AMA: I was a paid Internet troll.

Op, you claim you used scripts and you think you see some posts that resemble those scripts here. Tell us, what are the tell tail factors that the scripts have in common that lead you to believe the posts you see are scripts?

Give details. We want to be able to tell a real post from a script ourselves. You claim you can recognize them and did this work for 5 years so I assume you can give a pretty good description.

reply to post by skull_bones


There are probly enough horribly paid trolls that they can't really prosecute each one who violates an NDA. Everyone knows that NDAs are all talk. "You better not tell your wife about this crap when you go home!" what a joke.

Originally posted by CCLLCCLL
reply to post by skull_bones

 

There are probly enough horribly paid trolls that they can't really prosecute each one who violates an NDA. Everyone knows that NDAs are all talk. "You better not tell your wife about this crap when you go home!" what a joke.

Most NDA's are taken very seriously, otherwise there would be no need for an NDA.

I have signed maybe a half dozen NDA's in my lifetime and all had severe repercussions if they were violated along with a financial penalty.

Also, He didn't just tell his wife. He just anounced to the world that he was a "Paid Troll" on one of the very sites he claims he was paid to troll. If thats not a serious violation Im not sure what would be.

i personally do not think this guy was a troll. you haven't provided any script lines or guide lines you were "assigned". I see this as a attention grabbing topic, but no topic to be seen.

You posting this is like someone claiming to build a spaceship out of tampons and bottle rockets, no proof, no cigar.

No offense to you or anything thats just how i feel.

Why did you chose "halfsorry" nickname back in 2006? You were sorry already or did you get a glimpse of the future ? I think it's a faux pas...a movie mistake.

I thought somebody who is paid to post an agenda, is a "disinfo agent" so to speak. I thought trolls were somebody who just posts inflammatory things to get an emotional response.

reply to post by halfsorry

Greetings supposedly former disinfo agent and troll.

So tell us how was life under the bridge? Nah just joking I really don't care about the life of the trolls under the bridges.

Well since you say that you have left your disinfo and trolling ways behind I personally welcome you to the good side. Though a word of warning the good side's pay sucks, I mean compared to the dark side you get paid peanuts.

No I mean you actually get paid in real peanuts. So now since you left your evil ways and have come over to the light. Do you prefer to be paid in cashews, walnuts or just regular plain ol peanuts? Nah just joking we do this for free, because were bored.

Though it would be nice to get me some free peanuts once in a while.

i had signed heaps of NDA's, i still wrote an intro thread (that got no response lol) thing is, as long as you dont drop a name, that can only lead back to you like a previous manager or something, you should be fine.
how's the saying go? "Never let an NDA get in the way of a good story"

reply to post by halfsorry


Well , at Least you Respected this Site enough to Refrain from the " Party " Line here , Thanks......

Originally posted by Gwampo
dude, I have another theory, what if the gov is paying people to purposely deny or debunk or disprove aliens/ufo sightings on all of these forums to keep a skeptical image on it all?

Based on what I've read here, I wouldn't say that is "another" theory.

Wouldn't it be more effective to post the crazy stuff? I think the whole UFO survey showed some people thought hoaxes were effective in making the whole UFO movement look bad. Debunking and disproving things with facts is not so much about "keep[ing] a skeptical image" as actually having "real skepticism."

As to the OP...who is who on the internet and how do we know one is who one says one is?

Or, for a more conspiratorial angle: How do we know this isn't some sort of game now? (sinister laugh)

reply to post by halfsorry


That must have been hell!

reply to post by Screwed


who says you aren't an agent trying to get enough info to find out who he is, and take him out.

The OP isnt even replying anymore.

Probably because hes noticed we are onto the person and arent swallowing the garabe thats being spat out at us.

Why is it that threads like this get left to continue,whilst actual decent threads get shut down.

Im starting to think ATS and the mods itself are bias and incompetent.

Theres less real members here on ATS than anything else.

For the slogan or motto that ATS uses,which is "deny ignorance",theres less denying of ignorance here than other information sites.

ATS,either flush out the garbage you allow to continue on this site,or watch it fall.

SO what do we look out for?
2nd

reply to post by SonicInfinity


Do you think the Op is questionable or do you disbelieve the premise that people are paid to Troll on message boards?

Yes, the OP could be making it up; but, there is no doubt , there are many paid trolls who try to influence or divert opinion on certain subjects.

Personally i think this is ridiculous since the Internet is so filled with noise that a few more or less "voices" regardless of what opinion wont really matter.

BUT - yes, there is something called "reputation management" which is in fact a real job, which pretty much matches the OPs description.

This is used by companies/groups/whatever eg. to counter (and ultimately eliminate) a negative image....yes, mainly on big social sites.

A good example would be a person/company who got into "ripoffreport.com" or similar..where a google search would come up with PLENTY of very negative information about the person/group because of the authority of the social site. (Eg. ripoffreport.com) The job of that "reputation management" agent would be to counter those social opinions....and another part of the job would be to actively "wipe" the negative reports associated with a person/company from Google results.

So..yes..this EXISTS..which in turn makes the OPs story plausible and possible true.

It is therefore legit to assume that political groups or whatever organizations would hire such people since the "power of the internet" is indeed real, to a certain extent.

I dont think the government will pay someone to troll when a already working member can be told to do it for free.

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