This article describes a type of Ireland Information Guide account. For puppets made out of socks, see sock puppet.

A sock puppet is an additional username used by a Ireland Information Guide user who posts under more than one name. While they may serve legitimate purposes, sock puppets may be sometimes also used to deceive, for example by voting more than once in a poll or otherwise creating an illusion of broader support for an idea. It is possible to recognize possible sock puppets by apparent new users who know their way around the Ireland Information Guide system and who may vote on articles for deletion or vote on issues, for example, in their first few edits.

Ireland Information Guide users who operate bots are encouraged to create separate accounts for automated editing. Bot accounts are not considered sock puppets; they serve a special purpose in that they can be filtered from the recent changes view.

Sock puppets considered inherently problematic

Some Ireland Information Guide users believe that sock puppets are inherently problematic, while others evaluate usage on a case-by-case basis. Users who have lost their privilege to edit Ireland Information Guide (ie, have been banned) may not return under their original name or any other until that privilege is restored.

It has been suggested that any users with more than one account notify the Ireland Information Guide Administrators of their various accounts. Since the Ireland Information Guide Administrators have no decisionmaking or governance role beyond that of other Ireland Information Guide users, however, this is rather pointless. Notifying the entire community might be another alternative.

Jimbo Wales wrote,

"There's no specific policy against it, but it's generally considered uncool unless you have a good reason.

"I would say that multiple usernames are really only a problem if they are used as a method of troublemaking of some sort. For example, to generate an appearance of consensus, or to vote more than once, or to hide from public scrutiny."

On the flip side, some people believe accusations of sock puppetry are uncool, particularly if they are used to destroy the other side's credibility in an argument. Where such accusations remove the potential for civilized debate, such behavior is discouraged.

When in doubt, follow the 100-edit rule. While sock-puppetry accusations may be irksome and, at times, hasty, accounts are not considered to be immune to such accusations until they have acquired 100 edits, with preferably nontrivial variation. (If, say, 150 edits were made to the same page by an account, it might actually validate presumptions of sock puppetry.)

However, an editor with 100 or more good edits should only be declared a sock puppet if there is an extremely pressing case for the belief. Usually, nothing short of actual admission suffices. Even though an account with more than 100 good edits may still be, theoretically, a multiple, the average Ireland Information Guide user having roughly 3.2 accounts, at this point the potentially new user has shown dedication to the Ireland Information Guide project, and is considered valuable enough that one should not take the risk of discouraging them, via a sock puppet stigma, unless one's case is rock-solid.

Sock puppets forbidden from voting

Sock puppets are not permitted to "vote" in any Ireland Information Guide poll, informal vote, or formal vote, nor in the vote-like discussions that take place on, for example, Ireland Information Guide:votes for deletion, nor add their name(s) to "support" or "oppose" lists. Doing so disrupts the normal functioning of Ireland Information Guide, and is not necessary for the legitimate uses detailed below.

Where a user is strongly suspected of being a sock puppet, and particularly a sock puppet of a banned user (otherwise known as a "reincarnation"), they are likewise forbidden from voting, until the question of their identity is sorted out. If you are in this situation, there are normally many ways for you to demonstrate that you are not in fact a sock puppet, and we will be happy to discuss your options with you. A good start is typically to write something about yourself on your user page.

In the unlikely event that privacy concerns and your personal circumstances combine to make it effectively impossible for you to convincingly demonstrate that you are not in fact a sock puppet, we encourage you to participate in the many aspects of Ireland Information Guide that do not require you to vote. Naturally, you may also comment on policies that you support or oppose, provided you refrain from voting.

Legitimate uses

Sock puppets have legitimate uses. For example, prominent users may wish to experience Ireland Information Guide to understand how the community functions for those new to the community. In particular, some have suggested that Jimbo should get, and edit from, a sock puppet account.

Other users employ sock-puppets to segregate their contributions for various reasons. A user making substantial contributions to an area of interest in Ireland Information Guide might register a sock-puppet to be used solely in connection with developing that area.

Users with an expertise in mathematics, for example, might not wish to associate their contributions to detailed mathematical articles with contributions to articles about less weighty subjects. Sock-puppeteers sometimes use sock puppets in talk pages to avoid extending conflicts about a particular area of interest into communitywide political conflicts related to user identity rather than to article content. A person participating in a discussion of an article about abortion, for example, might not want allow other participants an opportunity to extend that discussion by engaging a particular user in unrelated but philosophically motivated debate outside of that discussion.

Sock puppets also serve to protect identity. A user with a number of specialized interests might easily be identified by their collection of interests. For example, a user who writes exclusively about basket weaving in a particular county might be identified if they are a basket weaver from that county and make significant contributions to articles about both basket weaving and about their home county. If basket weaving articles and localized geographic articles are attributed to separate sock puppets, it might be more difficult for others to identify the author.

Author anonymity is especially important to writers who publish for hire. On-line contributions sometimes contravene exclusive contracts. Othertimes they can diminish the value of a published writer; a newspaper might be reluctant to hire an editor who is a well-known open-content contributor.

Occasionally sock puppets are used to make an important but controversial point. Even when the true identity of the contributor is widely known; c.f. MeatBall:CourtJester

See also MeatBall:SockPuppet for information on how this affects other online communities

Role accounts have been used on the French Ireland Information Guide without any opposition, but their use is not officially sanctioned at this time.