Duplicate Accounts

[poppyfields]

I  know on other forums, more than one active account is not allowed, which makes sense.

But I have noticed, more so recently, that regular posters are opening accounts under different usernames and posting, to remain anonymous.  

I have NO interest in opening a duplicate account, I was just wondering what the LS policy was about this.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by poppyfields

[Acacia98]

I seem to remember reading somewhere (I think some thread in which people were discussing moderation) that it was acceptable to open more than one account.

[poppyfields]

3 minutes ago, Acacia98 said:

I seem to remember reading somewhere (I think some thread in which people were discussing moderation) that it was acceptable to open more than one account.

Okay, that is interesting, thank you.   I do know of one other forum where posters are allowed more than one active account, or they can post as a "guest" when they already have an active account.  For anonymity purposes.

Makes sense.

Thanks again Acacia! 

[Angelle]

As far as I know, it isn't allowed, unless someone has specifically asked the moderators if they can, to post something anonymously (if they're a regular). I'm not even sure if that's allowed here, or if I got that from a reddit site. 

[Emilie Jolie]

1 hour ago, poppyfields said:

I  know on other forums, more than one active account is not allowed, which makes sense.

But I have noticed, more so recently, that regular posters are opening accounts under different usernames and posting, to remain anonymous.  

I have NO interest in opening a duplicate account, I was just wondering what the LS policy was about this.

 

 

Hi poppyfields,

Here is a link to a post from Paul explaining the policy on duplicate accounts. I remember because it was on a thread I opened myself a few months ago:

 

[sothereiwas]

2 hours ago, poppyfields said:

But I have noticed, more so recently, that regular posters are opening accounts under different usernames and posting, to remain anonymous. 

So that raises the question, if they're anonymous ... how do you know this?

[poppyfields]

53 minutes ago, sothereiwas said:

So that raises the question, if they're anonymous ... how do you know this?

Just a sense, familiar posting style mostly.  Others would notice too and would mention right on the thread. 

In a couple of cases, it's been fairly obvious.  Not just to me.

It's not a huge deal, I can understand why a regular would want anonymity..

I was just wondering about the policy that's all.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by poppyfields

[basil67]

Yes.  Syntax, attitude, advice style.  Of in the case of those asking for help, it's a sense of deja vu when they give a lot of detail.   With posters who've been banned, its sometimes very obvious if they pop up in a new form.  

[6ix]

6 hours ago, poppyfields said:

I  know on other forums, more than one active account is not allowed, which makes sense.

But I have noticed, more so recently, that regular posters are opening accounts under different usernames and posting, to remain anonymous.  

I have NO interest in opening a duplicate account, I was just wondering what the LS policy was about this.

 

 

Established members are allowed duplicate accounts with the following exception, from our Community Guidelines:

“Participants which have had their access to the site revoked are expected to cease use of the site until access is restored. Persons who attempt to circumvent revocation shall be permanently banned from the site.”

[sothereiwas]

6 hours ago, poppyfields said:

Just a sense, familiar posting style mostly.

Maybe, but I've been accused of both having multiple accounts and being someone else's sockpuppet. So such heuristics are far from 100% accurate. 

[Wiseman2]

12 hours ago, basil67 said:

 Of in the case of those asking for help, it's a sense of deja vu when they give a lot of detail.   

Yes. It doesn't seem to be about anonymity as much as posting multiple variations of stories to get the response hoped for.

It's confusing at best.

[introverted1]

There used to be a prohibition about having multiple accounts. I suppose there are good reasons for allowing it now, but it seems that mostly what you see is someone posting the same basic story over and over, under different names, presumably in hope of receiving different advice than on the last 10 threads about the issue. It mostly feels like a waste of time and I avoid those threads.

[Paul]

Hi all,

Above all, we want individuals to have the tools necessary to protect their anonymity, and we talk about ways to do that in our guide to Staying Safe on LoveShack.org. Sometimes, individuals may want to create a new account, and the reasons for doing so vary.

What we don't think is okay is when the same person posts as different personas at the same time, or takes on different identities to promote an idea or gain attention in some form. We also don't think it's okay if someone creates a new account every time they post, yet share the same, specific details in each post that make them all clearly the same person. If your intention is to create a new account to help protect your identity, then you're probably okay. If your intention is to deceive others, then you're probably running afoul of what we would consider appropriate. If you are actively posting with multiple accounts at the same time, it's increasingly likely your intentions are not okay.

For those of us seeing what seem to be the same people with multiple accounts, we also do not think it's okay to publicly question a poster if they are the same person as some other account--if you have concerns, please flag the posts and we'll look into it privately. We assume that people are acting in good faith until they have demonstrated otherwise, and ask that you do so as well by not calling the identity of individuals into question in a post.

We are working on a new feature that will allow you to selectively post without divulging your display name to the rest of the community, and we hope that this will address many of the reasons people seek to create multiple accounts. It's possible that we'll revisit our thoughts on this then, and share with you any changes in what we would consider appropriate. In the interim, we ask that you please consider your intention.

Best,
Paul

[Happy Lemming]

Well I have been known to "talk to myself"... is it that far a stretch to "post" to yourself.

Imagine the possibilities (if you had two active accounts)... late at night - you're are the only one on the forum.  You could keep yourself company.  I guess you could even argue with yourself. 

The possibilities are endless...  (LOL)!!

[poppyfields]

5 hours ago, Happy Lemming said:

Well I have been known to "talk to myself"... is it that far a stretch to "post" to yourself.

Imagine the possibilities (if you had two active accounts)... late at night - you're are the only one on the forum.  You could keep yourself company.  I guess you could even argue with yourself. 

The possibilities are endless...  (LOL)!!

I have seen that on other forums!  One poster with two usernames (one username is the original poster, the other a responding poster) on the same thread responding to themselves!  If the thread goes long enough, they slip up and use the wrong username, after which it becomes evident they're the same person responding to themselves.

Yes it IS confusing!  Kinda funny too.

I like Paul's idea of not calling it out on the thread and instead flag it for the mods to deal with.  

Thanks for the post Paul!

[sothereiwas]

16 hours ago, poppyfields said:

Kinda funny too.

When I see that I always assumed it was some sort of art project. Sometimes it's just a couple sharing an account though, and the user name never changes. 

Edited January 7, 2021 by sothereiwas

[poppyfields]

1 hour ago, sothereiwas said:

When I see that I always assumed it was some sort of art project. Sometimes it's just a couple sharing an account though, and the user name never changes. 

In the cases I referred to, they were called out (not in a mean way, posters were just confused) and they eventually admitted they were the same person. 

A big OOPS. 😂

[FMW]

I don't get wanting more than one account, but then I don't get blocking/ignoring users when you don't like what they say.  

I guess I'm showing my age, I'm pretty straight forward with things.  I keep coming back here because I find it interesting to see how different views can be on things, plus I can appreciate having my own views challenged.  Once you've read a certain amount of posts from the same people you get a picture of who they are and how their thought processes work as a whole, not just bits and pieces.  The context makes their issues or their advice to others easier to understand.  

But, right there is an example of having different views (and motivations) 🙂