User blog:Tiff or Nick/Sock Puppetry

Due to excessive sock puppetry happening recently, many have questioned about sockpuppeting.

What is Sock Puppetry?
Sock puppetry, or socking for short, is the use of multiple accounts for improper uses. These may include:
 * Creating an account to support one's side in a dispute.
 * Vandalism
 * Avoiding consequences

As such these types of accounts are prohibited and can be tracked down with those having the same IP address.

Obvious signs of Sock Puppetry
Some obvious signs of Sock Puppetry include:
 * New accounts
 * Old accounts which have been abandoned for a long time before being revived
 * Vandal accounts.

IP Address Log
Editors with access to the Admin tool may consult the server log to see which IP addresses are linked to which accounts. Admin cannot confirm with certainty that two accounts are not connected; it can only show whether there is a technical link at the time of the check.

Blockage
If a person is found to be using a sock puppet, the sock puppet account(s) should be blocked indefinitely. The main account may be blocked at the discretion of any uninvolved administrator. IP addresses used for sock puppetry may be blocked, but are subject to certain restrictions for indefinite blocks.

Different forms of Sock Puppets
Sock puppetry can take on several different forms:
 * Creating new accounts to avoid detection
 * Using another person's account
 * Logging out to make problematic edits as an IP address
 * Reviving old unused accounts and presenting them as different users
 * Persuading friends or acquaintances to create accounts for the purpose of supporting one side of a dispute