Part 1: The Spam Wave and the Admin's Response

• A couple of weeks ago, the subverse /v/QRV and various "anon" subverses (which allow anonymous posting) began getting flooded with spam. This spam was a mix of on and off-topic posts.
• This created a problem for users who had blocked these anon subverses: their "New" feed became completely empty because these spam posts were the only new content.
• In response to user complaints, the admin @system implemented a rate limit of 1 post or comment per hour for any user repeatedly posting to /v/QRV.
• @system stated anonymously that the spammer, calling him "frendo," had been "taken care of."

---

Part 2: The Accusations Against HeyJames and NHK

• Yesterday, an account named JamesAlefantis made several posts making serious allegations against a prominent user, @HeyJames, and the moderators of the subverse /v/NutziHiveKickers.

Post 1: Mass Downvote Brigading

• The post claimed that @HeyJames uses several alt accounts for "narrative control via voting."

• It highlighted that the NHK mods and their alts had over 100,000 downvotes amongst them.

• The accusation is that this small group exerts a "monopolistic endeavor" to control voting on a significant portion of the site's content, acting as a filter for what gets seen.

  • Archive Link: https://archive.is/LjtjA

Post 2: SITE Intelligence Group Allegation

• A second post directly accused @HeyJames (who was formerly known as @Crensch on Voat and Poal) of being a "vote farmer" for SITE Intelligence Group, a private intelligence firm known for monitoring extremist groups online.

  • Archive Link: https://archive.is/LjtjA (Note: OP's original text used the same link twice; this may be an error)

---

Part 3: The Retaliatory Spam and the Second Admin Response

• Almost immediately after these accusations were posted, a massive wave of anonymous submissions flooded the site.
• These posts were almost entirely vicious, off-topic, and defamatory attacks targeting the name "JamesAlefantis" with horrific and unsubstantiated claims.
• This had the same effect as the earlier QRV spam: for users who had blocked anon subverses, the "New" feed was rendered useless and empty.

This time, @system's solution was more drastic: he removed anonymous submissions from /r/All entirely.

• This solved the "empty New" problem but also significantly curtailed the functionality of anonymous posting site-wide.

The Obvious Double Standard:

• Many users noted that accounts like @big_fat_dangus, @dirtywhiteboy, and @HeyJames itself were participating in the same spamming behavior (flooding threads with off-topic posts) as the original "frendo" spammer, yet they faced no rate limits or punishments.

---

Part 4: The Suspicious Traffic Data

This is where it gets statistically interesting. A traffic summary for upgoat.net in July 2025 was analyzed, and several red flags stood out:

Traffic by Country:

• United States: 61.51% (17.23K visits) — Expected
• Netherlands: 20.13% (5.64K visits) — Unexpected
• Romania: 12.76% (3.57K visits) — Highly Suspicious

Why is this suspicious?

1. Language Barrier: It is illogical for a significant portion of traffic to come from a country (Romania) whose language is not supported on a primarily English-language forum. Organic users don't typically flock to sites they can't use effectively.
2. Device Improbability: The data shows that 100% of the traffic from Romania, the Netherlands, and Poland came from mobile devices. While mobile traffic is common, a perfect 100% from entire countries is statistically unusual and is often a signature of automated traffic (bots or farms) using mobile device emulators or cheap mobile proxies.
3. Traffic Source: 97.37% of all traffic is listed as "Direct." This is a perfect channel for masking inorganic activity, as traffic from VPNs, proxies, or bots often lacks a referring URL and is logged as "Direct."

Conclusion: The traffic patterns from certain countries are highly consistent with coordinated, inorganic activity (e.g., vote/opinion brigading) rather than organic user growth.

---

Part 5: A History of Alleged Admin Bias

This isn't the first time questions about @system's impartiality have been raised.

• Almost four years ago, @system and u/Cynabuns (a former upgoat mod) parted ways.

• In a parting statement, Cynabuns explicitly stated that the reason was @system's refusal to apply rules equally.

• She stated: "I don't like seeing him ban one user for a month while another user doing the same thing gets away scott-free. That was not the Voat Way... rather than him seeing my gentle reminders as just that, he appears to have seen that as questioning his authority."

  • Archive Link: https://archive.is/YObYy

This historical context suggests a long-standing pattern of favorable treatment for certain users.

---

The Open Questions

All of this leads to several disturbing questions for the upgoat community:

1. Why were @HeyJames and his associates not rate-limited for the same spamming behavior that triggered action against others?
2. With the exposure of massive alleged vote manipulation by /v/NutziHiveKickers moderators, why has there been no action from @system against @HeyJames's alt account EH_Hack, which is alleged to be a "vote bank"?
3. Is the suspicious traffic from Romania and other countries linked to the vote manipulation efforts of this group?
4. The user @dirtywhiteboy, after being exposed, suddenly began arguing lucidly that "rules should be applied to everyone equally" but in a tone and cadence remarkably similar to @HeyJames. How many of the NHK mods are actually alts of HeyJames, who has admitted to using them?
5. The ultimate, cynical question: Was upgoat.net created specifically to cater to these kinds of controlled opposition or narrative-shaping operations?

The evidence, from the spam attacks to the traffic data to the admin's inconsistent enforcement, paints a picture of a site where free speech is potentially being manipulated by a small group with the tacit approval of the administration.

---

TL;DR

• /v/QRV and anon subs were hit with spam → admin imposed harsh rate limits on regular users.
• User JamesAlefantis accused @HeyJames + NHK mods of mass downvote brigading and possible ties to SITE Intelligence Group.
• Immediately after, the site was flooded with retaliatory anon spam → admin removed anon posts from /r/All, crippling anonymity.
• Double standard: @HeyJames and allies spam without punishment, while others get restricted.
• Traffic analysis shows suspicious visits from Romania/Netherlands (100% mobile, 97% direct) → looks like bot activity.
• Past history: ex-mod Cynabuns said admin @system plays favorites and refuses equal rule enforcement.
• Open questions: Is vote manipulation linked to foreign traffic? How many NHK mods are just HeyJames alts? Was upgoat.net built for controlled opposition?