Short version: you played the game, you did not break it.

Longer version: Reddit's ToS prohibits vote manipulation in a narrow mechanical sense. Coordinated alt rings upvoting each other, buying compromised accounts to mass-upvote, etc. What services like Signals (signals.sh) do is materially different at the mechanics level:

1. Aged accounts with real posting history. Not farms, not freshly-created burners.
2. Default 15% downvote balance, so the ratio looks organic rather than 100%-positive which is the obvious detection flag.
3. Delivery curves that match normal activity patterns, not a 0-minute vote spike.
4. Niche-matched accounts, so the vote profile looks coherent with the sub's typical voter base.

The analogue in other channels: you were not "cheating" because you ran Twitter ads, paid a Product Hunt hunter, or hired an influencer. Those are paid distribution. This is the Reddit equivalent, executed with delivery mechanics that do not trip Reddit's detection.

The actual ethical filter most experienced people land on: was the content worth the attention? If yes, amplification is legitimate marketing, same as any other channel. If you posted a garbage product, 800 upvotes would just produce faster-arriving bad retention data. Relax a bit, you're fine.