SmashWiki:Sockpuppets: Difference between revisions
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* Evading a block on one's primary account. This is by far the most common purpose of sockpuppeting, and often results in an infinite block for the puppet and a block extension for the primary account. | * Evading a block on one's primary account. This is by far the most common purpose of sockpuppeting, and often results in an infinite block for the puppet and a block extension for the primary account. | ||
* Voting for something multiple times, such as a new policy proposal, or a fight in the {{s|Forum|Smash Arena}}. | * Voting for something multiple times, such as a new policy proposal, a discussion about a piece of article content, or a fight in the {{s|Forum|Smash Arena}}. | ||
* Acting as a "foil" with the intention of making the primary account look better. For example, a user creates a sock and vandalizes an article. Later, the same user's main account reverts it and supplies a talk page warning. Repeated multiple times, this can inflate the perception of the user's main account and act as artificial clout in [[SW:RFR|requests for rollback]] and the like. | * Acting as a "foil" with the intention of making the primary account look better. For example, a user creates a sock and vandalizes an article. Later, the same user's main account reverts it and supplies a talk page warning. Repeated multiple times, this can inflate the perception of the user's main account and act as artificial clout in [[SW:RFR|requests for rollback]] and the like. | ||
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* Operating a [[SmashWiki:Bots|bot]]. Note that this is subject to its own rules. | * Operating a [[SmashWiki:Bots|bot]]. Note that this is subject to its own rules. | ||
* Forgotten password on original account. Generally, [[Special:PasswordReset]] is far more recommended, but if it is somehow not possible to have the new password e-mailed to you then this is a valid option. Note that this is a case where account merging may be applied. | * Forgotten password on original account. Generally, [[Special:PasswordReset]] is far more recommended, but if it is somehow not possible to have the new password e-mailed to you then this is a valid option. Note that this is a case where account merging may be applied. | ||
==Detecting sockpuppets== | |||
In many cases, sockpuppets are not too difficult to spot. The main way to detect a sockpuppet is simply noticing that two users are suspiciously alike. Maybe their usernames follow the same pattern, or they always post one after the other agreeing with each other, or they tend to edit the same articles. Wikipedia refers to this as [[wikipedia:WP:DUCK|duck testing]]. | |||
In incredibly obvious cases of sockpuppetry where the user is not attempting to conceal the link - the usernames are palindromes or anagrams, the behaviour is identical, or one outright admits it is a sock - then the term "meatpuppet" is typically used instead of "sockpuppet". | |||
Once a suspicion has been formed, users should report the possible sockpuppet and master on the administrator noticeboard. An admin can then use the CheckUser function to investigate the accounts' IP addresses, which is generally taken as the final word as to whether the accounts are related. | |||
