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Fake forum comments are 'eroding' trust in the web
username509
Member CommonPosts: 635
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15869683
Trust in information on the web is being damaged by the huge numbers of people paid by companies to post comments online, say researchers.
Fake posters can "poison" debate and make people unsure about who they can trust, the study suggests.
Some firms have created tens of thousands of fake accounts to flood chat forums and skew debate.
The researchers say there are reliable ways to spot fakes and urge websites to do more to police users.
The researchers from Canada and China say paying people to post comments is an "interesting strategy in business marketing" but it is not a benign activity.
"Paid posters may create a significant negative effect on the online communities, since the information from paid posters is usually not trustworthy," they wrote.
Battles
In some cases, rival companies have used competing armies of workers to wage comment wars that confused members of the public looking for unbiased information.
{mod edit - cut rest of article}
God damn wtf is up with coping and pasting to this site?
{mod edit - please do not post whole articles. Excerpts with links are fine. }
Never trust a screenshot or a youtube video without a version stamp!
Comments
Most of them with post counts around 50, usually less.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
It works both ways and could just as easily be people posting as "fanboys" of the game as well.
Let's not start pretending it's an entirely one-sided situation.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
And sometimes people express their opinions on a game they don't like. Look Tor is not for everyone and some people will hate it and go out of there way to express that feeling. The same happened with Rift and it will happen with GW2 and Tera, The thing to keep in mind is "it does not matter what other people think" the only thing that is important is your opinion.
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
This is old news. It's been going for years now. I just find it interesting that it actually garnered an article, esp. from the BBC.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
On the contrary, i believe "fakers" are between the fanboys and good reviewers. Some even managed to get mods attention and lock threads where someone said swtor is a childish game. Pathetic.
The haters are usually the people who's expectations were let down. They are angry and just spit it out.
When you see the thread "I just tried the Game X and it's amazing, i subbed right away!!" and there's a long, well constructed post with 10 things he liked in the game, you know there's a big chance the post is made by a paid person.
Seen plenty of it.
Naw, you really didn't.
The main reason the viral marketing paranoia is pointless, is that it always cuts both ways; accusation, impossible to prove, made of smoke and mirrors. But making the accusation would is enough.
Pointless, circular, paranoid, whack job conspiracy theory territory.
At best, it can just make you wildly suspicious of people you've never seen on the forum before.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
This is why you make up your own damn mind instead of letting anyone do it for you. Decide, then ignore all the garbage. You are a human not a $ (form of currency) to be bartered over.
I feel that your information is valuable. Unfortunately, I am unable to read it. Also, my eyes hurt from trying. Thanks though.
This is not necessary, however. It is disruptive to the people who DO like the game, and would like to discuss it without having every thread derailed.
People who don't like a game would be far better off finding one they DO like, and posting about it, in it's dedicated forums.
Yeah, they're run by the illuminati who are controlled by the jews, that got their money from aliens that used to be ghosts and once talked to jesus!!!!!
All the same crap, you people...
Quick note: I fixed the opening post by removing the formatting so it is easier to read. Also, we encourage discussion, but we try to respect outside content and hope others respect ours, so we ask that you not copy full articles. I cut some of the post down for that reason.
To give feedback on moderation, contact mikeb@mmorpg.com
Wait, so we're not supposed to base our game purchases and subscriptions off of forum user posts? Damn.. I'm doomed
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You should never consider random forum comments while purchasing your games. Only pay attention to the specific comments that have any relativity to your interests and your expecations of a good game. Formulate your own questions about the game from your own interests.
I use youtube to look at gameplay to see if a game is worth playing. Then I go onto the game's website and look at all the information the publishers provide for the game (for example, character controlling is a big issue for me). If I want to know something more specific about the game, I will inquire about that information.
Yet, that paints a one-sided picture. People do come here to see if certain mmorpgs are good or have improved. If only the ones that liked the games posted here, then every game would be painted as shining with gold. Even if certain games were just gold-painted turds.
Truthful negative reviews need to be still included on these forums to keep people from playing these games that are simply gold-painted turds.
Ya. Sometimes I read the comments just for a laugh because I know it's blatent cheap propaganda.
Sometimes it's religious statements concerning the endtimes.
Sometimes it's typical leftwing rightwing bullshit.
Sometimes it's actually state control paid posters like pro Isreal or pro Chinese posts.
It's kind of easy to tell. After a while you start noticing paterns.
Never trust a screenshot or a youtube video without a version stamp!
I have less then 50 posts.... Does that mean I'm a hater? I don't feel like a hater.... Wait, what's this... Someone scratched out the name on my underwear and wrote hater..... *shakes fist at the sky* Damn you MMORPGers!!
"People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool."
How is a paid troll, flamer, fan-boy, or hater erode trust more than the ones that do it for free?
here lies the truth, one of the best posts i've read in the past few months (and not only on this site)
I start with the presumption that someone giving their opinion has their own agenda behind it. I then try to decide whether that agenda is one I care about. Or not.
Google "Get paid to post on forums" and see what pops up. I bet there's a company in there somewhere for games postings....
{mod edit}
It works both ways, go look at some of the most fervent fans of SW:ToR, they only just created accounts this last month or this month. If you wish I'll show you 5 new accounts and everyone one of them are SW:ToR fanatics and will not let anyone so much as say anything critical about the game without jumping into the thread and start flaming the person for having issues with the game.