Shit like this is why, when I have to ban someone or remove a comment or a post, I always make a public comment.

There should be no ambiguity over it.

Shadow banning is one of the most toxic moderation practices on any platform. If a site or community has a set of guidelines then there is no reason it shouldn’t be enforced openly.

Having to give a justification or even just a public notification of a mod action makes a moderator have to think a bit more about why they’re taking an action and how it might effect the community.

People who run a privately owned forum are entitled to run it however they wish, but shadowbanning eliminates any chance for the members of a community to really understand how the community is truly being run, which robs them of their ability to make informed decisions about their own participation in that community.