Look no further~ The Gentleperson's Guide To Forum Spies

reply to post by DaveNorris


Although I saw the ironic humor in your post, others may not. And may akso not have noticed the quote was from the source by another member as shown here, in full for reference.

Originally posted by groingrinder
I found this part particularly informative. Who can we trust?

Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL' It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a 'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.

reply to post by ADVISOR


im not suggesting your a disinfo agent....but....

The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist

wow i don't think i've ever felt so awake.

I think every member should read this and be on the look out.
If you do think its happening in a thread quote the technique so members know what might possibly be going on in said thread.

well i will be...

I hear ya dude

Like this guy ....
.......I wonder if they really think people buy their crap !!

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Does this make me a disinfo agent ?

reply to post by DaveNorris


You caught me, I'm one of those triple reverse disinfo ninjas...
I've never been good at keeping secrets, unless there's a nondisclosure agreement of course.

reply to post by Neocrusader


I didn't expect to see my name of all ATS members!!!
I don't try to sell crap to anyone mate,you can tell by my almost inactive account.not the most successful disinfo agent don't you think

Originally posted by MDDoxs
I did not want to be the one to point fingers but...

Originally posted by tazdeill2

We all need to be careful wherever we are as even good people can do bad things without realising or meaning to.

This sentence made some red lights flash... Let the paranoia begin! JK

I point this sentence out as to me, taken out of context, it appears to be highly suggestive. Not that it is, sorry to use you as an example Taz.

edit on 12-7-2012 by MDDoxs because: (no reason given)

edit on 12-7-2012 by MDDoxs because: (no reason given)

Aha, you are one of the paranoid ones then.
Seriously though, you're right, taken out of context it can seem quite sinister, and I suppose that applies to lots of written words, there is no eye contact, voice inflection, smily/serious fact etc.

So what is your guys favorite firearm other than a shotgun? If you don't answer me you're racist.

As much as I love ATS (long time lurker) I really can't see the U.S Government or any other government wasting time or money on spreading dis-info on a site like ATS.

To mainstream audiences most ATS topics would appear bizarre and most users nutjobs.

Such agents do certainly exist but I very much doubt on here aside from the various trolls. It is much more likely such agents would operate on major news network sites and various mainstream social network sites etc.

oh yes!!! if someone disagrees with you or calls you out on your paranoia they must be a SPY!!! or a dis-info agent.

get some professional help soon!

Originally posted by RealSpoke
So what is your guys favorite firearm other than a shotgun? If you don't answer me you're racist.

edit on 12-7-2012 by RealSpoke because: (no reason given)

every post you make either makes me go off thinking something deep, or a big LOL like this one.

good thread ADVISOR , but i'm absolutely terrible at distinguishing between agents and people so I treat you all like both.

i'm pretty sure i'm not under surveillance though, unless they are that good at hiding it...

Originally posted by BlueDawn
As much as I love ATS (long time lurker) I really can't see the U.S Government or any other government wasting time or money on spreading dis-info on a site like ATS.

This is the place to do it for many reasons. it's not just US government that would be interested,
you can bet your ass there are Chinese and Russians here too collecting as much info as they can.

bet. your. ass.
It's not the site itself that draws attention (admittedly a major factor due to the topics)
it's the people who use the site. We are on the front lines here, whether you know it or not.

Probably some of the best information out there. It will take some effort to retain all these tactics, but you will be better able to sift through the lies about the truth.
Great post OP.

Originally posted by Neocrusader

Does this make me a disinfo agent ?

They're onto ya, Tommy Atkins. Yer disinfo-ization days are at an end.

I have seen this behavior all over ATS and abroad.

You can usually tell someone is a troll when they try to get your goat and and attack you ad hominem without adding anything substantial to the conversation.

When they see that their incendiary remarks did not get you off topic they just stop replying.

Someone needs to make a list in reply to this one.

"The Gentle-persons guide to online paranoia".

Or Maybe

"The Gentle-persons guide to finding a shrink".

Or even

"The Gentle-persons guide to delusions that the government actually cares about you beyond your tax contribution".


I agree with those who have questioned the validity of this document.

Pastebin? Seriously?

My respect for ATS mods has been seriously damaged.

If the mods are bringing this kind of crap to the table, what hope has logic?

reply to post by OccamAssassin


I'll accept your passive aggressive challenge. Even Wikipedia was questionable as a reference, but that was accepted later because it used sources well. Just go to bottom on the page.

But it would seem you target the source, which may be relevant to you, that isn't the topic. The content is, no matter where it comes from is still valid. What are you so torn up over, and why?

I do see your perspective on this, just don't understand it. I didn't see this info elswhere, its content is extremely relevant to this site in general, due to the frequency of said topic.

The thing I appreciate most about your contribution to this discussion, is the enthusiasm .

Frankly, the "spies" are the least of the problem when admins and mods are oftentimes doing the dirty work themselves. Try go over to (e.g.) Straight Dope and see how long you last if you do not demonstrate a clear lockstep lemming -like obsequiesness to the flow of opinion. ...no matter how asinine a direction it may be taking.

'Soft censorship' of this kind has been going on for years. But, I'd like to think people aren't so suggestible that they fall for the feeble efforts of forum plants and the like.

reply to post by ADVISOR


As has been stated many times on this thread.....The traits implied could easily classify anyone as being a dis-info agent.

Dis-info agents have to breath.....Does that mean anyone who breaths is a dis-info agent?

It seems to me that if we put a label on everyone based on limited interactions with them we will never have a firm grip on where they are truly coming from regardless of who they work for.
There will always be dissenters and scammers but i do not let em get to me cause i have come to expect them.
I think that one day they should step back and thank me for the job security.