cricket tragic, it is not that I theorize conspiracy, it is that I recognize the faults of the powerful. Why would the powerful, those who are left having the money to fund research at universities, withdraw that funding in the light of minor detractions from their perfection? I suppose it is deep insecurities.
I don't know that sock puppets are banned, perhaps Adi can fill me in, I have had word that a second identity is only allowed in exceptional circumstances. I expect that so long as no other rules of the forums are broken there isn't a problem.
Interestingly enough the wikipedia article you noted has the following concerning sockpuppetry.
A sockpuppet-like use of deceptive fake identities is used in
stealth marketing. The stealth marketer creates one or more pseudonymous accounts, each one claiming to be owned by a different enthusiastic supporter of the sponsor's product or book or ideology.
[8]
A single such sockpuppet is a
shill; creating large numbers of them to fake a "grass-roots" upswelling of support is known as
astroturfing.