Re: What happened to Arlen?

Andy Burns <usenet@andyburns.uk> wrote or quoted:

Marion (maybe others).

 
  I whipped up a little program that groups posters based on
  their writing style.
 
  Generally speaking, the more text and posts we've got from someone,
  the more accurate this bad boy gets. Sometimes you'll find a bunch
  of usernames that are obviously the same person. It's a no-brainer
  when two names are practically twins or when it's common knowledge
  that they belong to the same dude.
 
  But here's the kicker - you might get a couple of folks with
  writing styles that are two peas in a pod, even though they're
  about as likely to be the same person as the Dodgers and the
  Giants sharing a clubhouse.
 
  So you can't just go around saying my method is the be-all and
  end-all for proving two posters are one and the same. It's more
  like a breadcrumb trail that someone with half a brain needs to
  follow, considering all the info out there.
 
  Now that we've got that out of the way, I can tell you that
  my program didn't find any writing style that stuck out like a
  sore thumb compared to Marion's. But don't put all your eggs in
  one basket - we don't have a ton of text from this sender yet.
 
  To avoid barking up the wrong tree, I'm zeroing in on cases where
  it's already pretty obvious we're dealing with the same person,
  either because their usernames are like two drops of water or because
  people are already chewing the fat about it.
 
  (My program, though, didn't give two hoots about how similar
  usernames might be - it just zeroed in on the meat and potatoes of
  each post. I'm the one who then cherry-picked similar names for this
  write-up, just to avoid stirring up any unnecessary drama. Wouldn't
  want to set off a wildfire of speculation, if you catch my drift.)
 
  So, without further ado, here are some of the writing style
  similarities I dug up when looking at "comp.mobile.android":
 
'Arlen Holder' ~ 'arlen holder'
 
'Arlen Holder' ~ 'Arlen G. Holder'
 
'arlen holder' ~ 'Arlen G. Holder'
 
'Arlen _G_ Holder' ~ 'Arlen G. Holder'
 
'Arlen_Holder' ~ 'Arlen Holder'
 
'arlen michael holder' ~ 'Arlen Holder'
 
'micky' ~ 'Micky'
 
'Carlos E.R.' ~ 'Carlos E. R.'
 
'John B.' ~ 'John B. Slocomb'
 
'Harry Newton' ~ 'harry newton'
 
'Horace Algiers' ~ 'Horace Algier'