What's with all the strange one-liner replies getting posted?

[itsjustasprain]

I was wondering about all the weird one-liner replies (such as "Yes. I think the same as you.") that keep popping up on the boards and decided to do a little further digging. These turn out to be some kind of semi-automatic junk posts put up by newbie or throwaway accounts for the most part.

To see them, pick any short reply that seems weird, disjointed or out of place (such as "We don't have to do this, but it's helpful advice."), and do the following:

1. Plug it into the Community search field at the top of the screen, putting it within double quotes: "We don't have to do this, but it's helpful advice."
2. When the Results page comes up, change the Sorted By: order from Best Match to Date (descending Down Arrow).
3. Click on the Advanced heading, and change the View results by from Topics to Specific Posts.

That will give you a detailed list of all the throwaway accounts currently using that post. It's weird and puzzling at the same time. There is nothing to be gained by any of it.

Other current randomly generated posts:

• "How exactly was this negative unwarranted?" (This one was out of context everywhere that I found it.)
• "Exactly right. Thanks for answering."
• "Thank you for the helpful and encouraging insight. Appreciated very much."
• "They're probably referring to ebay's Worldwide Shipping Program."
• "Thanks for answering."
• "I am not sure what you are talking about."
• "We don't have to do this, but it's helpful advice."
• "Yes. I think the same as you."
• "This was the wrong thing to do, and you can report the seller for this."

If you then pick any of the accounts that posted a comment above and look at their other replies, you will find more one-liners from the same collection being posted elsewhere. (I found one case this morning where the same poster used two of them in the same thread, just four replies apart.)

All I can guess here is that foreign users (not necessarily the Sri Lanka bunch, but ones that do not seem to know the English language) are being given a list of "sample" comments from somewhere, from which they can post their choice, but so many of the posted replies are so wildly out of context for what's being discussed that I cannot see the point of it at all. Just to collect badges?

[tdumonde2014]

It's posters from Sri Lanka earning their "Points" towards being able to sell on ebay. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@tdumonde2014 wrote:

It's posters from Sri Lanka earning their "Points" towards being able to sell on ebay. 

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I thought of that, but every account I've checked so far is a new US account, not registered in Sri Lanka. I wonder if they're using those posts to verify that the account signup worked, in preparation for something else coming soon, although forum spamming isn't really a moneymaking opportunity since the ads (if not the entire posting account) will get nuked almost immediately.

[donsdetour]

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@itsjustasprain wrote:

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@tdumonde2014 wrote:

It's posters from Sri Lanka earning their "Points" towards being able to sell on ebay. 

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I thought of that, but every account I've checked so far is a new US account, not registered in Sri Lanka. I wonder if they're using those posts to verify that the account signup worked, in preparation for something else coming soon, although forum spamming isn't really a moneymaking opportunity since the ads (if not the entire posting account) will get nuked almost immediately.

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Because it say US don't always mean US.....

[pikabo-icu]

I've noticed a huge increase in these posts over the last week.

Part of the problem is they are agreeing with & upvoting BAD advice- at times.

The posters seem friendly enough but it's annoying and can cause a newbie to follow not so helpful advice..

I'm curious to what's up with these people.. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@donsdetour wrote:
Because it say US don't always mean US.....

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Right, that's true. What I mean is that the Sri Lanka posts up to now have always simply shown Sri Lanka on the user's feedback page, where these latest ones are all labeled US in that location. The Sri Lanka accounts haven't seen any need to disguise their origin up to now, but maybe they've decided to start hiding their location (or trying to get a US registration for something to do with Managed Payments, maybe?). The strange if not random choices of reply getting posted to each thread seem to indicate that English is not the user's first language, or that the poster has any idea what is being discussed.

[mobley120]

"I'm curious to what's up with these people.. "

Maybe they're scammers, feeling their way around, selecting selecting selecting, and doing a bit of prep work before the scam.  After all, I'd imagine scammers visit the community board quite often; I think that's part of the underworld's advice. 

Just a guess:

[donsdetour]

"each thread seem to indicate that English is not the user's first language, or that the poster has any idea what is being discussed."

I Agree with you.

I also have no idea what to do with it: If bad advice of course try a correction is about it.

Folks registered with eBay have the right to post even if the advice is wrong.

Part of the game.

[a_c_green]

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@donsdetour wrote:

"each thread seem to indicate that English is not the user's first language, or that the poster has any idea what is being discussed."

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I have another one to add to the collection here: "it's awesome, i love it"

That was posted to a thread about search problems, among other places... 🙄

[donsdetour]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@donsdetour wrote:

"each thread seem to indicate that English is not the user's first language, or that the poster has any idea what is being discussed."

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I have another one to add to the collection here: "it's awesome, i love it"

That was posted to a thread about search problems, among other places... 🙄

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It is what it is.....LOL

[discountmagz]

lol

[gracieallen01]

Well, it IS a holiday weekend and those not working need SOMETING to do.  Right?   And isn't contributing to the threads supposed to be fun and entertaining? 

(darn, they keep hiding that sarcasm font.  I hate it when that happens!)

[a_c_green]

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@donsdetour wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:

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I have another one to add to the collection here: "it's awesome, i love it"

That was posted to a thread about search problems, among other places... 🙄

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It is what it is.....LOL

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Actually, I have to admit here that I have used "It's awesome, I love it" and "It is what it is" on various occasions when the spouse accuses me of not listening, and I suddenly have to say something useful in response.

Several other of the comments from the master list at the top of this thread are also good as quick answers when I wasn't really paying attention, although I have to be careful when choosing, as a couple of them might end in disaster if used in the wrong situation. "I am not sure what you are talking about" would not go over well. "How exactly was this Negative unwarranted?" should not be attempted without goggles and a crash helmet.

[gracieallen01]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@donsdetour wrote:

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@a_c_green wrote:

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I have another one to add to the collection here: "it's awesome, i love it"

That was posted to a thread about search problems, among other places... 🙄

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It is what it is.....LOL

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Actually, I have to admit here that I have used "It's awesome, I love it" and "It is what it is" on various occasions when the spouse accuses me of not listening, and I suddenly have to say something useful in response.

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You need a little tape recorder like in "Last Action Hero', the one that Arnie uses when his wife (ex?) calls him.  😁   I use that technique a lot when people get redundant.  😀

[wesk_36]

"I applaud your decision and wish you well. And I admire your tidy house... wish I had one. Good luck."

This one-liner guy said that twice to different posters but where the tidy house came from, who knows? Maybe a mistranslated expression?