Subject: Re: Spotting The Sock Puppets
From: Cid Arda <cidarda@gmail.com>
Date: 4/23/11, 15:06
To: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com>

I would think overall strategy and methodology should be kept private until, like you are saying, there comes a point when it is provable and observable. Compartmentalize efforts and only talk about how they are tied together when you sure the wrong people aren't involved in the discussion. We don't really have to reinvent the wheel with it, just look at how other things of this nature are handled. I am a bit of an intelligence buff so give me the liberty of musing a little;  I would think developing a core group of interested parties and then close ranks around certain efforts, be open only enough to allow for new talent to come in but closed enough not to give away the farm to every newbie that comes by. Most of what we, as in all interested parties, have produced has fallen on deaf ears, even with everything being blown up and all dots being connected most will not care but I am just trying to be realistic, even knowing that I still find tremendous value in what we all are doing.

On Apr 23, 2011, at 2:47 PM, Barrett Brown wrote:

There's certainly no protocol for detecting these yet, so anything you can figure out, however minor to begin with, will certainly be useful. As we move from collecting data to whatever comes afterward, we'll need to compose some sort of overall strategy. For instance, if we figure out some methods, perhaps only partially successful, for detecting them, do we release that info to the public, or do we sit on it in order to have a chance to detect and gather more information on the personas so that they can be recorded and then shown to the press all at once? I'm thinking that if we got to the point that we can identify at least some of them, we should watch them work/interact with them in order to pull in a data set and then go public with everything all at once, perhaps after a few weeks. Or, before going public, we provide the info to journalists who could then observe for themselves and go with the stories afterwards. The main thing, in my view, is that we can't put ourselves in the position of keeping info to ourselves for anything more than a short period. 

On Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 10:42 AM, Cid Arda <cidarda@gmail.com> wrote:
We are of the same mind. Like I said a while ago, it is very easy to see autopersonas operating around 'birther' stories. A lot of people get that discussions on the internet are quasi-meaningful in gauging public opinion but I am convinced through my own empirical analysis that a large part of our public opinion is formed in internet discussion forums, in whatever form they take place. I know people are taking different angles on this stuff, which I support,  but I have been obsessed with figuring out how to spot the autopersonas and the 'tricks' they are using to 'bomb' public debate. I've separated my personal efforts and interests so as to attract the autopersonas, at least on Twitter that is (and a little on Facebook). I've gone through a few rounds of building a persona through Twitter and watching who follows and interacts, then I've completely trashed them and started it over to see the commonalities in who follows, I figured this was the best way to see who the 'true believers' are and try to detect any automated processes. I am completely flying by the seat of my pants and I am still gathering skills but I am just doing what I can, I will post any info I come up with but I will try and seek consensus first from those I know are cool, which so far is only you, Shadow and antivig, past that I'm not sure of anyone.

On Apr 22, 2011, at 10:21 PM, barri2009 wrote:

It's certainly worth keeping an eye on, as identifying an autopersona and watching it operate would obviously be of great use for many reasons. Also, I can't remember if I've told you about the metal gear wiki, but it's where we're compiling all of our info on the subject so that anyone can easily research and pursue it for themselves, particularly journalists. I'm away from my computer but you can find it by googling; if you're interested, please consider adding in information on any related subject or fleshing out one of the existing articles. We should probably refrain from noting anything about specific suspected sock puppets so that we can monitor them. Thanks again for your interest in this campaign.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

From: Cid Arda <cidarda@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2011 09:49:16 -0400
To: Barrett Brown<barriticus@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Spotting The Sock Puppets

I dot know if this is a sock-puppet per se but this is what peaked my interest

"Rob, lost my internet connection on Monday evening/early Tuesday; I'm considering Friday & pizza; have some concerns about events scheduled in Facebook; there are a couple of recent articles from SPT that speak to about insurance companies and investigators combing Facebook for connections so who knows who else has access is using Homeland Security/Bush type devices to watch citizens for reasons other than Homeland Security. Also have concerns for "citizen journalists" < there seems to be some activity to squash in Florida stemming from Florida Bar Association in 2011 I've been reviewing as well as other topics."

Another person with weird profile and awkward Wall post
"This is a model site and should be copied by every District with a Republican in charge. Needs to be done now to give time to remove them from the legislature in 2012. Good Luck and Good Job to all that participate."


 But besides that no I haven't gathered anything specific. This is just Facebook though


On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 9:35 AM, Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Okay, gotcha. Do you have some examples?


On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 8:32 AM, Cid Arda <cidarda@gmail.com> wrote:
***For Private Discussion Only***

I am involved with the Uncut effort here in my hometown of Orlando and I believe that there might be bots or sock puppets already attached to it, not sure of how to analyze everything and what not but maybe someone else can.

I am helping run the Twitter and Facebook feeds, 
@USUncutOrlando 

I myself am Nicholas McHugh



--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302





--
Regards,

Barrett Brown
512-560-2302