Three new members who are posting in the general chat forum Davidowens, Vinnywilliams and Danwalker are actually the same person. Some of you may remember him by his past names from when he was banned from AAC and also Electrotech. Billy Mayo, DexterMcCoy, Vancastillo, Dannydavis, Walters and many others. He is also posting pictures of his autopilot schematics again.

Edit: He may also have a new account under the name LeoWilson too.

 

Three new members who are posting in the general chat forum Davidowens, Vinnywilliams and Danwalker are actually the same person. Some of you may remember him by his past names from when he was banned from AAC and also Electrotech. Billy Mayo, DexterMcCoy, Vancastillo, Dannydavis, Walters and many others. He is also posting pictures of his autopilot schematics again.

Edit: He may also have a new account under the name LeoWilson too.

Be aware that you are treading on dangerous ground here(AAC), in trying to warn people about him. No matter how often he has been banned each new membership he makes is treated as a clean slate.

I warned the group he would be back!

 

Thanks Shortbus, I was just trying to give a heads up to everyone, Im hopeing it will help avoid some of the frustration we always see when people who dont know about him put out lots of time and effort trying to help him. Not realising he is a lost cause.

 

Thanks, Brevor. 4 more on my ignore list and lots of grief avoided.

 

The mods have noted this and it is under discussion.

 

Large images are always suspicious to me- at least it shows lack of skills.

As if detail would be important when indeed you leave out detail- its not unlike cleaning the clean.

 

He also created 3 accounts over at ETO last week, They mods there have already closed them down.

 

As have we.

One of the reasons it takes us a little longer is it is a group consensus decision. One moderator generally presents a case and steps back and listens.

The fundamental reason in this case is multiple accounts.

 

One of the reasons it takes us a little longer is it is a group consensus decision. One moderator generally presents a case and steps back and listens.

Hi Bill, In my last post I wasnt infering that you were moving too slow, just that I was suprised how quickly ETO closed him down since they have new owners. He "Billy" showed up first at Electronics Point forum last week, he has been previously banned from there too. Im not sure what his status is there now.

 

The mods have noted this and it is under discussion.

I thought banned meant banned, no matter what screen name was used by that person. And the last time he had multiple "personalities", you guys shut down all but one. I won't cause as much stink this time, but let you mod's do the job.

 

Thanks Shortbus, I was just trying to give a heads up to everyone, Im hopeing it will help avoid some of the frustration we always see when people who dont know about him put out lots of time and effort trying to help him. Not realising he is a lost cause.

Just didn't want you getting in trouble like me.

 

I have an honest question: How can we definetely know that all of these aliases belong to the same person? Don't get me wrong, I am with you that probably this is the case and Billy is simply registering new accounts.
But apart from making connotations based on general IP locations and linguistics, is there another sure fire way to tell?

It's not that I don't want to ban spammers, or am bent on handing out clean slates. It's just that I don't like taking permanent actions when I'm not sure about something.

 

"Billy's" style of posting is very easy to recognise. However in this latest instance of him coming back he showed up first at Electronics Point forum under just 1 name. The big tipoff was he was posting his autopilot schematics again. And the writing style was the same. Then this week he showed up here with 4 different names but they were asking the same questions posted at the other forum under the 1 account.

 

What level of assurance do you need? Beyond reasonable doubt? Preponderance of evidence? Just cause? Reasonable suspicion? I would favor something toward reasonable suspicion with an appeal process that allows for rehabilitation of the individual.

The simple fact is that "Billy" is not benign. Over at ETO, when he got upset, he sent personal messages threatening individuals and their families. His approach is somewhat unique, compared to other spammers that appear daily, and is easily detected. He has promised to "be good," but that effort was quickly forgotten with his next post.

First, I think AAC should add a rule that multiple registrations is cause for corrective action up to and including a permanent ban. Second, the sign-up procedure could include a handshake that would allow a degree of tracing. Security is certainly and area that affects many internet sites. Perhaps, an outside consultant should be contacted for help.

John

 

"Billy's" style of posting is very easy to recognise. However in this latest instance of him coming back he showed up first at Electronics Point forum under just 1 name. The big tipoff was he was posting his autopilot schematics again. And the writing style was the same. Then this week he showed up here with 4 different names but they were asking the same questions posted at the other forum under the 1 account.

So, basically, the best line of defence is to keep an eye on the other sister sites. I don't have the time to do that, but I know that many of our users do and it's a good measure by me. As for the writing style, I agree that it is a giveaway, but I wouldn't go as far as matching the user with the account judging solely on his syntax.

What level of assurance do you need? Beyond reasonable doubt? Preponderance of evidence? Just cause? Reasonable suspicion? I would favor something toward reasonable suspicion with an appeal process that allows for rehabilitation of the individual.

Accounts matched with Billy are banned permanently, based on previous behaviour. Thus, we prefer to have a somewhat solid case, before issuing any permanent sentences. Appeals are not possible nor wanted in this case.

First, I think AAC should add a rule that multiple registrations is cause for corrective action up to and including a permanent ban. Second, the sign-up procedure could include a handshake that would allow a degree of tracing. Security is certainly and area that affects many internet sites. Perhaps, an outside consultant should be contacted for help.
John

Are you saying that AAC should be able to trace users to their home address or MAC address? I wouldn't want to expose AAC members to potential theft of their personal data through our servers, let alone the legal implications of this kind of measure. I'm strongly against such practices.

 

Why would you ban someone wanting help?

 

Billy (AKA Dexter, etc) was not wanting help. He has a unique way of trolling, where is selectively misunderstanding and ignoring answers that do would end a thread because he have to acknowledge his query has been answered. He tries to string people of good will to the point they want to pull their hair out.

He uses multiple accounts to help stir people up, pretending to be separate people. This is the fundamental reason he was banned from here.

He is abusing a fundamental resource, possibly even damaging it beyond repair, the willingness of people who are willing to share their expertise with others. This is a finite resource, and one we all value.

In short, he is malicious. He is not doing it for monetary gain, but for personal pleasure. I stepped in the first time he was here and verified that for myself. He does real damage to the goodwill of this site.

 

Three cheers for Bill Marsden!

I am so happy that you defined the problem. He uses up the good will of good people, and that is a limited resource.

Personally, when I see his posts, my head tries to explode because they are so impossible to understand.
In the future, I will recognize that as my body serving notice that I should mark this as, "ignore" and move on. My wisdom grows by watching you work through the problem.

 

I see the problem. Trolling should not be tolerated at all. The fact that I'm reading his changing his name and reapplying to forums as well as the fact he is 'known' seems to prove the point. I still fail to understand why troll a 'RESOURCE' website, are there no other hobbies?

 

There are lots of studies of the psychology or psychopathology of trolls. Here's one: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...rolls-are-narcissists-psychopaths-and-sadists

They were looking for evidence that linked trolling with the "Dark Tetrad" of personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism,psychopathy, and sadism.

From few I have seen, narcissism seems to be a prominent trait. Hence the desire to get attention on a high-class technical forum.

John