Sockpuppet speculation

[Semper Fidelis]

What happened in that situation happened outside of the forum.

Susan

From what I understand the initial contact was done via this forum and PM's then once the conversation advanced it moved along.

Is RaceRadio blocked from posting here at CN?

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

There are also those who are driven away by the extremely aggressive postings by those on "your" side of the argument.

This forum is open to all points of view, and they are all to be expressed politely. Many users are so convinced of the rightness of their opinions that they believe perhaps the rules don't apply to them, or that "if you aren't for me you are against me".

The forum management does not work that way. We honestly do not care what opinion you express, we care how you express it.

Perhaps it is time to really crack down, and not on those-who-are-called-trolls-because-they-don't-agree-with-me posters.

Susan

Perha

And here is where you are wrong and are showing your own biases about those who are raising concerns.

People who are being called bots are not being called bots because they 'disagree with me'. Do I think every person who disagrees with me is a bot or a troll? No. Poster X might be a bawbag but they aren't a bot or a troll. There are plenty of those to go around.

What is being identified by posters is a small group of posters whose postings are deliberately designed to cause disruption to the threads. Not just to threads relating to Armstrong but other threads as well. (I don't bother with the Armstrong threads for the most part because they are already completely unreadable and life is too short anyway).

You (for reasons that are best known to yourself) instead of addressing the concerns or taking the concerns seriously, instead resort to accusing those posters with concerns of being conspiracy theorists, whilst whipping out threats of infractions or bans for voicing concerns.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

From what I understand the initial contact was done via this forum and PM's then once the conversation advanced it moved along.

Is RaceRadio blocked from posting here at CN?

Of couse not. There has been no action against him. He is evidently choosing not to participate for reasons of his own.

Susan

 

[Dr. Maserati]

What happened in that situation happened outside of the forum.

Susan

Well the reason they were interested in RRs identify was because he posted on the forum. It's hardly a separate issue.

Also - why is RRs avatar gone? Is he banned, blocked? If so, then why?

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

Of couse not. There has been no action against him. He is evidently choosing not to participate for reasons of his own.

Susan

I quote myself. I do not know why he has left the forum. You must ask him. We had nothing to do with it.

Removing an avatar is easy, every user can do it.

Susaan

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I quote myself. I do not know why he has left the forum. You must ask him. We had nothing to do with it.

Removing an avatar is easy, every user can do it.

Susaan

Susan,
Do you think that maybe the new log in procedures have created some type of problem on his end?

From what I know or understand, RaceRadio is unable to post here, and appears to be blocked.


Maybe LauraLyn "screen name" was one of the people who bought the information? That would be why they were able to post up here on cycling news forums a twitter account to a real life person?

 

[Semper Fidelis]

RaceRadio needs to be informed!!!!!

He knows already.

But since Joe Papp decides to sell RaceRadio's ident info to Tim Herman and then brag about it AND LauraLyn just happens to stumble into the info ......do you think he would find this place very USER FRIENDLY any longer?

Make a good cartoon / comic of this micro.. do it please.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

[/url][/IMG]

that's me............no filmstar looks but there you go...that's life

i would appreciate if members stopped suggesting that i am other than a genuine forum member.....................not a returning banned member
......and nobodies sockpuppet

Take ...................... It .................. easy ..................

 

[the big ring]

He knows already.

But since Joe Papp decides to sell RaceRadio's ident info to Tim Herman and then brag about it AND LauraLyn just happens to stumble into the info ......do you think he would find this place very USER FRIENDLY any longer?

Make a good cartoon / comic of this micro.. do it please.

Thank you.

 

[BroDeal]

He knows already.

But since Joe Papp decides to sell RaceRadio's ident info to Tim Herman and then brag about it AND LauraLyn just happens to stumble into the info ......do you think he would find this place very USER FRIENDLY any longer?

Finally someone puts that out in the open.

 

[red_flanders]

And here is where you are wrong and are showing your own biases about those who are raising concerns.

People who are being called bots are not being called bots because they 'disagree with me'. Do I think every person who disagrees with me is a bot or a troll? No. Poster X might be a bawbag but they aren't a bot or a troll. There are plenty of those to go around.

The bot issue is separate and a rare event as far as I can see. The great bulk of the issue is that everyone who posts an opinion supporting Lance Armstrong is labeled a troll in short order. The fact is that there are legitimate posters who hold these opinions and sorting it out from the trolls is NOT a simple matter. One time hearing "the Truth" and ignoring it and continuing to post pro Armstrong opinions is the way most people react to new information and is NOT reason to confirm that someone is a troll and ban them. Surely that is something people here need to consider.

We could err on the side on instant bans for a whole slew of issues, but I'm sure people respond better to under-moderation than over-moderation, so that is where we often err. Combine that with the fact that we are not on the site as often as those expressing strong issues, and you have the answer to many of your issues.

The bot issue is different. There was rampant, repeated speculation (some totally convinced!) that LauraLyn was a bot. Turns out she was not. While it was certainly possible a given poster is a bot, some might consider that the bot theory was a bit paranoid. I certainly wasn't going to have someone banned for being a bot based on speculation. This poster's behavior was erratic and unpredictable enough to slow action for quite a while. That some people screamed loudly about it and declared the forum unreadable is not enough to ban someone.

There are legitimate critiques of the way this has all been handled, and they are being discussed. I look forward to finding better solutions for how to handle honest to goodness trolling in the future.

I would ask of the membership that they dial back on the complaints about trolling bit quite a bit, or do it in reports. The complaining is as disruptive as the trolling. I'm going to say that conservatively, 75% of the reports of trolling we get are simply not trolling, but honest disagreements between posters. If you want to see it from this end, and you have a legitimate desire to make this place better, I would urge to you ask to become a mod and help us out.

I hope this helps explain things a bit.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Finally someone puts that out in the open.

I did not know that. What a richard.

 

[thirteen]

He knows already.

But since Joe Papp decides to sell RaceRadio's ident info to Tim Herman and then brag about it AND LauraLyn just happens to stumble into the info ......do you think he would find this place very USER FRIENDLY any longer?

Make a good cartoon / comic of this micro.. do it please.

Finally someone puts that out in the open.

yes, thank you, Glenn... i knew it happened , but never pressed RR on who...

if, indeed, RR has any desire to come back and is having issues, it may be because there seems to have been some change recently (see the last page of This Forum Blows) and anyone using AdBlock may have issues logging in.

i hope this helps.

 

[Maxiton]

yes, thank you, Glenn... i knew it happened , but never pressed RR on who...

if, indeed, RR has any desire to come back and is having issues, it may be because there seems to have been some change recently (see the last page of This Forum Blows) and anyone using AdBlock may have issues logging in.

i hope this helps.

I don't think it's ad block, I think he just doesn't want to post here anymore. The new log in was activated in the last 24 hours. RR has been active on the site in the last 24 hours. Several of us have tweeted him over the last several days, asking him to return. He hasn't replied. Ergo, he doesn't see the value for his cause of continuing here. I think he's wrong, but he hasn't asked me.

 

[Microchip]

He knows already.

But since Joe Papp decides to sell RaceRadio's ident info to Tim Herman and then brag about it AND LauraLyn just happens to stumble into the info ......do you think he would find this place very USER FRIENDLY any longer?

Make a good cartoon / comic of this micro.. do it please.

I never knew this! Are these two statements wholly true?:

1. ...Joe Papp decides to sell RaceRadio's ident info to Tim Herman
2. ...then brag about it

 

[Dr. Maserati]

The bot issue is separate and a rare event as far as I can see. The great bulk of the issue is that everyone who posts an opinion supporting Lance Armstrong is labeled a troll in short order. The fact is that there are legitimate posters who hold these opinions and sorting it out from the trolls is NOT a simple matter. One time hearing "the Truth" and ignoring it and continuing to post pro Armstrong opinions is the way most people react to new information and is NOT reason to confirm that someone is a troll and ban them. Surely that is something people here need to consider.

.<snipped for brevity>

To the blue - that appears to be a reference to my post.

I am getting sick & tired of this ****ing forum as the new rage appears to be deliberatley misrepresenting opinion.
I never mentioned Armstrong and indeed was thinking of JV when I wrote that. Someone asked for something, it was presented to them and yet they went back on about what suited their opinion.

To the highlighted - a troll is a troll.
It is not Armsrong centric, or anyone else. It is a poster who deliberatley wishes to inflame, bait or flood the board with posts to make it unreadable. I didn't see much of LLs post - but they appeared to be doing just that, trolling.

The mods have this peculiar attitude that calling a troll, a troll is worse than poster who is trolling.

 

[red_flanders]

To the blue - that appears to be a reference to my post.

I am getting sick & tired of this ****ing forum as the new rage appears to be deliberatley misrepresenting opinion.
I never mentioned Armstrong and indeed was thinking of JV when I wrote that. Someone asked for something, it was presented to them and yet they went back on about what suited their opinion.

To the highlighted - a troll is a troll.
It is not Armsrong centric, or anyone else. It is a poster who deliberatley wishes to inflame, bait or flood the board with posts to make it unreadable. I didn't see much of LLs post - but they appeared to be doing just that, trolling.

The mods have this peculiar attitude that calling a troll, a troll is worse than poster who is trolling.

It's an example which covers the great bulk of the noise about trolling. The salient point, is that it takes time to determine a troll from someone who is uninformed or has a legitimate disagreement about the facts or their interpretation. Honest, reasonable people take time to ingest new information and change their views.

I'm not misrepresenting opinion–if your post was the only example I"d have directly quoted it. Thanks.

 

[thirteen]

I don't think it's ad block, I think he just doesn't want to post here anymore. The new log in was activated in the last 24 hours. RR has been active on the site in the last 24 hours. Several of us have tweeted him over the last several days, asking him to return. He hasn't replied. Ergo, he doesn't see the value for his cause of continuing here. I think he's wrong, but he hasn't asked me.

i haven't bugged him about it myself... we "spoke" before i was leaving and he didn't seem all that fussed with LL (whilst i was having hissy-fits). by the time i got home and settled in somewhat, the **** had hit the fan.

i'm pretty gutted if he doesn't return (honestly, his posts here were better than his tweets), but it won't stop him at all from spreading the message. we may have to work a bit harder, but the truth is out there

seriously, RaceRadio has been really lovely behind the scenes with me (read it and weep, bots, none of this happened on the forum pages!), but i do miss him here.

 

[Elagabalus]

....The bot issue is different. There was rampant, repeated speculation (some totally convinced!) that LauraLyn was a bot. Turns out she was not. While it was certainly possible a given poster is a bot, some might consider that the bot theory was a bit paranoid. I certainly wasn't going to have someone banned for being a bot based on speculation. This poster's behavior was erratic and unpredictable enough to slow action for quite a while. That some people screamed loudly about it and declared the forum unreadable is not enough to ban someone ....

May I enquire as to the reason why she was perma-banned? If she was so innocent why not a week banishment?

 

[Dr. Maserati]

It's an example which covers the great bulk of the noise about trolling. The salient point, is that it takes time to determine a troll from someone who is uninformed or has a legitimate disagreement about the facts or their interpretation. Honest, reasonable people take time to ingest new information and change their views.

I'm not misrepresenting opinion–if your post was the only example I"d have directly quoted it. Thanks.

If that's the case, then I apologize.

However, one point that you may miss, is that posters here will spot a (genuine) troll much quicker then the Mods. Many are on here a lot more than individual Mods, add in the swap over from different time zones and the mods could miss things especially when not keeping up with a thread.

Sure, if someone gets frustrated they call someone a troll - no need to call in the forum police and issue perma bans, but when there is a lot of disquiet it appears the mods are slow to react.

 

[red_flanders]

May I enquire as to the reason why she was perma-banned? If she was so innocent why not a week banishment?

I didn't say she was innocent.

I'd prefer not to comment on the specifics as I didn't do the banning.

 

[red_flanders]

If that's the case, then I apologize.

However, one point that you may miss, is that posters here will spot a (genuine) troll much quicker then the Mods.

Agreed, and this is an area in which we need improvement. I welcome your suggestions in input on this. The converse is also true, that many trolls which are spotted, are in fact, not trolls.

Many are on here a lot more than individual Mods, add in the swap over from different time zones and the mods could miss things especially when not keeping up with a thread.

Sure, if someone gets frustrated they call someone a troll - no need to call in the forum police and issue perma bans, but when there is a lot of disquiet it appears the mods are slow to react.

Again, agreed. I feel we can improve on this.

 

[mewmewmew13]

RaceRadio needs to be informed!!!!!

He's aware of everything going on here.

 

[patricknd]

He knows already.

But since Joe Papp decides to sell RaceRadio's ident info to Tim Herman and then brag about it AND LauraLyn just happens to stumble into the info ......do you think he would find this place very USER FRIENDLY any longer?

Make a good cartoon / comic of this micro.. do it please.

be fair glenn, the guy has to make a living

 

[kielbasa]

May I enquire as to the reason why she was perma-banned? If she was so innocent why not a week banishment?

If you scream loud enough... I am amazed that those protesting apparently read her posts so dilligently that they could even form an opinion as to her legitimacy as a person. I guess some became so obsessed that they couldn't simply ignore an internet post. Kinda reminds me of this.