Sock It to Me

Meta
Title:	Sock It to Me
Creator:	Merlin Missy
Date(s):	November 23, 2007
Medium:
Fandom:	multifandom
Topic:
External Links:	Sock It to Me
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Sock It to Me is a 2007 essay by Merlin Missy.

Series

This essay is part of a series called Dr. Merlin's Soapbox.

Some Topics Discussed

• sockpuppets
• experiences about being on a 1996 mailing list and discovering a fan who'd been ill and died wasn't real, but a sock
• socks are dangerous, cites some real life examples of people who have committed suicide or been killed after being harassed by people on the internet who used fake personas, one of these began with "an IM flirtation and ended in murder"
• Ms. Scribe and her malicious socks, The Ms.Scribe Story: An Unauthorized Fandom Biography
• states that fans in "her fandom" are putting together a list of suspected socks
• socks are everywhere
• pseuds can be deceitful
• includes a list of things to watch out for when identifying socks
• be wary of people whose lives sound like something out of a bad fanfic
• some analysis on why people create socks: seeking attention, the anonymity of the internet makes it easy to dismiss people as not real
• Fandom Chameleons and how to spot them
• investigate people on the internet to determine if they are real

From the Essay

For those of you who have only been around that week, a sockpuppet is an alternate online persona adopted by someone for the purposes of deception. Pen names can be forms of sockpuppetry, though that depends on execution. A writer with multiple pen names may cultivate a secondary cult of personality around the other name(s), going so far as to enter online discussions under both pseuds. That would be socking. A writer who only posts stories under the names and does not attempt to engage in other fannish activities with the second name may be deceitful, but is unlikely to be dangerous.

Those stories make fandom socks seem almost innocuous. But they're not. Take for example the case of Ms. Scribe, who finally got her wish of becoming one of the most (in)famous people in Harry Potter fandom, mainly by dint of turning out to be about a third of the total fans. In classic sockpuppetry fashion, she first created her primary account, then created bogus secondary accounts whose sole purpose were to praise her. Not content with that level of fame, she allegedly then created a series of fandom enemies to persecute her so that other fans would rally to her defense. She created other enemies who conveniently "blacklisted" her along with the Potter BNFs so we she would stand united with them. As a quick how-to guide of rocketing to fandom fame, she practically wrote the book. And in her wake, the Potter fandom (never known for being a shining light of stability or, dare I use the word, harmony) fractured and back-bit, and to this day some fans won't speak to others because of events that transpired thanks to Ms. S.

Creating extra people to love (or despise) yourself doesn't feel as much of a betrayal of trust; it's not like those other people you're talking to are really real anyway, right?

But what if they are? What if those people on the other end are actual people, and more, they're the cool people you always wanted to hang out with? This thought process leads to a different but still dangerous form of sockpuppetry, dangerous because the original poser may be unaware that this is a form of sockpuppetry at all. I speak now of the Fandom Chameleon. You've met her too, though you may not have realized it for several months when you did. The Chameleon is her own best sockpuppet.

You're in the fandom, and so is she! You love a particular character, and low and behold, she does too. Your 'ship is her 'ship, and so is your secondary 'ship. The other show you watch is also her other favorite show. You've got a political position, and OMG, she has the same thoughts on the matter. It is like you have found your best friend just waiting for you. And then you manage to see her talking to someone else, whose 'ship she also sails above all others, and whose favorite show she also enjoys best, and whose somewhat different opinion on the political issue is suddenly her own. You've found a Chameleon.

Chameleons aren't inherently hurtful. How could they be? They want to be loved and be everyone's very best friend and fandom buddy. They are however frustrating to deal with on a long-term basis. It's one thing to know that someone enjoys other things than you do, and quite another to realize that, if you mentioned in the right tone that you thought all the puppies in the world should be rounded up and shot into the sun, that she would agree with you and in fact help make plans to help you design the rocket (at least until a PETA member came into the chatroom, at which point she would start chanting "Fur is murder!").

Are there any real people out there? Should you trust anyone you meet in fandom or online or anywhere? Short answer: no. You shouldn't. Trust is something you build over time with people. It's based on long conversations and short IMs and it's confirmed with meetings in real life by people you know (and trust) already. It's having a network of friends who've met you, and who have met your other online friends, and it's phone calls and occasional Google searches to confirm details. Of the other people who currently work at this site, I can personally vouch for the existence of exactly two of them because we've met irl. Three others I've never met but they know real-life friends of mine. If you don't know about the person you're talking to and you're fearing a puppet or chameleon, ask around.

If the story is too good (or too heart-wrenching) to be believed, if you're hearing exactly what you want to hear, or if too many brand-new people are saying the exact same thing, someone's probably lying. And note that if you're the one lying, you're going to be caught out eventually, and it won't be pretty. Credibility is the only real coinage in fandom. Once it's gone, it's gone.