What's sock puppeting please?

Never heard of it - another of these new fangled nasty ideas like gaslighting. Maybe someone should start an ‘ invent new phrases’ thread? Pastying- as in being nasty as in nasty pasty.

Glorianny

OMG on GN as well!! In a way I admire them, it's all I can do to keep up with my own posts, having multiple identities would completely confuse me!

I don't think you wold get away with it, Glorianny. Your posting style is too recognisable

OMG on GN as well!! In a way I admire them, it's all I can do to keep up with my own posts, having multiple identities would completely confuse me!

It often happens on discussion boards. Sometimes people get caught when they forget who they are pretending to be and post under the wrong account.

It's sometimes easy to spot - eg when a group of 'newbies' all start saying the same thing (often picking on one poster or a group of them), and have an obvious knowledge of the board and its members. They often start posts claiming to be a 'long-time lurker', and there are other giveaways. There are certain linguistic 'tic's that can give people away, too.

It can be banned members, but some people just enjoy it, or post in defence of a friend who they think is having a hard time. It gets worse in the school holidays, too.

I had to look it up. Yes, someone with more than one account. I saw one instance of a very recognisable poster using a different name on the thread which has been deleted. Obviously I won’t mention either name. I can only see the point in someone doing this if they’ve been banned and are trying to get back in.

www.techopedia.com/definition/29043/sockpuppet

Ooo - that’s sneaky fancy

I dont know ins and outs, but it is when the same poster uses multiple accounts with different names? And on the same thread?
So they are in effect backing themselves?
Something like that.

Presumably that also includes their words.

Apparently a sock puppet is someone whose actions are controlled by others.