# "sock puppets" and "troll outings" **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [November 19, 2000, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864 "2000-11-19T19:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![barflyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@barflyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barflyer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/21 "2000-11-20T16:44:00Z")
As Voltare said, when the argument is long, both sides are wrong. Since you seem to only see one side, I am going to tell you about the other for a moment.\* I do not, however support either, so don’t be like oldscratch ad say honest people can’t disagree. \*(It demeans us both, oldscratch!) Show\_biz was not engaging in mod bashing by complaining about Alphagene. Alphagene goes out of his way constantly to insult people and make his name as “the angry, sullen mod”. Fine, he’s welcome to the “honor”. But then when people recognize it, accept it. Lynn does not find insulting pet names to pepper her serious posts with, nor TubaDiva. They can discuss rationally. Nor does it do any good to the honor of mods when they don’t accept legitimate opinions about whether their “sock war” is a) important or b) producing the intended results. It seems to me there is an honest difference of opinion there. And it doesn’t help the furthering of honest debate to say only the people who speak out don’t agree with you. When you say 10,000 people agree with you, a fair percentage of them know you are lying. When you say disagreeing with one mod contention of fact make you anti-mod and anti-board, that’s a transparent lie and you will be caught in it. Oldscratch provides the chilling notice that any disagreements, no matter how minor or passing will make someone ask for you to be banned. Oldscrach, don’t think for a moment that you haven’t convinced some people of the irony the people who always call for banning are the ones that should be banned. Now, I want both sides here to admit that there can be honest differences of opinion here as in every other question on the board. There is no call, no call whatever, to escalate, to try to cast one argument as making one anti-board or anti-sock or anti-trollhunt or anti-anything. There are NEVER just two sides to an argument. No two people agree on everything. And sometime, when you try to separate the greys into black and white, that is just dishonest, and you’ll find both black and white are now lies. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/22 "2000-11-20T16:50:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alphagene \* > Noodles and Dex have my respect and they respect me. Alphagene, I think you’re confusing respect with fear. :eek: But seriously, I have posted in the past that I don’t visit The BBQ Pit that much because it’s not my scene. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the moderators that survey that area. In fact, I believe that they have the most difficult job of all the moderators at The Straight Dope and I give them full credit for trying to maintain a fine line between censorship and a free-for-all of heinous name-calling. * * * Arnold Winkelried, also known to his fellow mods as Noodles ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/23 "2000-11-20T16:53:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Do Z \* > Who does get respect around here? Handy, Arnold Winkelried, CKDextHavn, and the others who avoid your pit and its insults. Thank you for the compliment, but if you’re right, where’s my ticker-tape parade? All I get are a lot of Swiss jokes aimed at me. ---
**Author:** ![barflyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dc4da7/32.png) [@barflyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barflyer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/24 "2000-11-20T16:57:21Z")
Do you think there is a way to have a seious discussion about these matters without having it descend to Pit levels all the time? I’m amazed that this is the board’s “last taboo”. You can discuss a great many serious topics but not this one. Great Debates has a position that such opinions cannot be debate, but must be insults and belong in the pit. The Main Menu was changed to say these issues must be discussed in the Pit. But the Pit is not the place for any serious discussion. Too many people just jump on the pile. Do you think there’s another way? What would it be? ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/25 "2000-11-20T17:19:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by 2nd Law \* > \*\*You guys put up with all this nonsense and all you get for it is a coffee mug? > \*\* Naw, we also get tons of hilarious emails from each other. ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/26 "2000-11-20T18:39:21Z")
There’s no taboo. There’s just no real reason in my mind to keep having this dead horse beaten. It’s against the rules to have more than one screen name per poster. It’s also against the rules to publicly declare a poster to be a sock puppet. Them’s the rules and I have yet to hear a convincing argument to have them changed. In my mind, the occasional nuiscance of finding a sockpuppet is far less annoying than letting then run free all over this fine message board. In short, I have yet to hear a good reason for one person to have more that one screen name and I fail to see why allowing sockpuppets to exist on this board would benfit it. If anyone would like to make a _rational_ attempt at arguing this point, then I for one will not engage in Pit-like insults. I can’t guarantee that Do Z and his buddies will abide by that, however. Serious discussion can and has taken place in the pit. I suggest you give the threads that forum a closer look. Posters will only “jump on the pile” if the OP seems ridiculous. Besides, I’ve seen many posters in this very thread “jump on the pile” on certain posters (and administrators) in threads in **this** Forum. This thread did not devolve into pit levels until I was called a “jerk” with “no credibility”. If you can behave yourselves than so can I. Oh and I’m hardly an “angry, sullen mod”, I’m a “dark, brooding mod”. Think Antonio Banderas in _Desperado_ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/27 "2000-11-20T21:34:02Z")
Yeah, **I’m** the “angry, sullen” mod. Keep it straight, people. ---
**Author:** ![MysterEcks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@MysterEcks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysterEcks)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/28 "2000-11-20T22:55:38Z")
**barf lyer** said: > [@](#): > > And it doesn’t help the furthering of honest debate to say only the people who speak out don’t agree with you. In case you haven’t noticed, Sherlock, there are any number of people who speak out against _your_position. > [@](#): > > Oldscrach, don’t think for a moment that you haven’t convinced some people of the irony the people who always call for banning are the ones that should be banned. And since you just implied he should be banned, that means… > [@](#): > > But the Pit is not the place for any serious discussion. > Too many people just jump on the pile. Translation–your stupid arguments get shot so full of holes there’s more holes than argument, so you hide in the relative safety of ATMB where real posters are constrained from nuking you. My, what a brave little freedom fighter you are. :rolleyes: What you and your ilk continually fail to acknowledge is that if your accusations about the heavy-handedness of the admins and mods were true _your asses would have been thrown out of here a long time ago._ The fact you’re here to bitch about it means you’re nothing but a blowhard. ---
**Author:** ![oldscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@oldscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oldscratch)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2000, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/29 "2000-11-20T22:55:41Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by barflyer \* > \*\* I do not, however support either, so don’t be like oldscratch ad say honest people can’t disagree.(It demeans us both, oldscratch!)_\* Hi my name is oldscratch. My pet peeves are tweakers, people misquoting me, and people misrepresenting my comments. Never, said we couldn’t disagree. Simply stated that if put to a vote, these fools would have been banned long ago. And no one would mind one bit. Would you care to dispute that fact? > [@](#): > > \*\* > Oldscratch provides the chilling notice that any disagreements, no matter how minor or passing will make someone ask for you to be banned. \*\* No. I stated that no one would shed a tear if they were banned. In fact, if we put it to a popular vote, the overwhelming majority would vote for banning. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Oldscrach, don’t think for a moment that you haven’t convinced some people of the irony the people who always call for banning are the ones that should be banned. \*\* Wow…I like…really don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/30 "2000-11-21T01:06:49Z")
Hi there, kids. It’s your old pal **andros**. > [@](#): > > But why andros? Possibly because I asked **No Bones** why (s)he was on the warpath, as it were. I received a response in my email, but before I could respond, Hotmail accidentally killed my account. Not to mention I’ve been out of town, my local ISP is being nasty, and my work connection has been spotty, at best. Some days it just doesn’t pay to boot up in the morning. As a result of the above, as well as being gawdawful busy at work, I haven’t been around much these last couple of weeks. So, anyway, [n]No Bones\*\* contacted me, per my request, and I dropped the ball. Mea maxima culpa. I’ll recify the situation soonest, if you’re still interested. “I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the Communist Party.” Thanks for the vindication, **Alpha**. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/31 "2000-11-21T01:44:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Corrado \* > Yeah, **I’m** the “angry, sullen” mod. Keep it straight, people. I’m the “eager rookie, trying to get his first score” mod. A particularly dangerous and vengeful type. We’re _such_ a threat to humanity at large, and poor little posters in particular. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/32 "2000-11-21T02:20:10Z")
I can vouch for that. I’ve been clogged half to death for making that “Little Dutch Boy” joke one time too many. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/33 "2000-11-21T03:19:58Z")
Hopefully, **Coldie** didn’t see the dike thread :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Ma\_Parrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dec6dc/32.png) [@Ma\_Parrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ma_Parrot)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/34 "2000-11-21T16:00:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by La King \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Alphagene \* > > \*\*Thats why you’ll rarely see sockpuppets in the Pit. > > I think that since we have effectively modified their behavior, we mods and admins are in fact the clear victor. > > \*\* > > Wrong and wrong. The pit is mostly sockpuppets, since the Aphagenes of the board like to hound people. So they just change names and continue. No one has ever left. Least of all the “name” ones of Concrete, Parrot, and Oat Boy. Nor X-files, Mark Serlin, and the list goes on and on. All have been sighted numerous times and “banned” for about a minute. > Just last week a set of 26 alphabetical socks were named, all registering consecutively on the same day, just to prove how easy it is to return. > > The only real jerk in the pit is named **Alphagene** , as can be seen by his lack of civility when he posts “upstairs”. \*\* Why pick on poor **Parrot**? Parrot got banned because he quoted other pit people directly, to show them what it felt like to be on the recieving end of their own words. Like **oldsc_rat_ch** and **Myste_rEtch_s** (hey it worked for George Dubya). They got so incensed they acted like now, demanding banning. Of course, since it was their own words, they by rights should have been banned too. But the rule is, high count = pseudo “respected”. So parrot had to eat it insted of them. But, like **Alphagene** said, there was no reason for Parrot to have been a puppet. Oh, yeah, except that mean being banned for nothing. Well, no matter. As **Alphagene** said, whether right or wrong, Parrot is banned for good, and can never come back. He certainly couldn’t have been here all along! The idea is impossible to contemplate, for people with his reliance on IP numbers. ---
**Author:** ![Pa\_Parrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@Pa\_Parrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pa_Parrot)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2000, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864/35 "2000-11-21T16:02:44Z")
That’s not right at all, Ma! I think **Alphagene** does have a point that there are no trolls and troll problems remaining, because he personally **won** the troll wars. Here’s recent proof he won. \*\* [Lynn Bodoni - tramtwo BANNED](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=47288)\*\* \*\* [What did Skribbler do to get branded?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=47383)\*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sock-puppets-and-troll-outings/41864.md?page=1)