[HOAX] I Was a Paid Internet Shill [HOAX]

Shilling: it only works as well as the Users allow it to. Do you resent the idea that someone is paid to foster an opinion in your mind? Don't you find it a little demeaning?

Well, if our new friend Exshill is giving it to us straight, then there might as well be a manual these poor bastards are given when they start out. How To Be A Shill

There is an orthodox approach to shilling, a methodology. Therefore it leaves a pattern, a pattern that any User can learn to recognize.

Thanks for coming forward, dude.

And for the rest of us: become empowered Users. Spot the shill should be our new Whack-a-Mole..

Originally posted by Mr_skepticc
reply to post by ExShill

 

It's a great little story sir; however, I think you are a liar! I do NOT believe this story for a second, and thus you will be marked by me on this website from now till the end as a liar for even trying to promote such a story as this. This is my opinion, but I consider it a FACT!

You mad bro?

What happened, an employee got out of hand?

Lol

So the shills come out to attack the ex-shill to discredit him/her so that all the non-shills reading this thread won't believe that shills can exist.

I'm so tired of shills ...

If you don't believe there are paid shills/dis-info agents here and elsewhere on the net you are brain dead ...

or

a paid shill ...

(A shill somewhere now writes "hostile" next to Mega)

reply to post by brigand


How the hell are they similar ?

The link you provide is a short introduction by comparisson to what the OP on this thread has written

For what it's worth whether the OP is being straight or not seems to have become increasingly irrelevant given the S+F fest presently underway.

Definitely going to sit on the fence, there is no proof in either direction, however just an additional thought....

Should the OP actually be telling the truth, how do we know that his confessional isn't a double bluff, and a way to continue the shill profession in plain sight ?

As none of this is verifiable, nor in turn is it possible to determine that the OP has actually quit .

Side note: Must get out the rainy day box, and fix the hole in my tin foil hat !

So writing is something you enjoy as a hobby. And you decided to see if you could pass this story off as truth to see how good you really are. And you wrote a 2-piece thread but 'you may not reply because you don't know if you want to talk about it.' I give you a C-, go back to class... nice try.

Next!

Naturally since paid shills exist ...

Some will quit ...

Some of those that quit will confess to those they have been shilling against ...

So its just a matter of time before a legitimate confession comes along ...

Which means one has probably already come along ...

Originally posted by Eidolon23
And for the rest of us: become empowered Users. Spot the shill should be our new Whack-a-Mole.

And of course a "shill" is anyone that doesn't agree with you, right? Surely you can see the dangerous waters you're wading into with that approach. Losing a debate? Declare your opponent a "shill"! Game, set, match! This isn't what ATS is about.

Everyone that comes on this site for example has different opinions about diverse subjects and will defend them given the opportunity. Wouldn't that all make us shills?

Think about it, in my opinion the best way to work undercover as a shill on forums is by simply letting the average posters make their own propaganda threads and simply give support with small post pointing the obvious and giving stars and flags...No need to really get involved that much.

the whole shill thing is pretty silly even if they exist I feel its wasted efforts. The wicked ways of this world as already started to show the light on a wide scale to those who can make good use of rational thinking...thus being impervious to ''propaganda''

The implanted idea of ''shills'' can only have one effect, raising doupt and paranoia among members resulting in the loss of credential of anything that gets posted on here.

lol...shills ''comming out''...just like when one of your friends comes out of the closet saying he's gay....everyone already knew but never really cared.

Why need for shills when normal people just troll forums anyways

reply to post by SavedOne


Hee.

It's not the slippery slope you might imagine. Go back and read the OP. He was very thorough in describing the trade techniques, even down to the process of escalation. I have seen shills whose opinions and spin I agree with, but am still able to recognize a pattern in their behavior corresponding with the OP's account.

Favorite argument of paid shills is that they are just trying to change opinions like everyone else so what does it matter?



An un-level playing field as most people with real opinions have to go to work and can't argue in a thread for 10 hours straight like the shills can ...

I think that's the biggest give away ....

They seem to never be offline ... and ALWAYS get the last word

(having the last word MUST be one of their rules)

a few names come to mind

We know, of course, that such operations exist, and we know from direct statements from Israel that it does this sort of operation. However, it seems a good estimate that this thread is not done by them--at least not obviously unless they would be "fishing" in some way.

What strikes me about this thread is that it is so well done. So well done, in fact, that it reminds me of a beautiful thread of a year or so ago that was done by a hoaxer. Undoubtedly, some of you will remember it also. As I said, it was beautifully written. The words and sentences flowed out nicely, done with style and wordmanship and a cool cunning--except it had a couple of fatal flaws. That thread was the one where a guy told about his buddy that had maggots that kept crawling out of his rectum.

...And why didn't this guy draw unemployment?
And that job was no worse that a couple of guys at a national tire store that repeatedly lied to my face yesterday about how they had screwed up installing a new set of tires for me.

If the OP has the experience he says he has he should be able to 'out' the shills on ATS.

I'm pretty sure there are some here, especially with regard to Israel, so the OP should have no problem spotting them.

If he doesn't want to post them in a forum then let him PM me or anybody else.

reply to post by bigyin


The OP has already told you everything you need to know if you'd like to do some shill-spotting for yourself.

I'm not advocating attacking or outting the shill when you spot them. Quite the opposite. It is sufficient to recognize when someone is trying to mold your opinion on behalf of parties unknown, and then not allow it to be molded.

I remember a thread like this too a while ago.My BS meter is going off. I am sure there are shills.You said you had no opinion one way or the other about Israel then became pro Israel.After lying and being shill for them I think you would be anti-Israel or at least not a fan of them but not pro since your conscience got the better of you.If they have to go to those methods to stop whatever they want to stop they are not on the up and up and have something to hide.Maybe you fit the criteria of being easily persuaded like a cult member

reply to post by ExShill


No doubht that you are a great writer. Did you get any information that might explain why they need to pay people to talk positive about Israel?

Outside US we think you all love and adore the home of Jesus. I write it that way because thats how it sounds everytime anyone talk about it. Its not the Israeli people. But where Jesus and the Bible came from.

Are you guys turning on these issues?

reply to post by ExShill


So let me get this right. You state you're a good writer (and seem to be), you state you were a shill and you're now posting about being a shill on a website which probably has shills, stating you're no longer a shill and feel bad about having been a shill? That's a lot of shill....

And you're starred and flagged for that? Holy farking titty Christ what is this website coming to?

Anyway, nice prose.. don't believe it for a second. A company who employs shills would not be in a derelict building, and that was your give away.

Do shills exist? I'm sure they do.. but in the end no matter how much they push a topic forward they won't get the slightly higher than 110 IQ people out there who have been blessed with the capacity of free thinking and ability to dissect information for themselves.

T

A thread where you can mention the word "shill" and get away with it. I wish we had a "shill" emoticom, a big one too. I'd be using it alot.

I don't know what to think about the OP's posts, about how they operate. My own opinion is different on how they operate, but perhaps there are different types of shills.

I think of them as military/paramilitary/fbi/cia even, the desk jobs. Not just people who are out of work as that would leave an enormous amount of people who know too much. But the dark side minion jobs where they have you contracted and under their thumb, threats to the family the whole bit. That is how I see it.

And I believe they make contracts, come on with multiple accounts, and get away with things they shouldn't, and work tirelessly, even befriending people to try and get as many unfortunates on the bandwagon too. And the really good ones probably get paid well.

That is my opinion on this, but maybe there is a low level random hiring platform. But can't see how this wouldn't be the deskjobs of the agencies and military, because they would need to have a high level of control over their minions.

What about all the ones who are very professional in how they go about threads?

I mean if its done this way there would be a lot more threads "I was a shill", but who knows.

Im not saying there isn't truth in the OP, but it could be slanted to hide the agencies behind it. I find a common theme that many with inside information have, is they work at computer jobs somehow. But most have some inside info too. So there are probably levels on this. And the ones who are really good, must be well rewarded, and utilized in a variety of ways.

reply to post by Eidolon23


The goal of shills is to influence the readers who are mostly on the fence about a topic. To do this they must engage those with views that oppose the view the wish to promote. Though getting their "foes" to change views would be an ultimate triumph it is not the number 1 goal. To accomplish their goal the must argue effectively without end until the thread loses attention and dies ...

Originally posted by torqpoc
reply to post by ExShill

 

Anyway, nice prose.. don't believe it for a second. A company who employs shills would not be in a derelict building, and that was your give away.

I picture it looking exactly like one of those fly-by-night telemarketing operations, and for the same reasons: low overhead, minimal paper trail, high mobility.

It makes perfect sense to me.