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Re: Catching Votebots
by Juerd (Abbot) on Mar 19, 2002 at 20:05 UTC

    I guess I'm a vote bot then.

    Whenever I vote, my vote is based on the content of the node. I didn't like this node, so I downvoted it. I do not vote thinking about the XP one could gain/lose because of my vote, which means I do waste votes on the Anonymous Monk.

    If anyone wants to use a vote bot, he/she should be able to go right ahead, imho. What you do with your votes is up to you, so if you want to script it (unless it's against some site policy I'm not aware of), use your scripting powers to do so.

    Your node currently has a rep of -2. Does that mean that there are two vote bots that have seen it? Probably not. It probably means I'm not the only one who disagrees.

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    W5kIHBhY2soKS4gQnV0IGRvIHlvdS
    ByZWNvZ25pc2UgQmFzZTY0IHdoZW4
    geW91IHNlZSBpdD8gIC0tIEp1ZXJk
    

      While I pretty well agree with you I feel obliged to point out that the votebots are a controversial subject here at the monastery (do a super search), with the general opinion being that they are evil and should be banned. While I cant say (not being vroom) that they are outright prohibited I would point out that a poorly written votebot will cause the account the votebot is operating under to loose massive XP, and would argue that the presence of such a mechanism strongly suggests that votebots are indeed prohibited.

      And to those of you out there who see this as a challenge, please dont. Votebots are evil. They compromise that which makes the community here so vibrant and strong. IMO the use of a votebot is an attack on the very principles that make The Monastery such a cool place. If you need a votebot to make your XP go up, or your friends XP to go up then you and they dont belong in our community, just as those nations that rig their elections do not belong in the community of democratic nations.

      Yves / DeMerphq
      --
      This space for rent.

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