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> Ok so this is basically 10 people generating 11k messages per month. [...] they actively engage in conversations in their echo chamber and insult each other e
by toyg 3y ago
> Ok so this is basically 10 people generating 11k messages per month. [...] they actively engage in conversations in their echo chamber and insult each other even though those they insult are the only ones who pay attention to them. I mean, what's the point??
What if they were spies in the field, exchanging coded messages? Like posting classified ads in newspapers, it's one of those places nobody will look at.
Or, they could all be Putinistas talking to each other, justifying their job of spreading propaganda. "Hey boss, I posted 3k messages just this month! Worth a few more rubles, right?!"
Or they could be experiments, AIs talking to AIs. That's the most cyberpunk explanation, and Usenet being a '90s thing, it's hence the most likely.
- squarefoot 3y ago> What if they were spies in the field, exchanging coded messages? Like posting classified ads in newspapers, it's one of those places nobody will look at. I have wondered the same thing multiple times, having seen posts that either didn't resemble anything human generated, or were suspiciously crafted seemingly with steganography in mind. Spam itself could be used for that purpose; who would suspect that "6uy v1@gr@" from user XYZ read by an automated system that downloads groups regularly would actually trigger an action somewhere?
- seabass-labrax 3y agoIt could even apply to email - maybe some proportion of spam emails are just commands for botnets. Even if the email never gets past the spam filter on the user's inbox, it might trigger an action in the compromised MTA.