Sock-puppetry: The Lost Art
Sock-puppetry, or the practice of a single user posting under different aliases, burst onto the internet scene sometime in the 1990's. Nowadays it is commonplace, but in those early days there were true pioneers, men who defined the practice and inspired.
Businesses posting good reviews of themselves. Poll skewing. Glowing shows of admiration for one's own opinion. These things abound. You encounter them daily whether you realize it or not. But the puppetry I am referring to is different. It is an art. It is a game that gentlemen play.
The true sock-puppetry artist has no interest in monetary gains, or elevating opinions of himself, or garnering attention. Indeed, he eschews all of these things. He seeks only to play the game, and to play it well. His goal is to interact, manipulate, and then slip out without his underlying true presence ever being noticed. This can be malicious, or benevolent, or both.
I dabbled in sock-puppetry for a while. I certainly wasn't one of the greats, but I did have my moments. My last performance, which took place in the Rapture Ready forums over a decade ago, was the highlight of my career. Unfortunately, I wound up very nearly triggering WW III; for a few tense moments, the world teetered on the brink of total annihilation. After that, I swore...never again.
Puppeteering is not easy, at least not when done on the level I am referring to. Creating and maintaining different personas is draining work. Backgrounds must be invented, personality quirks must be developed. There are countless emails, PM's, or comment responses to make. All must be handled with the utmost care, each with the proper persona. One slip, and the gig is up.
And there is also the ever present danger that you will lose your real identity to the game. I remember one notable instance early in my career where I tried to do too much too soon. There were 10 different personas I was controlling in a discussion group, and things were going well. But there was one guy who just couldn't be toyed with. I jeered at him with some of my personalities while staunchly defending and encouraging him with others. Nothing. Needless to say, I was chagrined when I found out that this fellow was also a persona I was controlling, but had completely forgotten about. Even worse, I realized I was the only one who had even posted to the group in 22 days.
After that, I learned to keep things much simpler. I adopted more elegant, sophisticated approaches. I learned to distract with a brash, obnoxious, ignorant acting persona so that a quieter one could work unnoticed. People would become so consumed with anger for the distraction that they would lose focus. Emotional people are stupid, careless people. They are easily led about.
I learned to spend time building up two equally noble personas. Each would attempt to attract their own small following. I would introduce subtle tensions into the forum, and when the moment was right, a third, completely new persona would wander in with a seemingly benign post. My two noble generals would respond with differing opinions, and their followers would begin to chime in. And there, on the plain of Megiddo, for my pleasure the two armies I had raised would fight. Who won, who lost...it mattered not to me.
At times, I helped build communities. Other times, I laid waste to them. But it was never about better, or worse; it was only about change. It was only about the game.
Had I been born in a different time and place, I might have been an Alexander the Great; I might have been a Hitler; I might have been a Stalin; I might have been a Gandhi. But instead...I have been all of these. I have been a puppeteer.
The risks associated with sock-puppetry are simply too great for me these days. It can lead to real world consequences. There are legal implications to consider. And it is a young mans game, there is no doubt about that. But while I may have given it up long ago, it is still something I view as an art form (when done properly).
