So I will help the poor guy.

Here are a couple of sources:
https://m.wikihow.com/Recognize-an-Internet-Sockpuppet

https://www.newscientist.com/article...rite-and-post/

I was looking up IP addresses back in 1996 on bj21.com and the got a huge tip based on a known “algorithm” from a fellow green-chipper.

They weren’t called sock puppets back in 1996 since they were mainly use to attack people anonymously or to influence polls. “Sock puppet” came out around 2000.
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)