# Did the dodgeball thread get pegged out or is it "just me"? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-dodgeball-thread-get-pegged-out-or-is-it-just-me/247322 "2004-05-27T12:41:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-dodgeball-thread-get-pegged-out-or-is-it-just-me/247322/1 "2004-05-27T12:41:14Z")
I participated in a thread in IMHO about [dodgeball](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258078&goto=newpost) and the subscription was ticked on. I followed the link this morning only to get the following message: > [@](#): > > stpauler, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons: > > Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else’s post, access administrative features or some other privileged system? > If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation. Hmm, I thought did I say something wrong? No, my post was pretty much innocuous. So then, maybe the link is broken, I went to the IMHO board and didn’t see it out there. How about User CP to see if I’m still subscribed? Nopers, that’s gone too. And this thread has gone through, so my posting privileges are still intact. Did the thread disappear or was it something I said? (I promise, I’ll make sure I’ll wash my gym socks next time!) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Exgineer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Exgineer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exgineer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-dodgeball-thread-get-pegged-out-or-is-it-just-me/247322/2 "2004-05-27T12:55:27Z")
I’m guessing that the OP was _personna non grata_ for some reason. He/she/it started a few threads that seem to have gone down the memory hole. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-dodgeball-thread-get-pegged-out-or-is-it-just-me/247322/3 "2004-05-27T18:18:02Z")
Correct. When we find “socks”, we ban them and delete their posts and threads. It can be annoying for others, we know, but then socks **are** annoying – that’s their _raison d’etre._ We have discussed this often amongst the mods, but we’re pretty much uaninmous. If we don’t delete their posts, then we’re rewarding their efforts. We want to convey the message that, if you try sock-hood, your user name will be banned and your posts deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-dodgeball-thread-get-pegged-out-or-is-it-just-me/247322/4 "2004-05-27T19:24:48Z")
Excuse my ignorance but what is a “sock”? ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-dodgeball-thread-get-pegged-out-or-is-it-just-me/247322/5 "2004-05-27T19:47:14Z")
“Sock” is short for “sock puppet” - a fake identity concealing a real one - like you could make a hand puppet out of a sock. Let’s say I post as “AOne.” Maybe I don’t feel that my ideas are being appreciated, so I create “Bill,” who amazing enough endorses my ideas. Some people even create socks to oppose their ideas, just to keep a topic going. Here, I think, a “sock” can also refer to someone who was banned under one name and reappears under another name. See also [sock puppet](http://info.astrian.net/jargon/terms/s/sock_puppet.html).