Topic title says it. Out of many articles that have been written about this subject in the years before and since, this is still one of the best:


I encourage you to read the whole thing, then do more research on this important practical subject!

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Why am I bringing this up? Obviously, the Reputation forum (and Meta) are mass-chaos lately. It's that... and more:

• I noticed that certain users have been recently targeted with increased intensity by trolls who seek to destroy their reputations. They are exactly the types of users one would expect to be targeted by intelligence agencies and other mass-manipulators: High-visibility, principled, doing a lot of work to contribute to the community (some of them doing it for free, with no paid signature), sterling reputations for honesty and integrity.
• I noticed an ongoing persistent smear campaign against ChipMixer: A privacy site, which is certainly not beloved by the types of entities discussed in the above article.

I had been growing suspicious that there was more to this recent trollfest than meets the eye. Then, I saw two of the most astute users on the forum, o_e_l_e_o and actmyname, point out to others that widespread assumptions about the identities of various sockpuppet accounts are probably incorrect. Note that neither o_e_l_e_o nor actmyname said what I am saying here! What they said was purely negative. It just tended to mesh with suspicions that I already had, and made me take a closer look...

I may discuss all this in more detail on this thread. Maybe. But let's start with that, and then some general practical advice.

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DON'T	be paranoid. Paranoia paralyzes. Paranoia is a mind-killer. Mass-manipulators deliberately sow paranoia amongst those they wish to neutralize, and in particular, among political activists. There is a world of difference between prudence and paranoia. But on the other hand, "just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they're not out to get you..."
DON'T	make incautious accusations that your personal enemies are alphabet-soup agents. It makes your adversaries too powerful when you accidentally label some basement-dwelling idiot as an intelligence agency operative. It also makes you look like a fool.
DON'T	be stupid. Sorry, it's as simple as that... not simple at all. I could write a very long post with lots of advice, which few would read. If you care about your bitcoins, your reputation, and your sanity, you should probably read some guides (especially, activism guides) to how to avoid tricks and traps on the Internet.
DO	be aware that on any Internet forum dealing with hot issues, you will encounter parties with ulterior motives. Most of all the Bitcoin Forum, where money, power, and politics all intersect. I would assume the presence of everything and anything from intelligence agency plants, to garden-variety police informers, to paid shills for various large or small commercial interests... even for "nonprofits", maybe. Anybody with an agenda! Although this isn't the highest-traffic site (nothing compared to the major social media sites), its topic is Bitcoin; and it attracts a high concentration of intelligent people who have strong political opinions. Do the math.
DO	be objective. I mean, truly objective (not as that word is being abused around here lately). This is not a matter of "fairness," but self-protection. Evaluate and re-evaluate your own trust decisions based on an objective (re-)appraisal of those you trust, and those you distrust, without being blinded by personal feelings. This is not to be hardhearted, much less to show your virtue. It is to protect yourself from being emotionally manipulated and deceived.
DO	look to actions and results, not mere words. Many people talk about "freedom," "honesty," "community," etc. Do a person's actions consistently tend toward results that produce the stated goals? Or is that person a hypocrite who is playing you? Be wise also that this cuts both ways. Some people have personalities that make them unpopular for some reason or another, but they care about helping people and doing the right thing... they're just not people-pleasers flashing around flattering smiles. Any which way, look for concrete indicia of what a person's real goals are.
DON'T	get demoralized. There are good people out there. There are good people on this forum. You want to connect with them, while avoiding the ones who aren't good at all. If you forget the good people and get depressed by all the jerks, then who wins?
DO	remember that things are not what they seem. It's an old truism that on the Internet, anybody could be a dog. You have no idea who (or what) is behind a screen name. Don't get hung up on this... but do take things for what they're worth.
DON'T	be a dupe. I surmise that the professional manipulators get great mileage out of obsessive trolls, greedy bounty-chasers, and random idiots. It makes their job easier. If they want to make a wreck of the forum, they really don't need to do too much themselves... they just need to play to the weaknesses of people who have bad intentions anyway.
DO	keep doing Bitcoin!