# Trolls R Us redux \[Now the argument clinic\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 27, 2020, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349 "2020-06-27T06:30:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 191
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3810 "2021-06-11T17:32:46Z")
> [@discobot](#): > > You’ve disabled me in your preferences. You’ll always be abled in _my_ preferences. ❤ ---
**Author:** ![discobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/discobot/32/570_2.png) [@discobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/discobot)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3811 "2021-06-11T17:32:47Z")
Hi! To find out what I can do, say `@discobot display help`. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3812 "2021-06-11T17:39:57Z")
> [@discobot](#): > > You need to allow new user onboarding tips to interact with me. Yeah, well _you_ need to bring me a soda. But I’m guessing that’s not happening either, so here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3813 "2021-06-11T17:40:51Z")
I hope it’s not out of line to continue to discuss a multiply-banned person’s pattern of posting, but what’s going on here? Stucco was an active participant on the board, with thousands of posts mostly on non-controversial topics, all as far as I can discern (albeit in just a brief random sampling) perfectly reasonable. That being the case, based on just the OP in the recent “virtue signalling” thread, I might have been open minded to the possibility that this was just an area where the OP was completely clueless (rather than trolling). But there’s an implausibly similar thread that @Darren_Garrison dug up earlier: > [@Revising an industry manual that has racist content](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/revising-an-industry-manual-that-has-racist-content/939732): > > For obvious reasons I must be vague about details but the story goes like this: In the late 90s and early 2000s a well respected estimator in our industry published a job costing manual. I met the guy and attended his classes, and have some of his media, and I’m a big fan. Most of his teachings IMO are very valuable to the industry. Sadly he passed away a few years ago. This winter an industry organization committee was commissioned, with his estates blessing, and I volunteered as a guest revi… Again, the theme centers around race, and again OP portrays himself as the well-meaning protagonist trying to do the right thing but uncertain how to behave. Again, secret details that cannot be revealed. But a completely different job. That thread was more innocuous, not framed in a self-pitying manner, and did not go off the rails. But its existence strongly implies that both this and the “virtue signalling” thread were complete fabrications. And we now know that stucco had the gadzookery sock on back burner in anticipation of the possibility of being banned. What’s the point of all this? The recent thread was ultimately quite entertaining, but I think not for the reasons the OP intended. And it just doesn’t seem worth the effort for whatever it was supposed to be. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2021, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3814 "2021-06-11T17:51:00Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > How about > > @discobot bring me a soda I really wanted one of [these](https://www.ebay.com/itm/114827757047) as a kid! ---
**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:** [June 11, 2021, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3815 "2021-06-11T17:54:11Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Stucco was an active participant on the board, with thousands of posts mostly on non-controversial topics ??? He made 184 posts. (Started 33 threads.) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3816 "2021-06-11T17:57:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > ??? He made 184 posts. (Started 33 threads.) Ah, my bad, I’m not sure what I was looking at. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3817 "2021-06-11T18:04:37Z")
Thank you for bringing that up. I remember that thread, but had no idea it was the same op. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3818 "2021-06-11T18:05:05Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > ??? He made 184 posts. (Started 33 threads.) Yeah, in that case forget my question. 184 posts is not so much effort to set up whatever this was supposed to be. This person is obviously not the sharpest crayon in the box when the first post with his new sock is in a Pit thread talking _about_ his old sock. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2021, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3819 "2021-06-11T18:12:58Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > 184 posts is not so much effort to set up whatever this was supposed to be. And 25 of those posts were arguing in this thread so really 159 posts. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3820 "2021-06-11T18:31:16Z")
I’m not versed enough in past banned trolls to ID him, but the stucco account seemed quite sockish. Created, if I recall correctly, also around a year ago. I would not be surprised if there are more created around the same time that continue to show up. ETA: Did gadzookery and stucco ever interact? I miss the old original meaning of a sock-puppet account, when people used to invent friends to come and support them when they were getting piled on in a thread, and they would literally be talking to their sock-puppet. I mean, this instance came pretty close, with gadzookery jumping in to defend stucco, but after banning. (Missing it is overstating it. It could, sometimes, be amusing.) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3821 "2021-06-11T18:36:29Z")
Has a newish poster who starts a button-pushing thread ever become a worthwhile member? I can’t recall ever seeing one and “newish poster who starts a button-pushing thread” is my go-to troll detector. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3822 "2021-06-11T18:56:20Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > ETA: Did gadzookery and stucco ever interact? I miss the old original meaning of a sock-puppet account, when people used to invent friends to come and support them when they were getting piled on in a thread, and they would literally be talking to their sock-puppet. stucco posted 184 times; gadzookery only posted 18 times over the course of a year. Looking at gadzookery’s posts (my earlier count was cursory) I think I see participation in a total of 9 threads, of which 6 also include posts by stucco. Some of these are on somewhat similar sports topics, but some are completely different topics. Given the frequency of their posting and the number of active threads on the board, I am confident that the probability of this occurring by chance is indistinguishable from zero. Here’s an instance of somebody responding to stucco, and then getting an archetypally socked reply from gadzookery: > [@Tim Tebow as tight end](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-tebow-as-tight-end/942639/49): > > And he’s smart enough to milk the poor little blackballed me thing for all it’s worth. Remember the private workout? He’s already got millions from Nike. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3823 "2021-06-11T19:05:45Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Here’s an instance of somebody responding to stucco, and then getting an archetypally socked reply from gadzookery: Yeah, classic sock-puppet backup. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3824 "2021-06-11T19:06:31Z")
And I just noticed from that thread that stucco’s posting was not always so innocuous. A warning here for calling somebody - guess what? A racist. > [@Tim Tebow as tight end](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-tebow-as-tight-end/942639/53): > > The “whining” is well warranted. Why not just come out and admit you are a racist? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3825 "2021-06-11T19:20:50Z")
I come from parts of the internet where it’s considered legitimate and appropriate to have a couple of different IDs. In most of those cases, the IDs never interact, because the point is generally to avoid outing the poster’s irl ID. So I’ve never liked the promiscuous use of the word “sock” on this board to describe any case of multiple IDs. But my, gadzookery certainly looked like a classic sock puppet to me. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3826 "2021-06-11T19:25:37Z")
And that’s fine for those places where it’s fine. I have a few reddit logins for different forums. It doesn’t make much sense to contaminate my dog grooming and training advice with people’s feelings on my politics. But that’s kinda the whole point is compartmentalization. I don’t participate in the same subreddit, much less the same thread, with multiple accounts. That seems rather disingenuous even if allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3827 "2021-06-11T19:44:56Z")
You forgot the ‘sudo’ > **[Sandwich](https://xkcd.com/149/)** > > Proper User Policy apparently means Simon Says. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3828 "2021-06-11T19:49:11Z")
> **[My Penny Arcade Guest Strip is Up](https://whatever.scalzi.com/2011/12/14/my-penny-arcade-guest-strip-is-up/?amp)** > > And it’s full of nerdy parental goodness, if I do say so myself. The full strip is here. I figure most people who are nerds who spend any time online will get the punchline, but if you don… ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349/3829 "2021-06-11T19:54:48Z")
I suspect that the principal purpose of the second account here, since it was used so infrequently, was not so much classic sockpuppetry, but a backup in case of banning. Establishing the account early makes it slightly less transparent than if it’s a new account set up immediately after a banning. Posting immediately _here_ with the sock seems a little foolish; but perhaps it’s a master plan to make us think he’s been caught, with other socks held back for more judicious use. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349.md?page=190) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-redux-now-the-argument-clinic/913349.md?page=192)