Diggstapo

http://trevorcrookblog.com/2008/10/12/diggstapo-the-term-for-social-medias-gestapo-called-wwwdiggcom/
The following article can be found at the above address


Wikipedia has a meaning for Gestapo Tactics and I have now termed a meaning for Diggstapo Tactics. Before I reveal this to you . . . a little of ToeCracker’s Digg History.

I joined digg in July 2007 and started to become an avid user in late November, digging around 300 stories per day, supporting my friends submissions, commenting and getting front pages stories . . . after making a shit load of mistakes etc.

Digg became like a drug, an addiction to the point, where yes, I was a diggaholic under the under name ToeCracker.

Back in March, I heard of a script which would allow me to digg faster, which from a time management perspective, made a shit load of sense. I also understood this script was part of Digg’s API and as I wasn’t digging anymore stories each day, simply taking back some of my valuable time, I used it.

I had dugg over 66,000 stories, over 1,000 comments and had 149 front page submissions at the time I got my ass banned Friday week ago . . . banned even though I had removed the script approx. 4 weeks earlier when the shit hit the fan and about 80-100 diggers got banned.

When I removed the script, I went back to the labor intensive task of digging the old way, hitting the link, speed reading the description, adding a comment and + others if I chose to. In the prior 4 weeks to getting banned, I had taken time off from nearly all social media to take some ‘ME’ time.

I had 2 short bursts on digg. The 2nd one, only 2 days before I was banned and the actual day before I was banned, I sat there for about an hour, catching up on my diggs to be met with the WARNING:

“Whoa their cowboy, itchy trigger, digging so fast is lame, how about you read some stories” and this pissed me off no end.

How piss weak is a site like digg, when you can digg too fast by hand, I mean What The Fuck! So, I sent an email to digg, asking them to explain why they can dictate to me the time it takes for me to read a description on a story and decide to digg/bury etc. Nothing I was doing was illegal and against their fucked up TOS.

As usual, digg didn’t reply. The next day I was banned without warning and when I emailed them 2 times, I was basically told to go fuck myself and that they suspected I had used a script and banned me, then they pointed me to 2 blog posts about scripts etc.

Their 2nd email suggested they would be going over power profiles logs and deciding if people would be banned.

I admitted to them my error in using a script, which I thought was in terms of their API etc. and as soon as I knew it wasn’t, I removed it. They simply banned me, like they have done to so many others and will continue to do so.

Life goes on and personally digg can go fuck themselves and it seems they are doing a very good job of this anyway . . . just ask Google.

TOECRACKER’S (Crackpedia) MEANING OF ‘DIGGSTAPO’ TACTICS:

“The Diggstapo has the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases by way of script usage, and in cases of personal attacks on the Kevin Rose and his bum chums. A law passed by Kevin Rose gives the Diggstapo carte blanche to operate without judicial oversight.

The Diggstapo is specifically exempted from responsibility to administrate correct judgment, answer people with respect and to ban anyone’s ass from digg for absolutely ANY reason or even No reason at all.

The power of the Diggstapo most open to misuse is called ‘BanzingYourAss’ - a euphemism for the power to ban digg users without judicial proceedings or a chance to explain their case. The person banned – simply disappears from Digg without a trace under Diggstapo policy . . . although the Diggstapo team is well aware these banned diggers simply get a new IP address and create a new account where we only have one thing to say to the Diggstapo Team . . . FuckYouDiggstapo!

Life goes on and it has. I will simply do more Mixx, Stumble and Reddit.

Dedicated to kicking your ass until you succeed.

I am so glad that others are finally seeing digg for what it is, and I have a feeling that digg's days are fast becoming numbered, it is fading into the sunset and the way they are operating it seems less and less people are actually going to miss them.

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The Digg Controversy

Seems that the Digg controversy continues. There is a rift between the people who are viewed as manipulating the system by using scripts and those who want everyone banned. One of my last pieces was about the sissies who have only cybercourage. These people are as destructive to Digg as the ones who try to manipulate the system.

The bottom line is Digg truly has no idea who is using scripts. They claim to be hitting people based upon the suspicion of it. This from an organization which prides itself on being a democracy. I guess we cannot expect anything more from a bunch of flaming liberals. The accusations that Digg is in cahoots with the DNC was furthered by their interview with Nancy Pelosi. This organization is about as democratic as Red China.

Digg went through and banned a number of its top users. However, it seems most were in the middle of their top 1,000. Very few elite diggers were hit. This is cause to believe they are in bed with the Digg organization. I can see why some of the other people are whining. They feel it unfair that the top diggers use scripts (or blind diggs) when they abide by the rules. It would seem that they have a valid point in a democratic organization. Of course, if these people want fairness, they need to go to StumbleUpon. Digg is anything but that.

For all who are interested, here is a list of the Top 1,000 on Digg and what happened to them.

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StumbleUpon Stepping Up

Is Stumble trying to take advantage of the recent events at Digg? It seems they are although I would surmise the timing is purely coincidental. Stumble made some changes to the site which should enhance the attractiveness to it's users. Basically, they are expanding the capabilities of the system.

To start, they removed the 200 friend limit. For those who are really "social", this is welcomed news. I would say the people from Digg will like this move.

Also, the system will remove friends who are no longer active from your list. This is really handy since there is nothing more frustrating than realizing that your list is half empty. Digg keeps the names of the people who had accounts closed. Many who were friends with the banned were surprised to find that most of their friends were gone. Digg will leave them there eternally.

Another nice feature is that new people appear at the top of your friends list. This is a nice way to ensure that the newer people get some focus.

Finally, you can have a friend without getting their Stumbles or vice versa. From a time management standpoint, this makes life easier since it removes some clutter. Even though people are our friends, we do not always have the same interests. Now, you can choose what you like to see.

This could be another small step in the demise of Digg. When you are the big boy, there is no place to go but down. The recent activities over there might open the door. StumbleUpon seems intent on making a play for that place.

Here is the link to Stumble's official posting.

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