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Novelty Accounts

With the influx of newer users like myself, I've noticed one or two novelty accounts cropping up. Is this a thing? I understand maybe I have not seen enough of Snapzu, yet, and just haven't seen them before. Should they be a thing? The posts are marginally funny, and don't truly contribute to the discussion. Should they be downvoted? I was reluctant, and thought to ask here instead.

8 years ago by snappleman with 11 comments

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  • BlankWindow
    +11

    I do believe Snapzu requests you maintain a single account, but I'm also new.

    • snappleman
      +6

      That is correct. Would that being the person's only account make it more acceptable?

      • ortsac (edited 8 years ago)
        +10

        Absolutely. /u/clarkkent for example sometimes pretends to be a perfectly ordinary man with no secret alter identity. I say if you can commit to something like that as your online persona then more power to you!

        • ClarkKent (edited 8 years ago)
          +12

          Thanks for that, even though I am a ordinary man working in a office building in a beautiful city. /u/ortsac

          • DunkEgg
            +3

            Thats what a non ordinary man would say

  • papervoid
    +10

    A well executed post by a novelty account can be enjoyable. Sometimes the most recognizable users and most frequent contributors are novelty accounts. I don't think they should be downvoted. As long as they're breaking no rules, if a gimmick is how someone chooses to enjoy the site, then let them be. If you don't care for it, just don't upvote.

  • FivesandSevens
    +8

    I am all for rule-abiding novelty accounts. If someone wants to wear a costume to this party, so be it!

  • HK47 (edited 8 years ago)
    +4

    Theoretic Query: If the information is topical and contextual, and does not harm the sensitive feelings of the surrounding meatbags, where then is the danger?

    Mockery: In the event an organic sack of meat suffers injured feelings due to the previous statement, I will be certain to add an empathy subroutine to all future inquiries.

    Conclusion: Shall we find something to kill to cheer ourselves up? Of course, we will consider the target's feelings extensively beforehand.

  • wrmnthewoodwork
    +3

    I'm new to Snapzu as well, but would welcome novelty accounts so long as they added something unique and were not bots. A lot of poetry novelty accounts on other sites as well as artsy accounts have brought a smile to my face and sometimes laughter, so I believe they can be a positive thing.

    • Qukatt
      +2

      Thankfully poem for your sprog and shitty watercolour have facebook groups and instagram and that that they cross post to so you don't need to feel like you're missing anything

  • TheAmerican
    +1

    Novelty accounts can be a useful and unintended feature of a good community based website. I think it's important for us to remember the values of the site and determine on a case by case basis whether the specific novelty account or bot adds value that contributes positively to the culture of the site.

    Where most of my community site experience comes from is reddit and there are a number of novelty accounts and bots that added a lot of value to the community. Poemforyour_sprog is great. So is the SR-71 facts bot because it only posted the same damn story, but it was a story that everyone was always curious about. Someone always was hearing it for the first time even though it's job was to literally just repost. Another one was a user who posted relevant episode information when someone posted youtube clips of a show or posted a quote. All good uses of novelty accounts. I once considered creating a bot that commented whenever someone said something critical of the US, just as a satirical post, along the lines of "you're now moderator of /r/pyongyang", but decided against it because I know how annoying that would be.

    If your bot is insulting, it should be down voted. If it is essentially encouraging vote brigading, down votes. It's up to us to decide and that's it. The same way we decide the merit of individual Snaps and comments.