# Why is this thread unavailable? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 13, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779 "2006-01-13T04:25:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779/21 "2006-01-13T16:37:44Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > I must be clueless, as I didn’t recognize this as spam. But then again, I didn’t click on the link, so he didn’t get anything out of me. It was pretty subtle. You’d have to have read both of the threads started by the spammer and noticed that in one thread, he said “A couple years ago I hired a guy named Thomas” and in the other thread he said “For as long as I can remember my friend Stephen has been a loser.” But both stories were merely an elaborate vehicle for linking to a place on the web where you can “buy” a degree. Fortunately, at least one sharp-eyed board member reported this and I banned the spammer and removed his threads. ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779/22 "2006-01-13T19:50:56Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > … I banned the spammer and removed his threads. But, uh, I thought **Frank** was working the threads and getting rid of the spammer?! \ Wow, maybe **samclem** and **Frank** are the same person. … Hey, wait a minute, maybe all the moderators are just one person. … then again, maybe there’s just one staff member and … uh, maybe this whole board is just one elaborate con – being perpetrated by that guy sitting over there grinning!!! \ Just for the record, I didn’t call **Frank** a sock puppet of **samclem** , so there’s no reason to … hey, quit looking at me like that! I didn’t say it, I was just kidding! I … Aaaarrgh ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779/23 "2006-01-13T20:14:39Z")
> [@Corner Case](#): > > But, uh, I thought **Frank** was working the threads and getting rid of the spammer?! No, I didn’t know who did it. I saw the threads, though. But now I know **samclem** was the one who left a redirect in my forum! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779/24 "2006-01-14T02:14:48Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > Threads by socks are deleted. 😕 “Socks”? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779/25 "2006-01-14T02:23:17Z")
“Socks” are people who try to sneak in under different names. See [Beginner’s Guide to Straight Dope Vocabulary](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298) for more info and other such words. Our logic is as follows: there are certain types of people who are just out for attention. Spamming, trolling, sneaking in under multiple identities… and we don’t want to give them attention. Just banning them isn’t enough; we want to remove all traces of their existence after we ban them. Well, OK, sometimes it’s not possible to remove **all** traces, but as many as we can. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2006, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779/26 "2006-01-14T04:23:22Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 😕 “Socks”? > [@](#): > > [Skippy](http://www.skippyslist.com/skippylist.html) > 31. Not allowed to let sock puppets take responsibility for any of my actions. Regards, Sho…er… dogbutler [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-thread-unavailable/339779.md?page=1)