So over at Grammar.Police, Kriston has found himself a troll -- Wunderkacker Dellis appears to have been leaving comments advocating voting for Nader. Shades of the John Lott affair, although obviously on a smaller scale. Still entertaining, though!

Anyway, Dellis' biggest mistake was to post messages claiming to be a Cleveland resident when his IP address came from a tiny Virginian ISP -- one that happens to have a contract with UVA, where Dellis goes to law school.

I find all of this hilarious. But it brings up the question: if someone really wanted to sway the election by mildly criticizing Kerry from a left-wing perspective in a blog comment section, what should they do? Besides finding a better use for their time, I mean.

Well, there are a couple of options. The simplest: use a web anonymizer. Here's one of the better ones, to get your career of political subterfuge started on the right foot. You basically view a web page within a web page. It's slow, usually has a lot of ads, and it'll be obvious you're trying to hide your identity if anyone tries to track you down. But it's a start.

Somewhat more sophisticated: SwitchProxy, a plugin for Firefox. If you can find some good anonymous proxies -- and they're out there, although the free ones are slow and spotty -- this tool lets you switch between them quickly, and surf from within your browser as normal. Those proxies might keep track of your IP, but it's probably enough to keep it out of the hands of folks like me, if not exactly a subpoena-proof solution. Try to use SOCKS proxies for maximum usability and anonymity.

Finally, there are the ultimate solutions, the cadillacs of right wing conspiracy vehicles. First, email Mr. Scaife and ask for a few bucks. Then use a site like this one to find an ISP in your chosen swing-state -- alternately, just sign up with AOL, or a cheap, pay-as-you-go nationwide ISP like MyFreeI (great service -- I use it). Presto! Authentic-looking IP addresses. Unfortunately, you'll be paying long distance telephone charges. Well, it might take a little more work, but you can look through the lists linked here -- a lot of small ISPs offer 800 numbers for access from the road. Find one of those located in your chosen pretend location and you're golden.

So folks, please keep this in mind the next time you get the urge to subvert the public discourse. It's a natural urge for a healthy young demagogue to have, and one that he should only feel kind of ashamed of.