Actually, I saw that I was banned, and thought, "OK, I'll deal with this another time." I hadn't heard horror stories. I didn't know that there was any such thing as a lifetime ban. It never occurred to me that if I didn't act soon, it would make a difference.

I don't think that it's a sob story at all. I think that it's (a) incredibly funny that they would make such a mistake, (b) a combination of bad UI and bad service on Meta's part, and (c) crazy that even three Meta employees cannot undo such a ban.

So yes: It was my fault that I didn't notice or care faster. And sure, you can call this a sob story. But I think that beyond my personal experience and issues here, this points to some deeper problems with Meta, as well as other large companies that depend on AI.