(This is version 6.1, a structural revision of v6.0 (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21333898): it adds the Appendix (Supplementary Material) — the pilot coding protocol and a constructed worked example illustrating the computation of Indicators 1-3 — directly to this PDF, restores the Highlights section that was inadvertently omitted from the v6.0 file, and aligns heading levels within the worked-example subsection. The theoretical content is unchanged from v6.0.) This preprint proposes Parasocial Proxy Punishment Mode (PPPM), a conceptual framework describing a phenomenon in which a high-identification parasocial subgroup (HIS) engages in proxy punitive action against third-party targets on behalf of an avatar-mediated performer (AMP), in ways that persist and escalate even after the performer has explicitly requested de-escalation. The framework's central theoretical contribution is desynchronization: a structural account of why proxy sanctions continue despite the performer's own stated wishes. Building on this construct, the paper (1) distinguishes two PPPM activation pathways — Direct Proxy Punishment and Interpretive Proxy Punishment — from a superficially similar non-PPPM boundary pattern (Self-Reactive); (2) introduces Punitive Drift as a late-stage transformation in which punitive action expands beyond the original grievance; and (3) proposes preliminary observable indicators, derived from public social-media data, as a route toward future empirical research. The paper is theoretical and conceptual; it does not report empirical measurement, experimental manipulation, or human-subject data collection. This manuscript has not yet been peer reviewed. This paper was produced with AI assistance; details are described in the manuscript.
TekitouQ (Mon,) studied this question.