I apologize if this topic is already being discussed on another thread. If so, please direct me to there.
As I sure most people have noticed, there is a rash of troll posts from someone who has figured out how to impersonate other posters.
I read a post that suggested how this is possible. I won’t repeat the method (the last thing I want to do is encourage this) but is the method behind this known? And are steps being taken to close off whatever loophole makes this possible?
Is all of this the work of one twerp or is this a copycat thing? Has the troll been identified?
It’s annoying to read a post by someone which seems surprisingly incongruous with their persona and then realize it’s a fake. It’s also worrisome to consider that anyone could be its next target. Might I suggest to the staff that as these fake posts are revealed they are marked in some distinctive style so that future readers will know immediately that they are not the work of the real poster? Maybe something as simple as altering the username by putting the word “FAKE” in front of it.
Hey, Little Nemo, next time just e-mail a mod, it’s quicker, easier, and there’s no unpleasant aftertaste.
But to answer your question, there’s really no workable way to do what you’re suggesting. We sometimes get new posters who unwittingly register with names that play on the names of already existing posters, such as the recent Peaches/Peaches8/vanilla/kiffa thing. The mods can’t just walk around shooting suspected trolls on sight just because of their names–they have to wait until the harassing nature of their posts reveals their true colors. I believe we still have an Oncle Biere posting somewhere, and AFAIK Satan and OldScratch have nothing to do with each other.
The mods and admins have enough to do already, I think, without adding “pasting FAKE labels on all troll posts” to their list of duties. They’ve already got the “BANNED” label, anway.
Being a mod is supposed to be a part-time affair, and they don’t get paid for it, either.
And yes, Tuba has already mentioned that the vB software guys are working on closing the loophole as fast as they can. I have the impression that we here at the SDMB are acting as guinea pigs for Jelsoft, revealing every day more and more ways in which they can improve their software. And of course, we are happy to do it–aren’t we?
I’m not suggesting the FAKE advisory should be used on all troll posts, only those that use a duplicate of another poster’s name. I’d have no problem with someone calling themselves Littler Nemo, Little Nemo 2, FAKE Little Nemo, El Tit Lemon, or Bug Vomit. But as far as I’m concerned I should have the exclusive use of the name Little Nemo on this board.
TubaDiva -
Are you saying that you added the word FAKE above?
Because it appeared there on the original post, didn’t it?
Isn’t that the only reason he was banned.
In other words, you totally disagree with Little Nemo, who said he doesn’t care who has names similar to his, as long as there is no confusion that it might really be him.
She agrees that Little Nemo should have exclusive use of the name Little Nemo. Fake Little Nemo may have been banned for a variety of reasons, none of which you would know. Unless you’re the same person. Some reasons might be that his IP was the same as someone else’s or that he included Little Nemo’s email address and profile information in his own profile.
And also, ** waterj2 ** because you’re funny and interesting, I doubt you’d need a sock puppet to agree with you. But, have you noticed that most of the ‘trollishness’ is almost always negative. They come on with criticizing either a particular poster/user/management as if someone had elected them to that role. Haven’t they enough sense to see a pattern to their own behavior and that it gives them away in a heartbeat to anyone who has been here for more than an hour?? Curious, and curiouser, why waste your own time?
:::::::Anti Pro jumping up and down with her hand raised:::::::::::
oooohhhhh, call on me, I want to be your evil twin, I can do it, really, really, really!!! Puhlllleeeeezzzeeee!! I don’t mind the name ‘skippy’, I don’t eat their peanut butter, but I’ll switch from Jif, I SWEAR!!!
What baffles me about this whole troll business is this: are there really people out there with lives that are so bereft of substance that they have the time and inclination to do such things? Take that as a rhetorical question, because there obviously are, but still I just don’t get it.
Well, I’m not sure as to where you’ve been, but if other message boards make light of people signing on with the same name as administrators/moderators/ other poster’s names, I’m glad I wasn’t ever a part of that particular community.
I have successfully resisted The Urge to to create a sock pupett named Pro-Anti and posting the words “fuck you” just to steal Little Nemo’s thunder.
Hey Nodule B,
I would tell you that Anti Pro does not hate new posters, except that I read your next post in another thread that said that you were leaving. Anti is a sweetheart, that’s why I call her Auntie Judy. And I don’t hate newbies either. I still consider myself a newbie.
The troll only impersonates the “masks” inhabited by troll busters. Since none of them is being forthcoming, hiding behind a pseudonym, what’s the problem?
