API tools faq
paste
MaxShilling4u

Shill Tips

MaxShilling4u
Oct 11th, 2014
1,656
0
Never
Add comment
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 13.54 KB | None | 0 0
raw download clone embed print report
  1. Made this paste into 2-parts
  2.  
  3. I've been seeing a lot of people throw around the word "shill" in an honest effort to try and expose malicious persons looking to undermine #GamerGate and those that support it. For some I can see how these could paint people as "crazy", looking to make trouble, or simply do not know any better. So let me give you some tips.
  4.  
  5. I can say there is a large variety of people looking to undermine or exploit #GamerGate for various reasons. From what I see now there are two most common subtypes:
  6.  
  7. a) low level tier troll bating which are obvious enough for most people.
  8. They perform obvious mud-slinging with sock accounts or egg accounts and dump blatant logical fallacies into the #GamerGate
  9. Read:
  10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
  11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_techniques
  12.  
  13. b) Superficial supporters looking exploit GG for personal gain.
  14. IE: buy my product!; Guys follow me I'm so smart muh ego!
  15.  
  16. The ones that seriously concern me however are those trying to start in-house fighting and data mining (don't give out personal info unless you know them!). Even the people looking for personal gain in GG are not a problem just so as long they do not stir trouble or try to monopolize the ideas in GG. Yes there was an attempt to force GG into a tighter unity with a fallible "leader" but I believe we are past that now.
  17.  
  18. The subverters I take seriously are the ones gang-baiting GG supporters against each other or demoralize the get-together as a whole while claiming to be a supporter.
  19.  
  20. IE: “ Hey #GamerGate this guy @XXXX is a shill/traitor/liar/etc!“
  21.  
  22. If you see someone flaming a supporter or have some minor squabble from a discussion it's no big deal. People disagree, fighting happens. However I will give you a list of things that are suspicious and should NOT be acceptable:
  23.  
  24. 1. People flaming users with the #GamerGate hashtag. This refers to personal attacks like petty name-calling or baseless accusations that are met with re-direction or deflection when questioned.
  25.  
  26. These have to be handled cautiously, when you see this sort of discussion KINDLY ask them to stop dragging in the #GamerGate hashtag, and if they do not stop simply archive and ignore. Engaging it further only makes it worse and accomplishes the subverter's mission should this be manipulation (they'll drag you into it and paint you as well). I see them mainly targeting #GamerGate's most vocal supporters and tend to appear out of the blue.
  27.  
  28. 2. People who are almost exclusively critical of #GamerGate supporters while claiming to be supportive or neutral of #GamerGate, and regularly inject their negative views into discussions. Their discussions often seem vague and are more emotionally driven than point driven, and contain logical fallacies.
  29.  
  30. These are difficult to identify and can only be noticed by observing them in a broader spectrum. They tend to stick out by seeming arrogant in vocalizing their disposition, and usually result in villainizing you if you do not agree with them, or simply run away from the conversation if they see they are not manipulating you.
  31.  
  32. They also like to target GG supporters that are either currently in an argument are just finished an argument, while playing some type of "me too" victim card, this is called grooming.
  33.  
  34. To identify these manipulators just look at the types of discussions they are having with others. Are they repetitively making the same argument over and over? Are they almost exclusively talking to people they never spoke to before? Are they only engaging supporters and not engaging GG critics? Do they routinely defend the same anti-GG person? You are probably looking at someone trying to divide and conquer, or perhaps hijack GG for their own agenda.
  35.  
  36. Tactics for dealing with "shills"
  37.  
  38. 1. Observe
  39. If you suspect someone is trying to be manipulative, don't start "outing" them as this almost always backfires and makes them more careful. It is best to just sit back and observe their patterns, and remember that exposing them in the future will undo any damage done by them. Watch them to the extent that you can predict their dialogue and not be surprised at the things they are saying. There are shills I have been observing for weeks since #GamerGate started and I can predict their arguments to the point it becomes laughable.
  40.  
  41. 2. ARCHIVE EVERYTHING
  42. Screen shots are not enough, as they can be manipulated to show anything (just ask @theLEOpirate). Archiving is crucial if you want to build a profile on someone you suspect of subversion, and will be necessary to make a case for the public to understand.
  43.  
  44. There are going to be moments when you see a possible subverter say something that exposes their true intentions, and you want to be able to go back to previous discussions they made to prove they are lying.
  45.  
  46. 3. Look at their "circles"
  47. These are the accounts that repeatedly favourites/re-tweets the subverter's postings. Believe it or not, a lot of these people are dumb and make no effort to hide their affiliations and follow-back GG opponents.
  48.  
  49. Also if you see accounts that almost exclusively doing favourites/re-tweets on select accounts with no actual discussions, there's a good chance that you are looking at a bot account trying to falsely inflate popularity of an opinion.
  50.  
  51. 4. Let them run their course
  52. My philosophy in terms of engagement is always to exhaust the resources of your adversary as you ration your own. This is also true for war with words, as the old saying goes "Give 'em enough rope, and they'll hang themselves". Let the suspected subverters talk, and talk, and talk, as this is someone who is carefully thinking for each statement they make and it can wear them down to the point of slipping-up. Remember that this is someone who is trying to sustain a lie.
  53.  
  54. 5. Build a case
  55. The most common mistake I see people make when trying to expose a shill is rambling with walls of text or scribble ridden info-graphs that almost look juvenile. Again use THIER words, not yours. If they are lying it is easy to show the public what they are doing if you just make a small collage of screen-shots displaying contradicting statements, or perhaps point out a clear agenda by showing repetitive posts. Of course you should have archives of these discussions should any of the images come under scrutiny.
  56.  
  57. These are not methods written in stone and should be taken simply as a guide to keep you from straying away from your intended goal. If you feel like your theory of someone is appearing too complicated or perhaps your mind is going off the deep end, look up Occam's Razor. Many of the subverters I see are not evil geniuses, just very manipulative, and at best their patterns are consistent with socio-paths and there are methods of spotting people like that on-line.
  58.  
  59. Remember to be patient, and be cautious of “information” dropped on your lap by verifying direct sources.
  60.  
  61. Happy hunting,
  62. Max
  63.  
  64. part 2 ~ Oct 20th, 2014
  65.  
  66.  
  67.  
  68. After watching gamergate for the past several weeks, I see its adversaries are becoming more complex with their tactics. Interestingly, I observed that they seem to be most active on Sundays. In this discussion I listed a few examples of what I have noticed (minus some obvious trolls/fallacies) and how best to handle them.
  69.  
  70.  
  71. Association fallacy
  72.  
  73. Reductio ad Hitlerum (et al). The sole purpose of this slander is to paint gamergate as villainous to the public. It is often disregarded by even the most intellectually impaired for obvious reasons.
  74.  
  75. IE: “Gamers are just like Nazis!”; “GamerGate is no different than the KKK”
  76.  
  77. Suggested response: Say “not true” or ignore.
  78.  
  79. Further reading:
  80. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_fallacy
  81. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reductio_ad_Hitlerum
  82. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin%27s_law
  83.  
  84.  
  85. Baiting for screen-shots
  86.  
  87. These are people who ask a seemingly sincere questions then pathologically respond with “stop harassing me” once you engage in dialogue.
  88.  
  89. IE: John: “I don't think #GamerGate is such a great thing, what do others think?”
  90. Alex: “Well here's a video that give a brief synopses.”
  91. John: “Stop harassing me get out of my mentions!”
  92.  
  93. Suggested response: Say you sorry they feel that way and disengage, or just disengage.
  94.  
  95. Sadly there is always an idiot that keeps dragging on with it, despite the fact they are talking to an actor. Advise that person without the bait caster in the mentions that this is just a troll to ignore.
  96.  
  97. A more villainous version of this are the suicidal ones, which from my experience tend to show a history of this type of behaviour usually followed with discussion on how to give them money. These MUST to be treated more delicately.
  98.  
  99. IE: “I am going to kill myself because of gamergate, do not respond to me”
  100.  
  101. ONLY response: Don't respond to them.
  102.  
  103. Simply flag this posts and all similar posts on this user's account (CTRL+F is your friend).
  104. Report it under abusive → self harm.
  105.  
  106. DO NOT RT OR SHARE THE POST PUBLICLY
  107.  
  108. Remember, this is bait and it will attract trolls. The best method to get more people to flag these posts are via direct messaging ONLY.
  109.  
  110.  
  111. Association fallacy with argumentum ad misericordiam
  112.  
  113. This is a bit more creative than just an association fallacy, as it tries to manipulate the gamergate supporter into feeling guilt. Basically what the actor does is try to make the supporter feel guilty by stating that gamergate has made innocent people suffer. These are usually delivered via a loaded questions.
  114.  
  115. IE: “How can you support hate group like gamergate? They made so many innocent people suffer!”
  116.  
  117. Suggested response: Say how you do not believe that to be true and ask for proof. Counter with how gamergate helped with charities, and that you are supporting gamergate with ethical viewpoints.
  118.  
  119. Further reading:
  120. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_pity
  121.  
  122.  
  123. Fallacy of composition
  124.  
  125. Probably the oldest I have seen running. It is simply meant to fragment gamergate supporters by stating that there are subjectively immoral components under the gamergate hashtag that people should distance themselves from. This tactic is insinuating that the actions of a few represent the whole. Sometimes it is even ironically reinforced with admission that it is a fallacy, but suggested nonetheless.
  126.  
  127. IE: “You have to distance yourself from gamergate because there were some bad people”
  128.  
  129. Suggested response: State how that's fallacy of composition even if it were true. Declare that you support it for ethical reasons just like many others, which was the intention of gamergate's conception.
  130.  
  131. An even more sinister version I have been seeing is where the actor targets people with autism or people with some other form of a mental disorder. It is meant to demoralize and fragment gamergate supporters by both simultaneously claiming gamergate is unintelligible and isolate said persons. It also completely dismisses the bias coverage gamergate has gotten in the media.
  132.  
  133. IE: “People are not understanding gamergate because it contains people with autism”
  134.  
  135. Suggested response: Again, state how that's fallacy of composition even if it were true and blatantly ableist. Show that there is a clear message with examples, and that gamergate is being intentionally misrepresented.
  136.  
  137. Further reading:
  138. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy_of_composition
  139.  
  140.  
  141. Association fallacy induced for enemy of my enemy logic
  142.  
  143. A great espionage tactic, I have seen it work many times on unsuspecting targets. Basically what it does is generate an illusion of association on a target with another group that already has aggressive adversaries. This is different from generic villainization via association fallacy, as it generally doesn't effect the public at large but rather a specific group of people.
  144.  
  145. In terms of logic:
  146.  
  147. “A” wants to target “B”
  148.  
  149. “A” knows of a feud: “C” attacking “D”
  150.  
  151. “A” generates a false association between “B” and “D”
  152.  
  153. “C” begins attacking “B”
  154.  
  155. IE: “Gamergate is just a platform for MRA/Conservatives/Republicans/American Traitors”
  156. (naturally this gets followed by their respected opposition targeting gamergate)
  157.  
  158. Suggested response: No, that has nothing to do with gamergate. Stop derailing with off-topic associations.
  159.  
  160.  
  161. There are a lot of manipulative people out there, many of whom are very experienced. Your best bet is to keep spreading positivity and verified information. Stick to people who are willing to discuss in a constructive manner. Also do not view all critics as hopeless trolls/shills, some of them are just misinformed people, use your best judgement.
  162.  
  163. Try to not let people get to you emotionally. Like I always say “avoid applying more emotion to someone else's words than the person that is saying them” because If you do, you are vulnerable to antisocial manipulation.
  164.  
  165. Suggested readings:
  166. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
  167. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_techniques
  168.  
  169. If you feel more adventurous (this requires a lot of self discipline):
  170. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterintelligence
  171.  
  172. ~Max
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Public Pastes
We use cookies for various purposes including analytics. By continuing to use Pastebin, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the Cookies Policy.  OK, I Understand
Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!