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LinkedIn SWAM 'blacklist' censoring legitimate users, critics claim

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By Steven Raeburn, N/A

August 21, 2013 | 2 min read

The LinkedIn professional social network has been challenged over its recently introduced automated moderation systems, which critics claim has the effect of blacklisting legitimate users from posting on the site.

LinkedIn introduced the moderation in December

LinkedIn’s System Wide Auto Moderation (SWAM) is designed to counter the site being hijacked by spammers or mass mailers. However users claim the system can block users from posting to all of the groups they are members of if it filters one of their updates.

The policy was introduced in December.

“LinkedIn may have had the best of intentions putting this out there, but [SWAM is] destroying the LinkedIn community,” Matthew Weaver, a project management consultant who moderates LinkedIn groups with over 250,000 members told Melbourne’s The Age newspaper.

“It’s destroying the users of the groups, and their approach really lays bare their bad management practices,” he said.

LinkedIn user Sue Rosen said: "It is very unprofessional. No one should be banned unless something illegal & libelous is done."

LinkedIn said in a statement: “If a group manager blocks you from their group, your posts to other groups are automatically subject to moderator approval. Your postings to other groups are still submitted, but they are now pending until a member of the group's management team approves it for posting.”

The issue has recently gained traction on professional blogs and forum such as socialmediatoday.com and Mr LinkedIn’s blog; Google currently yields 247,000 results on the topic.

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