unforum

[Are Roses Red?]

Yeah, ILovetofix seems a little too real for viral marketing. Compare to someone like Rachel Blake. He's kind of right there with us.

Also I think a marketing firm would be a little too litigation leery to just kick people off boards, post emails and IPs and say they don't care about TOS

Rose

[gigagigagiga]

...I find it amusing that he's made the upper bound on visitors 333

[xerocalibur]

GUYS... VIDEO HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rgcw2AvfQA

PHONE NUMBER IN DESCRIPTION:

http://www.whitepages.com/5116/search/ReversePhone?phone=702+203+8573

And now I just got a creepy, chilly feeling over me, and feel like I'm about to cry, yo. :\

EDIT: Ok, ok... so... I'm tired. The chill was because outside my window, we're currently in the beginning stages of a snowstorm, when we've had warmer weather all week. Other than that... I think it was just the pressure, the fathom that I found that number.... I've not called it. I'm nervous of it. Nervous of what lurks behind it.

[Zizibaluba]

[xerocalibur]

[gigagigagiga]

I know Notagentclark is not IG, but he's added two new videos, titled You Are Ill andWhy do you hate.

They're pretty darn impressive for fan-videos. I hope the new ones were not brought up already... Someone might ask about them on the cube forums soon.[/url]

[djsampson]

WTf

[gigagigagiga]

You know, even though I'm newish (have been following this for days, though, and have been to three puzzle hunts...) I'm tending to agree with you.

1.) There aren't any puzzles at all. No codes, no nothing. Just stories and simple errands from a guy serving the spirit of paranoia.
2.) The attention is snowballing - when the first video was around with the pirate station backstory, it was a curiousity... now, after TWO DAYS, SA is involved, 4chan is involved, youtube is parodying it (And in their usual sniveling attention-whorish ways shoving their parodies in our faces to get "views", however much that will help them)... and now ART BELL.
3.) Ilovetofix frankly disturbs me, especially with how he treated the people he banned - posting their e-mail and IP is pretty serious. I don't know how usual this is for an ARG, but I almost wonder if he thinks this is all real, and he seems to be getting others to think it's real too. I mean, his last post he's asking people to watch out for shadow people for god's sake.

I'm starting to think Ilovetofix is doing all this just to get attention and scare as many people as possible. Because if it is, he's doing a good job at it.

[Kaliayev]

If ilovetofix is going to limit the membership, then its best to make myself known now, as I have followed this from the start. I've signed up the same name over there, just waiting for confirmation.

Also, I think djsampson has a point. There is something a little odder than usual about this. Still, thats what makes it all the more interesting.

So, um, hi?

[somaclast]

I was thinking about this for most of the day; what's actually behind this ARG, that is. The whole thing seems really amateur to me, which isn't a bad thing at all, it actually makes it alot more interesting. It's been generally established that with things like using free servers, posting IPs/emails, and also including an actual person's death (Donald Wilson) as part of the storyline, this DOES NOT seem at all corporately related (an advertising department would be in legal hell for implying connections to a real death). Therefore there are no guidelines for it, not necessarily specific goals of one ending puzzle to solve or product to be revealed.

That got me thinking about who would do this and why. There are probably a few people involved, coming up with the story, and their goal is to provide their story to an audience while also creeping out the audience, getting them interested and involved and getting attention from them. The nature of the term "Puppetmaster" implies that we, as players, are the puppets. Ilovetofix/whoever else is behind this would create an ARG to enjoy leading people through like characters in their story, and I thought this was the most likely explanation.

However, (and this is where I started to creep myself out) what kind of anonymous individual(s) create such an elaborate and involving scenario, devote themselves to responding on a forum all day, while planning further elements and stressing the seriousness of it all? What do THEY think this is? How mentally stable are they? Do the people behind this see it as a harmless ARG they're just doing for fun, or are they actually trying to convey a serious message, or do they actually believe this? As djsampson said, there have been no clues, no real puzzles or tangible answers, just more and more seemingly random depth, story development and false leads. It doesn't function like an ARG typically would, yet it's interesting enough to get us all intrigued and involve even Art Bell.

We expect it to be an ARG, since we're familiar with the format, and are quick to assume that something like this is viral marketing or an ARG or both. I know it seems like a cheesy horror movie premise but what if there was someone out there who wanted to take advantage of that assumption? Of our trust that it's a game? They know there are people who will think it's just a harmless game and trust it to be well organized and responsible like the ARGs they've seen before. The people behind this know full well that they could get people to go on scavenger hunts to the middle of isolated nowhere, totally at their mercy, trusting that it's "just a game". And the fact that there are references to drawing people out to hunt them as a hobby(in the form of cubing), a pretty creepy concept in itself, this is the kind of thing the Puppetmaster behind this is thinking.....and we're at the whim of his/her/their imagination.

[gigagigagiga]

I was thinking similarly.
Which is why I'm not ever registering on the cubing board.

[somaclast]

[Beau]

Hey.

Well, I was testing the water and what I didn't think would happen, happened. I got banned. Didn't think he'd start dishing out bans and all that kind of stuff. Before that he changed my name to 'Moron', revealed my Email/IP. Unfortunately for him, I couldn't give a damn, seeing as just about anyone from my chan can get it anyway. IP? Well, that changes all the time for me, it's not static. Besides, anyone can get your IP nowadays. I do have an idea which would have a good chance of working, to reveal his whereabouts. I'd rather not say here in case he's watching, which he probably is, in which case I say hello, thanks for the ban, and keep up the attitude :D.

It's not advertising anything, at all. That's crystal clear. It's all amateur work as others have been saying. Proboards? Oh, please. Hardly anyone uses them, and the people who do, are, well, nubs. I have a feeling that this guy is probably slightly disturbed, yet playing it out/exaggerating it quite a bit. The words he uses are those typical cliche words you'd expect to hear, out of an anime/movie or something. It's just how he phrases everything - it all sounds completely cliche.

I wouldn't place my trust in him like somaclast said, there is a chance he just could be all not there, but it's probably all a cry for attention.

[Kitrona]

Even if the guy is off his rocker, what can he realistically do to us with the information from the cubing board?

If you guys want to bail, that's your choice. I just know I'm not.

[Beau]

I'd say it's going to all go quiet soon, and nobody will be able to post. Just so it keeps the suspense up and all that.