What to do if a poster might be a bot?

[ClearSky24]

I apologize in advance if I'm mistaken, but I suspect a certain poster might be a bot. At least it seems that way to me.

Just curious, can this be checked? I didn't want to use the alert feature, because I think I might be wrong on this.

[rzemanfl]

1. There is a lot of weird stuff going on here this morning. n/t

[Botany]

2. Hit alert

But you can count on them alerting on you and using DU’s own rules in trying to
or getting your post removed.

[Ocelot II]

3. Alert and let the jury decide.

That's what the feature is for. There's no foolproof way for us to identify a bot, but their posts tend to be repetitive and there will be little or nothing in their profile. DU's software might be set up to identify them somehow. But for us users all we can do is alert and ignore.

[ClearSky24]

5. The alert feature does not have a category for bots.

That's why I didn't want to use it.

Also, I'm not sure.

[Ocelot II]

6. You don't have to be sure; that's why there's a jury.

There's no separate category for bots, but if the posts fit within any of the other categories please do us all a favor and alert on them.

[sop]

4. "You sound like a bot" is the latest way to insult someone.

But you never know these days: 'How to Tell If You're Chatting with a Bot'

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-tell-if-you-re-chatting-with-a-bot-1848733021

[ClearSky24]

7. One unusual thing about the poster is that his account was created two days ago.

And he already has 122 posts.

[mitch96]

8. 122 posts/2 days? Hummmmmmm...nt

[Ocelot II]

9. Are their posts repetitive? Do any of them violate DU's TOS?

[ClearSky24]

10. See for yourself.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=373673

[Ocelot II]

11. I read a few of them, didn't agree but they didn't seem to violate the TOS.

At least none have been hidden. They might not be a bot, just somebody with a lot of time on their hands.

[highplainsdem]

12. Doesn't sound like a bot to me. Sounds like a very angry former lurker who finally registered to vent

about being upset about what's going on.

There is some repetitive wording, repeating what they think are their strongest arguments in the most concise language. That isn't unusual on message boards, but it's more noticeable when someone posts so much in a short time.

They're VERY FOND of all-caps for emphasis, and their arguments might sound better with a few less vulgarities.

But again, they sound like someone finally letting off steam here after lurking for a while.

[highplainsdem]

14. I wrote to them, a combination "welcome to DU" and a request that they clear up what I'm sure is a

misunderstanding. I also emphasized that they should understand your wondering about this, with all the concern about bots now, especially when they've posted to much in a couple of days and you have fewer than 30 posts in the last 90 days.

Some people type really fast as well as writing quickly. I think it's fairest to give newcomers the benefit of the doubt. But again, there are also reasons to be worried about bots - and I've probably warned about AI more than anyone else here.

I hope we can get this straightened out, and with no hard feelings.

[highplainsdem]

15. They're still posting, up to 142 posts, but have not responded to the email and link to this thread.

[RandomNumbers]

17. Hmm, your last two posts give air to an opposite position

from the poster you seem to think is a "bot".

As someone else mentioned, the DU technical team may (probably) has some tools to detect bot-like posting.

I think someone posting a ton more than you do, supporting an opposite position, is not evidence that they are a bot.

If you think their posts violate TOS, then alert. Just disagreeing with you and being prolific about it, is not a violation.

[progree]

13. There's what I call the "double alert" option. Or contact a forum host

You can try the conventional alert and pick one of the categories that best fits, however poorly.

Let's say the jury votes to leave it (which you aren't informed of, but you know if the post stays and stays and stays).

About a day later, alert on it again. This time you should get a pop-up telling you "this alert will be sent directly to the administrators", or something like that, and there's a box to explain your reason for the alert. Perfectly legit, as long as you are sure enough that you think it's important enough to bring this to EarlG/Elad's attention. (The administrators are EarlG and Elad for folks who don't know the terminology)

Another option is to contact one of the hosts of the forum it is posted in (See the forum's "About" page for a list of hosts). Although their powers are limited (they can lock the post and block the person from the forum), well, that's progress and a 2nd opinion up the chain, and one can feel more confident and better prepared to bring it to the admins' attention.

Edited to add 1129a CT - I don't see this person as "boty". Besides the 5 latest posts (OK I only looked at 3 of the 5, and the other 2 just judging from the post titles), the 5 latest RECs give me confidence as well

[usonian]

16. I saw this thread while thinking about an "Alert on AI" button. (suspicion thereof)

Most web forms, help desks, even the Whitehouse "email us" page, have limited options.

I almost always end up selecting "other".

So, clicking on this alert or the other here could look really inappropriate, or actually dumb.

Anyway, since the goal of AI is to mimic humans, that's just what they do.