tentacle

n. A covert pseudo , sense 1. An artificial identity created in cyberspace
for nefarious and deceptive purposes. The implication is that a single
person may have multiple tentacles. This term was originally floated in some
paranoid ravings on the cypherpunks list (see cypherpunk ), and adopted in a
spirit of irony by other, saner members. It has since shown up, used
seriously, in the documentation for some remailer software, and is now
(1994) widely recognized on the net. Compare astroturfing , sock puppet.

