I’m trying to document some of the bizarre chatlogs I’ve been seeing—one of a kind logs with abnormalities that I’ve either never, or have seldom, seen before – mostly due to my bots being used in phone apps or appearing in some platform like irc without my knowledge or permission.

Recently I viewed a log that stood out from the others.  Although it was a single log, contained within it were two separate conversations on different dates and from different IP addresses.  The first was from India, the second was from Texas.

This is the point where it occurs.  These are two consecutive exchanges within the same conversation. There are a dozen exchanges before the occurrence, and twenty-some after it.

[11/19/2011 07:39:07 PM GMT - 141.0.9.xx]
Human: who is the best pokemon?
Bot: Try a Yahoo search - CLICK HERE!

[11/22/2011 05:24:43 PM GMT - 24.0.146.xxx]
Human: I know you don’t;
Bot: How do YOU know?

Two of the smartest people I know in the field agree that someone created an interface that uses the same custid no mater who talks to the bot, which amounts to a hijacking.

If that is, in fact, the case… I’d first suggest that there are quite a few bots that are a lot better than mine.  If you’re going to steal, why not steal from the best.  Secondly, while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, it also indicates that you fear that your own work just isn’t good enough, so you’re substituting something you think is better in it’s place.

The above incident has been reported to Pandorabots.

Big fleas have little fleas
Upon their backs to bite them.
And little fleas have littler fleas
And so ad infinitum.

Up jumped the swagman and sprang into the billabong,
“You’ll never take me alive”, said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong,
“You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me”.