# Sock-hunting is stupid **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 3, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134 "2008-02-03T21:00:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/1 "2008-02-03T21:00:12Z")
The rule against anyone having socks is stupid. Those who engage in sock-hunting are stupid. Sending away paying customers while claiming the board is penniless is stupid. Someone comes back after being banned? Fine. Ban 'em again. Otherwise, their money spends just as good as anyone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/2 "2008-02-03T21:04:14Z")
Needing more than one identity on an already-anonymous Internet message board is stupid. Stupid people don’t belong here. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/3 "2008-02-03T21:06:34Z")
**jsgoddess** , would you have started this thread if the sock that this is obviously about was someone you didn’t like? If so, why didn’t you start it the last hundred times that the mods banned socks? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/4 "2008-02-03T21:06:39Z")
[QUOTE=Garfield226] Needing more than one identity on an already-anonymous Internet message board is stupid. Stupid people don’t belong here. [/QUOTE] Well, paying to post so nitwits can read you is idiotic, but here we both are. And this board has some of the most egregiously self-important fucktards in the history of the internet, all convinced that their presence here confirms their brilliance. The board is fine. It is not a font of genius. There are plenty of stupid people here. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/5 "2008-02-03T21:07:28Z")
My thought was honestly that she wanted to be banned. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/6 "2008-02-03T21:08:56Z")
[QUOTE=neutron star] **jsgoddess** , would you have started this thread if the sock that this is obviously about was someone you didn’t like? [/QUOTE] I didn’t have a chance to like or dislike the person. I don’t remember previous incarnations and didn’t interact with this one much so far as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/7 "2008-02-03T21:09:18Z")
Sock hunting is stupid but so are the people who feed the behavior. She knew the rules and broke them, hence banishment. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/8 "2008-02-03T21:09:50Z")
What if the socks are people who just keep creating guest accounts? They’re not paying. **Fatgail** was a member but only because someone paid for her without her even asking. Somebody correct me if I’m remembering this incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/9 "2008-02-03T21:13:49Z")
[QUOTE=Anaamika] My thought was honestly that she wanted to be banned. [/QUOTE] And I want a pony! Is someone going to give me that? 😃 Seriously, though, this has little to do with the most recently banned and much to do with the entire atmosphere of the board. Omigod, a sock! Omigod, a troll! Omigod, our precious bodily fluids! I get a sense of paranoia and it’s silly. Are we such precious flowers that we need protected so diligently? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/10 "2008-02-03T21:16:06Z")
I disagree with the OP, as well. The ban on socks is well publicized, and well known to any regular poster, or lurker. While one might argue that this or that rare specific poster should be allowed a bye, that doesn’t change that I believe that the rule against socks is one of those things that makes for a more pleasant board experience all around. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/11 "2008-02-03T21:17:17Z")
It’s not all that hard to follow the rules. If she wanted a fresh start, all she had to do was email a mod and say that she’d like to rejoin with a new name. Sure, it’d still show that she had thousands of posts, but I’d hope that most people are like me in that they wouldn’t really care who she used to be and wouldn’t search her post history to find out. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/12 "2008-02-03T21:21:14Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] The rule against anyone having socks is stupid. [/QUOTE] One of the things that is pretty much a requirement for fostering a sense of community (as we are trying to do here) is that posters are known in the community. Socks detract from that. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/13 "2008-02-03T21:22:39Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] While one might argue that this or that rare specific poster should be allowed a bye [/QUOTE] I’m not looking for a bye for rare specific posters. I’m looking for a rule change that says that if you have been a member in good standing, you can come back under another name. My board experience is made more pleasant when threads I’m participating in aren’t closed, when people I may be communicating with aren’t disappeared, and when other members aren’t running around like spastic chickens attempting to figure out who is a sock. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/14 "2008-02-03T21:26:25Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] I’m not looking for a bye for rare specific posters. I’m looking for a rule change that says that if you have been a member in good standing, you can come back under another name. [/QUOTE] But my belief is that for a member in good standing to want to come back in, under another name _without the association of their previous posting history_, is a very, very rare situation. Most socks are, to be plain about it, jerks we’ve already dealt with once. And, for the most part, I don’t derive enough enjoyment from watching the jerks getting banned to want to see the process repeated. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/15 "2008-02-03T21:26:32Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] One of the things that is pretty much a requirement for fostering a sense of community (as we are trying to do here) is that posters are known in the community. Socks detract from that. [/QUOTE] To me, this argument lends credence to the idea that at the Dope you are judged not for your posts but for your post count. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/16 "2008-02-03T21:29:23Z")
I agree with **jsgoddess** that sock-hunting is distracting and annoying. As for community-fostering, the posters who are well-liked and popular aren’t going to create new accounts. It’s the ones who made a bad decision in choosing what to post that want the chance to try again. I don’t see why that is such a terrible thing to want. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/17 "2008-02-03T21:29:32Z")
Yes, we need the sense of community, so we can label new people we don’t like as “trolls” and “shit-stirrers”, then when they start threads or make comments that are unpopular in any way, then we can easily ban them. Yay community! ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/18 "2008-02-03T21:31:08Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] To me, this argument lends credence to the idea that at the Dope you are judged not for your posts but for your post count. [/QUOTE] So you’re saying that you think that some people think Lib and Guin are the king and queen of the Dope? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/19 "2008-02-03T21:31:17Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] But my belief is that for a member in good standing to want to come back in, under another name _without the association of their previous posting history_, is a very, very rare situation. [/QUOTE] I think I made it clear in the OP that I wasn’t talking about people who have been banned. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134/20 "2008-02-03T21:32:03Z")
It seems to me that the sock in question took the SDMB for a bunch of fools. I mean, what kind of accountant can’t afford a $15 fee? :dubious: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-hunting-is-stupid/436134.md?page=2)