Sock Puppets

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From time to time (happily it's not often) there seems to be sock puppet activity going on in posts - what to do when you suspect this is happening?

Although I think it is rare, some members seem to open a new account under a totally different name without disclosing their previous status - though in one instance I am currently thinking of, the tone/pattern/nature of the sock puppet's sniping is the same, the targets are the same, and the reinforcers (the posters who back up the suspected sock puppet are the same).

How often do sock puppets get detected and banned on WP? And how do they get detected? And do you think there is anything we can do about it that isn't being done already?

What's a sock puppet?

I know some members would make fun of me for trying to create a nanny state, but maybe the best defense against what's essentially bullying is if we the bystanders support people rather than join in or turn away. I see you supporting people all the time, I wish more people made that decision And were so good at it.

A "sock puppet" is a second account that a member makes to either: (1) Provide support for his or her first account, and thereby seem to be popular; or (2) Provide opposing views that he or she could argue against from the first account, and thereby 'win' any such arguments.

It is possible to have several sock-puppet accounts on one website.

That is a lovely affirmation Waterfalls, thank you I have had some wonderful mentors during my adult life. Some of them in person, some only via their books. Of the latter group, the late great Alice Miller, writer and psychotherapist, was very important at the time that I first discovered her work and books. She was very instrumental about ending the conspiracy of adult silence about what abuse is, how adults justify it as "normal", and one of the first writers to clearly examine it and its impacts on children. Discovering her work was a very powerful influence on me then and has been ever since. However she is one of many..

I have certainly noticed your capacities for support, inclusion and empathy to other members too - you seem to be very alert to posters who are starting to be marginalised and bullied on threads, and provide some balance to give them some support and protection. I really admire that.

A sock puppet is someone, as I understand it, with a "pretend" identity - for example if I opened an account under the name "Sock Puppet" and then told attacked people who disagreed with B19... pretending I was not B19..

I first suspected a particular sock puppet during last year's "jihad" (as Adamantium so correctly termed it) on the self diagnosed; and I think that the same SP has recently reappeared under yet another name in a thread on another topic. However without the definitive means of seeing if the suspects have the same ISP addresses, it remains a speculation. And ISP address matching isn't foolproof either, of course, as people can use different computer accounts on different computers. Though perhaps someone with some "tech savvy" can provide some illumination on detection techniques, I am pretty ignorant about webtechy stuff.

Thank you for being so kind B19.

And thank you both for explaining sock puppets. It hurts my head to imagine someone doing those things. But I'm glad you're asking the question, as a lot of us---including me---are easy prey to people who want to play with people.

It must be said that just because any two people seem to agree with each other, that is not de facto evidence that sock-puppetry is involved. Same for similar styles of expression - it does not prove sock-puppetry, despite suspicions to the contrary.

Quite so - it's not proof. You would need some tech evidence for that, I'm curious as to how SPs have been detected up to now, if any have been detected (?)

It seems unlikely to me though that lack of proof means that SPs haven't visited this planet!

People open new accounts when they lose their password information to their other account or people want a new username so they start fresh. On other sites people may create a new name to be anonymous when they make a specific post because they don't want anyone to know that about them. Sometimes long time banned members come back but they create a new account to start fresh. Some may argue that these are not sockpuppets. Some may say this isn't my sockpuppet because I am not hiding or using multiple accounts nor did I sneak on here.

Usually when someone makes vague and very short posts, it's usually a sockpuppet because they are keeping a low profile so they won't be spotted. It's usually done by a banned member. If you see these posts by the same person, report them.