# How do you spot socks? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 27, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054 "2020-01-27T16:21:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/21 "2020-01-27T18:31:04Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I’m not talking about mods, who may have IP addresses or whatnot. > > Run-of-the-mill SDMB users, I often see accusations that so-and-so is a sock puppet, sometimes with inferences that he is a sock of a particular poster. Are these just random guesses? Do people really pay attention to posting styles/topics/join dates so closely that they feel like the accusations are informed by something? I really wish that, if people have a serious suspicion that a particular poster is a sock of another, they would PM a mod rather than playing guessing games in the Pit. This really serves no purpose. I suppose they are trying to show off how clever they are to other posters. However, in my experience, at least 90% of the public guesses are wrong. People often make the leap that a new poster that they find obnoxious must be a recent bannee, even when there is no similarity whatever between them. Even if you are right, making your guess public before the sock is banned can be counterproductive. If he thinks he’s been found out, he can create another sock and move on before we can accumulate enough evidence to ban the original one. We appreciate all the help we can get outing socks. I keep an eye on the “Trolls R Us” thread in case anything comes up there. However, a better way to do that is by sending any suspicions to the mods. Sometimes we’re suspicious already but haven’t identified a suspect or been able to make a solid case. A tip can help us do that. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I often can recognize it when it’s a sock of someone I had a lot of back-and-forth with – Terr/Okrahoma, If you recognized him, why didn’t you ever tell us for more than two years?😉 > [@](#): > > But that might be because they had a few distinctive posting tics. I did the investigation that revealed the **Terr/Okrahoma** connection. I’m not going to reveal the evidence, but it didn’t depend on posting “tics.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/22 "2020-01-27T18:35:34Z")
An example: I used to post a lot on Mobileread, a site for enthusiasts of e-books and e-book hardware and software. We once had a troll who came there only to post on how horrible and civilization-ending e-books are. He came up with multiple socks–some to debate against himself, some to agree with himself. He kept pumping them out, I kept recognizing and reporting them. In [this](https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87912) thread alone, he was _four_ of the posters (taglines, honey, coolcat, and danbloom.) He had more. (I’m ardeegee there, from my initials.) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/23 "2020-01-27T18:37:21Z")
**Terr** / **Okrahoma**? That needed an investigation? I thought it was bleedin obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/24 "2020-01-27T18:42:35Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > **Terr** / **Okrahoma**? That needed an investigation? I thought it was bleedin obvious? If it was so obvious, why did you never report it? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/25 "2020-01-27T18:44:57Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Roundish Paint brush, pair of socks, acrylic or tempera paint, depending on whether you want the spots to last through the wash. Put some nice round blobs on the socks, and allow to dry before wearing. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > I make sure to use indelible ink, otherwise the spots all come off in the wash…what? 😉 > > ETA: Ninja’d by **Squink**. I, too, thought this thread was going to be about laundry. I guess in a manner of speaking, it is. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/26 "2020-01-27T18:46:12Z")
I just want to add that I figured this topic would involve specific cases, so I posted it in the Pit. I don’t really care about who was spotted this way or that way. I’m only really interested in the methods by which people think they can spot socks. From the responses so far, it seems to be a mix of being extremely familiar with debates on a particular topic on one hand; and throwing them in the water to see if they float on the other. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/27 "2020-01-27T18:55:44Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If you recognized him, why didn’t you ever tell us for more than two years?😉 I thought I did! If I didn’t, I assume it was because someone else had already said they’d done so. > [@](#): > > I did the investigation that revealed the **Terr/Okrahoma** connection. I’m not going to reveal the evidence, but it didn’t depend on posting “tics.” Obviously tics/etc. aren’t “proof”, but stuff like that can be what raises suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/28 "2020-01-27T19:00:31Z")
I spotted socks a couple of times (and was really proud of myself when a moderator confirmed my suspicions). Some people have a _really_ distinctive posting style. In one case it was a combination of that and some biographical details in common that led me to suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/29 "2020-01-27T19:13:05Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I thought I did! If I didn’t, I assume it was because someone else had already said they’d done so. There are no posts simultaneously listing **Terr** and **Okrahoma** as possible socks by anyone until after **Okrahoma** was banned. I can find no evidence that anyone reported any suspicions to the mod loop that they were the same before we began investigating in October 2017. **Chronos** was the one who made the first observation and proposal in the mod loop, and I followed up on it to document it with additional evidence. > [@](#): > > Obviously tics/etc. aren’t “proof”, but stuff like that can be what raises suspicion. **Terr/Okrahoma** didn’t share any of what I would call distinctive posting “tics.” The evidence was of a different kind. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/30 "2020-01-27T19:26:08Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Terr/Okrahoma** didn’t share any of what I would call distinctive posting “tics.” The evidence was of a different kind. [sub]…ix-nay on the secret webcam retinal an-scay…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/31 "2020-01-27T19:31:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I’d be more inclined to fill the brush with paint, then whiplash it (or strike it against a stationary object) so the paint flies toward the fabric. The Jackson Pollock technique. You’d get some wild polka dot socks!. 😃 [Pollack](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/32 "2020-01-27T19:46:55Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > There are no posts simultaneously listing **Terr** and **Okrahoma** as possible socks by anyone until after **Okrahoma** was banned. I can find no evidence that anyone reported any suspicions to the mod loop that they were the same before we began investigating in October 2017. **Chronos** was the one who made the first observation and proposal in the mod loop, and I followed up on it to document it with additional evidence. Fair enough. Did anyone report him as a troll after Oct 2017? I don’t remember when I suspected he was, and I may have been prompted by others. > [@](#): > > **Terr/Okrahoma** didn’t share any of what I would call distinctive posting “tics.” The evidence was of a different kind. Maybe “tics” is the wrong word. Unusual marker, perhaps – they were both enthusiastic Trump supporting IDF vets who emigrated to the US, IIRC (and maybe a few other things like that). Not enough to be sure, but enough to be suspicious, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/33 "2020-01-27T19:57:53Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Hell I don’t even recognize most posters, thread to thread. Ditto. I choose to avoid the stress of wondering who has multiple identities. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/34 "2020-01-27T20:10:39Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Fair enough. Did anyone report him as a troll after Oct 2017? I don’t remember when I suspected he was, and I may have been prompted by others. > > Maybe “tics” is the wrong word. Unusual marker, perhaps – they were both enthusiastic Trump supporting IDF vets who emigrated to the US, IIRC (and maybe a few other things like that). Not enough to be sure, but enough to be suspicious, perhaps. I think my memory is off about this – I think I did report Northeast Refugee as a suspected sock of Terr/Okrahoma, so that’s probably who I’m thinking of having those same characteristics. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/35 "2020-01-27T21:21:53Z")
Relevant text: _How The Leopard Got His Spots_ by Rudyard Kipling ([full text](https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/79/just-so-stories/1304/how-the-leopard-got-his-spots/)) — perhaps could work for spotting socks too. Could also happen when new troll drops in, gets quickly banned, re-appears as a sock, never having been here long enough to have learned that socks are forbidden. So he may not even try hard to hide the fact. Shortly after I joined here, someone wondered if I was a sock of another recently-banned poster solely by a vague similarity of the usernames. Regards, **Goidesen** … uh, **Nodigese** … uh, **Doginsee** … uh, **Soge Enid** ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/36 "2020-01-27T21:40:58Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Fair enough. Did anyone report him as a troll after Oct 2017? I don’t remember when I suspected he was, and I may have been prompted by others. **Chronos** first raised the possibility that **Okrahoma** was a sock of **Terr** on Oct. 21, 2017, and he was banned the following day after investigation. Of course no one reported him as a troll after that since he was banned. There were a number of Pit threads about **Okrahoma** in which he was accused of being a troll and a sock, but no one correctly identified him. > [@](#): > > Maybe “tics” is the wrong word. Unusual marker, perhaps – they were both enthusiastic Trump supporting IDF vets who emigrated to the US, IIRC (and maybe a few other things like that). Not enough to be sure, but enough to be suspicious, perhaps. What I mean by “tics” is idiosyncrasies of punctuation, wording, and so forth. Politics is usually too vague to give evidence that is unequivocal enough to support a ban. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I think my memory is off about this – I think I did report Northeast Refugee as a suspected sock of Terr/Okrahoma, so that’s probably who I’m thinking of having those same characteristics. I don’t find any evidence of a report in the mod loop. **Northeast Refugee** was banned as a troll rather than a sock. The main thing about socks is that you can change your name, but you can’t change who you are. The only way to avoid detection over the long haul is never to talk about the things you like to talk about, and what’s the point of that? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/37 "2020-01-27T21:56:07Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The main thing about socks is that you can change your name, but you can’t change who you are. Yes, you’ll never be able to conceal your emotional over-reactions or obsessions on specific topics. The leopard can’t change his plotz! [sub]I will never be able to resist cheap wordplay.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/38 "2020-01-27T22:55:39Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I think my memory is off about this – I think I did report Northeast Refugee as a suspected sock of Terr/Okrahoma, so that’s probably who I’m thinking of having those same characteristics. Incidentally, how are you reporting these suspicions? In thread reports, or by PMs or emails to mods? ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/39 "2020-01-27T22:55:52Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > … > Regards, > **Goidesen** … uh, **Nodigese** … uh, **Doginsee** … uh, **Soge Enid** Gawd I’m dense. Even after the clues I had to really think about that one. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054/40 "2020-01-27T23:06:10Z")
I suppose reporting one name is not useful, it should be a pair, a pair of socks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-spot-socks/847054.md?page=3)