Avoiding Penalties

How to avoid the negative actions and filters that destroy your reach.

The Negative Action Weights

These actions SUBTRACT from your score:

Action	Approximate Weight	Impact
Report	-20× a like	Devastating
Block	-10× a like	Very severe
Mute	-5× a like	Severe
“Not Interested”	-1× a like	Moderate

Reality check: One block undoes the positive signal from 10 likes.

What Triggers Negative Actions

Block Triggers

Behavior	Risk Level
Spam replies	🔴 High
Unsolicited DMs	🔴 High
Harassment	🔴 High
Extreme views	🟡 Medium
Over-tagging	🟡 Medium
Off-topic engagement	🟢 Low

Mute Triggers

Behavior	Risk Level
Posting too frequently	🔴 High
Off-brand content	🟡 Medium
Engagement bait	🟡 Medium
Repetitive content	🟢 Low

Report Triggers

Behavior	Risk Level
ToS violations	🔴 Automatic
Misinformation	🔴 High
Harassment	🔴 High
Spam patterns	🟡 Medium

“Not Interested” Triggers

Behavior	Risk Level
Irrelevant content	🟡 Medium
Clickbait	🟡 Medium
Low quality	🟢 Low

The 12 Filters That Can Hide Your Content

Before scoring even happens, these filters can remove your post:

1. Age Filter

Posts older than threshold are dropped
Avoid: Posting at dead times

2. Drop Duplicates Filter

Duplicate tweet IDs removed
Avoid: Posting same content twice

3. Core Data Hydration Filter

Posts missing text or author removed
Avoid: N/A (technical issue)

4. Self Tweet Filter

Your own posts removed from your feed
Avoid: N/A (expected behavior)

5. Retweet Deduplication Filter

Multiple retweets of same content deduplicated
Avoid: N/A (expected behavior)

6. Ineligible Subscription Filter

Paywalled content from non-subscribed users removed
Avoid: N/A (subscription feature)

7. Previously Seen Posts Filter

Posts user already saw are removed
Avoid: N/A (expected behavior)

8. Previously Served Posts Filter

Already-served posts in session removed
Avoid: N/A (expected behavior)

9. Muted Keyword Filter ⚠️

Posts with user’s muted keywords hidden
Avoid: Spam words, controversial terms

10. Author Socialgraph Filter ⚠️

Posts from blocked/muted authors hidden
Avoid: Getting blocked/muted

11. VF Filter (Visibility Filtering) ⚠️

Spam, violence, gore, deleted posts removed
Avoid: ToS violations

12. Dedup Conversation Filter

Multiple conversation branches deduplicated
Avoid: N/A (expected behavior)

Most important to avoid: #9, #10, #11

Muted Keywords to Avoid

Common words that get muted:

Promotional Spam

❌ "DM me"
❌ "Link in bio"
❌ "Follow for follow"
❌ "Giveaway" (spam context)
❌ "Free money"

Crypto/Scam Adjacent

❌ "100x"
❌ "Guaranteed returns"
❌ "Not financial advice"
❌ "WAGMI" (depending on audience)

Engagement Bait

❌ "Like if you agree"
❌ "Retweet to win"
❌ "Follow + RT"

Political/Divisive (Niche-Dependent)

⚠️ Political keywords (muted by many)
⚠️ Controversial names
⚠️ Culture war terms

Content Safety Guidelines

Stay Within ToS

✅ Safe	❌ Dangerous
Strong opinions	Personal attacks
Debate	Harassment
Criticism	Threats
Adult topics (marked)	Explicit content (unmarked)

Avoid Automated Detection

Patterns that may trigger spam detection:

❌ Same reply on multiple posts
❌ Mass following/unfollowing
❌ Suspicious posting patterns
❌ Coordinated behavior (pods)
❌ Link spamming

Protecting Your Reputation

Engagement Hygiene

✅ Do	❌ Don’t
Engage meaningfully	Reply with “Great post!” only
Space your engagement	Mass-engage in short bursts
Stay in your niche	Randomly engage everywhere
Build relationships	Transactional engagement

Handling Conflict

When someone attacks you:
├── Don't engage (engagement signals interest)
├── Block if necessary (protects your experience)
├── Move on (don't create drama)
└── Never escalate (risk getting blocked by others)

Recovery from Penalties

If Your Reach Dropped

Audit recent content - Did you trigger negative actions?
Check for pattern changes - Posting frequency, content type
Wait and observe - Sometimes it’s algorithmic noise
Slowly rebuild - Focus on high-quality, safe content

Signs of Penalty

Symptom	Possible Cause
Sudden reach drop	Multiple blocks/mutes
Posts not showing	Filter triggered
Low engagement on quality content	Embedding confusion

Quick Reference

Pre-Post Safety Check

No spam keywords
No ToS violations
Not engaging with controversial topics recklessly
Not over-tagging people
Content matches my usual topics

Engagement Safety Check

Adding genuine value in replies
Not spamming big accounts
Not using engagement bots/pods
Staying within my niche

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