cd /news/ai-products/i-got-banned-from-sololearn-for-tryi… · home topics ai-products article
[ARTICLE · art-111375] src=dev.to ↗ pub= topic=ai-products verified=true sentiment=· neutral

I got banned from SoloLearn for trying to help beginners. Here's what happened.

Harun, a 12-year-old solo developer, was banned from SoloLearn after sharing his AI coding mentor KODA in response to beginner questions. He views the ban as a sign his marketing was effective and plans to pivot rather than quit.

read1 min views1 publishedAug 26, 2026

Yesterday, I was on a mission. I'm Harun, a 12-year-old solo dev who built KODA, an AI coding mentor, entirely on my Android phone.

I noticed hundreds of beginners on SoloLearn asking: "How do I start?", "Help me with loops!", "I'm stuck!"

So I did what any helpful founder would do: I answered their questions, gave them code solutions, and added a small P.S.: "P.S. I built a free tool called KODA to help with this. Try it here: [Link]."

I thought I was being helpful.

SoloLearn's algorithm thought I was spamming.

Within hours, my account was blocked. 🚫

When I saw "Your account is blocked," my first thought was: "Oh no, I messed up. My marketing is over."

But then, my CEO brain kicked in.

I realized: If an automated bot thought my helpful comments were "spam," maybe I was doing something right. Maybe I was being too effective.

Here is what I learned in 24 hours:

So, am I quitting? No.

I'm pivoting.

If you get blocked, rejected, or told "no" today: Don't stop. Turn that hurdle into content. Turn that rejection into a lesson. Turn that "Blocked" screen into your next viral post.

Because while others see a wall, I see a story. And stories build empires.

Try KODA anyway (no login required to test): https://koda-aicodementor.netlify.app/ Built with ❤️ (and a little bit of rebellion) by Harun (age 12) on a POCO C55.

── more in #ai-products 4 stories · sorted by recency
── more on @harun 3 stories trending now
sponsored brought to you by zahid.host 4,200+ EU-deployed projects
reading about agents? ship yours in a single git push.

Run your AI side-project on zahid.host

EU-based hosting, git-push deploys, automatic HTTPS, no cold starts. Free tier with a custom domain — perfect for shipping the agent you just read about.

$git push zahid main
Live at https://your-agent.zahid.host
Get free account → Pricing
from €0/mo · no card required
LIVE [news/i-got-banned-from-so…] indexed:0 read:1min 2026-08-26 ·