Test equipment dealer astroturfing accounts

[EEVblog]

We seem to get a lot of these, latest one is MCStestEquipment (also "RigolOnline") who has actually been a member here a long time, I discovered two sockpuppet accounts under their name. All now banned.
As always, keep an eye out for newbie type users linking to website or pretending to ask questions or saying they bought something from a particular dealer.

[Harb]

What the heck is a "Sockpuppet" lol....sorry I am not up to date with this new age lingo 

[jh15]

The rigol... username sounded familiar, so I went to look at past posts. I guess all have been deleted.

What I would like is to keep posts around or available as much information is in the content. Did I post there? I would then correct my own posts there to say I was in a bad thread.

Haven't looked, but if I go to look at my past posts, would that history be gone to me if user was banned.

Crazy, it brought up thoughts of my BBS in '86 or so posing same thing as being a sysop.

Nothing fancy, just a souped up commodore c-64 with 3 1541 drives and a dedicated phone line.

I'm sure moderating a YouTube channel in this day and age is much easier.

[Cyberdragon]

What the heck is a "Sockpuppet" lol....sorry I am not up to date with this new age lingo 

I found the perp!



 

[Cyberdragon]

The rigol... username sounded familiar, so I went to look at past posts. I guess all have been deleted.

What I would like is to keep posts around or available as much information is in the content. Did I post there? I would then correct my own posts there to say I was in a bad thread.

Haven't looked, but if I go to look at my past posts, would that history be gone to me if user was banned.

Crazy, it brought up thoughts of my BBS in '86 or so posing same thing as being a sysop.

Nothing fancy, just a souped up commodore c-64 with 3 1541 drives and a dedicated phone line.

I'm sure moderating a YouTube channel in this day and age is much easier.

Banning shouldn't delete posts anymore. They changed it a while ago to just have a tiny banned tag under the avatar. If the posts were spam they got manually deleted.

[tautech]

OK so they were a multi brand seller:
https://mcs-testequipment.com/

So one EEVblog membership and disclosure would be all right ?

[Stray Electron]

What the heck is a "Sockpuppet" lol....sorry I am not up to date with this new age lingo 

A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception. The term, a reference to the manipulation of a simple hand puppet made from a sock, originally referred to a false identity assumed by a member of an Internet community who spoke to, or about, themselves while pretending to be another person.

[Harb]

Thanks........not what I was visualising.........thank god 

[borjam]

Having been a sock puppetteer for real, the term is understandable enough!

[philpem]

I'm suddenly thinking of a particularly memorable scene from Red Dwarf...

"What's that, Mister Flibble? Oh we can't do that, Mister Flibble... who would clean up all the mess?"

 

[hermit]

OK so they were a multi brand seller:
https://mcs-testequipment.com/

So one EEVblog membership and disclosure would be all right ?

I'm sure it is case by case.  Sadly some of these guys could be valuable assets if they would be more forthright and shill less.  You know, make people like you instead of hate you?  What a concept. 

[NivagSwerdna]

latest one is MCStestEquipment (also "RigolOnline") who has actually been a member here a long time,

Not to be confused with https://www.rigol-uk.co.uk/ aka Telonic who get a  from me as a happy customer.

If you go to https://www.telonic.co.uk/Rigol-DS1054Z-4ch-50MHz-Digital-Oscilloscope-p/ds1054z.htm and scroll down a bit there is a picture someone I've sure I've seen somewhere before.

[H.O]

I have not seen the post(s) in question but FWIW I've dealt with MCS Test Equipment in the UK (I bought my Rigol DS4000 from them years ago) and I've nothing but good things to say about them. It's sad to see them resort to astroturfing if that's what has happened.

[tpowell1830]

What is 'astroturfing' and 'sockpuppet' in reference to the forum (I know what astroturf and a sock puppet is)?

[Bassman59]

What is 'astroturfing' and 'sockpuppet' in reference to the forum (I know what astroturf and a sock puppet is)?

"Astroturf" is the name of the artificial grass first installed at the now-demolished Astrodome in Houston (the stadium in which the Houston Astros baseball team played).

In the context of web forums and other media, it's a play on words. A "grassroots" movement is one which grows from the ground up, built by regular people for some particular popular purpose. Astroturf is fake grass, and an "astroturfing" campaign is one in which a business or other entity tries to create the perception that the campaign is one starting at the grassroots when it's just plain marketing.

[tpowell1830]

What is 'astroturfing' and 'sockpuppet' in reference to the forum (I know what astroturf and a sock puppet is)?

"Astroturf" is the name of the artificial grass first installed at the now-demolished Astrodome in Houston (the stadium in which the Houston Astros baseball team played).

In the context of web forums and other media, it's a play on words. A "grassroots" movement is one which grows from the ground up, built by regular people for some particular popular purpose. Astroturf is fake grass, and an "astroturfing" campaign is one in which a business or other entity tries to create the perception that the campaign is one starting at the grassroots when it's just plain marketing.

As I said, I know what astroturf is, and by the way, the astrodome is still standing and the county has approved a $105 million dollar renovation to be finished in 2020. (I have lived in the Houston area since 1970, Go Astros! I was around when it was built, the 8th wonder of the world, The Colt 45s...).

[Macbeth]

I'm suddenly thinking of a particularly memorable scene from Red Dwarf...

"What's that, Mister Flibble? Oh we can't do that, Mister Flibble... who would clean up all the mess?"

 

Indeed. Whenever I think of a sockpuppet it's A.J. Rimmer in the gingham dress and his faithful psychotic hex-ray-vision sockpuppet, Mr Flibble. 

[mikeselectricstuff]

We seem to get a lot of these, latest one is MCStestEquipment (also "RigolOnline") who has actually been a member here a long time, I discovered two sockpuppet accounts under their name. All now banned.
As always, keep an eye out for newbie type users linking to website or pretending to ask questions or saying they bought something from a particular dealer.

The person  who used to post for them here (Joy) left for another company, so that might explain one additional account if someone else has taken over and can't access the old one.

[wasyoungonce]

I can understand anything if referenced to Red Dwarf.....love it!

[Shock]

Batterfly employee simone.pignatti gives off the Astroturfing/Sockpuppeting vibe and uses the forums to market to members. Their tag is "technical support" and doesn't disclose they are a business promoting product.

The original user (also from Batterfly) that looked very suspicious was gmit77 and he got banned back in 2015, 8 months later simone.pignatti signed up.

[thm_w]

Batterfly employee simone.pignatti gives off the Astroturfing/Sockpuppeting vibe and uses the forums to market to members. Their tag is "technical support" and doesn't disclose they are a business promoting product.

He's supplying a lot of useful info IMO. But maybe could tag his account as a seller.

[tautech]

We seem to get a lot of these, latest one is MCStestEquipment (also "RigolOnline") who has actually been a member here a long time, I discovered two sockpuppet accounts under their name. All now banned.
As always, keep an eye out for newbie type users linking to website or pretending to ask questions or saying they bought something from a particular dealer.

The person  who used to post for them here (Joy) left for another company, so that might explain one additional account if someone else has taken over and can't access the old one.

This ^^^ should not be overlooked as the same IP will show up giving the impression of multiple accounts.

The 'last active' date for each account should give clues to what's really going on.