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LadyPact -> RE: What is sock? (9/24/2016 2:39:57 PM)
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Just for fun, there's a difference between a troll and a sock.
What most people (in my opinion) refer to as an internet troll is somebody that tends to use inflammatory statements to rile other posters up. However, they tend to do so from their own screen name and often have semi-logical reasons for their positions. One thing I have to give credit for when it comes to those that some would put in the 'troll' category. They are smart. They stand by their opinions. They also tend to have some semblance of backing up their own side of debate.
Socks have something of the opposite stance. These are the folks who create profile after profile trying to make it *seem* that there is agreement with a certain position because they are attempting to bolster their own defense. Usually because their position on <insert whatever topic X here> is so completely worthless that the only way to make it *look* like someone agrees with it is to create a new screen name to use on the same thread to say, "yeah, bro, I agree with you".
(I actually used to love it when the former administration used to call people out on this during threads, saying 'only one screen name belonging to an individual was permitted'. They didn't get all of the socks, but it was great when they let people know somebody was just trying to be a d*ck.)
The other use for sock puppets has become more frequent in the last few years and that is an individual creating additional screen names for the purpose of stalking, harassing, or threatening people (at minimum) online. Basically, these are (again) cowardly folks who hide behind a computer screen, but some of them can actually be dangerous. They aren't the most balanced of individuals from a mental health perspective, and we have some of them on this site.
Ever heard the old country expression "no matter how hard you try, you can't make chicken salad out of chicken sh^t"? More often than not, those are your sock puppet people.
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