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How to vot multiple times - a step-by-step guide.
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kathystarke
Mar 15, 2013, 9:39:20 AM3/15/13
to
How to vote multiple times in the uk.* hierarchy - a step-by-step
guide.
1. Prepare in advance.
You are going to set up multiple identities, and each one must have
enough substance that the vote-taker (hereinafter VT) will take them
as coming from a different person. It's possible that despite your
precautions the VT will rumble one or more of your votes as being
invalid, so if you plan on voting, say, ten times, set up a few extra
identities.
Each identity must have an email address that is different, and it
must be one at which you can both send and receive email. Further,
the emails you send must NOT have anything in their headers which can
be matched to another address. The simplest way to achieve this is
to use a web-based email, but even so you must do a bit of checking
first.
To check, what you do is send yourself an email from the new address.
You need to send all your test emails to an address which will show
you ALL the "headers" - this is where extra tracking information is
added to your email. You may need to figure out how to get your
email client to show them to you as they are usually hidden. The,
open each one and look at the headers (your web-based email provider
should have a link or preference setting that says something like
"show headers" or "show original"). You are looking for two Bad
Things:
a) an IP address (something like 80.254.146.36) which matches what
you are using; and
b) a path which is sufficiently detailed to show that the emails came
from the same computer (yours).
If a) shows, you can only get (safely) one ballot via that email
address.
a) Is less of a worry if your IP changes (many dial-up accounts will
be like this - when you connect to the interweb, it can be through
any of a number of different IPs that your provider has available.
To find out what your IP is, there are many services on the web that
will tell you (just googling "whats my IP" works). Every time you
start to set up a new email address, check this first and write it
down.
b) The path will be in the Recieved: header(s). Look at them ALL for
your IP, and if you are setting up more than one email from the same
provider at (about) the same time, copy the headers and compare them.
It may be that they are the same - if so, send yourself more email a
little later and check. Providers may have multiple possible paths
(multiple mail servers) and if you get a different path the next time
that is a Good Thing. Even if the path is the same, you can try
using the email, as of course if yours is the same many others from
other legitimate users could also have that path. In this case all
you need do is avoid being stupid (see below) when requesting
ballots.
Once you have a set of working, untraceable emails you will need some
supporting usenet histories. For each email choose a few newsgroups,
groups in which you already post, or perhaps have some
knowlege/interest, and if possible close to but not necessarily
matching the group for which you expect a relevant vote.
For posting, get a free account at aioe.org or eternal-september.org
or any of a number of free newservers (google will help you find
others). It is ok to get multiple accounts at ther same newserver,
each tied to one of your new email addresses - but if you like,
spread them around a bit. Check the privacy policy to make sure that
the operator won't give out your email or logs without a court order;
although I happen to know this can be done it is a tremendous amount
of work and stress, and the VT is very unlikely, perhaps even unable
(for an off-shore based server) to want to go through this even once.
Next you need a newsreader, preferrably more than one. Many
newsreaders are free, or have free versions, and if you can have
several it will help cloak who you are. Good ones will allow
"profiles" or something similar in which you can set the name and
reply-to email, and you can use those to keep all the posting names
and newsgroups matched up (but a sheet of A4 with notes made as you
go is still probably a good idea). More than one is a Good Thing
because newsreaders add headers with various things - version,
organization, and so on, if these are all the same because you use
the same reader it could attract the attention of the VT.
MAKE A TEST POST FIRST. Pick an innocuous group (I use
uk.rec.gardening) and post something innocent and mildly worthy of
reply (for example, do not use "test" as your subject). Replying to
an existing thread is better than starting one - you'll be less
noticable. You want something to which others can reply without a
"who-the-hell-are-you" comment (a dead-giveaway), and one which you
can examine the headers. Your newsreader will have some sort of
option to "show all headers", and what you are looking for is the
same sort of identifying information that you checked for in the
email headers. If, for instance, there is an "NNTP-Posting-Host"
header and your IP (as determined above) does not change you can only
use this news-server for one identity.
If your test post shows no problems, go ahead and start posting - not
too much, and not all at once. What you want to to is simulate
someone who is new to usenet, getting involved gradually, and slowly
getting closer to the topic/newsgroup where you expect the vote to
focus. It is not actually necessary to post in order to get a ballot
sent when the Call For Votes occurs, but doing so is better because
it will attract less attention from the VT. Try to assume a
different personality for each identity - make some consistent
speeling erorrs, or use different stock phrases, or make a reference
to different locales as being where you live, and so on. Keep track
or who says what in which way from where, and be consistent within
each identity.
2. The RFD.
There will be an Request For Discussion (RDF) first, perhaps more
than one. This part of the process starts in uk.net.news.announce,
so monitor that. When the discussion starts, don't join in all at
once with all of your identities. If you have an identity that has
shown absolutely no interest in the group/topic before, you may be
better off not contributing at all with that identity. With those
identities who do participate, feel free to disagree with others,
each other, and even about which way you intend to vote. Carried
well, you can even announce that you've changed you mind as a result
of some particularly (un)persuasive point another poster (yourself?
who knows?) has made.
3. The CFV.
After a while there will be a Call For Votes - actually two. When
that happens, start asking for ballots. Do this gradually, the CFV
takes some time and if you spread your requests over this period it
will be less noticable. The requests likely follow a U-shaped curve,
so a few early, some in the middle and the remainder nearer the end
of the period will blend in better. If the VT emails you asking for
extra details, DO NOT REPLY. You've been rumbled, and trying to fix
it is not worth it. The VT will probably expect a few to try it on,
so let him think he has found one. A cat with a dead mouse may not be
so eager to try to catch another, and you will have allowed for this
eventuality by making extra identities, no?
After you get your ballot, don't always send it right back. If
possible, make your response time match your assumed identity's
personality - strident campaigners know right away how they will
vote, and lurkers may leave it until the last minute.
4. The results.
Be patient. The calculation of the results of one recent vote took
from early August to late September, so do not expect anything to
happen quickly. There is nothing you can do at this point anyway to
affect the results directly, but it is probably a good idea to keep
posting from the various identities (excepting any that the VT has
spotted) so that questions from others of the form "Who is <name>"
when they see the results can be avoided.
5. Should you worry?
No.
There is nothing legally wrong with doing any of the above.
There is nothing the VT can easily (or even likely) do (assuming you
have been sufficiently careful) to be sure any email is not genuine;
although they mutter sometimes about secret ways to check it's all
just TV-detector-van mumbo-jumbo - they have no extra powers to
demand logs etcetera from ISP or news-servers and all they have to go
on is the same stuff you check for.
There is nothing morally wrong with any of the above either - after
all, it's only Usenet, no-one dies; you want what you want, and...
...rest assured, the other side *is* doing this already.
guide.
1. Prepare in advance.
You are going to set up multiple identities, and each one must have
enough substance that the vote-taker (hereinafter VT) will take them
as coming from a different person. It's possible that despite your
precautions the VT will rumble one or more of your votes as being
invalid, so if you plan on voting, say, ten times, set up a few extra
identities.
Each identity must have an email address that is different, and it
must be one at which you can both send and receive email. Further,
the emails you send must NOT have anything in their headers which can
be matched to another address. The simplest way to achieve this is
to use a web-based email, but even so you must do a bit of checking
first.
To check, what you do is send yourself an email from the new address.
You need to send all your test emails to an address which will show
you ALL the "headers" - this is where extra tracking information is
added to your email. You may need to figure out how to get your
email client to show them to you as they are usually hidden. The,
open each one and look at the headers (your web-based email provider
should have a link or preference setting that says something like
"show headers" or "show original"). You are looking for two Bad
Things:
a) an IP address (something like 80.254.146.36) which matches what
you are using; and
b) a path which is sufficiently detailed to show that the emails came
from the same computer (yours).
If a) shows, you can only get (safely) one ballot via that email
address.
a) Is less of a worry if your IP changes (many dial-up accounts will
be like this - when you connect to the interweb, it can be through
any of a number of different IPs that your provider has available.
To find out what your IP is, there are many services on the web that
will tell you (just googling "whats my IP" works). Every time you
start to set up a new email address, check this first and write it
down.
b) The path will be in the Recieved: header(s). Look at them ALL for
your IP, and if you are setting up more than one email from the same
provider at (about) the same time, copy the headers and compare them.
It may be that they are the same - if so, send yourself more email a
little later and check. Providers may have multiple possible paths
(multiple mail servers) and if you get a different path the next time
that is a Good Thing. Even if the path is the same, you can try
using the email, as of course if yours is the same many others from
other legitimate users could also have that path. In this case all
you need do is avoid being stupid (see below) when requesting
ballots.
Once you have a set of working, untraceable emails you will need some
supporting usenet histories. For each email choose a few newsgroups,
groups in which you already post, or perhaps have some
knowlege/interest, and if possible close to but not necessarily
matching the group for which you expect a relevant vote.
For posting, get a free account at aioe.org or eternal-september.org
or any of a number of free newservers (google will help you find
others). It is ok to get multiple accounts at ther same newserver,
each tied to one of your new email addresses - but if you like,
spread them around a bit. Check the privacy policy to make sure that
the operator won't give out your email or logs without a court order;
although I happen to know this can be done it is a tremendous amount
of work and stress, and the VT is very unlikely, perhaps even unable
(for an off-shore based server) to want to go through this even once.
Next you need a newsreader, preferrably more than one. Many
newsreaders are free, or have free versions, and if you can have
several it will help cloak who you are. Good ones will allow
"profiles" or something similar in which you can set the name and
reply-to email, and you can use those to keep all the posting names
and newsgroups matched up (but a sheet of A4 with notes made as you
go is still probably a good idea). More than one is a Good Thing
because newsreaders add headers with various things - version,
organization, and so on, if these are all the same because you use
the same reader it could attract the attention of the VT.
MAKE A TEST POST FIRST. Pick an innocuous group (I use
uk.rec.gardening) and post something innocent and mildly worthy of
reply (for example, do not use "test" as your subject). Replying to
an existing thread is better than starting one - you'll be less
noticable. You want something to which others can reply without a
"who-the-hell-are-you" comment (a dead-giveaway), and one which you
can examine the headers. Your newsreader will have some sort of
option to "show all headers", and what you are looking for is the
same sort of identifying information that you checked for in the
email headers. If, for instance, there is an "NNTP-Posting-Host"
header and your IP (as determined above) does not change you can only
use this news-server for one identity.
If your test post shows no problems, go ahead and start posting - not
too much, and not all at once. What you want to to is simulate
someone who is new to usenet, getting involved gradually, and slowly
getting closer to the topic/newsgroup where you expect the vote to
focus. It is not actually necessary to post in order to get a ballot
sent when the Call For Votes occurs, but doing so is better because
it will attract less attention from the VT. Try to assume a
different personality for each identity - make some consistent
speeling erorrs, or use different stock phrases, or make a reference
to different locales as being where you live, and so on. Keep track
or who says what in which way from where, and be consistent within
each identity.
2. The RFD.
There will be an Request For Discussion (RDF) first, perhaps more
than one. This part of the process starts in uk.net.news.announce,
so monitor that. When the discussion starts, don't join in all at
once with all of your identities. If you have an identity that has
shown absolutely no interest in the group/topic before, you may be
better off not contributing at all with that identity. With those
identities who do participate, feel free to disagree with others,
each other, and even about which way you intend to vote. Carried
well, you can even announce that you've changed you mind as a result
of some particularly (un)persuasive point another poster (yourself?
who knows?) has made.
3. The CFV.
After a while there will be a Call For Votes - actually two. When
that happens, start asking for ballots. Do this gradually, the CFV
takes some time and if you spread your requests over this period it
will be less noticable. The requests likely follow a U-shaped curve,
so a few early, some in the middle and the remainder nearer the end
of the period will blend in better. If the VT emails you asking for
extra details, DO NOT REPLY. You've been rumbled, and trying to fix
it is not worth it. The VT will probably expect a few to try it on,
so let him think he has found one. A cat with a dead mouse may not be
so eager to try to catch another, and you will have allowed for this
eventuality by making extra identities, no?
After you get your ballot, don't always send it right back. If
possible, make your response time match your assumed identity's
personality - strident campaigners know right away how they will
vote, and lurkers may leave it until the last minute.
4. The results.
Be patient. The calculation of the results of one recent vote took
from early August to late September, so do not expect anything to
happen quickly. There is nothing you can do at this point anyway to
affect the results directly, but it is probably a good idea to keep
posting from the various identities (excepting any that the VT has
spotted) so that questions from others of the form "Who is <name>"
when they see the results can be avoided.
5. Should you worry?
No.
There is nothing legally wrong with doing any of the above.
There is nothing the VT can easily (or even likely) do (assuming you
have been sufficiently careful) to be sure any email is not genuine;
although they mutter sometimes about secret ways to check it's all
just TV-detector-van mumbo-jumbo - they have no extra powers to
demand logs etcetera from ISP or news-servers and all they have to go
on is the same stuff you check for.
There is nothing morally wrong with any of the above either - after
all, it's only Usenet, no-one dies; you want what you want, and...
...rest assured, the other side *is* doing this already.
Percy Picacity
Mar 15, 2013, 10:29:31 AM3/15/13
to
On 2013-03-15 13:39:20 +0000, kathystarke said:
> How to vote multiple times in the uk.* hierarchy - a step-by-step guide.
I really can't fully imagine the sort of sad individual who would find
> How to vote multiple times in the uk.* hierarchy - a step-by-step guide.
any vote in the uk.* hierarchy sufficiently important to want to resort
to this sort of dishonesty.
--
Percy Picacity
Rob Morley
Mar 15, 2013, 12:21:09 PM3/15/13
to
just get loads of real people to vote who don’t actually give a shit
about uk.*
Molly Mockford
Mar 15, 2013, 12:30:01 PM3/15/13
to
At 16:21:09 on Fri, 15 Mar 2013, Rob Morley <nos...@ntlworld.com> wrote
in <20130315162109.46472199@hyperion>:
Ah, but where's the fun in that? I am Molly Mockford, The Todal, Ian
Chiark Jackson, idiot-ferret-anonymiser-thing and of course Judith M.
Smith. There, that took you aback, didn't it?
--
Molly - I don't speak for the Committee. I speak for me.
Nature loves variety. Unfortunately, society hates it. (Milton
Diamond Ph.D.)
My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not be so for ever.
in <20130315162109.46472199@hyperion>:
Chiark Jackson, idiot-ferret-anonymiser-thing and of course Judith M.
Smith. There, that took you aback, didn't it?
--
Molly - I don't speak for the Committee. I speak for me.
Nature loves variety. Unfortunately, society hates it. (Milton
Diamond Ph.D.)
My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not be so for ever.
Rob Morley
Mar 15, 2013, 6:16:14 PM3/15/13
to
On Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:30:01 +0000
Molly Mockford <nospam...@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote:
> Ah, but where's the fun in that? I am Molly Mockford, The Todal, Ian
> Chiark Jackson, idiot-ferret-anonymiser-thing and of course Judith M.
> Smith. There, that took you aback, didn't it?
Absolutely - I thought you were the other Ian Jackson.
Molly Mockford <nospam...@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote:
> Ah, but where's the fun in that? I am Molly Mockford, The Todal, Ian
> Chiark Jackson, idiot-ferret-anonymiser-thing and of course Judith M.
> Smith. There, that took you aback, didn't it?
Alex Potter
Mar 18, 2013, 8:34:35 AM3/18/13
to
Molly Mockford wrote:
> Ah, but where's the fun in that? I am Molly Mockford, The Todal, Ian
> Chiark Jackson, idiot-ferret-anonymiser-thing and of course Judith M.
> Smith. There, that took you aback, didn't it?
>
I am Spartacus.
> Ah, but where's the fun in that? I am Molly Mockford, The Todal, Ian
> Chiark Jackson, idiot-ferret-anonymiser-thing and of course Judith M.
> Smith. There, that took you aback, didn't it?
>
--
Alex
Judith
Mar 18, 2013, 9:25:15 AM3/18/13
to
On Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:39:20 -0300, kathystarke <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
>How to vote multiple times in the uk.* hierarchy - a step-by-step
>guide.
>
>1. Prepare in advance.
Guy : why on earth are you writing this shit?
>How to vote multiple times in the uk.* hierarchy - a step-by-step
>guide.
>
>1. Prepare in advance.
Did you hope that people would think it was me for some unknown reason. there
must be some method in your madness - what is it?
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