SheepDog
15 Apr 2005, 05:59 AM
This is a note to the members of INTP Central that I hope will protect you from some of the harm to which I have already been a contributor. The premise of this forum belies the true nature of the place. I wish it were so innocent, but it is not.
To many of you, this is just a place to share ideas about like-minded people, and to possibly learn more about yourself, through the MBTI types. And it kind of looks like that, on the face of it. But that is not the full story. In actuality, the premise is a ruse, one put forward by an agency that I cannot name, and that I doubt any of you have even heard of. It was set up specifically to gain personality profile information for use in preventing "threats" against certain entities which support it.
Some of the "members" here are not who they seem, including myself. We were tasked with posting here to reach a group that is elusive, and has been difficult to classify, and more importantly, predict. The job of these members is to "stir the pot", for lack of a better description, and through instigating discussions, gradually gather information so that the INTP type can be more fully studied.
I know this is shocking, but think about it for a bit. Not all the agents are INTP, and although they did go through extensive MBTI training, it is hard for most types to really pretend without revealing their true pesonality. Early on, we tried to stop people from questioning type, but that proved fruitless. Then it was decided that it might actually be useful to have different types in the mix to provoke different kinds of reponses than would come from a more homogenous group. An ESTJ might, for instance, pretend to be an INTJ. The P/J difference would be emphasized, so the S/N difference did not seem so obvious. Unfortunately, some of the SP agents had trouble avoiding creating drama, which is blatantly obvious by now.
Another thing is that each of us had more than one user name. This meant that we could sway a discussion better, by modifying the apparent flow of a thread. We could gang up on people, or argue both sides of an issue, and it was much easier to control. Anything to get people talking. A few of you caught on to this, perhaps through intuition, but it worked well for the most part. Where a particular user's persona proved to be unsuccessful, that name was retired, and another one was introduced.
In the beginning, the project seemed more innocent. It was supposed to be a program to learn more about the various types. We were supposed to go in and try to get people express their attitudes about various things, guns, abortion, politics, and especially sex (why the obsession, I cannot say). The idea was that by fishing in an open ended way, we would pick up key attitudes, phrases, etc, to search on and investigate further. It was just supposed to be informational.
Gradually, however, the need to show results began to overrun the original goals. We were told to be more targeted, to try to instigate more comments that might be incriminating. This approach was a universal failure, but the pressure continued. Eventually, a handful of members were picked out and their lives were put under the most powerful of microscopes. As it turns out, two of these people were involved in criminal activity, and they became the examples for why this whole program "was working." I cannot say the names, but they no longer post here, and won't be doing so any time soon.
What finally brought it to a head for me, the reason why I had to come forward, was that the energy of those two "successes" led to all reason being lost. We were being told to push and prod, to "make friends", and try to get people to tell us things, ANYTHING that could be used to show more success. It got really sleazy. Pretending to have children, to try to get people to share stories of abuse--or worse. I have reached the point where I no longer feel that the end justifies the means. It is just plain wrong.
Why do I bother writing this? Why would I presume that ANYBODY would be allowed to read it? I don't, of course. I suspect that it will be deleted in seconds, never to be seen by a single member. If it were to be inadvertently seen, then it would be followed up by comments discrediting me, as well as the above points. Maybe it would be moved to The Atelier and treated as a piece of fiction.
If my forum identity is kept alive, you can be assured that it is no longer me. Another agent will be brought in to cover the damage, discredit the message, or deny that it ever existed. They might carry on as though they were the same person, but the keen among you will know that something is not right. Other agent/members will collaborate the cover-up, and in time, this message will be a lost memory.
I cannot mend the loss of trust, but hopeful you will accept this message of caution. All is not what it seems, and everyone is not who they say they are. The utility truck on the corner may or may not be what logo on the side says it is. The car that turns behind you might actually be following you. The coworker who takes an interest in your hobbies might actually be cross-checking what you say tot them with what you say here. I know this must sound incredible, but it is not. Paranoia runs deep, and they're afraid of you.
To many of you, this is just a place to share ideas about like-minded people, and to possibly learn more about yourself, through the MBTI types. And it kind of looks like that, on the face of it. But that is not the full story. In actuality, the premise is a ruse, one put forward by an agency that I cannot name, and that I doubt any of you have even heard of. It was set up specifically to gain personality profile information for use in preventing "threats" against certain entities which support it.
Some of the "members" here are not who they seem, including myself. We were tasked with posting here to reach a group that is elusive, and has been difficult to classify, and more importantly, predict. The job of these members is to "stir the pot", for lack of a better description, and through instigating discussions, gradually gather information so that the INTP type can be more fully studied.
I know this is shocking, but think about it for a bit. Not all the agents are INTP, and although they did go through extensive MBTI training, it is hard for most types to really pretend without revealing their true pesonality. Early on, we tried to stop people from questioning type, but that proved fruitless. Then it was decided that it might actually be useful to have different types in the mix to provoke different kinds of reponses than would come from a more homogenous group. An ESTJ might, for instance, pretend to be an INTJ. The P/J difference would be emphasized, so the S/N difference did not seem so obvious. Unfortunately, some of the SP agents had trouble avoiding creating drama, which is blatantly obvious by now.
Another thing is that each of us had more than one user name. This meant that we could sway a discussion better, by modifying the apparent flow of a thread. We could gang up on people, or argue both sides of an issue, and it was much easier to control. Anything to get people talking. A few of you caught on to this, perhaps through intuition, but it worked well for the most part. Where a particular user's persona proved to be unsuccessful, that name was retired, and another one was introduced.
In the beginning, the project seemed more innocent. It was supposed to be a program to learn more about the various types. We were supposed to go in and try to get people express their attitudes about various things, guns, abortion, politics, and especially sex (why the obsession, I cannot say). The idea was that by fishing in an open ended way, we would pick up key attitudes, phrases, etc, to search on and investigate further. It was just supposed to be informational.
Gradually, however, the need to show results began to overrun the original goals. We were told to be more targeted, to try to instigate more comments that might be incriminating. This approach was a universal failure, but the pressure continued. Eventually, a handful of members were picked out and their lives were put under the most powerful of microscopes. As it turns out, two of these people were involved in criminal activity, and they became the examples for why this whole program "was working." I cannot say the names, but they no longer post here, and won't be doing so any time soon.
What finally brought it to a head for me, the reason why I had to come forward, was that the energy of those two "successes" led to all reason being lost. We were being told to push and prod, to "make friends", and try to get people to tell us things, ANYTHING that could be used to show more success. It got really sleazy. Pretending to have children, to try to get people to share stories of abuse--or worse. I have reached the point where I no longer feel that the end justifies the means. It is just plain wrong.
Why do I bother writing this? Why would I presume that ANYBODY would be allowed to read it? I don't, of course. I suspect that it will be deleted in seconds, never to be seen by a single member. If it were to be inadvertently seen, then it would be followed up by comments discrediting me, as well as the above points. Maybe it would be moved to The Atelier and treated as a piece of fiction.
If my forum identity is kept alive, you can be assured that it is no longer me. Another agent will be brought in to cover the damage, discredit the message, or deny that it ever existed. They might carry on as though they were the same person, but the keen among you will know that something is not right. Other agent/members will collaborate the cover-up, and in time, this message will be a lost memory.
I cannot mend the loss of trust, but hopeful you will accept this message of caution. All is not what it seems, and everyone is not who they say they are. The utility truck on the corner may or may not be what logo on the side says it is. The car that turns behind you might actually be following you. The coworker who takes an interest in your hobbies might actually be cross-checking what you say tot them with what you say here. I know this must sound incredible, but it is not. Paranoia runs deep, and they're afraid of you.