Clones

The whole Bezmudnik situation isn't exactly easy to navigate when you're trying to figure out who's actually being real and who's just a total troll... I mean, everyone is basically just shouting whatever random thought pops into their head without any rhyme or reason. And honestly? Not every new user on the forums is some bot clone. It’s not that simple.

We’re scrubbing the chat in that thread and getting rid of obvious trolling, but like I said, it's tough to tell who’s actually serious and who's just messing around.

So, bottom line... if a post looks sketchy, just report it.

I suppose one might consider visiting a place like Chicago, though I find the idea somewhat unappealing. kaže:
I suppose there isn't much left to say on this matter. Bezmudan They are either blooming simultaneously, messaging one another, or just talking to themselves. 😕 Even I, someone who likely wouldn't notice a clone if they walked up and introduced themselves, can see that this thread has become completely unreadable.

It is the plain truth, and I suppose there isn't much else for me to say when things stand exactly as they are.

It has been six months, maybe even a year—I honestly can't keep track of the timeline anymore—dealing with the issue caused by one particular individual. I am hesitant to even label him properly because I don't want to resort to insults, so I will simply leave it at that. This person creates hundreds of clone accounts just to cause scenes and harass us. There are times when I have to ban thirty clones in a single row; he manages to open at least ten new accounts every single day, which he then immediately activates.

The issue is that banning everyone involved would require at least an hour of careful investigation; I simply have no desire to issue a ban until I have personally verified the facts and am absolutely certain.

Lately, I've been spending quite a bit of time at my vacation home, and between that and the urgent workload I have to tackle, I simply haven't had an hour every single day to monitor Bezmudnik and deal with banning his clones.

That individual isn't going to stop showing up, and I suppose the only way to actually prevent it is through police intervention.
Whatever.

If you ask me, that single issue accounts for about 90% of the problems being discussed in this thread.
The remaining issues are minor, and I suppose they can be resolved by the little triangle.
When he finally decides to go on a rampage, a small-time local sheriff won't be able to handle him; the only solution would be a full SWAT deployment. And we aren't exactly in a position to stand guard.

That is the entire story regarding Bezmudnik.

Look, it’s all good. I get that you guys aren't glued to your screens 24/7. I’m just saying it because this thread deserves better, not because I'm whining..I see at least two people—or maybe it's just the same one—subtly DMing each other, and honestly, it feels like they're even tracking the forum..The best move would be an IP ban, but you guys probably know more than I do, and clearly, that isn't working either.

Nah, banning IPs is a lost cause. Most of them rotate every 24 hours anyway, so by tomorrow, one of us might be stuck with that exact same address. Even if we’re talking about a static IP—like one leased for a specific business purpose—it’s still impossible. You could have 50 different people hitting the site from a single IP at a library, a Starbucks, or a college dorm... it just doesn't work. The only thing I've come up with is using a cookie or a registry note. That might stop some of the less tech-savvy users from running clones, since creating one would require admin approval. But honestly, that's up to the dev team behind this site...

Detecting clone accounts relies on a blend of technical forensics and pattern recognition. For obvious reasons, we won't be making our specific methodologies public. While these methods are generally effective, they aren't foolproof—after all, this is the internet.
If you happen to spot an account masquerading as a banned user, please report it to the relevant moderators so they can look into it.

William Bennett53 said:Detecting clone accounts relies on a blend of technical forensics and pattern recognition. For obvious reasons, we won't be making our specific methodologies public. While these methods are generally effective, they aren't foolproof—after all, this is the internet.
If you happen to spot an account masquerading as a banned user, please report it to the relevant moderators so they can look into it.

And are they going to delete the posts left by the troll/clone?? ☕

btw...
What if we suspect a troll (likely a clone) in our DMs? 😕

How should we handle that? Just cut off all forum PM communication entirely?! 🙂

Are people actually reporting "private" clones/trolls?

It’s pathetic when you realize you were dealing with a clone in your inbox... ☕☕☕

edit:

edit:
Furthermore, I genuinely believe your moderators are far too soft. They hand out minor warnings to blatant trolls and flame wars instead of just hitting the permanent ban button immediately upon the first clear violation from a "new user."☕

The course of action taken will depend entirely on what was actually written. Sometimes entire threads get wiped out, while other times, absolutely nothing happens at all.
As for the moderators, if someone starts hounding you or getting insulting, just hit that report button.

William Bennett53 said:The course of action taken will depend entirely on what was actually written. Sometimes entire threads get wiped out, while other times, absolutely nothing happens at all.
As for the moderators, if someone starts hounding you or getting insulting, just hit that report button.

Let's be real—isn't this policy a bit bizarre?? 😁

Regarding the mods, if someone is harrassing or insulting you, just hit the report button.

And what if they aren't insulting me, but are clearly trolling, or maybe even a bot account? Am I supposed to just accept that as part of the "fun" of being on this forum?? 😁

I mean... on Facebook you deal with annoying ads and idiots, but here it's straight-up maniacal trolls? 😵

No, I wouldn't call the policy strange. It’s just that these clones used to participate somewhat normally in the threads, and by deleting their posts, they make the whole discussion look unnecessarily convoluted.
As for the messages themselves, you can actually just toggle them off in your user settings whenever those manic trolls start blowing up your inbox.

Trolls represent the most complex phenomenon in the anonymous online (and even offline 😁) world. 🙂

There is a razor-thin line between someone intentionally trolling and people who are simply wired that way from birth. 🙂

edit: sometimes a user might swing between full-blown trolling and actually participating normally on a forum 🙂

Thanks, but we all know how this works...
To wrap things up: just use the report button to flag any weird posts or private messages. It makes keeping some semblance of order much easier, since the mods can't monitor everything the second it happens.