What is Digg?650 Comments
- chupavacas, on 11/06/2007, -56/+287It is important to note that this involves a case of email spam and not Digg spam, online poll rigging, etc. I think I speak for all Ron Paul supporters when I say that this kind of action is not helping and not welcome, it creates the appearance that RP's support is manufactured and could sour the true base.
- Ades, on 11/10/2007, -56/+246well, you see hordes of ron paul supporters on the streets even on the democratics debate... i guess these people are real life "spam-robots"..
- josh4rim, on 11/10/2007, -40/+220Well, spam bots do not donate cash. The fact the Ron Paul has raised the amount of money that he has raised shows that the majority of publicity on the net is not mostly spam bots.
- jlink7, on 11/10/2007, -55/+189A guide to discrediting a political candidate:
Step 1: Hire a botnet to send out a simple copy & paste job from a website that details the strong qualities of a candidate. Regardless of the positive message, spam will be regarded as spam.
Step 2: Hire an "independant" research firm to conduct analysis on those spam emails to claim that somehow these emails are representative of the actual following of that candidates.
Not saying that is what has happened, and is just as likely that a misguided supporter set it up, but nonetheless, it would be a simple way to discredit any politician with "only" an internet following. - dafragsta, on 11/09/2007, -51/+154What the *****?! Seriously, why are people ***** on Ron Paul's parade? Where does this come from? At the end of the day, spam bots do NOT have any ***** money. They didn't donate $3M in October. I, however, sent what I could and find this extremely destructive to the political process.
- danhillmoses, on 11/10/2007, -180/+280Finally, a Ron Paul article that I actually want to read.
- FTLJohnson, on 11/08/2007, -36/+127What I want to know is how they built ACTUAL Spam Robots!? I mean seriously.... There are Ron Paul signs ALL OVER my town. I haven't actually seen the robots putting them there... (I would really like to!) However, I am really impressed with the fact that REAL LIFE Ron Paul supporters are so skilled with robotics that they could create machines that go from small town to small town all over America putting up Ron Paul signs, effectively spamming everybody. Those have got to be some good robots, able to operate a hammer, possibly a staple gun, and dispense tape.... They really get around too. Not to mention how stealthy they are... I mean ... I have not seen ONE Ron Paul robot... NEVER! I've only run into real actual Ron Paul supporters that were human beings, so these spam bots have got to be some of the most impressive things I've ever heard people come up with.
- AtomicNewt, on 11/09/2007, -36/+126I would like to see proof. I think RP's spam servers are located right next to the WMD's in Iraq and I hear rumors that he may have some next to the ones in Iran too.
- TheRealM3D, on 11/09/2007, -51/+114Smear campaign. GG Neocons!
Just because someone is email-spamming on behalf of Ron Paul doesn't invalidate his results in straw polls or his general popularity on social networking sites like Digg, Facebook, etc. The high level of interest and support in Ron Paul actually exists and its still growing. Attempts to discredit his campaign using stories like these reeks of desperation from the established two-parties-in-one system that has been in control of America for the last 50 years. Maybe our younger generation will wake up, really get out and vote for alternative candidates and start to effect some change. - AtomicNewt, on 11/09/2007, -33/+93First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Gandhi
Welcome to Phase 3!!! - alciadanet, on 11/06/2007, -28/+84It's always the same group of 200 people, traveling around the country, from event to event.
;-D - PIR4T3, on 11/09/2007, -29/+84This might just be another case of trying to take the knee's out from under the man that is running far ahead of what his competition thought possible for him. Every candidate that has run for the presidency has had one or two people spamming junk mail out to the public via email. This case is no different than the spam i got when King Gorge ran in 2000 but it is getting coverage because of who the candidate is. Spam bots don't post articles on digg or respond to them to support Dr. Paul. this is called a grass roots movement for a reason. Its by the people for the people because of the people who want our country back. PS explain why a article that only has 51 diggs gets to the front page so fast when other articles about Dr. Paul that have far more diggs never can make it here?
- tgarza17, on 11/09/2007, -17/+71Funny I read on this on Digg yesterday when the original Wired article was dugg up. So now the same exact story is news again when it's found on another site, which even references Wired for more information? Whatever. It may be a smear attempt, it may be a misguided supporter, but it's nothing compared to the dirt I've already seen dredged up on some of the other candidates. I saw Hillary dancing on the news last night. That memory will haunt me far longer than some unauthorized spams.
- spyd3rweb, on 11/09/2007, -53/+105Go to hell... We are not spambots.
- shadowspires, on 11/09/2007, -22/+58There are so many things wrong with that article.
1. as noted spambots don't donate money and Ron Paul has the third most money
2. the "spam" is not what media complains about they complain about their phone and web polls not email (except the occasional reporter that slanders Ron Paul ;-)
3. who really cares anyone can proxy their internet and/or email through foreign proxy servers... those that support Ron Paul are just the type to not trust government and be more interested in doing such activities. whoopeee.
Non-issue and ars technica should know better. - feshmania, on 11/05/2007, -10/+45It should be noted that most of the donations Paul received in the recent quarter were $200 or less as well...which means they were most likely coming from independent sources (ie, no lobbyists). Ron Paul isn't "bending over for" anyone, even if you don't like him, the one thing that is hard to discredit is that he sticks to what he says he believes in (check his voting record).
- ours, on 11/05/2007, -5/+38Why shouldn't you vote for someone with little chance to win? With that mentality, you'll never vote for who you want and the same people get elected all the time.
- andshewas, on 11/08/2007, -20/+51Yeah, the robots must drive, too. I've seen plenty Ron Paul bumper stickers. They must also walk around town leaving flyers and informational brochures. Gosh, those robots are eerily talented.
- Axias, on 11/09/2007, -46/+75VERY MISLEADING TITLE? GUESS WHAT, IT'S PROPAGANDA. It doesen't take a brain surgeon to realize when a story is slanted or skewed. "Researchers: Ron Paul campaign e-mails originating from spambots", Oh really? All of them? Some of them? Most of them? If you didn't know anything about RP or didn't care, that's about all they expect you to read. A nice misleading headline. First WIRED, now ARS technica. ***** EM BOTH. Both off the favorites list, FOREVER.
- bjornski, on 11/05/2007, -11/+39You have friends?
- barbieh11, on 11/09/2007, -11/+38I guess bots can make contributions? If so, someone teach me how to be the 3rd highest contribution collector with a bot. I could use some cash.
- Phrostee, on 11/09/2007, -9/+35btw how many people here have recieved unsolicited mail from the RP campaign? I know I havent, and with the spam blockers of most email clients, does a few spam emails really amount to the appearance of "an almost cult like following online".
- facereplacer, on 11/09/2007, -26/+52Nice. A B.S. Ars Technicha article about a B.S. Wired article.
Who gets the reach around?
Way to increase your traffic Ars. Don't you have another pointlessly redundant OS review to write? - tcpip4lyfe, on 11/08/2007, -12/+37Im not sure how you rig a poll. You could clear the cookie and vote again but I'm willing to bet it stores your IP address on the web server. So to get around that you have to spoof IP's or even easier, create a bot net. True, ron paul has a huge following on the internet. Because of this the ron paul fans vote in disproportionate numbers when a poll comes up. But I submit to you this: There are a "*****" of other candidates. If they had any real support by young people, wouldn't you think they would do the same thing?
- revo764, on 11/09/2007, -9/+33So let me guess, the war industry in this country is making billions upon billions for themselves with the endless war on terruh, Ron Paul has given thm notice that if he is elected President thier billions of tax payer dollars they horde themselve to is going to end, do you really believe they are not going to try to smear him so he doesn't get elected. FFS wake the ***** up people.
- Daedalus81, on 11/08/2007, -30/+53I exist in real life and I donated to his campaign.
That's one. I'm pretty sure there are others. - GawtMilk, on 11/08/2007, -4/+27This just in : all Ron Paul Robots are ninjas.
- inactive, on 11/10/2007, -12/+33I R SPAMBOT
WAIT..NO I'M NOT...
And neither are my friends...
strange... - tao52nyc, on 11/05/2007, -15/+36I also donated to RP's campaign - the full legal monty of $2300 - first time I've ever done that. That's how important it is. And hey, I'd like to see whose candidacy the SKEPTICS are supporting, with their labor and/or dollars.
- andshewas, on 11/10/2007, -9/+29Not sure why this article calls Ron Paul a libertarian. He ran under that party in 1988, but he's been in Congress as a republican for 10 years, and he's running as a republican this campaign. I love Ars, but people need to get their facts straight.
- dracostimpy, on 11/08/2007, -4/+24I am unit 1105 of the newly released RP1776 model of cybertronic sign-posting automaton. Immediately cease all discussion of Paulbots, or I will use my ninja emulator programming to dispense with you for jeopardizing our mission. Asimov's robot laws to me are like the Constitution is to George Bush. You have no chance to survive make your time.
- dtschwe, on 11/05/2007, -4/+23this could be about the worst thing a supporter could do considering how often popular online support for Ron is labeled "spam."
very few people paying attention to reports of this will say that spambots do not:
donate $2.6 million a month
vote in text messaging polls
make youtube videos
write songs
show up to hear him speak by the hundreds and sometimes thousands
post yard signs
or stand on street corners passing out flyers - diffraction, on 11/10/2007, -6/+25The original author of the article, Sarah Lai Stirland, shows her blatant Ron Paul hatred on her blog. Whatever she is, she certainly isn't non-partisan.
http://stirfry.vox.com/library/post/reader-feedbac ... - mt066, on 11/05/2007, -18/+36You can't just not read them, it's every 3rd article: "Ron Paul: Christlike Saviour or Praiseworthy Idol?" "Ron Paul Saves Kitten From Burning Building" "Ron Paul Constitution blablalbal"
The only way would be if they made a Ron Paul section and forced every article that even mentions him in there so I could just block it. - n8glenn, on 11/05/2007, -1/+19Personally, I think this is a bunch of hogwash. I have never gotten any Ron Paul emails, other than email about the meetup group that I subscribed to. I have never heard of anyone getting unwanted Ron Paul emails, and in fact, the whole "Ron Paul spam" story refers to the assumption that people are voting multiple times in online polls, and also talking about Ron Paul on digg in articles that are not about Ron Paul. I admit that Ron Paul supporters go a little overboard on digg, but so what? They get dugg down and no harm is done. If unsolicited emails are being sent out about Ron Paul, then they could be coming from literally anywhere, it could be an effort to railroad his campaign, or it could be some misguided supporter, but either way, it is not his fault, and I hope people will not ignore his important message simply because of something stupid like this.
- Floris, on 11/05/2007, -92/+110Same here, because I am ***** sick and tired of ron paul every 10th article on digg, posted by users who got hired to post them. i auto bury all ron paul stories, and this one got an exception and got dugg
- Coven, on 11/05/2007, -6/+24Because a Ron Paul supporter is on the left...right?
- Aiwanei, on 11/10/2007, -12/+29I care about my personal liberty but I swear some of these ron paul stories are just the same thing over and over. I'm just waiting for one where it will say "Ron Paul had a Peanut Butter sandwich for Lunch" I mean yeah people love Ron Paul great, but half the stories that make it to the front page are pretty close to the same article with just a few slight changes in details.
Honestly I bet if all of a sudden there was at least 3 Guiliani stories on the front page you would start feeling the same way other people do.
And if you are such a supporter of personal liberties why are you trying to silence someone's freedom of speech? you are what I call a hypocrite. - Bigflexy, on 11/05/2007, -2/+19How come I haven't got any Ron Paul emails?
- tempusrob, on 11/08/2007, -45/+62And the Digg spam/poll rigging doesn't?
- potifar, on 11/05/2007, -7/+24Quick, everyone start spamming for Giuliani and Hillary so their campaigns run afoul of the authorities!
- kazamx, on 11/05/2007, -3/+19Remember many people don't vote for the candidate they think is best, they vote for the one who is going to win. That way they can claim they were on the 'winning' side. How many times have you heard people say if you vote Ron paul your throwing your vote away. These are the people who are destroying America.
If you only vote for the second worst candidate so that he beats the worst candidate then what happens? You always end up with a ***** candidate. To make matters worse when the candidates look at who wins elections they copy them. So in future elections you get even ***** candidates. If you vote Ron Paul then it sends a message to Government. It tells them here I am, and I care about the constitution. I care about bringing our soldiers home. If enough people vote like that, then future candidates will target that segment of the market and maybe just maybe you will get a president who doesn't ***** on the constitution. - D43PAN, on 11/05/2007, -3/+19I get it now. Ron Paul is a libertarian because even though he's in the Republican party, his actions follow more closely with that of a libertarian.
So we can finally agree that the other candidates are authoritarians right?
Finally, the debate is getting down to the point.
Liberty or Tyranny, You Decide! - epsilona01, on 11/05/2007, -3/+19And this is why they constantly repeat 'he has no chance'. Repeat it enough and you'll convince the stupid masses.
- inactive, on 11/09/2007, -14/+29This isn't your scapegoat if you're looking for a reason to step on RP's campaign or the faithful supporting base. And the idea of this email spam "souring" the already committed supporters or turning off other potential ones... please.
- tyzent, on 11/05/2007, -9/+24support for ron paul in philadelphia is no joke, he had more support during the night of the democratic debate than any of the democrats. there is a ron paul rally in a week, and more people gave me ron paul flyers and pamphlets than any others (although i got a lot of legalizing marijuana pamphlets too). i'm not saying this because i'm a huge ron paul fan, just saying that those who do support him go crazy in real life too, not just on the internetting.
- inactive, on 11/08/2007, -7/+22-WARNING-Dangerous Concentration of Ron Paulboys Beyond This Point-Scroll At Your Own Risk-
- TheHydrogens, on 11/05/2007, -2/+16@Ulisses if that is the case, then why is there so much bitching when RP does so well in online polls? Also, I don't think you know how to use the word draconian... stick to words you know please.
- diffraction, on 11/05/2007, -7/+20You'd have to imagine that because the only place its fake is in your head. Fake online support doesn't donate 5.3 million dollars.
- barbieh11, on 11/08/2007, -25/+38I call BS. This reeks of dis info. RP for Prez. Can you Digg it?
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