Ectaco caught using MobileRead to create fake buzz about Jetbook

[booklover6]

How disappointing. But the Jetbook product itself was/is also sold as a different brand, the Aluratek. The hardware is/was good for the years when it was new.

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by booklover6

How disappointing. But the Jetbook product itself was/is also sold as a different brand, the Aluratek. The hardware is/was good for the years when it was new.

That's an entirely different company.

[Teknikal]

I've always took it for granted all companies did this to an extent even if it's as small as just a few of their staff posting from their houses. I think it's wise to always take online reviews and posts with a grain of salt and look for as many views as possible before deciding on something.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

That's an entirely different company.

I see. The hardware was the same, so just the software was different, then. Aluratek still has their product for sale on their web site, too.

[petrucci]

Its sad that these corporations give sockpuppets a bad name.

[cromag]

No one company has a monopoly on idiots. Sorry they behaved the way they did, especially (as has been noted) they could have come here legitimately. Glad they've been discovered and evicted.

[issybird]

What amazes me is that they were so incredibly moronic about it. Using the same IPs for different accounts! Using IPs that belonged to their employer! They deserved to be caught and that they weren't caugh earlier just shows that the admin takes posters at their word, and we should all feel good about that.

If I were sockpuppeting, even at the basic level, I'd know enough to split accounts between home and work, say. Or at least between home and McDonalds a few towns away. Sheesh!

[crich70]

Astroturfing? It sounds like plain old fashioned fraud to me. Even if the product is good if you represent yourself as someone you aren't that smacks of fraud. And if it involves the purchase of something so that money changes hands doesn't that make it a felony? Even if the product is good if it is bought under false pretenses like this case doesn't that make it criminal? You would think so anyway.

[Teknikal]

Originally Posted by crich70

Astroturfing? It sounds like plain old fashioned fraud to me. Even if the product is good if you represent yourself as someone you aren't that smacks of fraud. And if it involves the purchase of something so that money changes hands doesn't that make it a felony? Even if the product is good if it is bought under false pretenses like this case doesn't that make it criminal? You would think so anyway.

It happens a lot theres even whole companies based on it basicly they do things like this for other companies it's called reputation management or something similar I think Microsoft were the last caught out pushing the Xbox One propaganda.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by issybird

What amazes me is that they were so incredibly moronic about it. Using the same IPs for different accounts! Using IPs that belonged to their employer! They deserved to be caught and that they weren't caugh earlier just shows that the admin takes posters at their word, and we should all feel good about that.

If I were sockpuppeting, even at the basic level, I'd know enough to split accounts between home and work, say. Or at least between home and McDonalds a few towns away. Sheesh!

Quite a few companies have been caught running online shenanigans; at Wikipedia and elsewhere.

Sony, most prominently. And repeatedly. (Of course!)
And yes, they were caught because they were doing it from their Sony offices.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/...s-psp-fan-site

http://www.webpronews.com/sony-buste...-entry-2007-09

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by crich70

And if it involves the purchase of something so that money changes hands doesn't that make it a felony? Even if the product is good if it is bought under false pretenses like this case doesn't that make it criminal? You would think so anyway.

You would think so but the law is ambiguous; there have been rulings both ways.

In 2008, 49-year-old Missouri resident Lori Drew was prosecuted and convicted in Los Angeles for creating a MySpace account on which she claimed to be a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Drew's goal had been to create a relationship with Megan Meier, a 13-year-old girl who had been in conflict with Drew's daughter. After "Josh" ended the relationship with Megan, Megan committed suicide. Drew was convicted for misrepresenting her identity, in violation of the MySpace terms of service. The Los Angeles U.S. Attorney successfully claimed that this was covered by federal computer fraud legislation against "accessing a computer without authorization via interstate commerce."[26][27] Drew appealed the verdict, arguing that her use of a false identity did not constitute unauthorized access to MySpace, based on a 1973 breach of contract dispute where a court of appeals ruled that "fraudulently induced consent is consent nonetheless."[28] On July 3, 2009, the appeal was tentatively upheld.[29]

In 2010, Raphael Golb was convicted on 30 of 31 counts, including identity theft, criminal impersonation, and aggravated harassment, for using multiple sockpuppet accounts to attack and impersonate historians he perceived as rivals of his father, Norman Golb.[30] Golb defended his actions as "satirical hoaxes" protected by free-speech rights. He was disbarred and sentenced to six months in prison but remained free on appeal on $25,000 bail

[Greg Anos]

Now if onyl we could find out the truth behind StoneTools...

[Canuck_in_Japan]

So Kris777 was a sockpuppet? That's unfortunate he seemed like a decent guy. I guess it does make sense though. I mean I used and liked the etaco Jetbook too but that was 3 or 4 years ago. The ereader world has long since moved on. Anyone still using and enjoying that obsolete device has got to be a sock puppet!

[Wayoutwilly]

Corporate shills are the worst. Well, not the worst, but they are bad.
As many of you already said, there are everywhere but that doesn't make it right. The problem with "shilling" is that it crates an atmosphere where you can't trust anybody that is remotely enthusiastic about anything. And that's unhealthy.

[murg]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I think I'm a little more taken aback by MR apparently investigating posters to find this connection. I have a JBL and have said good things about it; did someone go delving into my background too?

Yes. But all we've discovered, so far, is that you like cats.