Probably a spammer himself 🤭

Just ignore/mute him

Following an account creates a notification.

Some percentage of those account follow notifications turn into profile checks.

Some percentage of those profile checks turn into follows.

People like the other accounts I tagged in that message keep following and unfollowing as a method of free, automated advertising. It's SPAMmy and their content is automated.

It's the first time you've followed/unfollowed me so perhaps it was a fluke on your part, but those other accounts are constantly doing that crap.

If you aren't intentionally doing that, so be it. Everyone deserves second chances. Those other accounts do that crap daily it seems.

Think they are bots

That's not "follow churning".

What you described is fine.

Follow churning is SPAMmy.

I think it's ok for a NOSTR noob to follow a bunch of accounts at first just to establish a feed and then pare it down and build it up from there as preference dictates.

I also think it's ok to go back through one's following list and check for active users. I just did that recently and chopped out anyone who hadn't posted or replied in the last 6 months.

I'll probably do that again in another 6 months.

What I won't do is follow a bunch of people, then unfollow them, and then repeat that follow/unfollow cycle just to generate attention for my account.

I think that's SPAMmy.

I think each time a user refollows the same user they've previously followed in the past, there should be a ratcheting time wall that must be cleared.

I would do it Fibonacci style using days as units.

First re-follow is a 1 day delay.

2nd is a 1 day delay.

3rd is a 2 day delay.

4th is a 3 day delay.

5th is a 5 day delay.

6th is an 8 day delay.

7th is a 13 day delay.

8th is a 21 day delay.

etc.

Eventually these bots will be getting 987 day delays between refollows and they'll be useless after a relatively brief honeymoon period.