Looking for a platform to publish my photographs and get feedback from others (good and bad) I found "YouPic", a social network dedicated to the publication of images and focused (by its characteristics) on photography.

It was what I was looking for: a lot of specialized audience and with the same intentions as me.

Like many others it is a business, so it has a free plan and several payment plans with better features.

Focused, initially, on the free plan, I created an account on the platform, at the end of November 2022. I upload my first image, nothing extraordinary, a street photograph; That was my initial intention, to publish some examples of my work on the street and see what opinions they generate. I also took the opportunity to take a look at the operation of the site, explore the work of others and comment on those that most caught my attention. Nothing extraordinary, I think.

I had a good opinion. It looks like a professional space. Very oriented to get a payment plan (very logical, it is a private business), but with everything you need in the free plan to start and interact with the rest of the users.

A day or two later, when I try to log in with my credentials, the only result is a red box with the text "Account has been banned." For a while think about the reason for the expulsion with so little use of the account. I consult the terms of use of the platform (I confess that at first I saw them in passing), but I do not see anything that could be the reason for the expulsion, not even remotely. So I write to the help account (Help YouPic), and a few days later they answer me regretting that my profile has been removed and advising that it has been restored. Very friendly in tone and form. So I manage to upload my second image, all good, some users see my photos, some comment, I see the images of others, I comment some...

I try to upload a third image and the upload form on all the attempts I make prevents me from doing so with the message "The following error occured while uploading your photo: under_review". New email to "Help YouPic". A few days later they respond to me (again friendly, I have no complaint from the support service) indicating that the photo I was trying to upload entered their filter for evaluation of the contents uploaded to the platform. I do not know if it is something automatic or manual, if that prevents the upload of more images or not (apparently yes); They tell me that I can keep uploading images. I test with the conflicting image and manage to upload it.

And the next day my account is "banned" again. I write again to "Help YouPic" and new correct but pleasant answer a few days later letting me know that my profile has been restored. I upload one more image and two days later (yesterday) I am "banned" again. The next email to "Help YouPic" is to ask them to delete the uploaded content and delete the account.

They solve the problem correctly in all cases, but the use of a social network should not be requesting the restoration of the account every few days. I prefer to waste my time looking for another platform that at least does not remove me for unknown reasons (suggestions are allowed).

"YouPic" is not a newly created platform, to think that this situation is accidental seems naïve to me. I'm left with something more intentional. As part of the use of the service from time to time I was reminded (directly to me, in addition to all automatic marketing systems) to move to a payment plan, with discounts or not. It is a payment platform (although it has a free admission option) and they decide who does want in it and those who do not want in it.

I don't think it's the right way to encourage people to switch to a payment plan. The first thought is that you're getting kicked out, the second is that it doesn't work well. In either case, I do not know who will dare to pay for something with arbitrary rules or incorrect operation.