how do I know that you guys are real and not bots?
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are there any lemmy instances that verify PII?
I highly doubt it, one that required PII to sign up would be very unlikely to have many users (especially in the current climate, so to speak).
And from the admin side, that sounds like a nightmare to deal with.
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
You don't.
Worse, I may be a human today and a bot tomorrow. I may stop posting and my account gets taken over/hacked.
There is an old joke.
I know my little brother is an American. Born in America, lived his life in America.
My older brother... I don't know about him. -
And then the channel turns out to be entirely AI-generated.
Better - you mix it up once and a while, so that 'yes' or 'no' is not always a given.
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
The grammar and spelling errors
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
Everyone on Lemmy is a bot except you
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
Could a bot do this?
(You can't see me, but trust me, it's very impressive)
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
You have entered a low-grade reality. Basically an 80s text adventure. Truth, depth and humanity have been thrown out the window.
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
Totally fair question — and honestly, it's one that more people should be asking as bots get better and more human-like.
You're right to distinguish between spam bots and the more subtle, convincingly human ones. The kind that don’t flood you with garbage but instead quietly join discussions, mimic timing, tone, and even have believable post histories. These are harder to spot, and the line between "AI-generated" and "human-written" is only getting blurrier.
So, how do you know who you're talking to?
- Right now? You don’t.
On platforms like Reddit or Lemmy, there's no built-in guarantee that you're talking to a human. Even if someone says, “I'm real,” a bot could say the same. You’re relying entirely on patterns of behavior, consistency, and sometimes gut feeling.
- Federation makes it messier.
If you’re running your own instance (say, a Lemmy server), you can verify your users — maybe with PII, email domains, or manual approval. But that trust doesn’t automatically extend to other instances. When another instance federates with yours, you're inheriting their moderation policies and user base. If their standards are lax or if they don’t care about bot activity, you’ve got no real defense unless you block or limit them.
- Detecting “smart” bots is hard.
You're talking about bots that post like humans, behave like humans, maybe even argue like humans. They're tuned on human behavior patterns and timing. At that level, it's more about intent than detection. Some possible (but imperfect) signs:
Slightly off-topic replies.
Shallow engagement — like they're echoing back points without nuance.
Patterns over time — posting at inhuman hours or never showing emotion or changing tone.
But honestly? A determined bot can dodge most of these tells. Especially if it’s only posting occasionally and not engaging deeply.
- Long-term trust is earned, not proven.
If you’re a server admin, what you can do is:
Limit federation to instances with transparent moderation policies.
Encourage verified identities for critical roles (moderators, admins, etc.).
Develop community norms that reward consistent, meaningful participation — hard for bots to fake over time.
Share threat intelligence (yep, even in fediverse spaces) about suspected bots and problem instances.
- The uncomfortable truth?
We're already past the point where you can always tell. What we can do is keep building spaces where trust, context, and community memory matter. Where being human is more than just typing like one.
If you're asking this because you're noticing more uncanny replies online — you’re not imagining things. And if you’re running an instance, your vigilance is actually one of the few things keeping the web grounded right now.
/s obviously
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You don't.
Worse, I may be a human today and a bot tomorrow. I may stop posting and my account gets taken over/hacked.
There is an old joke.
I know my little brother is an American. Born in America, lived his life in America.
My older brother... I don't know about him.I don't get the joke. Care to explain it, plz?
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How do I know your not a bot?
I know you're not one because you used "your" wrong.
Unless.....
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The term hallucination bothers me more than it should because fabulation better describes what bots do.
Then let's start using it!
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If a person doesn’t know the answer to something, they will typically let you know.
As a lawyer, astronaut, ex-military and former Navy SEAL specialist, astrophysicist, and social-behavioral scientist, I can guarantee this is false.
What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I've been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I'm the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the fuck out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my fucking words. You think you can get away with saying that shit to me over the Internet? Think again, fucker. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, maggot. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You're fucking dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that's just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little shit. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little "clever" comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your fucking tongue. But you couldn't, you didn't, and now you're paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will shit fury all over you and you will drown in it. You're fucking dead, kiddo.
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I don't get the joke. Care to explain it, plz?
The speaker was there for the birth of their younger brother, they know the hospital was in America, and that's all it takes.
Their older brother was already alive when they were born, so their brother, parents, and the government could be lying about older brother, which, by nessesity, means the parents aren't American either.
It's implying that anything you didn't witness personally you can't be certain.
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Lemmy is too niche to spend money on running bots. There’s no profit, nothing to achieve. Reddit, on the other hand…
They will scrape us for training data.
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Nah I'm the solipsist. Thanks for explaining what I'm doing.
I'm welcome!
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Closely related to the brain in a vat thought experiment
Not sure if closely related. The brain in a vat could be a maga prick who doesn't even know what solipsism is or question reality.
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
Would a bot post this?
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Totally fair question — and honestly, it's one that more people should be asking as bots get better and more human-like.
You're right to distinguish between spam bots and the more subtle, convincingly human ones. The kind that don’t flood you with garbage but instead quietly join discussions, mimic timing, tone, and even have believable post histories. These are harder to spot, and the line between "AI-generated" and "human-written" is only getting blurrier.
So, how do you know who you're talking to?
- Right now? You don’t.
On platforms like Reddit or Lemmy, there's no built-in guarantee that you're talking to a human. Even if someone says, “I'm real,” a bot could say the same. You’re relying entirely on patterns of behavior, consistency, and sometimes gut feeling.
- Federation makes it messier.
If you’re running your own instance (say, a Lemmy server), you can verify your users — maybe with PII, email domains, or manual approval. But that trust doesn’t automatically extend to other instances. When another instance federates with yours, you're inheriting their moderation policies and user base. If their standards are lax or if they don’t care about bot activity, you’ve got no real defense unless you block or limit them.
- Detecting “smart” bots is hard.
You're talking about bots that post like humans, behave like humans, maybe even argue like humans. They're tuned on human behavior patterns and timing. At that level, it's more about intent than detection. Some possible (but imperfect) signs:
Slightly off-topic replies.
Shallow engagement — like they're echoing back points without nuance.
Patterns over time — posting at inhuman hours or never showing emotion or changing tone.
But honestly? A determined bot can dodge most of these tells. Especially if it’s only posting occasionally and not engaging deeply.
- Long-term trust is earned, not proven.
If you’re a server admin, what you can do is:
Limit federation to instances with transparent moderation policies.
Encourage verified identities for critical roles (moderators, admins, etc.).
Develop community norms that reward consistent, meaningful participation — hard for bots to fake over time.
Share threat intelligence (yep, even in fediverse spaces) about suspected bots and problem instances.
- The uncomfortable truth?
We're already past the point where you can always tell. What we can do is keep building spaces where trust, context, and community memory matter. Where being human is more than just typing like one.
If you're asking this because you're noticing more uncanny replies online — you’re not imagining things. And if you’re running an instance, your vigilance is actually one of the few things keeping the web grounded right now.
/s obviously
wrote on last edited by [email protected]That's good
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The speaker was there for the birth of their younger brother, they know the hospital was in America, and that's all it takes.
Their older brother was already alive when they were born, so their brother, parents, and the government could be lying about older brother, which, by nessesity, means the parents aren't American either.
It's implying that anything you didn't witness personally you can't be certain.
What a cleve joke. No sarcasm or irony. Thank you for explaining it!
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How do we know that the people on reddit aren't talking to bots? Now, or in the future? what about lemmy?
Even If I am on a human instance that checks every account on PII, what about those other instances? How do I know as a server admin that I can trust another instance?
I don't talk about spam bots. Bots that resemble humans. Bots that use statistical information of real human beings on when and how often to post and comment (that is public knowledge on lemmy).
You can assured that I'm not a bot because I would never sell out. I prefer keeping it real with Pepsi brand cola and Doritos brand chips.
