I have no problem with requiring manual validation of eg. the first post or what ever it is the shadow banning I don't like. I adds complexity for the users an

I have no problem with requiring manual validation of eg. the first post or what ever it is the shadow banning I don't like. I adds complexity for the users and it is hard to know for user what is happening since it is a "secret" that someones messages doesn't show up. When the moderation process breaks down or there is a bug the user wont know how to appeal etc. It's the Google way of user interaction. Just add a "This message will not be showed to others before your account has been approved" or whatever and it is not a shadow ban anymore. The spam program might be shipped with Selenium. If the spammer can fix a trivial OCR text then OP knows that the spammer is a programmer not a "script kiddie". Imagine a picture with four rows of letters and a rectangle around four letters. The rectangle moves around between registrations. Surely that would require a handwritten OCR to solve if the spam app ships with some boilerplate OCR? And be trivial to solve for humans with bad eyesight.