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Meta: [dead] users?

20 points by alex_c ↗ HN
I occasionally see [dead] comments from users. Looking through their history, it looks like all their comments past a certain date are [dead], and that they're not aware of this fact - but I also don't see anything particularly offensive in their history. Is it possible they somehow mistakenly get auto-flagged and no one notices? It doesn't seem possible to upvote or reply to [dead] comments, so how can they climb out of this hole which they're (presumably) not even aware they're in?

16 comments

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ScottWhigham
I think this is because you have showdead set to "yes". Go to your profile and turn it off.
ericb
I think the question is how does this happen, and why don't these ghosts know they are dead? It is very 6th Sense.

"I see dead people. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're dead."

philh
Presumably mods kill them, and if they knew they were dead they might respawn.

If people are getting killed for no good reason, that sounds like moderator abuse. But I'm skeptical; I have showdead on myself and haven't seen anything that seemed like it was wrongly killed.

[dead] tempor
That's only because people on blocked IPs usually do figure out that they are blocked and just move on with their life instead of begging for the mods to fix something that the mods don't care about.
ivank
It's possible to upvote [dead] comments, but not reply.
Radix
Actually I've been trying to upvote 'tempor', but it isn't sticking. I think it's no good since he's dead. I just see the 2.
ivank
You're right, it doesn't stick.
stcredzero
I wonder if it's possible to have a social news site where certain members can be given the "Blue Pill?" That is, their comments and submissions do not appear on the regular site, but instead appear on an alternative version of the site generated for them. There could even be a Markov chain reply generator that replies to their comments, and a Bayesian filter that fake-upvotes them. (Trained by upvoting on the normal site.)

Better yet, have a "red pill" instead. Have an elitist site-within-a-site that only select members could see. Have it only available to members with a certain Karma, and then require that they get an invitation from another member already there.

Actually, it would be best to have all 3 levels!

EDIT: Another wrinkle. Have the "Red Pill" be divided up into groups, each requiring a separate invite. Membership to multiple groups would be allowed.

EDIT: Actually, something like this idea would be even better on IRC! Also, receiving the "Blue Pill" would look on the surface just like getting a "Red Pill" invite. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

randallsquared
You haven't been invited, yet? Oops.
stcredzero
We've both been Blue Pilled. Actually, just you. I'm really a Markov chain.
allenbrunson
my guess is you're not seeing the whole story. could be that the alias in question is one that was made to evade an earlier ban, for example.
alex_c
That's my guess as well (although there's always the possibility of human/software error).

It just seems... eerie, and a bit sad. I understand how effective a "transparent" ban can be for spammers, it just seems strange to see people comment for weeks in this mode. Never replied to, never voted up or down, seen by few. Like digital ghosts who may or may not even know they're ghosts.