Invasion of the sock puppets


We’re dealing with a spate of sock-puppet comments.


Please don’t do that.

Categories: General
Mike Goodwin

14 Responses

  1. Not really me says:

    why do you care Mike? If there are only five people in here talking to themselves it beats chasing people away because you are monitoring IP addresses. Isn’t freedom of speech the TU’s foundation? By the way, this computer is used by more than one person. Should they and others be censored? Let the people have some fun the topic only last a few days anyway.

  2. Eddie s says:

    nobocan is not my real name, Eddie s. is, nobocan is my “handle” from when I hiked the Pacfic Crest Trail…it is a made up word that I made from the words North Bound Canada….So I don’t know which one is showing up…..But I love have the Obuma Administation in cahoots with the Hearst Corp and other chicken livered Demoncrat biased Media outlets cohersed the outlets into censorship because Obuma knows the Internet has sunk him and his partners in crime and are trying to limit the damage and hopes to intimidate people by making them use their real names, but it is interesting to note that most of those who hide be fake or funny, or polticial correct or names with a message are Demoncrat supporters…Kind of like Demoncrat candidates nation wide who refuse to put the polticial party they belong too on their Poltiical Posters but use the red white and blue colors as if they are true Americans and not Socialists….hypocrites are they not! Vote them all out….

  3. Get Real © says:

    “Free speech”? Get real. “Sock puppets” refers to the individuals who use multiple usernames to spew their ignorance and harass people.

    I know I can’t be the only frequenter of TU Blogs who wishes you had to take an IQ exam before being allowed to post. I’m willing to bet that would do away with a lot of the ignorance that surfaces from time to time. 8)

  4. CiscoKid says:

    Just in case you didn’t know (and apparently you don’t) the IP address you see at the TU is the IP address of the gateway that is connecting the user(s) to the internet. If the post comes from a large company, or better yet, a state agency, the IP address will be the same for all posts from all people coming from that company. You assume that you have one person with many aliases, but more likely it is multiple people from the same location commenting on the same topic.

  5. tom baker says:

    This is a moderated discussion. There is no absolute freedom of speech.

    State Workers are supposed to be working, not playing.

    While it is true that there may be an occasional error, I think good judgment and experience enables one to separate the puppets from the people. I find that it is usually pretty easy to identify an individual from the various idiosyncrasies that make each users writing style kind of like a fingerprint. And since the puppets are usually the most vociferous ones, there’s plenty of scope for comparison.

    Mike is doing a good job.

  6. bp281 says:

    Mike, I was about to comment about your lack of IT networking savvy, but see #4. They have these things called Proxy’s and Firewalls, you get the picture.

    Don’t worry, I don’t actually expect this to get posted.


  7. Rock On says:

    Again, as I mentioned and Mike won’t post my comment (and probably won’t this time either) the same thing holds true for computers at libraries. A few of my fellow students also read the Times Union online. As I’ve said before, writers a the Times union seem stunned to learn that libraries actually contain modern technology like computers…even Macs and other stuff.

  8. Marlon Anderson Mayoral Candidate 2009 says:

    there has to be a modicum of control. You cant let the inmates run the asylum! and Tom i dont think that the internet, detracts from a workers production, indeed, it even may help. As the saying goes, A happy worker is a productive worker.

  9. GOOSECOUS says:

    Aw man, come on!

  10. Delores says:

    Keep it up Mike. Sock puppets ruin what should be an intelligent discussion, and the Times Union has the option to keep it’s comments section honest and free of harassment. Good job.

  11. NGD says:

    Maybe if there were more frequent topics in CC, it would partly take care of the spamming issues.

  12. Whiner NickleSnout says:

    Mike, i think because you randomly and abritrary do not post certain bloggers, even if they did sock puppet, it would be okay. The only thing that I don’t like is when someone logs on twice using two different names and then pats themself on the back. Other than that, it really doesn’t matter what name is used. You are down to so few followers is because you force people to comment under an alias, just like Casey does. You two, that’s mostly it. And Laura just does what she is told. And also, if someone really wanted to, they could always use an alterate IP. It isn’t rocket science.

  13. K.Judge says:

    Free Studder

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