Important: Some posters using multiple IDs

In light of some of the odd things going on with emails and spamming at a.e.d., the forum moderators and admins have been watching things here pretty closely.

I think that all of us are thrilled by the quality of the posts, the diversity of viewpoints, and the generally friendly discussion that's been happening.

However, we have been noticing a disturbing trend: There is at least one poster that appears to be posting under three different aliases. This is a clear violation of our terms of service, and undermines the spirit of openness, honesty and cooperation that nearly all of us are working to establish.

All of the posts from Erma A., VPacheco, and Lawrence T. originate from the same computer, at one of two locations, often posted just minutes apart. There can be no legitimate need for one individual to post under multiple aliases, having discussions with him/herself, and since one of the computers appears to be the poster's home computer, it does not seem likely that it is multiple individuals using the same computers both at home and at work.

This sort of behavior is reminiscent of diploma mill operator Les Snell's actions some years ago on a.e.d., and is inimical to the environment we are building as a community.

The more we can be self-moderating, the better and stronger our community will become. I personally see no value in the contributions of individuals who seek to confuse things by posting under multiple aliases.

Comments may be posted here or sent via email to forum at degreeinfo dot com.

 

All I can add is to repeat these famous words, I can't recall the original author right now...

"Throw da bums out"!!!!

Bruce

 

I believe that one handle per person is very reasonable. Preferably but not necessarily the person's name makes the best handle, IMHO.

I for one would welcome the posters further posts but using just one handle. Of course if the person continued to try and violate the rule then that's a different matter.

 

Chip-

Before you pull the trigger on these three be aware that some ISP's don't assign a static IP address. Mine was changing for awhile on @home, but I think that we did something to change that recently.

I had two people sign up for my UBB board that appeared to be the same person. Turns out it was a "feature" of AOL.

I'm not telling you how to run things around here. Just suggesting that maybe the benefit of the doubt is in order unless they are exhibiting some other behaviour that indicates that he/she/they/it have ulterior motives.

Sonya

 

Yup, and even a lot of DSL providers are doing this... but in this case, there is no question. I won't go into details, but we've verified it.


I had two people sign up for my UBB board that appeared to be the same person. Turns out it was a "feature" of AOL.


Yes, AOL and certain other dialup providers have that "feature"... which makes it that much more difficult (but still not impossible) for system administrators to ascertain what's going on.

I'm not telling you how to run things around here. Just suggesting that maybe the benefit of the doubt is in order

Absolutely. Which is why we haven't yet banned the individual... but I also felt it important, since the person is talking to him/herself, that people know about it.

I do appreciate your input. We're trying to strike a good balance between a complete free-for-all where you have bozos interfering with legitimate interchange and communication, and a heavily moderated forum where dissenting viewpoints are censored. So far, I think we're doing pretty good... but there's always room for improvement, and suggestions and advice are always welcomed

 

Sounds pretty unlikely that 3 people would get the same 2 ip addresses and be interested in DL enough to sign up on the board. Even more unlikely if the ip addresses are switching back and forth.

 

" There can be no legitimate need for one individual to post under multiple aliases, having discussions with him/herself, ...."

Having discussions with him/herself?
Have you considered the possibilty of them beiung multiples and are unaware of eachothers existance? ;-)

 

Ah! What an intriguing possibility! It opens up all sorts of things... maybe Kristiaan DeLey is an alternate personality of Les Snell. Maybe Richard Pendleton (Earlscroft) and Rudy Marn (ASU) share the same physical body... and maybe Maxine Asher and Sheila Danzig are... oh, never mind.
MPD/DID,

 

DART12(AKA Fredmay)was caught on About.com using another handle - Jeff623.

I'm not sure why but even he agreed that the postings came from his computer, although he adamently denies being the person responsible.

I have read many great posts from this person but still struggle with knowing an alter ego existed.

I don't post often but read almost everything on About.com and now this NG. AED is useless since the arrival of Fartwatcher!

Regards to all, Wes

 

I, too, have chosen to use my name on this newsgroup. I have posted for some time on a.e.d. and about.com under the name Harvesthills.

Thanks Chip, and others, for the new forum.

Russell

 

This is regarding the fact that the IP addresses are dynamically assigned by ISPs. Please keep in mind that this type of assignment (DHCP-based) normally binds the address to computer for a relatively long time (say a day), and computer must be down for a while(again say, a day or a week) till the same address is re-assigned.

Of course the exact lease and release time depend on particular ISP. Still - if you have observed three postings, a minute apart, coming from the same IP address, I would claim (with a fairly high propability) that they all came from the same person.

Regards.

 

I won't go into all of the details (for security reasons) but I can definitely say that we identified two different posting locations, and each of the three posters had posted from both locations, (i.e., home and work), making it very unlikely that postings were done by separate people, unless the people were living and working in the same places, both had interest in DL, and both had the same posting anomalies in their command of English... very unlikely.

While I haven't personally been analyzing the logs in the last several days (several moderators and admins share responsibility...), it seems that our multiple personality friends disappeared as soon as their cover was blown.

 

Oh well, the more there are the beter it is, the more people/opinions that is not the more handles.

 

Mr Pig:

What is your motivation for not identifing yourself, with at least a real-sounding name?

Regards, Wes

 

He stutters like his dad and is self-conscious about it.

Rich

 

Hello,

I simply use the same name, Porky Pig Jr on Internet, as a matter of habit. It is the same on all Web-based groups as well as Usenet. It is just easier for me.

Once upon a time I've used my real name/e-mail address. I've ended up being spammed with zillion messages a day. When I've finally decided to use something else instead - well, a few days before that I went to see some cartoons, including 'What's opera, doc?' which got me mighty impressed'. A little Porky Pig wearing a huge Nibelung Helmet and singing "I'll kill the Wabbit" was on my mind when I choosing my nickname.

Unfortunately Porky_Pig was taken, so I've choosed the next best - Porky_Pig_Jr.

Now what the difference would it make if I identify myself as 'Bruce' or 'Bob' or 'Bill', or 'Rev. Jim Jones, D.D'? So I'm just a little Porky Pig, and I don't do any postings from other ids. Thanks for calling me Mr. Pig, but please feel free to call me just 'Porky Pig', or even 'Porky'. On some boards I've addressed as 'PPJ'.

However - if you do spend many sleepless nights wondering what my real name (and other relevant facts of my biography) might be, I can send you a private message with all the information, just tell me where to send it to.

Regards.