LinuxToday Editor Apologizes For Astroturfing

Thanks to Dean Pannell (and Paul Ferris for the initial head's up) for pointing out the apology and statement of fact from Kevin Reichard, the Executive Editor of LinuxToday. I think the argument that people would know that "George Tirebiter" was merely a contrivance is weak, but whatever. You can read the previous stories in the astroturf ^[?] ing saga.

Re:that forced sound

[Black Parrot]

> Plus it contains grammatical mistakes, which looks kind of bad when your job title includes "editor".

Nod a nissue, far Linux-friendly geek cites.

Unix Toady's ironic disclaimer

[SimHacker]

At the top of all the messages in Linux Toady's talkback, it ironically claims:

Linux Today is not responsible for the content of the message below.

Maybe they should clearly label the astroturf articles written by their own editors differently:

Linux Toady is responsible for the content of the message below.

-Don

Linux Toady

Main Entry: 1 toady
Pronunciation: 'tO-dE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural toadies
Etymology: by shortening & alteration from toadeater
Date: 1826
: one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : SYCOPHANT
synonym see PARASITE

====

Is it SO bad?

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean, editors want to post too! Sometimes I like to jump into a discussion, and post some thoughts without everyone knowing who I am!

CmdrTa^H^H^H^H^H^H"Fred" Tirebiter

To sum up....

[Dr. Smeegee]

"I thought you all _knew_ I was a liar!"

Re:As if a /. editor has ANY room to talk

[gamorck]

Have you looked at Tacos code lately? That may have actually been a legitimate excuse :-)

Gam
"Karma Hell Here I Come"

Re:It has worked before

[ethereal]

[wagging finger] I did not troll LinuxToday as that woman!

Hmmm, not quite the same :)

Re:Has anyone at SLASHDOT ever ASTROTURFED?

[wiredog]

tremptation

A-ha! I've caught Taco astroturfing slashdot!

so

[British]

So will all the names being used be apologzing?

Re:apology accepted!

[Bios_Hakr]

I'm with you all the way Rob...I mean Jeff, yeah, that's it. Jeff.

apology accepted!

[bricriu]

I personally think that these fine gentlemen have, by virtue of their effusive apology, proved themselves to be well and truly sorry, and that we should all forgive them their minor trespasses. Who's with me?

-Kevin Richard... I mean, uh Ben. That's it. Ben.

It must be equally obvious .....

[terrymr]

that Cmdr Taco is just a contrived name of somebody who doesn't exist too :-)

Please think of the children

[Anonymous Coward]

My name is Billy Evans. I am a very sick little boy. My mother is typing this for me, because I can't. She is crying. The reason she is so sad is because I'm so sick. I was born without a body. It doesn't hurt, except when I try to breathe. The doctors gave me an artificial body. It is a burlap bag filled with leaves. The doctors said that was the best they could do on account of us having no money or insurance. I would like to have a body transplant, but we need more money. Mommy doesn't work because she said nobody hires crying people. I said, "Don't cry, Mommy," and she hugged my burlap bag. Mommy always gives me hugs, even though she's allergic to burlap and it makes her sneeze and chafes her real bad. I hope you will help me. You can help me if you forward this email to everyone you know. Forward it to people you don't know, too. Dr. Johansen said that for every person you forward this email to, Bill Gates will team up with AOL and send a nickel to NASA. With that funding, NASA will collect prayers from school children all over America and have the astronauts take them up into space so that the angels can hear them better. Then they will come back to earth and go to the Pope, and he will take up a collection in church and send all the money to the doctors. The doctors could help me get better then. Maybe one day I will be able to play baseball. Right now I can only be third base. Every time you forward this letter, the astronauts can take more prayers to the angels and my dream will be closer to coming true. Please help me. Mommy is so sad, and I want a body. I don't want my leaves to rot before I turn 10. If you don' tforward this email, that's okay. Mommy says you're a mean and heartless bastard who doesn't care about a poor little boy with only a head. She says that if you don't stew in the raw pit of your own guilt-ridden stomach, she hopes you die a long slow horrible death and then burn forever in hell. What kind of cruel person are you that you can't take five freakin' minutes to forward this to all your friends so that they can feel guilt and shame about ignoring a poor, bodiless nine-year-old boy? Please help me. I try to be happy, but it's hard. I wish I had a kitty. I wish I could hold a kitty. I wish I could hold a kitty that wouldn't chew on me and try to bury its turds in the leaves of my burlap body. I wish that very much. Thank You, Billy "Smiley" Evans

Never again, eh?

[Anonymous Coward]

I stopped months ago and vow to LT readers that I will never engage in the practice again.

Heh.

I've said something similar to my wife more than once. I wonder if LT readers are sharper than she is...

Slashdot would be Immune to Astroturf like this

[Anonymous Coward]

A Slashdot editor would be easy to identify from the spelling and gramatical errors.

Hey Hemos

[Anonymous Coward]

Why don't you take that 'e' from argu(e)ment and use it in R(e)ichard. Then take an English course.

Why not...

[ackthpt]

Why not hire this guy [isuzu.com] to do the astroturfing? At least it would appear more authentic than "George Tirebiter".

Notorious slimey pitchman for Isuzu, in case you didn't know.

Scandal redux

[McSnickered]

What a nice blend of moral outrage, incompetence, and vitriole! Let's see ...

1. He got caught
2. People get upset
3. He gave a semi-apology
4. We all continue on with life as if nothing had happened.

Will all those who really give a crap please step forward. Not so fast Mr. Tirebiter.

Re:so

[Black Parrot]

> So will all the names being used be apologzing?

[LMAO]

No, a simple "I and all my socks" will suffice.