during the appeal. And like every other report of similar things happening, all I get back in response was some canned copy/paste email from their policies. It seemed very out of my control for something like this to happen and I felt wrongly punished - and for a lifetime!? I can understand "banned for X amount of time" but as a young developer's first offence a lifetime ban seems a bit overkill.
- segmondy 7y ago
  Nothing. If anything, I'm feeling like we should create bots, browser extensions that repeatedly do this and cause massive havoc on their system until they listen and start figuring out better ways to fix their system. Folks are not fighting back. I'm not into ads and have never cared about using them to monetize, but if I did and they took my money. It's war.
  - seany 7y ago
    Related idea: https://adnauseam.io https://adnauseam.io
- auslander 7y ago
  Google knew they were friends. Common contacts, location histories, easy.
ukyrgf 7y ago
Wow, I tried to add Google Ads to a web community I hand-built built in 2005 and had this exact same thing happen to me. They have my social security number, so ~15 years later I still can't use their platform. I never even float the idea of using Adsense to a company I'm working for, because in my experience the whole thing is just broken. I remember being confusingly bitter towards Facebook when it became an ad network, clearly selling user data to generate revenue, but it wasn't until this comment that I realize it's because I tried to do it the other way and got banned.

vortico 7y ago

How is this system immune to me clicking on an enemy website's ads 100's of times to get them banned from AdWords?

Phillips126 7y ago
That was part of my argument during the appeal. And like every other report of similar things happening, all I get back in response was some canned copy/paste email from their policies. It seemed very out of my control for something like this to happen and I felt wrongly punished - and for a lifetime!? I can understand "banned for X amount of time" but as a young developer's first offence a lifetime ban seems a bit overkill.
segmondy 7y ago
Nothing. If anything, I'm feeling like we should create bots, browser extensions that repeatedly do this and cause massive havoc on their system until they listen and start figuring out better ways to fix their system. Folks are not fighting back. I'm not into ads and have never cared about using them to monetize, but if I did and they took my money. It's war.
- seany 7y ago
  Related idea: https://adnauseam.io https://adnauseam.io
auslander 7y ago
Google knew they were friends. Common contacts, location histories, easy.

ukyrgf 7y ago

Wow, I tried to add Google Ads to a web community I hand-built built in 2005 and had this exact same thing happen to me. They have my social security number, so ~15 years later I still can't use their platform. I never even float the idea of using Adsense to a company I'm working for, because in my experience the whole thing is just broken. I remember being confusingly bitter towards Facebook when it became an ad network, clearly selling user data to generate revenue, but it wasn't until this comment that I realize it's because I tried to do it the other way and got banned.