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Charmian (![[info]](http://www.journalfen.net/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} charmian) wrote,@ 2008-07-19 10:55:00 |
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Is it sockpuppetry?
Is it sockpuppetry if you have two separate identities in a social group and the linkage is secret? Assume that no trolling is being done, and neither identity is in itself a lie or a serious misrepresentation. Having two identities on the internet isn't a problem, but I think it starts being a problem when the two identities hang around the same spaces and the same groups.
The situation gets further complicated when we are dealing with privacy issues, when one identity is a person's legal identity, and the other identity is the "fan identity." I don't support outing fans who are not doing anything destructive or trollish; however, I think people do need to realize that there are potential social problems in this approach.
Essentially, stable identity is important in a community because of reputation. People IMHO generally feel that they should have the opportunity to judge people by their prior public acts in the community. That is why it is considered a negative thing to create an LJ account to get friended by people without explaining who you are in the group and revealing your other LJ account. People won't be offended, perhaps, by another main LJ account which doesn't interact in the general social group where the sock/secondary account is getting friends. I think the degree to which people are bothered by this depends on the degree to which the two accounts interact in the community. If one account never makes comments, never makes posts, people will feel less offended than if both accounts participate with gusto, because that increases the possibility that people will form ties with the sock. I wonder how one would deal with someone wanting to befriend the sock when the potential friend doesn't like the RL identity.
It strikes me as bad form, also, to comment on someone's post using two accounts without informing them of this fact. Not saying this has been done recently, but it's a situation which could potentially occur as a result of people participating in fandom simultaneously under their RL and fan identities.
Is it sockpuppetry if you have two separate identities in a social group and the linkage is secret? Assume that no trolling is being done, and neither identity is in itself a lie or a serious misrepresentation. Having two identities on the internet isn't a problem, but I think it starts being a problem when the two identities hang around the same spaces and the same groups.
The situation gets further complicated when we are dealing with privacy issues, when one identity is a person's legal identity, and the other identity is the "fan identity." I don't support outing fans who are not doing anything destructive or trollish; however, I think people do need to realize that there are potential social problems in this approach.
Essentially, stable identity is important in a community because of reputation. People IMHO generally feel that they should have the opportunity to judge people by their prior public acts in the community. That is why it is considered a negative thing to create an LJ account to get friended by people without explaining who you are in the group and revealing your other LJ account. People won't be offended, perhaps, by another main LJ account which doesn't interact in the general social group where the sock/secondary account is getting friends. I think the degree to which people are bothered by this depends on the degree to which the two accounts interact in the community. If one account never makes comments, never makes posts, people will feel less offended than if both accounts participate with gusto, because that increases the possibility that people will form ties with the sock. I wonder how one would deal with someone wanting to befriend the sock when the potential friend doesn't like the RL identity.
It strikes me as bad form, also, to comment on someone's post using two accounts without informing them of this fact. Not saying this has been done recently, but it's a situation which could potentially occur as a result of people participating in fandom simultaneously under their RL and fan identities.
