"Sock Puppets" Traced to Black Tree

Three TMP member accounts have been traced back to Black Tree Design. The accounts were used to post positive feedback about Black Tree customer service.

Underdog was the original account, and first posted to the Message Boards back in February. Within the same five-minute period in early March, TMP website logs show that Underdog posted to the Message Boards in defence of Black Tree, then Office Slave (a brand-new account) posted to the same topic from the same IP address, while (again at the same IP address) another new account was created (Mail Order Goblin) which has been posting as a satisfied BTD customer as recently as today. (This could be explained by a single user operating multiple accounts in different web browser windows, or it could be two or more people operating on a local network using the same IP address.)

Hours later, the first link between Black Tree and the "sock puppet" accounts came when the official company member account (BTD UK) accessed TMP from the same IP address. However, this only showed that the same internet access point was being used - possibly by another machine on the same local network, or by a subsequent user on the same computer.

This morning, TMP received a message from Vaughan Edwards of Black Tree Design about their communications problems. The website log shows that Vaughan was logged in to TMP as Mail Order Goblin when he sent the message. This means that Vaughan, if not Mail Order Goblin himself, was using Mail Order Goblin's computer.

The Messages

Posting to the BTD comes through!...just slow topic in early March, Underdog didn't mention any connection to the company when he wrote:

Moan moan moan, they admitted they hired new staff and some one sent the post sea freight. They have always sent my orders airmail in the past an im sure they will send them airmail in the future. They had an error, they arent evil or mental so get over it.

Jeeeeez

Posting to the WARNING: Black Tree Design topic a few days later, Underdog protrayed himself as a satisfied customer:

BTD are a great company and i for one will support them. Madzerker your not worth the poop on my shoe, you company assassin.

And later:

They have answered this whole problem but theres always another jumped up moaner around the corner who writes before reading.

(The posts were later deleted for violating Message Board policies against name-calling.)

Then, posting now as Office Slave, someone at the same IP address wrote:

I believe that a week or two ago Jenn from Black Tree actually came on and said that they had hired new staff and due to this orders had unfortunately been sent by surface mail instead of air mail and I am sorry to say that as we all know you have no control over the post offices in any country once you have posted something. so why can't people back off a little??

While Black Tree was being criticized for lack of response to email, Mail Order Goblin began promoting use of the telephone:

Email isnt all its cracked up to be is it. Try the good old fashioned phone.

In another topic, he seemed to be just another satisfied customer:

back on track after the huge sales. BTD are very nice people and its good to know that normal service has been resumed.

On April 14th, no official response came from Black Tree to the Buyer Beware of Black Tree Design topic, but Mail Order Goblin had time to jot off a note praising BTD products:

Use a phone, they are nice people to deal with. In answer to the Zulu deals ... they are excelent value and do say Random mix.

The Traces

Based on the website logs, Mail Order Goblin appears to be using a portable computer. While the account originally shared an IP address with the other accounts, Mail Order Goblin subsequently appeared at a new IP address range (which may indicate a different geographic location).

Vaughan Edwards has a laptop computer, and is reportedly based away from the Black Tree offices. However, he says that his laptop has been unable to access TMP (due to a glitch at TMP).

John Olsen, a manager at Black Tree, has also been traced to the same IP address range currently used by Mail Order Goblin. He is also connected with the Celtic Avenger account at TMP.

The other accounts have only been traced to the original IP address range, the same used by the official Black Tree member account. Posts on the official account have been signed at various times by Dean or Jenn Edwards.