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does anyone really believe anything pseudoanonymously contributed on the web anymore? I don't. For all you know, the person you are "debating" on disqus is a bo

by anewaccount2021 6y ago

does anyone really believe anything pseudoanonymously contributed on the web anymore? I don't. For all you know, the person you are "debating" on disqus is a bot. Or a sockpuppet. Or someone real who is only taking a contrary position to alleviate boredom. Now to go to Yelp and review some restaurants I've never been to...maybe after that, go to reddit and tell people my parents died of covid so I can be angry for karma

skinkestek 6y ago
I have two other accounts here. Why? Because otherwise I couldn't speak honestly about certain events: I'd either make myself unemployable or make a mess for innocent people. I.e. because of my unnamed accounts you get to hear more facts. I also take as much care to be correct on my unnamed accounts such as this one as on the other ones, and I take care not to upvote my own comments. I sometimes have started a discussion with one account and replied downthread in another (not sure if this account or my previous unnamed one) but I try to limit this. PS: no, haven't breached NDA.
username90 6y ago
If the bots has reasonable and well formed arguments does it matter? And if they don't why would you care whether there are real people behind them, would you listen to them if there was? https://xkcd.com/810/ https://xkcd.com/810/
- giantg2 6y ago
  Along these same lines, debate isn't about winning against someone else. It should be an exploration of facts and logic to seek "truth" or common ground. Even debating against a bot can be beneficial to better understanding or questioning both sides of the argument.
  - Mary-Jane 6y ago
    Exactly! We play games against bots all the time to improve our own skills; why wouldn't the same tactic work to improve our own knowledge?
war1025 6y ago
Sadly enough, I'm more likely to believe basically anything posted to the web over a story run by any of the major media outlets.
AndrewBissell 6y ago
I find the things in my highly curated Twitter feed of almost exclusively anonymous accounts far more trustworthy than anything from the verified bluechecks on there.

skinkestek 6y ago

I have two other accounts here. Why? Because otherwise I couldn't speak honestly about certain events: I'd either make myself unemployable or make a mess for innocent people. I.e. because of my unnamed accounts you get to hear more facts. I also take as much care to be correct on my unnamed accounts such as this one as on the other ones, and I take care not to upvote my own comments. I sometimes have started a discussion with one account and replied downthread in another (not sure if this account or my previous unnamed one) but I try to limit this. PS: no, haven't breached NDA.

username90 6y ago

If the bots has reasonable and well formed arguments does it matter? And if they don't why would you care whether there are real people behind them, would you listen to them if there was? https://xkcd.com/810/ https://xkcd.com/810/

giantg2 6y ago
Along these same lines, debate isn't about winning against someone else. It should be an exploration of facts and logic to seek "truth" or common ground. Even debating against a bot can be beneficial to better understanding or questioning both sides of the argument.
- Mary-Jane 6y ago
  Exactly! We play games against bots all the time to improve our own skills; why wouldn't the same tactic work to improve our own knowledge?

war1025 6y ago

Sadly enough, I'm more likely to believe basically anything posted to the web over a story run by any of the major media outlets.

AndrewBissell 6y ago

I find the things in my highly curated Twitter feed of almost exclusively anonymous accounts far more trustworthy than anything from the verified bluechecks on there.