Sockpuppet Invasion

[Sunny]

So a game forum for a game I'm on has a person that has between 6-8 accounts that they post with. Any time anyone says anything on the forum that they disagree with, they brigade with all of these accounts.

It's really really obvious from both speech patterns and what issues they tend to pop up on and the patterns in which they post, so I'm not at all concerned about identification. They are DEFINITELY sockpuppets.

Bunches of people have reported them, and absolutely nothing has been done. It's killing discussions and keeping people from getting help on stuff.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this addressed? What should we do?

[76561199648916059]

Sweet potato, it's sweet and if you put butter on it it's delicious, don't forget cinnamon, you said sock pockets I'm telling you even the accounts that look like real full users are nothing but steam sock puppets, I declare myself as one of the few people on steam who are actually real and not affiliated with steam.
I've been told by steams socket puppet army I work for epic, I work for Bethesda, I work for gog, and I work for Elon, however they never suggested I work for steam, cause I think they already know who the real steam sock puppets are

[Sunny]

I don't care. I'm talking about a specific issue that has nothing to do with what you're talking about.

The problem is 'can't have a discussion in a specific forum because of a specific person's sockpuppets'.

I don't care about review bombing or not-real people in this thread. At all. Zero cares, and it's unrelated to the topic. Go crusade elsewhere.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Sunny:

I don't care. I'm talking about a specific issue that has nothing to do with what you're talking about.

Just block and ignore them. It's not worth your time.

[Sunny]

Ursprungligen skrivet av cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Ursprungligen skrivet av Sunny:

I don't care. I'm talking about a specific issue that has nothing to do with what you're talking about.

Just block and ignore them. It's not worth your time.

:winterbunny2023:

I mean I have an answer and we're all good, but if they're a real person then I feel compelled to tell them at least once that they're being ridiculous instead of dismissing them out of hand. It's possible they're capable of change. Don't worry though, I won't draw it out too much longer, and it's not causing me any distress at all. =)

There's a chance they're an actual kid, you know? I believe that you're familiar with the poster and have an opinion based on experience, but I don't know you and I'm not hurting anyone. I do appreciate the concern, though! (<---- not sarcasm)

[Astra]

If you're using speech patterns you are doing it wrong. Most people will copy each other, I'm guilty of it too. I like to blend in and no one who knows me irl will think they found me on steam or reddit, many others use the same words and format

About the issues you could blame it on sheep mentality. You don't have a way to know is definitely what you think

The best thing to do is ignore them, you will find the same in other sites

[Sunny]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Astra:

...

Had a question, it was answered. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

Are you familiar with the specific situation I'm talking about, or with how credible my own ability to detect patterns might be?

[Astra]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Sunny:

Ursprungligen skrivet av Astra:

...

Are you familiar with the specific situation I'm talking about, or with how credible my own ability to detect patterns might be?

Familiar with it like I said happens in other sites too, my post wasn't a shade just trying to help

I also looked for different kind of patterns and contacted mods. There's no winning with groups like that, it's a losing battle and you get sucked in that negativity for nothing, but you ignore them act like their posts don't exist and that's the way you can hurt them in my experience

I've seen the same irl, groups of people that think like one. Most copy each other and fake things, that's why I said online you have no way of definitely knowing and by you I meant anyone

[Sunny]

While I appreciate the intention, your advice was unrelated to the question posted.

There's no reason to provide advice that assumes I'm incorrect in asking the question, especially when it's in regards to a specific situation that you're not familiar with.

It's not actually helpful, even if it was intended to be. I've been on the internet since it was Fido, and I expressly said I was sure because I wasn't interested in debating the nature of the sockpuppets themselves. This has been largely successful, as you're the first person to start in on it and I did get actual answers.

I just wanted to know if there was recourse; there isn't.

There's no problem to solve and I am not in distress; this was a question with an answer. I am sure there are plenty of people around that need to be comforted with 'just ignore them'; do you mind if I say, 'no thank you'?

No, thank you.

[veracsthane]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Sunny:

So a game forum for a game I'm on has a person that has between 6-8 accounts that they post with. Any time anyone says anything on the forum that they disagree with, they brigade with all of these accounts.

It's really really obvious from both speech patterns and what issues they tend to pop up on and the patterns in which they post, so I'm not at all concerned about identification. They are DEFINITELY sockpuppets.

Bunches of people have reported them, and absolutely nothing has been done. It's killing discussions and keeping people from getting help on stuff.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this addressed? What should we do?

because it works which is why you see so many people compaling about moderation and how poor it is.

also it might not be sock puppets it might be a discord doing it for the lulz.

they are attention ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and you are giving them what they want as long as modeation wont ban them and mdoeration wont atm you have not alternative but to just walk away and pretend you dont see them and hope they get bored sooner not later.

[Sunny]

Ursprungligen skrivet av veracsthane:

they are attention ♥♥♥♥♥♥ and you are giving them what they want

Can you show me where I've done this? I'd love to see an example.

[Astra]

There is a person on this thread who's been claiming other steam users are socketpuppets as well and according to them some people here -including the one who answered your question- is one of them, I think it's helpful to point that everything it's not what it might seem like

Your questions was: "Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this addressed? What should we do?" Part of your problem: "Any time anyone says anything on the forum that they disagree with, they brigade with all of these accounts. It's killing discussions and keeping people from getting help on stuff"

I don't know how that isn't helpful or unrelated to you but it works for others, you ignore, block them and their posts will be hidden, you continue the discussion like they don't exist

No need to be rude

[Sunny]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Astra:

No need to be rude

Correct, and I'm not sure why you're doing so. I said 'no thank you'.

[76561199648916059]

confusion about what sock puppetry really is

Let me define it for you, using a account to push and agenda and then reinforcing it over and over again with other accounts to give the impression of popular opinion is a form of sock puppetry, this gimmick is something steam does often.

While I'm sure no steam sock puppets are on this thread, you will easily see them popping up.

Just because some users are ridiculing some game hubs, or acting like each other it's silly to consider them sock puppets, likely they are just having fun watching you melt down over how they behave, steam has a agenda, that agenda is to sell games and actas if everything on steam is correct.

Most likely steams to blame for trying to surpress truthful content, forcing those individuals to stand up against the discrimination steam inflicts to continue the profit agenda.

[Lithurge]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Sunny:

Ursprungligen skrivet av Astra:

No need to be rude

Correct, and I'm not sure why you're doing so. I said 'no thank you'.

They aren't. You're attempting to control a discussion in a public forum by telling them not to post. You don't like their answers or don't want to engage with them then ignore their posts.

Your behaviour casts doubt on the original narrative you've presented because it makes you look unreasonable.

[AmsterdamHeavy]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Majestically Awkward:

It's been suggested time and time again that the real sock puppeting and forum manipulation is done by steam, fake reviews, fake forum comments posted by steam users with 1000s of games is an example of sock puppet accounts owned by steam masquerading as real users.

By you and you alone.