Having multiple sock puppets can be a dishonest way to give the impression that certain views are held by more members than in reality. This isn’t really a problem for novelty sockpuppets (Clippy and Quirrel), since those clearly indicate their status.
What’s also iffy in this case is the possibility of AK lying about who she claims to be, and wasting everybody’s time (which is likely to go hand-in-hand with AK being a sockpuppet of someone else).
If you are posting as AK and are actually female and Christian but would rather that fact not be known about your more famous “TheOtherDave” identity, then I don’t have any objection (as long as you don’t double vote, or show up twice in the same thread to support the same position, etc.).
I can see where double-voting is a problem, both for official votes (e.g., karma-counts) and unofficial ones (e.g., discussions on controversial issues).
I can also see where people lying about their actual demographics, experiences, etc. can be problematic, though of course that’s not limited to sockpuppetry. That is, I might actually be female and Christian, or seventeen and Muslim, or Canadian and Theosophist, or what-have-you, and still only have one account.
Hmm. I am generally a strong supporter of anonymity and pseudonymity. I think we just have to accept that multiple internet folks may come from the same meatspace body. You are right that sockpuppets made for rhetorical purposes are morally questionable, but that’s mostly because rhetoric itself is morally questionable.
My preferred approach is to pretend that names, numbers, and reputations don’t matter. Judge only the work, and not the name attached to it or how many comments claim to like it. Of course this is difficult, like the rest of rationality; we do tend to fail on these by default, but that part is our own problem.
Sockpuppetry and astroturfing is pretty clearly a problem, and being rational is not a complete defense. I’m going to have to think about this problem more, and maybe make a post.
Having multiple sock puppets can be a dishonest way to give the impression that certain views are held by more members than in reality. This isn’t really a problem for novelty sockpuppets (Clippy and Quirrel), since those clearly indicate their status.
What’s also iffy in this case is the possibility of AK lying about who she claims to be, and wasting everybody’s time (which is likely to go hand-in-hand with AK being a sockpuppet of someone else).
If you are posting as AK and are actually female and Christian but would rather that fact not be known about your more famous “TheOtherDave” identity, then I don’t have any objection (as long as you don’t double vote, or show up twice in the same thread to support the same position, etc.).
OK, thanks for clarifying.
I can see where double-voting is a problem, both for official votes (e.g., karma-counts) and unofficial ones (e.g., discussions on controversial issues).
I can also see where people lying about their actual demographics, experiences, etc. can be problematic, though of course that’s not limited to sockpuppetry. That is, I might actually be female and Christian, or seventeen and Muslim, or Canadian and Theosophist, or what-have-you, and still only have one account.
Hmm. I am generally a strong supporter of anonymity and pseudonymity. I think we just have to accept that multiple internet folks may come from the same meatspace body. You are right that sockpuppets made for rhetorical purposes are morally questionable, but that’s mostly because rhetoric itself is morally questionable.
My preferred approach is to pretend that names, numbers, and reputations don’t matter. Judge only the work, and not the name attached to it or how many comments claim to like it. Of course this is difficult, like the rest of rationality; we do tend to fail on these by default, but that part is our own problem.
Sockpuppetry and astroturfing is pretty clearly a problem, and being rational is not a complete defense. I’m going to have to think about this problem more, and maybe make a post.