Check In Tag ✔️
Look at me catching up on tag games and stuff. My sweet friend, @junktrait tagged me in this so let's go...
Why did you choose your URL? -- My current one came about me wanting to pull "sims" out of my user name. I have been feeling me pull away more from the game and finding myself "dabbling" in other activities. Des comes from Desira which comes from my last WoW main character. And now I'm just use to people calling me Des.
Any side blogs? If you have them name them and why you have them? -- I had one that I would reblog some ACNH patterns to but I did not use it for long at all.
How long have you been on tumblr? -- Feb 2019. Feels like forever ago.
Do you have a queue tag? -- I do not. I really didn't even know it was a thing until recently.
Why did you start your blog in the first place? -- I feel like it's the same story that everyone else has. I wanted to share what was happening in my game. I was also really jumping back into sims and reading lots of simblrs, so I wanted a way to comment and like people's posts.
Why did you choose your icon/pfp? -- It was going into Spring and I wanted to do something spring like. Dane & Ray were my newest sim couple and I wish I had the energy/motivation to share their story but instead it lives rent free in my head. So I share random edits instead.
Why did you choose your header? -- To match my icon. At least on the tumblr dash insert thingy. On the actual tumblr page/layout, it's my OC OTP and their alpha glory.
What’s your post with the most notes? -- My most popular was the Meet Contestant post for Dane's BC. My Ghoulish Gal from last year would be my next top post.
How many mutuals do you have? -- I don't know... lol. I don't have a tool/know a way to quickly check and I am too lazy to count. Yes, I embrace my laziness. I do know I have some amazing mutuals.
How many followers do you have? -- [redacted]
How many people do you follow? -- Currently, 130.
Have you ever made a shitpost? --I'm sure I have.
How often do you use tumblr each day? -- Too much. I check it pretty constantly cause I hate missing out on my friends' amazing content.
Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won? -- Nooo.... not that I can think of.
Do you like tag games? -- Yeah. They're lots of fun.
Do you like ask games? -- Yup. I kind of wish I had some new things to share in order to participate in them. lol
Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? -- IDK. I always feel a bit icky calling people out like this. I will say I do have a few mutuals that get some of those higher notes (and they totally deserve them).
Do you have a crush on a mutual? -- I love my mutuals but no, I'm sorry to say I don't have a crush on any of you. 💖
I'm late and I feel most have done this but I'll tag @fataleromeo and @simscapades
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The Art Behind Manipulating & Guarding a Fandom (p. II)
Here it’s the second part guys, take time to analyse it...
NOTE: *Most of the posts I direct you to, are SHORT & in my opinion not too dense to read. In fact, the great majority are Q&As. I’ll identified every post with a letter, it means that throughout the various parts you’ll see them repeated, so no need to read one twice*
If you missed or want to re-read the first part here it is: The Art Behind Manipulating & Guarding a Fandom (p. I) – decoding1432.
Now, the astroturfers & how to identify them.
I would say that identifying some astroturfers with exactitude is very hard to do, I mean we are talking about professionals. Not even the directioners who have spent years dealing with them are able to fully assure when they are being invaded by some. Nevertheless they have learned to recognise them & some types are obvious.
*link A*
Basing it on an article by The Consumerist, astroturfers are primarily known for two things:
Vague or anonymous identities. The identities of the people, or group of people, are very minimal or completely anonymous. Their profiles would either be generic, unorganised or have few or no posts. If you’re tech savvy and use tools such as Statcounter, you might notice that they frequent certain pages that cater to certain topics and/or suspicious recurring IP addresses.
A specific discussion path is followed/repeatedly brought up. Since one of the main goals of astroturfing is to support one side and discredit another, most astroturfers usually follow a certain discussion path,
ie. Opening -> Segue -> Main Topic Being Pushed
I’ll be using their examples to show you. I’m sure Camren blogs will be like: “relatable”. A lot of shipping involved. Try to exchange “Larry” for “Camren” & “Ziam” for another ship– Laucy, Norminah, Tyren, whatever you want– I promise it won’t become tedious (I’ll keep it the OG way, to avoid confusions). Here I present you what could be the various types of astroturfers (a.k.a. sneaky little bitches):
Example 1: *link E*
“You astroturfing trotters with your generic anti messages are such a fail. If you really read this blog you would also know I don’t “ship”. Never have. I support two couples I believe have been harshly closeted. Why would that upset anyone? Even if you disagree, I’m all about the love baby. I’m all about consenting adults being able to love each other openly, happily and free from hate and discrimination. What kind of a monster takes issue with that? You can ponder that while you lick your wounds and trot to the next blog to spread your venom. You’re a real credit to humanity making excellent use of your time”
As I see it, our first specimen is the aggressive type. During my research, I found several bloggers talking about this kind of astroturfer. Apparently, it’s a very common one & usually driven by hostility but SOMETIMES WITHOUT BEING RUDE. Pay attention to the description below:
*link F*
“I follow a bunch of Ziam blogs, and I heard talk about aggressive Ziam astroturfing of two kinds: (1) asking for masterposts and analyses, and (2) asking very specific factual questions. I talked with that-regular-chick about it, and she described it like this:
“…today we chatted and realized we all got very specific asks from the same “dummy” tumblr account: REDACTED. This account hit at least four of us in the past day. Each time they asked for our analysis and masterposts. Friday, I was blitzed with anon asks about Ziam, Zerrie and Sophiam. Initially, I was answering. But as I progressed through my Inbox, I noticed a pattern: careful not to offend so they throw some false praise in, a few “xx” or sometimes “thank you”. Always very specific about what they want know. Several claimed they were new to the fandom. I got so many, I felt they were really being aggressive and definitely had an agenda.”
Personally I tend to receive these type of anons on a daily basis. I would consider it’s the hardest one to recognise since I understand there are fans out there who tend to be very gentle when asking & simply with the purpose to learn & no one wants to be disrespectful toward any anon when answering, right? Nonetheless this is an advantage they take to camouflage. Note also how that-regular-chick said, ironically enough, the aggressive astroturfer is careful not to offend. Nonetheless I’m also aware that at times there are pretty intense anons which break that pattern of softness & jump straight ahead into using a harsh approach like the one shown in the first pic. Just look at the way that-regular-chick clarified she’s a victim as well despite not being about shipping. I know most Camren blogs get the infamous “why do you assume someone else’s sexuality when it’s none of your business… SO ANNOYING OMG” anon. Well now you know it’s an anti message mainly seeking for you to stop. Since now it’s all about killing Camren no wonder why we’ve seen many of these lately.
Example 2: *link G*
“Both my suspected astroturfers have responded, and their messages are overlapping under the two different URLs in question. And neither likes to use capitalization, coincidentally enough. And if you can’t send asks under your sideblog, why not just change the settings? Also, why is your main blog hella inactive? And why do you think you need a blog to lurk on tumblr? So many questions…”
Our next kind, is the non-anon type. These shameless astroturfers couldn’t bother less in going unnoticed.
Not all of these are about not using capitalization, this ultimate aspect is a pattern the blogger found in that particular case. Here are a few elements you could lean on to identify them:
*link H* (THIS LINK IT’S NECESSARY TO BE OPENED .IT SPEAKS ABOUT FANDOMS MONITORING IN GENERAL. Apparently t’s explained by an insider the directioners had contact with but I’ll address this with more detail almost by the end. If you want to read it now, by all means go ahead.)
“The best way that I’ve seen to get a handle on tumblr is to set up what basically amount to burner accounts. You create a tumblr account with an unassuming username and do nothing to the actual account. You leave the layout at default, don’t change the icon, don’t make posts, and don’t reblog or favourite anything. But you use the account to follow the blogs that control the conversation in whatever fandom you’re trying to monitor.”
Funnily enough, I was followed by a burner account (or maybe more but I did spot one) in the past 24 hours, LOL:
Example 3: *link I*
“People also ask questions they could easily google, like what's Zayn’s Instagram? I mean, you can google that faster than I can answer you. LOL”
Our third type, is the lazy astroturfer. I believe this one is pretty self-explanatory. The description provided is more than sufficient. Characterised by a lethargic tone & vibe.
Another example I could add is: “What is Dinah’s full name?” It’s the first thing I came up with since it’s something you can type in the google searcher… Besides a fan knows DJ’s full name it by heart, right? Lol
You might be wondering, why would they send these type of generic questions, why do they obtain with a generic answer. Well they come with three different objectives, it depends: Either gathering information or steering the conversation or merely keeping an eye on the blog (as in fan engagement).
Example 4: *link J*
I would classify this astroturfer as the… the Inception type, maybe? Excuse me, I’m getting Inception teas here (fun fact: Inception is my favourite film lol). As I understand an idea is put on a target (blog) by this specialised team (astroturfers) just like in the movie. Here I leave you a scene of the film to illustrate it better, min 1:05- 1:32 :
Saito (Ken Watanabe): If you can steal an idea from someone’s mind why can’t you plant one there instead?
Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt): Here’s me planning an idea in your head, I say to you, don’t think about elephants, what do you think about?
Saito: Elephants
Arthur: Right but it’s not your idea, because you know I gave it to you. The subject’s mind can always trace the genesis of the idea. True inspiration is impossible to fake--
Cobb (Leo DiCaprio): *interrupting Arthur* It’s not true.
What we can appreciate in the scene is how DiCaprio contradicts Levitt’s statement of how the subject can’t remember the origin the thought seeded. As I understand this example of astroturfing works like this. The target will not be able to remember where the original question came from since it’s supposed to be passed to others. If I put into perspective this is the way I imagine the original OT4s & Cnizers were created. A constant brainwash pulled by the same negative comments, to an extent that they can’t tell who were the first accounts that influenced them. “The virus got to them & they’re spreading it”.
Example 5: *link K*
Blind astroturfing. How many times we’ve seen repeated questions on another blog? Or from one day to another? Or when we just answer the same thing a couple of asks ago?
Example 6: (if I were you I wouldn’t bother in opening this link since the rest is about their timeline & I didn’t understand what they were talking about but if anyone is curious enough *link L* )
“astroturfing anons will usually give us a heads up that something is coming down the pipe too (that happened with haige 2.0 - people got anons about her for weeks and then she popped up again in her weird mainly one sided stunt with harry). it happened again with babygate but none of us wanted to believe it.”
This is a very weird but not entirely foreign type. If I can call it the “physic” astroturfer. Raise your hand if you have received the “next month (x ) will do (x) thing… bla, bla, bla” sort of message in your inbox more than once? Yep. I see several hands raised in the back lol. It doesn’t mean all it’s necessarily fake, like we saw with the 1D blogger above. BUT it doesn’t mean it’s ALL true either. Watch out for that.
Example 7: *link M* (IMPORTANT TO READ)
“It’s becoming harder for fans to hold onto the illusion that the internet is a secret club and that the management team of a multi-million dollar boyband that built on its success on social media wouldn’t be interested in what fans say on social media.
So it’s awfully funny that there are now anons popping up heavily dropping implications that if we talk openly about what we see on the internet, that management will punish the boys and it’ll all be ~our fault~ and so we need to shut up if we truly love the boys....
Guilt trips–everything is your fault and your responsibility, including the actions of the management and record companies with clear motive and power for their actions–are just another form of attempts at control and manipulation. 'Don’t you care about the boys? You don’t want to hurt them, so if you care about them you will protect them and shut up and say nothing’. That is emotional blackmail. Bullshit.”
When I read this the first time, I was not surprised that they would reach this level. In all seriousness, I had already thought about this. What if one day an anon pops into my inbox & claims the girls will get in trouble due to my “big mouth”? Let me tell you something *starts getting heated* if that happens in the nearest future, I’m going to send them right straight to hell. THAT IS UTTER BULLSHIT. I’m not allowing anyone to use my girls in order to bribe the fuck out of me & my blog. If anything it just proves the amount of manipulation they are willing to carry on in order to save & cover up their asses because they’re threatened. & I don’t want to have to say this ever again… Listen carefully, NOTHING WILL HAPPEN TO THE GIRLS BECAUSE OF US. So if anyone receives or has already gotten this type of anon, IGNORE THEM, BLOCK & MOVE ON.
Just look at the date that post was written: 2014… 3 years later & the directioners are still there. Hell, stronger than ever. We are NOT GOING TO TOLERATE THAT EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL ON OUR TERRITORY. Their biggest weakness is seeing us fighting harder against them, let’s not give them the power & satisfaction of witnessing us falling one by one like dominoes.
Example 8: *link N*
This one seems slightly tricky to me. I don’t know if can be considered a “normal” example or standard in this list since it’s reversed-astroturfing but I’m taking the time to mention it, it’s important.
“...astroturfers infiltrate with the ultimate end goal of dumping stuff on us, and monitoring how we’d respond to it, whereas (real) shady anons infiltrate with the intention to /warn/ us of stuff they know we’d respond negatively to…
the fake ones are always so ominous, and “be ready” or whatever but the real ones are just straight to the point and cautious-sounding and it’s crazy because many things we’ve been warned about are literally things we probably shouldn’t even /know/, much less prepare for...”
I’m still trying to process this last one tbh. I interpret it as the astroturfers (the fake ones) test our reactions but we can tell it’s them because we get this feeling that something is wrong. On the other hand, the real shady anons are to direct with the way they approach, it’s like if they were slapping us in the face but without harming us because they know how are we going to respond. Is it clear? Cause I have to admit, I even confused myself…
Example 9: *link O* (& last example lol)
I’m not sure if we could classify the following as part of astroturfing exactly. I would consider so because it’s so similar & incredibly interesting the way these work that I had to include it:
“Plant blogs”. What is a plant blog? This is the name directioners have christened with those blogs that are sent by the team in order to plant seeds (info) with the purpose of spreading it & ultimately achieving their goal which could be to distract, separate or influence the fandom.
“it means that we believe her blog was ‘planted’ by someone behind the scenes working for/with the boys rather than being an organic blog run by a real fan.”
Not all plant blogs are poisonous since not all the people behind them have bad intentions. I know it’s hard to believe this latter but from what I was seeing the 1D fam had once a blog on their side educating them & never disrespecting or influencing them to hate on any of their boys:
*link P*
“yes a ‘plant’ blog in the way that we’re using the term would be someone who joins the fandom with a deliberate agenda.
in our case, the agenda was beneficial to us as we learned a lot (especially about image manipulation in the press and how to limit the effect of astroturfers on us/the fandom conversation).
there are also hypothetically negative plants whose main role and goal would be to gaslight the fandom from within and make us doubt ourselves/our own observations.”
So...
This were some examples that I consider we have already encountered in the past. I believe the list can continue to go on & on but we’re beginning to study this new concept. I guess with time the experience will shape the “astroturfy” messages adequately enough so we can recognise them with more ease.
Don’t worry, on Part 4 I will give you recommendations I found on how to deal with them...
DON’T BE NAIVE KIDS.
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check-in tag
i was tagged by @wuxien ♥ thank you for thinking of me ^^ it was so nice to read yours and your love for wwx made me smile a lot~
1. Why did you choose your url?
ok so i have explained the origin of my url a couple of times but! let’s hear it again!
so while i was in high school, i was obsessed with j.r. ward’s black dagger brotherhood series and brother vishous was my favorite out of all the vampires of the brotherhood. the royalty theme also stuck with me and i liked “viscount” a lot. i made this nickname for one of my random nintendo ds games originally and then it followed me around lol (my original url on tumblr was in finnish. i have tried to leave that one behind haha)
2. Any side-blogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them.
nope. tho i sometimes consider making one? but i feel like that would put too much pressure on me so i just gather everything here like the trash collector i am
3. How long have you been on tumblr?
i made my account in 2013 so a while
4. Do you have a queue tag?
no. i just post stuff whenever i am around :’D i keep thinking about making one and actually using my queue but,,, i am lazy. also this blog is a mess
5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?
in 2013 i was living and breathing manga/anime. tumblr was a place for all the nice fanart and edits and i just went around looking at those. i can’t remember when i actually started posting anything for this blog bc for a while i just lurked here looking at things but it happened. then i slowly started expanding from there as i moved on from anime to different tv series and movies and kpop and now dramas
6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?
current one (and the previous one too) is bc this man lives in my brain rent free. it’s closing in on one year since i started watching reboot and i still cannot move on from liu sang and how much i love his character and the whole world of dmbj. this fandom really is a pit and i am shoveling dirt to get deeper each day
7. Why did you choose your header?
this too applies to the previous one bc i associate liu sang with forests, especially foggy ones. i looooove the aesthetic of foggy hills and this feeling of mystery but also freedom it gives me. tho i’ve been thinking about making a new layout again bc the current green color reminds me of that foam we use for plastic flowers to stick them up in their pots lol
8. What’s your post with the most notes?
my wangxian edit with lines from richard siken’s poem you are jeff x
it currently has almost 1.5k notes and i still have zero idea why it’s this edit specifically. i think i’ve made better ones but i am fond and very thankful of the love
9. How many mutuals do you have?
so many these days ;; i am so happy with all of you! everybody is so amazing and sweet and loving ♥
10. How many followers do you have?
way past 800 now and that’s nuts
11. How many people do you follow?
i just unfollowed a bunch of inactive blogs and try to find new ones to follow instead (if you have any recs pls do tell?) :’D but currently it’s somewhere around 260 i think
12. Have you ever made a shitpost?
uuuhhhh what is considered a shit post exactly
13. How often do you use tumblr each day?
too often. i feel like am around all the time lol. i switch between tumblr and twt usually but tumblr has been my fave social media ever since i properly started using it. tho when i first got into kpop in 2017-2018 i was very inactive here and almost deleted my account but am happy i didn’t bc the untamed dragged me back here again :’D
14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won?
nope, i don’t do drama. also am just chilling around, idk who would bother to fight me hhhhh and for what even???
15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?
if it’s for a cause then yeah, sure. tho am bad at reblogging anyway so,,, consider me just a moron
16. Do you like tag games?
yes i adore them ;; i remember being so jealous at times when i was just chilling alone on tumblr, rolling around in my own corner, when i saw ppl doing tag games and never had any mutuals to do those with. and now i have a ton! of amazing ppl!! tagging me into things!!! it’s so much fun ♥
17. Do you like ask games?
sometimes? i don’t think am someone who really receives any asks but there are some amazing ppl who humor me every time ♥ also me and @i-am-just-a-kiddo sometimes play these “ask games” by ourselves on google docs :’D we just copy the whole list of questions and answer those and talk about our answers. we’ve done some writer questions especially bc we like to talk about writing and our projects and difficulties.
18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?
there are a couple of ppl on our network especially who intimidate me a bit bc of this O.O also some of our dmbj crew haha (especially looking at you sierra @jockvillagersonly ♥)
19. Do I have a crush on a mutual?
hmm several. tho i easily develop all these friend crushes on ppl. odds are am in love with everybody at least a little bit! but what is friendship on tumblr dot com if you are not confessing your undying love to your mutual at least once a meme post
20. tags?
ah sure! am going to tag: @susuwatari-kompeito @jazthespazz @manhasetardis @jaecomments @humanlighthouse @cross-d-a @xiejie-liubo @foxofninetales @a-force-dyad-in-space @englishbunnyrocks and @justpostsyeet ♥ also the two ppl already mentioned among my answer can consider doing this if they want 👀 no pressure tho! have a nice day everyone ^^
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