Straight Dope Message Board

[octopus]

Originally Posted by Drunky Smurf

Why the potty mouth?.

C’mon Drunky! Try for at least a tiny bit of relevance. You are making me sad. Oh, I’m in a few other threads down in the Pit don’t forget to search and use your macro in those as well. And maybe include some urban dictionary links?

[Riemann]

Originally Posted by octopus

C’mon Drunky! Try for at least a tiny bit of relevance.

I can't disagree.

I think this may be the third time I have been unable to disagree with you this week. Should I be concerned?

[octopus]

Originally Posted by Riemann

I can't disagree.

I think this may be the third time I have been unable to disagree with you this week. Should I be concerned?

Well, it’s a ratio right? As long as it’s 10:1 you should be fine.

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by running coach

Mostly sandals. Never socks with sandals.

Unless you're a tourist.

Originally Posted by Sunny Daze

Or retired.

Or in my own damned apartment and want warm feet, but have to worry about stepping on cat toys and stray litter. Plus they're a lot softer to walk on than bare socked feet.

[eschereal]

You are supposed to make sure (most of) the litter stays in the litter box.

[Emiliana]

Originally Posted by eschereal

You are supposed to make sure (most of) the litter stays in the litter box.

My cat's single goal in life, pursued with all the passion of her little being, is to spread her litter far and wide.

[Snowboarder Bo]

Originally Posted by eschereal

First and only post (in Clusterfuck):



I smell a troll in the wings.

Oh yeah: OTIO.

[wolfpup]

Originally Posted by Vinyl Turnip

If that's not enough evidence to convict, you may notice some similarities here, also.


Ancient Erudite = Silver Lining ???

The other thing they "both" have in common: They not only spout the same bullshit in exactly the same way, but "both" are now banned, together, almost as if they were one and the same trolling wingnut.

[Riemann]

Some fine detective work there, Beep.

[iiandyiiii]

Hooray!

[Budget Player Cadet]

Still a better poster than doorhinge.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by octopus

Why the secrecy? The most common words are obvious in those posts. You guys put a lot of effort into sleuthing.

Some people here can't figure it out, so maybe Silver lining won't be able to figure it out, either. It's easy to mentally skip over.

I know some of my own tells, but I'm sure there are more that would catch me out. All of them are small things, but I bet there are more overarching patterns.

[BeepKillBeep]

I cannot take credit for that one. I think it was more Vinyl Turnip's observation than mine.

[snoe]

Question for the long-timers here:

It seems like a lot of recently-joined members are doing a lot of the right-of-center political posts lately. Like, more than usual. Am I just doing that thing where you spot patterns in the data (I know it has a name)? Or has something changed in the new year?

(I'm an inconsistent reader/poster, so I may be seeing something that isn't there.)

[snoe]

Originally Posted by snoe

Question for the long-timers here:

It seems like a lot of recently-joined members are doing a lot of the right-of-center political posts lately. Like, more than usual. Am I just doing that thing where you spot patterns in the data (I know it has a name)? Or has something changed in the new year?

(I'm an inconsistent reader/poster, so I may be seeing something that isn't there.)

My inspiration for this question was this post: https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb...43&postcount=1

Am I crazy for finding this post weird?

[BigT]

Originally Posted by snoe

Question for the long-timers here:

It seems like a lot of recently-joined members are doing a lot of the right-of-center political posts lately. Like, more than usual. Am I just doing that thing where you spot patterns in the data (I know it has a name)? Or has something changed in the new year?

(I'm an inconsistent reader/poster, so I may be seeing something that isn't there.)

I definitely notice the pattern. I think it's because this board obviously leans left, and there is a real "troll the libs" sentiment out there since at least Trump's presidency, and probably dating back a lot further.

There's a thing in our brains where, if we see something wrong, we feel the need to correct it, so such posts get a lot of attention, which is what the troll craves. We're also generally more mad at the right, and that comes off when we talk to them.

There are also just more right-leaning trolls in general, as leftism tends to push empathy (even if not everyone on the left follows it). The right-wing doesn't, so trolls feel more comfortable over there. I don't know how big the difference is, but it clearly exists. '

That said, the post you picked up just seems like weird agenda pushing. It's not until the weird reaction to people not liking it that it started to seem a bit troll-y, rather than spammy.

[Superdude]

I hadn't realized that Ancient Erudite had been banned. No announcement, I guess, because he was a sock?

I suck as a detective...what specifically gave it away? The only thing I noticed was the use of "Dem's," but that seems like a fairly common error.

[kaylasdad99]

Originally Posted by Superdude

I hadn't realized that Ancient Erudite had been banned. No announcement, I guess, because he was a sock?

I suck as a detective...what specifically gave it away? The only thing I noticed was the use of "Dem's," but that seems like a fairly common error.

If you don’t care for extrapolating Vinyl Turnip’s observation in post 9180 into a dispositive conclusion, you could try PMing a mod and asking who the old smart guy was socking. If even that seems like putting too much work on the mods, BoopKillBeep seems to have been willing to share a clue he found (I don’t know if it’s the “Dem’s” thing, though).

[Velocity]

Originally Posted by snoe

Question for the long-timers here:

It seems like a lot of recently-joined members are doing a lot of the right-of-center political posts lately. Like, more than usual. Am I just doing that thing where you spot patterns in the data (I know it has a name)? Or has something changed in the new year?

(I'm an inconsistent reader/poster, so I may be seeing something that isn't there.)

As BigT pointed out, this message board leans to the left (about 70-80% identify as liberals, from poll threads.) If a troll wanted to come here to stir up trouble, there wouldn't be much point in doing so as a liberal. They'd have to be right-wing to agitate things up (unless they were posing as a super-liberal in order to straw-man the left; I think we've seen that before.)

[Procrustus]

Originally Posted by Budget Player Cadet

Still a better poster than doorhinge.

That's true. That asshole is the worst. Even when he's just arguing about Orca whales.

[snoe]

EDIT: NM. totally misread the post by B J I cited, if any of you read that.

[BigT]

Originally Posted by Superdude

I hadn't realized that Ancient Erudite had been banned. No announcement, I guess, because he was a sock?

I suck as a detective...what specifically gave it away? The only thing I noticed was the use of "Dem's," but that seems like a fairly common error.

Eh, the cat's out of the bad, so I'll explain. The guy always wrote "Dem's," and it wasn't a mistake, but using it as a contraction. It's a weird affectation the guy has. We tried telling his first incarnation it was dumb, but he kept doing it.

I believe there was another tell, but I'm not sure I found it. And, even if I did, I'm not going to mention that one in public. Just in case SL is looking for tips on how to be a better sock.

[Gyrate]

This guy sure thinks a lot about a certain freshman Congresswoman.

A lot.

[Airbeck]

Originally Posted by BigT

Eh, the cat's out of the bad, so I'll explain. The guy always wrote "Dem's," and it wasn't a mistake, but using it as a contraction. It's a weird affectation the guy has. We tried telling his first incarnation it was dumb, but he kept doing it.

I believe there was another tell, but I'm not sure I found it. And, even if I did, I'm not going to mention that one in public. Just in case SL is looking for tips on how to be a better sock.

Wasn't he the one that used "USA citizens" all the time too?

I noticed that one, it stuck out like a sore thumb and I though that was him.

[k9bfriender]

Originally Posted by Gyrate

This guy sure thinks a lot about a certain freshman Congresswoman.

A lot.

Meh, nothing new. the whole right wing is obsessed with her.

Makes no sense, as she is just a junior rep from NY. She doesn't wield any powers or influence. The only "special" thing she's got is her age, and that actually works against her, at least for now.

Most democrats wouldn't even know who she is, were it not for the right constantly talking about her. If she has any influence, it is because the right has given it to her.

[Snowboarder Bo]

Originally Posted by Chimera

Or in my own damned apartment and want warm feet, but have to worry about stepping on cat toys and stray litter. Plus they're a lot softer to walk on than bare socked feet.

Plus, walking in just your socks destroys the socks. My socks cost me like $20/pair or more; I can't replace them every 6 months.

[JohnT]

Well, Hillary is no longer HILLARY, Obama is gone, the Right-Wing Hate Machine needs some new blood to hate on. Seems that AOC is the most likely target - young, female, has a "weird" last name, obviously not a real 'Murican and, God Forbid, is openly socialist!

[bobot]

Originally Posted by k9bfriender

... the whole right wing is obsessed with her.

Makes no sense, ...

She's attractive. Republicans have run candidates for Vice President for that.

[Darren Garrison]

AO-who? Who is that? Don't use a term that nobody, nowhere is going to recognize!

[JohnT]

Google it.

[CaptMurdock]

Originally Posted by Gyrate

This guy sure thinks a lot about a certain freshman Congresswoman.

A lot.

There's a great photo I saw on Facebook (can't find it at the moment that shows Shelly Duvall in that scene in The Shining in the bathroom as Jack Nicholson is chopping through the door. There's a caption over her that says "Republicans." The bottom half of the photo has a face peering through, but it's not Jack -- Its' AOC!

I captioned that: "Heeeeere's Sandy!"

I imagine our friend, referenced in the quote above, wakes up every night from a nightmare where AOC is standing over his bed. He lets out an agonized wail that would do a toddler proud. Odds of sheets needing changed...fifty-fifty.

[wolfpup]

This is not a particularly new poster, but I think we would be remiss in not celebrating the fact that, after being relatively low-key for a while, he's recently revealed himself to be one of the world's leading experts on UFOs and extraterrestrials, and specifically on the conspiracy of the US government to stop them from giving us free energy and "the" cure for cancer. An expert, in fact, of such brilliant insights on these matters that he's already received a topic ban at least to avoid introducing UFOs and extraterrestrials into threads that have, like, nothing to do with UFOs and extraterrestrials.

Plus, there's definitely some kind of Russian connection there. Very definitely. In fact, he has a kind of Russo-Trumpian vibe.

[eschereal]

this was an odd eruption

[digs]

Originally Posted by wolfpup

This is not a particularly new poster, but I think we would be remiss in not celebrating the fact that, after being relatively low-key for a while, he's recently revealed himself to be one of the world's leading experts on UFOs and extraterrestrials, and specifically on the conspiracy of the US government to stop them from giving us free energy and "the" cure for cancer.

He asks "Is the United States government hiding the existence of ET visitations?" and I love that the first three replies are:

Originally Posted by silenus

Yes.

Originally Posted by Musicat

I thought everybody knew that.

Originally Posted by Randolph

Everybody important.

[eschereal]

That is hilarious.

[wolfpup]

The odd eruption seems to tie directly into the Russo-Trumpian link in my last post. Apparently he believes that Trump is totally for the little guy, and the folks who voted for Hillary in the last election -- all 65,853,514 of them -- are all "upper class white college educated Millennials and the Wall Street elite".

I had no idea Wall Street was that big (or that Wall Street historically always voted Democrat, another news revelation to me)! Such large numbers can be explained, however, by the hypothesis that most of those votes were cast by shape-shifting aliens disguised as legitimate human voters, something that Trump has indeed claimed.

[eschereal]

He seems to be somewhat erratic.

[Sunny Daze]

Trump or Kamaski?

[eschereal]

hand me a quarter

[DesertDog]

Trump, definitely. After all, surely a Russian internet mole wouldn't use the nym Kamaski; that would be like John Doe using the alias Jim Doe when he's trying to hide.

[eschereal]

Most Russian names do not end in “-ski”. That is more of a Polish thing. Russian names often end in “-in”, “-ov” (“-off”) or “-ev”.

[k9bfriender]

Originally Posted by digs

He asks "Is the United States government hiding the existence of ET visitations?" and I love that the first three replies are:

I was late to the party, as I wanted to say "Just from you."

Originally Posted by wolfpup

cast by shape-shifting aliens disguised as legitimate human voters, something that Trump has indeed claimed.

I thought that was what a democrat was.

[Sunny Daze]

When do I learn the shape-shifting part? I've got a few things to try out.

[eschereal]

Originally Posted by Sunny Daze

When do I learn the shape-shifting part? I've got a few things to try out.

here you go – much more affordable than a ticket on a Guild Freighter to Bene Tleilax.

[bobot]

I've shape shifted. It's easy, actually. I wanted to change my shape by increasing the size of my beer belly, and looking back, I don't recall even breaking a sweat.

[snfaulkner]

I've shifted my shape from one barstool to another.

[Beckdawrek]

I shape shifted 3 times in the past. At the beginning it was quite pleasant and in the end it was very painful. It lasted 9 months each time.

[BeepKillBeep]

Is WillFarnaby getting dumber/crazier? His latest posts in several threads, but especially in the Utah split thread have been nuts even for him.

[eschereal]

Yeah, that whole “going full Waco” thing from the Utah Split thread is disturbing to say the least.

[Gyrate]

Originally Posted by BeepKillBeep

Is WillFarnaby getting dumber/crazier? His latest posts in several threads, but especially in the Utah split thread have been nuts even for him.

He's always lived in an alternate reality but he does seem to be going off the rails more lately even by his usual standards. This looks like the familiar start of a downward spiral - I foresee a "cooling off" suspension in his future, if only for his own good.