Is NetScape using bots to try and stir discussion?
Last night I had some free time to relax and take a break from the daily grind. Well, I didn’t really *have* time, but I made time. While most people kick back and watch the tube for relaxation, I surf the web with no real goals. So I decided to spend a little time on Netscape.
I’ve had an account with Netscape for six months now, but I’ve never really gotten around to surfing the pages or submitting news. Last night I decided to give it a go. I pulled up the RSS feeds and knocked out a few stories that had come up within the ten minutes of me checking. It gave me a chance to get a feel for the site and understand the differences between Netscape and Digg.
There were quite a few differences, but I’ll talk about those in another post. What really caught my attention last night is the apparent use of bots by Netscape in a terrible attempt to spur discussion. I watched about three or four “members” follow me around and vote/comment on my submissions, without having a clue what they were about. I took note of these members, but to keep this post to a minimum I’ll use just one for the sake of my argument.
The user in question goes by the name of “Tristanmax“. At first, I was happy to see Tristanmax vote and comment on my submission. The vote and comment came almost IMMEDIATELY after I posted.
The first comment was quite believable. In fact, I even responded to it and went to add tristanmax as a friend. But then more and more votes and comments started coming through. Many of them were just flat out absurd.
Here are some examples:
On a post titled -”The Host” Wins Big at HK’s First Asian Film Awards-, Tristan says “Thanks!”
A submission titled “Interview of Korean Pop Idol Rain“, the user gets rewarded with Tristans brilliant response, “Vote for Obama! He’s the best!”
Submission titled “Beyonce Knowles Feat. Shakira - Beautiful Liar Music Video“, we get the wonderful response, “Please save America! Stop Bush!”
And one titled “Debt Settlement vs. Bankruptcy” drudges up the response “How are you doing mate?”
This is only the beginning. These completely irrelevant responses are a dime a dozen throughout Netscape. And what is worse, is these users DO NOT respond or ever come back to the page once they vote and comment.
My guess is that either:
A) These users are there for the purpose of spam and are being paid to build profiles, or
B) Being paid by Netscape to try and make the site appear far more active than it really is, or
C) They are bots created by Netscape to create a false community with the hope that a natural group will eventually replace it.
Either way, it’s a perfectly good explanation as to why Netscape is failing on all fronts. That being said, I would love to know if these are bots. If they are, it’s down right insulting and I for one will never use the site again.
Anyone know?
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