[Foundation-l] Re: [WikiNL-l] Fight spilling over into the ia.wikipedia

Fri Apr 1 00:09:32 UTC 2005

Sander Spek wrote:
> * Gerard Meijssen:
> > This user is the persona of a known anonymous vandal who has a
> > history of using different IP-numbers.
> 
> ...which could be his provider's policy, and cannot be used as a
> charge against him.
> 
> > When he was banned for a week, he started with sockpupputs.
> 
> It is not proven the aliases were his. One of the aliases
> posted on Wikipedia that he is not the 'troll', and the 'troll'
> has always denied he had these sockpuppets.

Do you seriously expect a troll or sockpuppet to admit to being one?
Like some evil genius at the end of a James Bond movie, or like the
standard crook Peg-Leg Pete in a Mickey Mouse story?  Come on...

I've seen one troll using one of his sockpuppets to attack another of
his own sockpuppets, only to make others believe the two were not
played by one and the same person.  Nothing of this kind can surprise
me anymore.  I almost wish I had studied psychology instead of
computer science.  Sherry Turkle's ten year old "Life on Screen" is a
good starter.

There is a simple solution: Ask the two to show up at a meeting IRL.
If they refuse, consider them guilty of every accusation.

I've met Jimbo, Angela, Erik Möller, Elian, and a few other key
Wikipedians IRL.  I take the liberty to distrust everybody else.

-- 
  Lars Aronsson (lars at aronsson.se)
  Aronsson Datateknik - http://aronsson.se