When you see a handshake account make a point to engage them in discussions. This is important for 2 reasons. One reason is we want to welcome new users with open arms, every new user is another person who’s woken up. The second reason is if they’re a shill it’s going to be easier to spot them the more they talk. Dont let new accounts lose their handshakes without engaging in frenly discussions!
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I’ve had a handshake until recently and I have to say everyone was so nice and helpful. I love this site!
Glad to hear it! Love your name btw.
Ah thanks starseed ? I’m obsessed with the moon...can stare at it for hours. Was so big and beautiful last night!
I only look for the handshake if their post indicates they are an id10t.
What's a handshake account?
Posts from new accounts have a handshake symbol by the name. This disappears after a period of time.
My initial account exposed my identity which was not a problem until I wanted to start posting. Then, I made a new account and the handshake shows I'm a newbie (again).
EDIT: Wow! I just checked and my handshake is gone! What a glorious day! It's like Steve Martin in 'The Jerk' when his name first appears in the phonebook...
New account
I've found one of the easiest ways to spot the shills is wait for them to call you a "Newbie" (or equivalent). So far I have had this happen 6 times lately, and EVERY time when I check their profile, it is always less than 3 months old. Just something to look for.
roger that!
This is true. I used to watch Simon Parkes before I worked out he was full of it. But I was still searching for the truth. Some handshake mentioned him in a comment earlier and was told "gfy" pretty much and called a shill. Feel like people need to be more forgiving as this experience may have pushed that handshake commenter away instead of gently correcting him
Thank you for this! Newcomers to the community aren’t always savvy about shills (I really wasn’t) and so it can be frustrating to get negativity just for being new. And trying to show you’re genuine can feel like work and in itself disingenuous? Maybe? I don’t know. I would say for the most part most here have been kind to me. I guess I’m naive sometimes and give too much benefit at first, but I do understand the need to keep the shills from getting a foothold. I also would say that the moment someone creates an account is by no means an accurate measure of how long someone has been reading the site. It’s just the time they finally decide to brave joining the discussion.
Good call.
Most are Ai not even talking to human ?
Yea I agree but at the same time try not to be aggressive or immediately accusatory unless they’re an obvious shill like I just encountered. A handshake account commented on one of the durham posts in a very aggressive way. I replied “why so agitated mr handshake?” And they completely melted down replying to all of my comments “fuck you faggot”. He then made a post about how all handshake accounts are treated like shit. And he had kind of a point. So I made this post in honor of him. Be skeptical of handshakes, not aggressive.
All I’m saying is don’t hate on them just because they’re a handshake. Bottom line is all handshakes should be vetted by the community. See a handshake? Look through their comment history and engage them in discussion.
No harm in giving new people the benefit of the doubt. As long as we're smart about spotting shills and kicking them to the curb, it shouldn't be an issue.
Some people like to play devil's advocate, and that's a little tougher to work with. It's not always a bad thing - you just have to bring your A-Game.