# Weird thing (sorry I can't be more specific...) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 19, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762 "2021-10-19T14:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/1 "2021-10-19T14:02:06Z")
What’s up with this? The following appeared as post #901 in the “[Coronavirus general discussion and chit-chat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-general-discussion-and-chit-chat/917903)” thread. And also as post #1342 in "[The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days [NOT an Afghanistan discussion]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057) [![](https://i.imgur.com/ky5LkGp.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/ky5LkGp.jpg) Clicking on the link takes you to “ **Oops! That page doesn’t exist or is private.** ” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/2 "2021-10-19T14:03:38Z")
I’ve seen that in several threads this morning. It looks like several trolling posts by “RangerLoops” got pulled out of the threads, placed in their own thread, and then cornfielded. As I can’t find a user named RangerLoops, I suspect that it was a new user (probably a sock), who also got cornfielded. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/3 "2021-10-19T14:05:06Z")
Just a returning sock/troll punted into the cornfield. No biggie. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2021, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/4 "2021-10-19T14:08:45Z")
Cool technique! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/5 "2021-10-19T14:54:05Z")
Must be one of those Halloween Cornfield Maze thingies, amirite? 🌽 🎃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/6 "2021-10-19T17:36:00Z")
Or a Park Service employee who gobbled down too much multicolored round cereal this morning. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/7 "2021-10-19T21:16:45Z")
I happened to be up at whatever ridiculous hour of the late night / very early morning (depending on your perspective) this sock was shitting all over the board, and I was lamenting the fact that no mod was around at that hour. I was sure this stuff would be around until later in the morning. But hark! Within minutes @engineer_comp_geek was on it, the sock was banned, and all the crap was very quickly out fertilizing the corn fields. Kudos to **ecg** for the prompt action! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/8 "2021-10-19T21:23:19Z")
_Sleep well tonight because your ~~National Guard~~ Doper Mods are awake._ [![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61wJAtWatlL._SR600%2C315_PIWhiteStrip%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C35_SCLZZZZZZZ_FMpng_BG255%2C255%2C255.jpg) ](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61wJAtWatlL._SR600%2C315_PIWhiteStrip%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C35_SCLZZZZZZZ_FMpng_BG255%2C255%2C255.jpg) Doesn’t “sock” mean that it was actually a Doper or former (banned) Doper doing this? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/9 "2021-10-19T21:27:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I happened to be up at whatever ridiculous hour of the late night / very early morning (depending on your perspective) this sock was shitting all over the board, and I was lamenting the fact that no mod was around at that hour. I was sure this stuff would be around until later in the morning. I ran into the same thing a couple of months ago; a sock (might very well have been the same person) showed up around midnight, and started posting trollish stuff in a ton of threads. I flagged a number of them, but I think it may have taken a few hours before a mod was able to address them. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/10 "2021-10-19T21:28:17Z")
The kind of person who posts that sort of stuff is the kind of person who quickly gets banned under every username they create, even if it weren’t known they were a sock. The original meaning of “sock puppet” was separate accounts that would converse directly with each other (like a one-person puppet show, with a puppet on each hand), but returning bannees are far more common, at least around here. I can only think of one case, off the top of my head, where the socking was the original reason for a ban. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/11 "2021-10-19T21:35:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The original meaning of “sock puppet” was separate accounts that would converse directly with each other (like a one-person puppet show, with a puppet on each hand), but returning bannees are far more common, at least around here. I can only think of one case, off the top of my head, where the socking was the original reason for a ban. I can assure you having been a volunteer admin at other sites that this is probably the case everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/codinghorror/32/4242_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/12 "2021-10-19T23:22:25Z")
You can also delete those stub posts if you want, after deleting the topic it was moved to. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/13 "2021-10-20T01:01:38Z")
I can haz been edumacated. Ignorance fought! If I see a trollish post, I will report. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/codinghorror/32/4242_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weird-thing-sorry-i-cant-be-more-specific/952762/14 "2021-10-20T20:05:38Z")
Please _do_ flag stuff that seems out of line. You have excellent moderators in this wonderful community, and they do good work. Count yourselves lucky!! Flag away! There’s no negative consequence if a flag is declined.