A cynical ploy to generate bot traffic, or a serious discussion of an online phenomenon?
Regulars on sites like Blogcritics tend to get quite snarky about the so-called 'Paulbots', who manifest themselves whenever an article about Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is posted. These commenters range from the rational and articulate to the downright wacky, but are always prepared to promote and defend their hero for as long as the thread stays alive. They pique our suspicions because they appear from nowhere (usually within minutes of publication), have not been seen on the site before, and never visit any other threads. Their modus operandi seems too efficient to be entirely human, so we conclude that these people must be using 'bots': automated programs which trawl the net looking for key words and phrases and alerting their masters when they appear.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Gene
We you have nothing to say...just post a Ron Paul article for hit count stats for potential advertisers.
27 - Jason
I just refresh google news searches for "ron paul" while i'm at work on a computer and comment on the ones I feel need commenting on.
I just want to know what is going on with the campaign because it changes every 5 minutes or so. People get new ideas, plan new projects, etc all the time. There is a lot to be empassioned about with this campaign. I feel personally connected to it because I have spent a lot of time promoting it. So when a negative article come out, or some 'reporter' has his facts wrong I feel personally attacked because I am a part of this. I've never felt that way about a candidate before, and to the contrary of what most people think about us, I have always voted republican. I was just the small government kind of republican, not the religious, war mongering type. So yeah, I'd like my party and my country back and I'm fired up about it.
28 - Jim
Google Ron Paul
That's where I found him after seeing a sign saying the same thing, and that's where I get my news about him, Google News.
Google Ron Paul.
29 - Alan
Bot? No, not bot.
I just subscribe to Yahoo's "email me stories on this subject" thingy. You know, because I'm actually interested in the candidate.
This article really does bring home just how far behind and out of touch the critics are...
30 - Verad
Google uses a sort of web-crawling bot to find and archive new web pages. So yes, in the sense that Paul supporters are using a bot system to find related articles, the verdict is guilty as charged. One of the impressive things about google is that it is able to find new articles often within the first 15 minutes of existence. However, the replies by Paul supporters are just as diverse as the people who show up to his rallies, breaking the traditional political divide, so some strange replies are a given. Try not to overlook the others, though, as I have seen many insightful comments while keeping on top of the news and comments.
31 - neil gregory
lmao that's funny you say that.. and you are correct I only read articles on this site if Ron Paul is involved. Yes I am borderline obsessed with Ron Pauls campaign. It might be a bit weird, but I like people who speak truth and common sense to the establishment. I actually also like this article it wasn't bad. I am also a paulbot... a very sexy paulbot at that.. with my paulbot man gland.
Please Lord I pray to you do not let Hillary get anywhere close to that whitehouse again..
Vote ron paul! freedom baby.
32 - Jonathan
"They pique our suspicions because they appear from nowhere"
Sounds like you are working on a theory concerning a "suspicious" group. I think I might get into my black Ron Paul helicopter and head your way.
33 - Jonathan
Oh and if the pain from the gun weilding white power pimp bots of truth get's to to great for you I have some aluminum based headgear that works quite well for keeping the "bot power" out of your dome.
34 - Clavos
"I just refresh google news searches for "ron paul" while i'm at work on a computer and comment on the ones I feel need commenting on."
Does your employer know you're doing that?
Are you getting paid for your "work?"
35 - Sk00L
RonPaulBlimp.com Check it! The movement still needs a few more dollars by midnight tonight! For those who know what it means to be an American who love liberty and freedom please consider donating! Thank You your love for America will be felt by future generations.
oh yeah and ps 010100100001110000010000011111111000000000010000010
011000010001000011111111100000000001001010 some binary just to assure you I am a bot too!
36 - troll
...watch your language Sk00L - we have a comments censor around here ya know
37 - TxSundance
No bot here! When I'm infront of my computer and a story about the good doctor shows up I read and respond. I read many other articles and blogs online about many topics, but seldom waste time posting comments about unimportant topics. The pursuit of FREEDOM is never a waste of time!
38 - Clavos
Why am I reminded of Pandora??
39 - James
I put Ron Paul's name into the key word function of yahoo news. That's how I find out about all the articles. I do it mainly to see how the rest of the country is reacting to him.
40 - Jonathan
"Does your employer know you're doing that?
Are you getting paid for your "work?""
Nice one Clavos,
You remind me of that guys who says we should always ask ourselves, "Is this good for the company?"
Maybe you could offer a prescription drug that could "get us back to work" and to "quit thinking so much"
Thanks to that kind of thinking is why we are stuck in this Orwellian nightmare.
WAKE UP
41 - The Obnoxious American
"All I know is I'd rather be judged by twelve than carried by six anyday"
- words to live by from Floyd Mayweather, last night on ESPN when asked about the Sean Carter tragedy and whether celebrities should carry guns.
Sincerely,
the Obnoxious American bot
42 - Clavos
""Does your employer know you're doing that?
Are you getting paid for your "work?""
Nice one Clavos,
You remind me of that guys who says we should always ask ourselves, "Is this good for the company?""
Assuming Jason's employer owns the computer and is paying Jason to WORK, not surf the net, it's a fair question.
As an employer myself, I wouldn't give either of you a job.
43 - Brian
Uh, does the author really know anything about what a bot is and what it does?
Most of the people he is referring to can do a simple Yahoo Alert on RP news, and get emails telling them the latest news posts etc about RP.
To even imagine the people posting are using bots is hilarious if you know anything about what a bot is used for.
Bots are used to generate spam, just like you get in your email. They can be used for DoS attacks too by overwhelming a site. They have no AI and generate generic messages.
The piece is not so much about people maybe using bots, but more about getting more site attention and poking fun out of passionate people who try to get the word out about their candidate.
We all know the paid media doesn't talk about RP.
44 - What's the frequency, Kenneth?
Of course we're not bots. Just because Ron Paul supporters occasionally surf the news links on Google, and so on, doesn't make us "bots." Bots don't donate over $12 million to a candidate in a quarter, as we'll do--we're already at ~$10.8 million.
45 - Clavos
@#44:
Doesn't anybody read the article and comments before posting?
Nobody said RP followers ARE bots.
The allegation is that they USE bots to find out where RP is being discussed, and then descend on those sites en masse.
And that much has been admitted upthread, where many have said they google his name, surf the news sites, etc. to do just that.
Nobody said they are automatons, but I WILL say they don't know how to read.
46 - Paul
unction addLoadEvent(func) {
var oldonload = window.onload;
if (typeof window.onload != 'function') {
window.onload = func;RONBOT
} else {
window.onload = function() {load bot c:
oldonload();
smile :)
47 - Paul
bot comments to follow soon stay tuned.......
48 - Ciel
Yep, we're real and like to see everything that's written about our "hero". He is and deserves to be and was the hero of many before he announced his Presidential candidacy. See "what people are saying" on RonPaul2008.com. We will do everything possible and necessary to keep the records straight. And we will go to the polls and vote. And we will enlighten everyone we can possibly reach about his solid voting record (in the best interests of this country and it's people), positions and stance on the issues before the primaries/caucuses to get them to the polls as well.
This is a revolution. "The people" want our country, our Constitution and our government "of the people, by the people, for the people" (our Republic) back. This is the way to achieve it peacefully. Read the American citizens creed. This is our responsibility.
Congratulations on your hit counts today. I hope your server can take it.
49 - GOP-Dope
Just browsing the web, which happens to be the only place to even hope to get unbiased news, waiting for someone to do an objective piece of journalism on the ONLY honest guy in the race.
Every other candidate panders for votes at the expense of keeping any sort of principles. RP just keeps telling the truth and sticks with his principles.
I've seen a couple of articles written similar to this. It doesn't slam RP, T/Y very much, BUT it appears to be written to generate traffic for the site. Write a piece on RP and you'll get plenty of attention for sure.
50 - Paul
I have not come across the Paul bots on forums yet, that being said my name is Paul :)
I do however see bots almost every day on the TV. What do I mean by bots? I mean something that
is mechanical in nature masquerading or mimicing a human. I see them on EVERY single major network. I wont' name names or networks,but Some of these bots act
like they are mean, vindictive, petty, and self-righeous. One in particular is on 5 nights a week, you can spot him easily because almost invariably he will interrupt his guest, and try to demean them as humans should they not share his views.
Invariably these bots on TV are OBVIOUSLY programmed.So I find is rather amusing that all of this talk about Paul bots beings used on forums and more importantly online polls.
For the record, I have been an avid supporter of Mr Paul for the better part of 5 years. He was the ONLY voice in the house that was saying anything about how we were losing our constitutional rightgs and becoming a police state.
I noticed right away when I started listening to him and watching him, that he was a very un-assuming man, quite modest in character, yet he retained an inner strength in spite of this seeming passivity. In short this was someone that I found refreshing and hopeful given the political times, and the Orwellian and un-constitutional world that was becoming omnipresent since ummmm right
around 2000!
So, ummm, Im not a bot. I was and continue to be amazed and suprised at his success so far. When I first started listening to him, and occasionally watching him on the floor of the House, I never would have thought that so many people would like him as much as I do.
You may not agree with all of his positions on the issues of the day, I certainly don't. He comes across to me, and I assume most of his supporters as a man of integrity. Quite frankly, I cannot remember a time in recent political history when I have felt that way about ANY candidate. Almost without exception when I cast my vote it was for what I perceived to be the lesser of two evils, and always leaving that bitter bad taste in the back of my throat.
Every time I have seen him I have been impressed. You may not agree with his position on abortion, but cmon folks what do you expect from an obstrician??
If you want to know if someone who has SWORN to uphold and defend the constitution has reneged on that oath it is very easy. Just ask them about whom has the power under our constitutional republic to declare war. It really is that simple. Asides from the the hokey-dokey,
and turning their head the other way, and not talking about it, or mentnioning the war-powers act,
they show their true colors EVERY time. I am not talking about the average american, I am talking
in particular about those that take an OATH. Politicians, law-enforcement officials come to mind.
You will notice that very very very very few policitians, or for that matter political commentators, and media folks, that will discuss this. Ron Paul is one of the very FEW who will discuss it, and make reference to it overtly in the political arena.
The bottom line folks is this war, and the last war, and the war before that, and even one more before that (Korea) were blatantly illegal under our constitution. You know it, I know it, and except for the most vile and pernicious know it too.
RON PAUL FOR PRESIDENT
51 - Paul
Addendum to my last post.
I never supported
John Dean
Pat Buchanan
Ralph Nader
John Anderson
Ross Perot
I do however support RON PAUL
I suggest anyone who is interested jump over the the hit piece in Newsweek last week, entitled "Highway to Hell", take a look at the comments. Hundreds of posts, not one that I could find agreeing with Newsweeks blatant attack on Mr. Paul.
cheers
52 - Dale
To make the matter clear as mud, for those that like their world handed to them at their children and grand children's expense and the idiot box to tell them what to believe, we use technology called search engines, Google and Yahoo, to alert us when an article, no matter how inaccurate, appears about Ron Paul.
So frequent contributors, if you use the internet to get your information by using a search engine then I guess that makes you a bot too.
I just hope you're a Paulbot so that you can use this information to change the world for the better instead of blathering on about what someone did or didn't say, like the networks do.
How about reporting on the bills that just passed the house and are on their way to the senate that allow the government to spy on us Americans and violate more of our civil rights before it become law instead of afterwards or never?
53 - emily
Amusing to a degree but no diggs. Misleading title. Author seems to have little understanding of search engine capabilities. Poor research for article subject matter. Buried.
54 - Dr Dreadful
OK, now that power outages have got bored with following me around, let me respond to a selection of my fans' comments:
johnny 5, #3: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
Rich N., #6: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
Gretscher, #7: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
leanne, #8: It works, doesn't it? I guess my hypothesis just became a theory.
Cynicism, #9: Which is exactly what I said in the piece.
Jacob, #10: LOL.
Kerry, #11: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
xtrabiggg, #12: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
Jeff D, #13: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
STM, #16 and Clavos, #17: If you don't like it, you don't have to read the thread, you know... ;-)
Gary Blimp, #20: No, I don't think you're all bots. But judging by most of the comments so far, a lot of you most certainly aren't normal. You have a nice day too.
Terry Smith, #22: But perhaps he can find it using one hand only.
Gene, #26: I knew this would happen. I'm just wondering where all the Chavistas, white supremacists, 9/11 conspiracy theorists and gun freaks who were also mentioned in the title are. Could it be that they actually read the article, realized that it wasn't dissing them and decided not to make fools of themselves?
neil gregory, #31: Thank you! Finally, a Paulista with reading comprehension skills. Glad you liked it.
REM Paul fan, #44: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
Dale, #52: I know. Go back and re-read the article. Fully, this time.
I think that about covers it. Dave, aren't you glad you published this article? ;-)
55 - Dr Dreadful
And now I'd better go and empty my e-mail...
56 - Fed Up
"They leave comments that make no sense or are irrelevant to the topic under discussion, and when challenged they either don't respond at all or do so with a non sequitur. (Of course, some would say that describes the Paulbots to a tee...)"
Read comments #208 - #230 on Malkin's site
Come and
debate your candidate versus Ron Paul here
Peace,
Fed Up
57 - Dr Dreadful
Well, Fed Up, you clearly are not a bot!
In fact, you're one of the few Paul advocates I've encountered online who argues their position civilly and articulately, rather than with the wild-eyed, cultish devotion we've come to expect.
I must apologize that somehow the citation for that statement of mine to which you responded somehow escaped when I hit the 'save' button. It was referring to the bots (not necessarily Paul-supporting bots, please note) that really are automated programs.
I'll see if I can find it, and will post a link.
58 - LonnieBot
Out of all the Ron Paul posters here, only one included the obligatory "visit www.ronpaul2008.com" I don't know if that is the sign of a Paulbot or not.
59 - Lisa
I like this blog for some reason (as a Ron Paul supporter). It actually admits we may be human. :o) I think many other bloggers who like to think bots are used forget that there are things like Yahoo! and Google new updates. That's where this showed up for me. I get about 3 updates in my email a day loaded with new Ron Paul articles. I don't comment on them all, only ones I find interesting. And I find this one... interesting.
I especially like your description of yourself. I am a successful sleeper as well. I like sleep and, for some reason, techno.
60 - STM
Everyone here who has replied on these threads but didn't actually read the story needs a bloody good kick up the bot
61 - Jacob
“Could we be seeing some learned piece on the day of infamy, stitched in to why America needs to remain ever vigilant?”
The day of infamy should not be forgotten. Those who fought in WWII fought to preserve the rights Americans have under the Constitution. Those who fought and died did so to protect the Constitution.
Whenever any power attempts to deprive Americans of their Constitution, it is a day of infamy.
We must be vigilant. But to be vigilant means to clearly see any danger.
It is way past time to see there is an attack on the American Constitution that is leading to a danger as insidious as Pearl Harbor.
Recently, the Iraq War manifested itself as one danger to the Constitution. It is not the only danger.
Pearl Harbor was a cut that bled -- but for years we have had attacks on the Constitution that are best described as cancerous growths with subtle symptoms going for years without overtly manifesting themselves.
Those who don’t care about the evolving symptoms are like those whose lungs have all but stopped functioning but keep buying their Marlboro cigarettes.
Ron Paul may not be able to solve every problem he would face as president, but there is no other candidate who sees the problems of the country. He is the only one willing to stand up and fight for the Constitution.
The naysayers will just go on smoking their Marlboro cigarettes.
62 - Sara
My name is Sara and I have RPCD Ron Paul Compulsive Disorder. That is way I am posting this comment. The Dr may have cured my apathy but my RPCD will not be cured until 2008 when I will either be cured or go back to having apathy.
Dec. 16 teaparty07.com
63 - alessandro
What's a bot?
64 - Jacob
"noun -- a device or piece of software that can execute commands, reply to messages, or perform routine tasks, as online searches, either automatically or with minimal human intervention (often used in combination): intelligent infobots; shopping bots that help consumers find the best prices.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Origin: 1985"90; shortening of robot]
65 - Clavos
"The naysayers will just go on smoking their Marlboro cigarettes."
Kof, kof...and voting for other candidates, most likely...kof, kof.
Choke, gasp...
66 - Dave Nalle
Dave, aren't you glad you published this article?
Oh, indeed.
What I want to know is why Emily thinks she's writing a telegram.
I do like the idea of RPCD though.
Dave
67 - STM
Lol, Sara. Give that woman a beer!
68 - Dr Dreadful
Clav, was that you talking? I can't see for the smoke.
[cough, splutter, wheeze, hack, cough, spew...]
69 - STM
Doc: I must confess that I have recently started smoking again, after not doing so for a few years.
The only good thing about that is that I'm having only having one or two a day, sometimes none. But, geez, it's a hard habit (addiction) to kick.
I blame Portugal. That's where I started again. They all smoke inside. It's hard to get away from it when you're out working, or going to functions that you have to be at, and everyone's puffing away.
I reckon at a work dinner one night, I was the only person (and one other, maybe) not smoking among a group of 15 or so.
You can't smoke in most bars and restaurants here ... a lot like the US, so you never get tempted in those situations.
70 - JB
So there is no association between Ron Paul, Hugo Chavez, 9/11, white supremacy and gun control? Was I duped into "manifesting" myself on a site I've never been to before... I don't see any reason to look over other threads.
Happy Trails
71 - STM
JB, the good doctor is simply making a nice vaild point: It's the web that does a lot of the work for us.
We just turn up when we see something that arouses our interest. As you did ...
72 - Steve
Just in case you care, I found this article because I selected a Yahoo! alert for any news articles about Ron Paul. They are sent to my email each day. With Ron Paul attracting so little coverage by the mainstream media, Ron Paul supporters are hungry for any word of the media noticing him, and are usually frustrated when it consists of nothing more than lame opinion pieces about his supporters from attention trolling bloggers.
73 - Theresa
Incoming LOL, yes we are here to comment on your article. OMG, Lord help us. Just so ya know, I google Ron Paul News about every morning with my coffee. Yes I'm interested. I want to keep tabs on the media & make sure they get it right, and when they get it wrong, I basically ignore the link.
THE REASON we do this is because there are people/journalists out there who have no clue. They think Ron Paul is supported by basement dwelling college kids. et hm, I'm far from college days & I own my own house. AND I switched to Repub so I can vote for Ron Paul. PS I only have a cell phone.
I'd love to see a survey done on this: Voters who switched to Republican to vote for Ron Paul.
74 - Theresa
PS, I read the article :D
75 - troll
I found Fed Up's discussion with Conservative Cat interesting and wonder how Paul supporters here respond to CC's question:
what are Paul's 'tangible' accomplishments in his career that have prepared him to direct the executive - ?