Whenever you're on the Internet, you're pretty much assuming that the person you're speaking to is who they claim to be. Sometimes, however, that may not actually be the case.
USENET terminology is sometimes rather amusing. One of the more clever terms to come out of USENET terminology is the term "sockpuppet". A sockpuppet is a silly name for a practice that is sometimes actually rather sinister. Most of the time, however, people who are engaging in the use of a sockpuppet aren't doing anything particularly menacing, although many people may find it a bit strange.
A sockpuppet is a phony Internet identity. What differentiates a sockpuppet from other phony Internet identities is that the person who uses the sockpuppet uses it as a way to voice the opinions, the interests or to sing the praises of their actual Internet identity.
Here's an example. Imagine you were watching a debate on a political USENET newsgroup. Somebody publishes an article voicing their support for installing a new culvert in your local city park. Somebody else immediately retaliates and gives a very good argument against placing the new culvert in the city park. The advocate for the culvert immediately replies with their own words and, to make it seem like they have more people on their side, they publish a phony article to the newsgroup and the attribute that article to their sockpuppet identity.
People have been caught using sockpuppets to promote their interests, their products and their webpages in the past. Oftentimes, the dead giveaway of a sockpuppet identity is somebody who constantly praises a particular individual and who seems to always show up on the same newsgroups or forums that that individual participates in. Sockpuppet identities can also be used on webpages and in any other online venues where it's possible for an individual to conceal their actual identity.
More Sinister Uses
If you participate in USENET newsgroups or Internet forums, you are well aware that there is a certain percentage of people who will become absolutely obsessed with winning arguments over the petty as to matters. In some cases, these individuals will chime in with numerous different sockpuppet identities to try to back themselves up or to give themselves the appearance of broad support. When this is just being done for ego and vanity, it's not that bad of a problem. When it's being done to promote a product or to disseminate false information, however, it can become a serious issue.
If you plan to participate in the USENET system, be aware that using sockpuppets will generally get you kicked out of any newsgroup where the moderator finds out that you are engaging in this practice. Good debate and conversation on the Internet is completely dependent upon honesty. A sockpuppet, of course, is dishonest in every regard. The only real fun thing about sockpuppets is that, if you bust somebody using one on the USENET newsgroup or on an Internet forum, it's fair game to call them out on it and you might even want to engage in a little bit of MSTing with the sockpuppet posts.
Expert Marion Marshall maintains several websites about Usenet and NNTP technologies. By visiting his website UsenetReviews.org you can learn about usenet servers and is astraweb any good
{ 0 comments... read them below or add one }
Post a Comment