=SK=, propaganda, and W30.

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DeletedUser1747

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Greetings readers of the W30 forums:

An interesting issue has recently come to my attention. I had begun to pay less and less mind to these forums as spam, mostly centered around the tribe =SK=, began to crowd out useful posts and threads. This has waned somewhat in recent days, but the forums are still fairly =SK= centric. I have nothing against =SK=, but I had wondered why this would be, being that =SK= has very few "famous" players, and it has only existed for a brief time on two worlds. This wondering led me to read posts by those who have been in favor of =SK=, or who have been asking questions about =SK=, more critically.

What I have discovered is nothing more than astonishing. I will submit my conclusions to you, then attempt to prove them through quotations and other means.

=SK= players, through the use of multiple forum accounts and their original forum accounts(pre =SK=), have been artificially creating interest in their own tribe, despite both professing that they don't want the attention, and claiming that their accounts are not in =SK=. I shall delve into the reasons that I suspect are behind this later on, but for now, we shall concentrate on the basis for this statement.

For the purposes of this case study, I shall focus on DarthVaderxxx, SpeedDemon83, and Shrinkwrapper. These are three of the most vocal, but by no means is this practice confined to three individuals.

I will start with DarthVaderxxx.

It appears that he started with =SK= in World 28. He made posts such as this, this , and last but not least, this. Considering =SK= was not known at all at the time, his commenting on the tribe at such an early stage is suspicious at best.

All through this period, he made posts that tried to take an "outside" perspective, and show the world that he was not in =SK=. This post, this post, and this post are indicative of this behavior.

Particularly interesting is his attitude towards the beginning of World 28, when he hypes up =SK=, and the world in general. When =SK= decides to leave W28, he quickly changes his tack, talking up World 30, and deriding W28. He also seems to have made a post about recruitment for W30, but as none of those players exist in W30, perhaps they were assimilated into =SK=.

Let's fast forward to W30.

He begins his W30 posting with a discussion of the =SK= lineup. I personally have not heard of any of these players, but they may be very good. However, to know all of them is highly suspicious. While perhaps very good players, these are not famous ones.

He again gets into the =SK=, Ham!!! "conflict", again trying to seem an outsider. This is one of several posts from this angle. Would someone not affiliated with either tribe care this much?

Again, his post show a strong slant towards =SK= and its leaders, repeatedly denigrating kebabe and other leaders, such as bloodhood of HAM!!!.


What is extremely amusing is that he asks questions, and =SK= answers them, in order to generate more posts and debate. This is an example, with =SK= Vampira replying. As always, his inital post has an =SK= slant, but attempts to get people talking about =SK=. This occurs again and again. =SK= members typically post that they want less attention, but why would they seek to generate their own attention if they did not desire it?

DarthVaderxxx is little more than a forum account designed to generate attention and interest in =SK=. Further, he attempts to get the forum community to praise and acknowledge =SK= in any way possible.

I shall now move on to the next forum account.

SpeedDemon83

He appears to have joined/affiliated himself with =SK= later on than DarthVaderxxx. However, his posts towards the end of =SK='s tenure on World 28 are eerily similar.

This is a good example, as is this. He hints about a World 30 premade, saying this.

Further reading reinforces this similarity. Our friend speeddemon83 sounds almost the same as DarthVaderxxx when he talks about HAM!!!. Here is more. This post, this, this, this, and this, are also examples of the same point being quite literally beaten to death.

Again, he asks the same =SK= related questions as DarthVaderxxx, attempting to keep debate alive.

He also denigrates kebabe8 the exact same way as DarthVaderxxx.

He does the same in regards to =SK= attacking an inactive, but "famous" player, Harlos, who was not seriously playing the world. He again tries to take an outsider's perspective, pretending he is not in =SK=, but trying to make them look good. The humorous part of this is that he again asks questions, which are answered by =SK=, in regards to this. His "friend" was none other than himself, perhaps even =SK= Nightmares, who replied to the post.

He again attempts to pump up the reputation of his own leader and tribe, repeatedly praising =SK= Raven and =SK= in general, and denigrating other high-profile tribes, such as HAM!!! and T*F.

ShrinkWrapper

ShrinkWrapper is a very new account, only having come into existence on December 16th, 2008. His first post is no surprise, considering the previous =SK= posters.

Again, his posts quickly move into =SK= praise.

When DarthVaderxxx and SpeedDemon83 are bashing HAM!!!, he is doing the exact same.

Again, he tries to direct discussion towards =SK= and away from other tribes, through posts such as this.

He also denigrates kebabe, just as the two previous examples did.

He also bashes other leaders, such as Willovain . I highly doubt that his claims of being in this tribe is correct, but it is designed to shift opinion.

Again, he "talks" to =SK= players, asking them questions, and increasing their forum exposure.

There are many more posts from ShrinkWrapper that I could get into, but my time runs short.

Analysis

Even a brief glance at these posts reveals key trends.

First, there is some kind of Politics and Propaganda direction at =SK=. The shift from praising =SK= to bashing HAM!!! to putting down leaders of other tribes is a concerted effort to boost =SK='s profile at the expense of others. This indicates central direction, as this is not limited to these three accounts.

Further, the fact that =SK= professes to not want attention shows that these posters are meant to appear to be outside =SK= boosters. =SK= is trying to gain credibility by having supporters outside of their tribe. Through multiple forum accounts, they can achieve this illusion.

These posters themselves do not mention being in =SK=, and attempt to slant their posts so it appears that they are on the outside looking in.

It also shows a lack of respect for the intelligence of the W30 forum community and playing community. By hoping to shift opinion in such a clear and blatant way, they are only heard through drowning out the opinions of others.

Conclusion

These are by no means the only three =SK= accounts that are posting. I would not be surprised if most or all pro-=SK= posting comes from =SK= players with multiple forum accounts, or from those who are somehow affiliated with =SK=.

Their attempts to put down several tribes and leaders are disconcerting, and should be looked at in a stark light. While they pretend to not be affiliated with =SK=, the posts appear to not reflect on the tribe, but now that it is known that =SK= players are flaming and posting against several tribes, it will be interesting to see what occurs.

Why would =SK= do this? As a tribe with limited tenure on previous worlds, it appears that they are trying to pump themselves up in order to gain recruits and increase morale. Why they believe this is a good tactic is beyond me, but it shows that they harbor hostility towards much of World 30, including HAM!!!, T*F, and Legend.

Vigilance is key. I would take any opinions that appear on the World 30 forums with a grain of salt. It has made the forums much less interesting and enjoyable, and perhaps something can be done about this practice.

Until next time,
vpar2
 

DeletedUser

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I had suspicions of the same things, but would never put the effort in that you have. Great topic.
 

DeletedUser

Guest
First !!!!

err . . .

tl;dr

aww skrew it, nice read :icon_razz:
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Nice read and I agree with your conlusion... nice how you done all that quotes man
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Okay here is the truth... Trycon and =SK= Nightmare and =SK= Raven and =SK= Ace are all the same people! And also aliens exist in outer space!
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Nice post. It will be nice to see how SK react and answer to this :icon_cool:
 

DeletedUser

Guest
wow amazing work put in, very good read!
I think its best if i don't include my conclusions as they'll probably just annoy everyone who reads them.
 

DeletedUser54374

Guest
Yes, I agree with you 100%.

And nice thread, excellent job on the research and effort you must have put in.
 

DeletedUser

Guest
The posting patterns are eerily similar, very good spot there. However there would need to be some definitive evidence, as the correlation between these accounts is the only thing found, and as we all know correlation doesn't prove Cause (in this case whether they are =SK= members) and Effect (whether it is an elaborate propaganda scheme). But the evidence is well presented and use of references to posts is good.

Good read. Looks like we need to keep an eye out for this kind of thing.
 

DeletedUser

Guest
very good post and read hit dead on aliases maybe ;)

if they do react
 

Apathetic h0llygh0st

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The posting patterns are eerily similar, very good spot there. However there would need to be some definitive evidence, as the correlation between these accounts is the only thing found, and as we all know correlation doesn't prove Cause (in this case whether they are =SK= members) and Effect (whether it is an elaborate propaganda scheme). But the evidence is well presented and use of references to posts is good.

Good read. Looks like we need to keep an eye out for this kind of thing.

Proving such a thing means looking at IP's and only mods are able to do such a thing but not allowed to tell us (I think due to some arguements when it did happen with W10 POKE) Either way I'm pretty sure its true and people denying it might as well be more SK alias's.
 

DeletedUser

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This deserves a sticky. Greatest thread I have seen on the world 30 forums.

I love you vpar :lol:
 

DeletedUser

Guest
In all honesty along with having seen some reports and my conversations with =SK= players, I have come to like them. Regardless of the three multiple accounts (honestly the three guys mentioned in this topic I penned as idiots from day one of their first posts, so if they are =SK= that is a huge disappointment for me).

In honesty Shrinkwrappers posting has annoyed me the most, just the same bland babble about HAM!!!'s weak line up, I would not put this past a rogue =SK= player doing this, but a duke? I don't think so to be honest.
 

DeletedUser

Guest
Great post vpar. I too had my suspicions on speeddemon when he spoke about raven so confidently.
 

DeletedUser1747

Guest
In all honesty along with having seen some reports and my conversations with =SK= players, I have come to like them. Regardless of the three multiple accounts (honestly the three guys mentioned in this topic I penned as idiots from day one of their first posts, so if they are =SK= that is a huge disappointment for me).

In honesty Shrinkwrappers posting has annoyed me the most, just the same bland babble about HAM!!!'s weak line up, I would not put this past a rogue =SK= player doing this, but a duke? I don't think so to be honest.

Time will tell. I see little reason for all the posting patterns to be correlated in the absence of a central authority directing them, or at least encouraging them. The patterns and scope of this(well beyond the three mentioned, they are simply the most vocal) are too large for it to be a rogue player.
 

evilkrysis05

Guest
Awesome, very interesting read!

Are you a Detective of the FBI? lol
 
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