wedrifid comments on [LINK] Nick Szabo: Beware Pascal's Scams - Less Wrong

7 Post author: David_Gerard 17 July 2012 07:18AM

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Comment author: gwern 24 July 2012 04:37:22PM 2 points [-]

I hope you don't mind if I don't reply to you any further until it's clear whether you're a Dmytry sockpuppet.

Comment author: wedrifid 25 July 2012 01:48:36AM 1 point [-]

I hope you don't mind if I don't reply to you any further until it's clear whether you're a Dmytry sockpuppet.

If an account isn't actualy Dmytry but instead just someone who thinks the same way that Dmytry does there seems we can just treat them the same way anyhow. After all, ten people who act like Dmytry seems just as bad as Dmytry with ten accounts.

Comment author: gwern 25 July 2012 02:48:09AM 0 points [-]

They could just think the same way and be borrowing vocabulary and ideas without actually being as bad as him.

Comment author: wedrifid 25 July 2012 03:22:44AM *  1 point [-]

So the choice then would be whether to give the potential sockpuppet the benefit of the doubt and allow treatment of them to asymptotically approach the treatment of known Dmytry accounts to the extent that and for as long as they make Dmytry-like posts and for as long as it looks like the comments could be anomalies. ie. There is the expectation of either a regression to the mean or that an actual new user will be capable of learning from feedback.

If it is assumed that the accounts are sockpuppets then they immediately get treated without the benefit of doubt and with the additional loading penalty given to sockpuppets for being sockpuppets.

Comment author: CarlShulman 25 July 2012 03:43:30AM 0 points [-]

And also similar issues with English as a second language. I agree it's Dmytry, but not a sockpuppet. He didn't go to great lengths to hide that he was private_messaging. The new JaneQ account posted some posts (as opposed to comments), thanks to its positive karma balance. I figure that Dmytry wanted to make a post, so created a new account without huge negative karma (and thus be able to post). I.e. I think he's just trying to circumvent the karma system, not deceive people.

Comment author: wedrifid 25 July 2012 12:13:17PM 9 points [-]

I think he's just trying to circumvent the karma system

"Just".

People are welcome to abandon an account when they realize they have irrevocably destroyed their reputation and wish to start again and try not being an asshat. They are not welcome to use multiple accounts to subvert the karma system.

I agree it's Dmytry, but not a sockpuppet.

Please review the context. You will notice that gwern is arguing with two 'people' in this discussion. Both of them, by your own prediction, are Dmytry. Using multiple accounts to support each other in a single argument is exactly what 'sockpuppetry' is all about. To put it mildly: I don't like it.