If a poster using a familar screen name starts writing in an entirely different style

[saracat]

is that an indication that they are a "sock puppet" ? Do posters sometimes "switch off" ?

[Deja Q]

1. Are they switch hitters?

[whatchamacallit]

38. Love that screen cap

:thumbsup:

[saltpoint]

2. Not in my experience. Now I have seen some posters change their

minds on George Clooney, but hey, the guy's a great liberal, and his uncle was a class act as a newscaster.

So I give those folks a break.

[Lucinda]

3. Why you picking on sockpuppets?

:P
Could just indicate they moved from senible posts to bashing or vice versa. Sometimes I'm much more balanced than other times. :D

[zanne]

4. I've often wondered about things like that...

Could somebody get ahold of a DU'ers info and use it to post derogatory or freeper comments?

[TomInTib]

5. It actually happened to me.

Crazy ex-girlfriend posted here under my username.

Caused me all kings of grief.

Damn, I am glad she's gone.

But then so is my house and car and bank account.

[tekisui]

How can we be sure this isn't her?

:P

[TomInTib]

25. Because if it was her...

She would be saying bad things about the local police, firearms and drugs.

Ugh...

[DesertFlower]

15. geez. that sucks. nt

[saltpoint]

29. But not your charisma.

You rock, Tom.

[TomInTib]

31. Why, thank you, O C.

I've been running across some of your posts, recently.

Seems as tho your cutting edge humor has taken a few steps forward.

I have this hilarious thing I recorded in the studio a few nights back. I should send it to you. Maybe you could PM me with an email address.

Tom

[tekisui]

6. There was one, who has since been TS'd

that had very distinct different styles. Night and Day. I often suspected they worked shifts. They would rarely carry over thoughts or conversations from other threads.

[avrdream]

9. Shit, that would suck.

I am not here often enough to tell the difference sometimes but I have certainly seen opinions change over long months.

[saracat]

18. Opinions change, especially in primaries. it is the writing style changes that I wonder about.

You get used to a certain person's phrasing and when all of a sudden it is markedly different, you wonder. It is like someone switching to a different dialect.

[saltpoint]

23. Or it could be in the way you are listening.

Hearing around corners is a case in point.

[tekisui]

26. I've seen changes in writing style,

Use of links, capitalization(or lack there-of) and paragraphs. I noticed one in particular because they were a real pain in the ass. Then all of the sudden, it was a different person for a few posts, and then back.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

33. Can I buy a vowel?

:)

[tekisui]

36. You got it.

:thumbsup:

[Liberal Veteran]

7. Forsooth! Thou hast proffered a most irksome question.

[GreenPartyVoter]

10. Heheheh

[Liberal Veteran]

13. Verily, I see not what thou dost find humorous about mine post!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

34. ¦P®É¬d¦UºØºô¤W¦r¨å

¦P®É¬d¦UºØºô¤W¦r¨å¦P®É¬d¦UºØºô¤W¦r¨å¦P®É¬d¦UºØºô¤W¦r¨å¦P®É¬d¦UºØºô¤W¦r¨å

[woolldog]

35. lol

:rofl:

[frogcycle]

8. or maybe they have multiple personalities?

or just mood swings.

I can be :) or :think: or x( or :evilgrin: or :mad:

but if you ever see a :bounce: in my post, you know it ain't me

[tekisui]

11. Where's frogcycle?

I just saw a :bounce: in their post.

[frogcycle]

37. I knew that was coming!

[Double T]

12. Around HERE it is COMMON for CERTAIN screen names...........

to be posting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These screen names have either cloned THEMSELVES or these individuals must be on an IV caffeine drip and don't EVER require sleep.

[saracat]

14. But do their writing styles change!

[saltpoint]

16. Again, I feel people should go easy on the Clooney converts. They are

good people, and we need to agree with the politics of their choice and not question their ticket-buying habits at the movies.

I mean, hell -- I even sat through a couple John Wayne movies many years ago. True, they weren't worth a man, but at least a lot of us move on to other kinds of films.

Don't laugh -- but I consider THE LAST PICTURE SHOW to be a western.

[Double T]

22. If the writing styles change it is either one or MORE different people.......

using the same screen name or it is ONE individual with multiple personalities.

[DesertFlower]

17. i've noticed that.

sometimes i can't sleep so i get up and get on-line. it amazes me how many people are posting.

[saracat]

19. And you are online as well! LOL! I do that often. I am an insomiac and

if I just can't sleep, I check in at DU. It is more fun than a novel! (Sometimes).I have found myself posting at 3 AM! And again there are all the different time zones as well.

[DesertFlower]

20. yes. it's better than tossing and turning

and certainly more interesting.

[saltpoint]

21. You know what it actually is? It's Madison's Syndrome, a condition

that involves free speech in a Constitutional republic.

It's awesome, I've heard.

[Double T]

24. Yes. But is it contagious? Our current regime won't like THIS.

[saltpoint]

27. Well, they say the race is to the swiftest.

And that the stream accelerates the closer it flows to the waterfall.

I like our chances agianst the Pukes in November.

[Maddy McCall]

28. In the past, people have been ts'd for claiming to be two people....

CubanLiberal and Paidraig...CorpGovActivist and IdesOfOctober....

I don't know how it works when two people share one username, though.

[Mabus]

30. Not always

It is interesting when the tenor and style of an exchange in a thread varies vastly with the same person over a period of time but I think there could a few explanations. Sometimes people's styles will change with their moods. If they are in a serious mood their writing style may be completely different than when they're posting when they're in a goofy mood.

Sometimes people post with different styles depending on the "audience" they want to reach. I've seen posts by people I know (and I've done it myself) that seem to totally out of character for them. It just depends on the subject and how, whatever it is they are posting about, the subject affected them. I've also noted a change in posting style when someone is posting something that they have put a lot of thought into as opposed to when they are writing on the fly.

I've also seen a few people who change their writing style depending on what medications they are on or off. The same goes for people who post when they are drinking or imbibing in some un-sponsored, roll-up yourself smokes.

However, I would be wary if someone consistently used "their" for "they're" in the evenings but not during the day. I would also look for other signs like, does the identity you suspect consistently work in conjunction with or on behalf of another poster?

fwiw, my husband and I have posted under each other's names before. But it was usually accidental. That was back when we were sharing a computer. One of us would forget to log-out of the other's account before posting.

[hisownpetard]

32. I don't know WTF you're talking about!!

Yes, I have occasionally run into that type of phenomenon, although not on a daily basis.
What's yer friggin' problem, Bozo??

Thanks for the informative post!
:loveya:

Go away.:nuke:

[NoBushSpokenHere]

39. My writing style changes with the amount of sleep I have had

and also with how serious of a mood I am in. But, I would say, for the most part, if you are noticing a variance with a certain poster or posters that seem to be only posting to stir the pot...I would be wary...I know there has been an invasion around here...not the same board it used to be.