Okay, so it's not like this is actually harmful really, but you may want to be aware of the AIM Fishbot, Project Upstream so you don't make the same mistakes I did.
Apparently Project Upstream is some sort of weird, computer age version of a blind date. Except that the participants aren't aware that they're being set-up. Well, that and the goal isn't actually to make a love match but to pair two unsuspecting individuals up together and see what happens. Why? I'm not really sure actually. Their
website states that, "Project Upstream is an organization dedicated to promoting social ideals through the use of exciting new technology," but I'm not certain how their methods accomplish this.
What happens is this:
The names of AIM users are pulled from such popular social networking sites as Livejournal, Twitter, Xanga, DeviantART, and Digg, then somehow the bot links two of those users via coded screen-names. Basically, instead of seeing the actual username of the person you're talking to, you see something else entirely. All coded screen-names seem to include the words Coho, Salmon or Trout (the one who messaged me for instance was called SolderedCoho).
Both users are unaware of what's happening, and as one would expect after being sent an odd message (mine was "you have mansions in your eyes") from someone you don't know, it doesn't take much for tempers to flare.
Someone apparently finds this to be great fun and many people discussing it on the nets are actually wondering why some people are getting upset over it. I for one am angry because I just told off some poor, unsuspecting person who was just as confused and probably weirded out as I was. Not to mention the fact that I reported them as spam twice during the conversation (not sure what kind of consequences that might have for them).
So, as a warning, if you receive a strange message (another person received this one: "Greetings! I know this is hard to believe, but I’m you - from the future. I bear important news.") from someone who then seems confused to be talking to you, you've probably been fish bot-ted.