h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have an ACE-type question for anyone out there. Can you tell whether a "new" researcher is genuinely new or a reincarnation or clone of an previous one? Some people seem to have duplicate identities either deliberately or accidentally (eg losing it).

Speaking as the proud owner of some 9 different accounts, the simple answer is no.

The only way to come to an opinion as to whether an account is from a known researcher is by looking at their behaviour. If they have an instant grasp of the navigation and GuideML for example then you may well have a previous researcher on your hands. Another technique could be to look at the language and typing styles in their postings, it is surprising how much we all differ given that all you've got to go on is the text in front of you!

The italics have further techniques. For example they can access the database of e-mail addresses used to register the account. And if push comes to shove, they, or rather Jim, can trace the IP address of postings made to h2g2. This has been used on a few occasions in the past when dealing with banned researchers.

Hope that answers your question

Thanks GreyDesk. I suspected the "no". I thought of some of the same options but I don't see them as totally reliable techniques.

For example, I had a fairly instant grasp of the navigation (from first principles and lurking - although I did encounter a site "bug" straight off!). I'm definitely quite proficient at GuideML because I have done HTML before and can read manuals (including knowing the point of reading them!). I think different language styles and typing could be faked easily enough but it would be hard to stay consistent and remember one's current logon's role (I've caught a few frauds out elsewhere). The email address thing definitely doesn't work if you own a domain name (especially if you are prepared to buy more really cheap ones) and IP addresses are random via remote ISP providers.

The thing which made me ask this question was the hostile reaction of another researcher to an apparent newbie. It was as if they'd argued before elsewhere. Of course this could be in real life or another virtual environment rather than on h2g2!

In the end, I suppose you ACEs just have to go ahead and welcome everyone with open smileys...

And then there are the obvious names (I mean, isn't it obvious who Not Ottox is? Or Anti Pod, for that matter...) Or weird people, like me, who start up accounts like U211555

I suppose some people are open (or at least not very cryptic!) about their multiple personae - though it does "waste" U numbers. I sort of understand your reason for starting a new identity, Amy. Although you could have just kept journal entries (a separate article "wastes" even more A numbers). But why does GreyDesk need 9 of them!

PS your number 211555 fits the parameters of a game I started on "Ask the h2g2 Community" and rapidly mutated once "The Guy With The Brown Hat" turned up. Unfortunately the matching A number for that U number is not very auspicious - the Guide Entry having broken the house rules in some way.

Obvious???

Some people do it because they want to have an account unconnected with their 'real' identity, so they don't have to worry about impressions and stuff. Some, of course, forget their userIDs and such. And then there was the number-bagging of a while back...

My account history?

-Well there is me the original ie this account - * waves hello *
-Then came two accounts soon after when I accidentally deleted the cookie for h2g2 and couldn't remember my password to get back in again.
-There are two set up specifically for lurking - very important in these days of those bloody "who is on line" eyes! I need a second one as the first one got found out.
-One I set for Guru activities, but lost the password and have never used it.
-A joint account set up with LHG to manage the Lighthouse Bar Champagne Quiz.
-One that came out of a race to bag "Cool Numbers"
-And a final one set up as a base to create private threads for discussions that I and others didn't want to make public.

The italics would probably be the prime candidates for having a non-real identity - whether employee turned researcher or the other way round!

Hmm - number-bagging. I wasn't around here then but I assume it was a roll-over moment in the U numbers. In which case, presumably the same thing will happen again shortly with the A numbers.

Cool Numbers - U190000

One can lurk without being logged in. Logging in with a new identity doesn't exactly achieve the stated purpose of avoiding the "Who's Online" eyes. Obviously your original postings wouldn't show you but any you made with your new identity would. You would also still attract attention in via the Who's Online box (not to mention being ACEd).

The accidents and necessity for a shared login identity make sense. However, I don't see how any threads you create on h2g2 can really be kept private - anonymous, maybe!

You make a 'private' thread by activating a new account and the only thing you do with it is create a journal. Then once you and others have subscribed to that journal, you go back into the new account and delete the journal entry. The result is a thread not attached to page. The account that you've created just looks completely blank and untouched just like the vast majority of accounts around here.

Extra 'privacy' can be built in by doing other things with the thread. The only time you might get discovered is in the minutes after posting whilst the thread is mentioned on the <./>info</.> page as being recently posted to.

And to keep it more secret you should only subscribe to it from a duplicate account specially created for this, or someone might see it in your conversations list

Ah-ha! The trick here is to include a code word, such as a mispelt trade name, in one of the postings and use that word in the conversations search box to find the thread. Then you can unsubscibe from the thread after each time you post something, so it won't show up on your most recent postings list

It seems a lot of work to use a completely open site like this to create a hidden conversation
Why don't you start a closed Yahoo-group with only one or two members?

from her main account

Because I can't always access Yahoo, but I can always access here. Anyway, the situation is passed and the thread is somewhat redundant know. All I was stating was that it could be done if one so chose.

Who cares anyhow.

Have a great 2003, I am off for this year.

And it's fun finding out what you can do!

¦M¦

"waiting patiently for _that_ A number...

there seem to be some good reasons here for why some researchers had to open other accounts... i share one with manda for the "Friends of LeisureDistrict" space [U201567] and people know who we are so no secrets there...


"wasted" U numbers would apply on a more considerable scale when it comes to accounts open by the many researchers XXXXXXXX who only seem to pop in to have a go in one thread and then desappear all together...
not only a "waste" of U numbers but also a waste of the ACEs' time who try to get in touch with them to advise them on how to activate their account...

if i compare with the site i used to contribute too until not so long ago, the situation on here is not too bad... on the other site a lot of new identities were created for sheer vindictive activities... either for sending abusive messages through private messaging [one put me on their "pals" list so that everytime i accessed the facility i had to see their name which was "cleverly" made-up as an openly racist slogan...], making up numbers in some discussions [usually where the far-right supporters were losing an arguement] or to settle old scores...
the latter used to be frustrating as even so we knew the "new username" was an old opponent it was very difficult to pinpoint who exactly...

but yes, we knew when they were fakes... they would refer to events that they would not know if they were really new users or/and after a while they would refer to something they said during a debate [which they haven't said under that new name...]...

the easiest to spot were the ones coming in a debate with their username conveniently related to the subject... some more original than others but still easy to spot...

TAX-PAYER and HARD-WORKER would appear during a discussion on unemployment...
NO-VOTES quickly appeared after i said my piece about le pen and the fact that the voters in france came back to their senses by voting en masse against him at the presidential elections...
NOSTRADAMAS jumped in during a debate when i helped a user against others who were mocking her for her beliefs...

the list is endless...


at least on here there is no sinister agenda when a researcher opens another account...





happy new year

loup