unforum

[GunsmithCat]

Re: I give up.

[guest]

There are a couple of things that I think might be missed in this discussion.

1. A lot of cities have done away with pay phones all together in an attempt to curb drug dealers using beepers. Almost all cities in Ct. have gotten rid of pay phones and there were spots in New Haven and New London.

2. You don't need a GPS unit to find out where those coordinates are. A topographical map has lat and long on it and you can find almost the entire body of topo maps online. It shouldn't be too hard to find where the point is talking about in a city.

my $0.02

[Atoner]

[MNPundit]

Re: I give up.

[moja_vera]

flyers in best buy

[Atoner]

Re: flyers in best buy

[moja_vera]

well it's looking more and more like there is some kind of free for all going on...so some of us are going to wrong...and in my opinion its looking more and more like it's not going to be the wishful thinkers...at least i hope so...i know the friggin anticipation is killing me...i haven't felt this way since i was a kid...

[thebruce]

You know, in an attempt to retain relationship/acquaintances and teamwork AFTER August 24th, I think everyone involved (at least with a very vocal opinion about other specs) should take an oath that they won't be a PRICK to other people if their speculations turn out to be wrong. We're working as a team - if groups of people have differing speculations, no one should be entirely bashed, and when someone's spec ends up being incorrect, they shouldn't be laughed or pointed out of the game. I think both sides here should agree to humbly accept the fact if their own theory is incorrect, and at the same time respect someone else who's theory may turn out to be incorrect.

I can just see this getting way out of hand with people pointing out, after the fact, continuously, why their theory was right and someone else's was wrong. If I felt strongly about my spec, I would be much more willing to accept defeat if I knew the other side would respectfully let the point go and continue with the game...

just an FYI for the 24th...

[GunsmithCat]

[GunsmithCat]

Re: flyers in best buy

[sfsdfd]

Re: I give up.

[thebruce]

how bow this... stein - let gunsmith have his speculation, let him do his thing, and if he's wrong, he's wrong. Gunsmith, let stein do nothing until tuesday, that's his thing. If he's wrong, he's wrong. Maybe you're both right, maybe you're both wrong. That's the beauty of speculation. We all know you both feel strongly about your speculation, so instead of trying to disprove or falsify each others' stance on the issue, either give claims to support your own spec only, or agree to continue (or not) working on your own theories. Arguing over this is senseless! It's only becoming a competition of who's got the louder voice or the more witty comebacks. Disproving spec based on spec gets noone anywhere. Right now there's no proof either way. So don't worry about each other's theories until one or the other is proven or disproven.

It's got way OT now according to the thread topic, and really it's a spectator sport now with the contestants being gunsmith and sfsdfd... call it draw and walk away

IMO

[sfsdfd]

[cmcdannold]

First time poster here, but I have to say all of the contributors here have done some impressive work thus far. OK, enough of the pandering.

Maybe this is troutable or [spec] - you can decide. This also may belong in another thread, but given we have kind of started to get away from what this message is/is not telling us, here is my wooden nickel's worth. If you know where it really should go, I will repost it there gladly, but I think it has value here as well.

I have been thinking about the coordinates for a while, and a comment from Extrasonic:
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=57342#57342
regarding the content of Dana's blog today made it make more sense to me. What about billboards? This theory has been floated before in only two posts I could find:
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=56873#56873
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=53190#53190

Given these coordinates are seemingly random places - some of which are in remote areas like cornfields next to roadways - makes sense to me having lived in a rural area where billboards *are* in cornfields. What if there are no billboards in these areas? Well, have you ever seen those banners hung on buildings they are constructing? Often these will advertise what the structure is going to be, but sometimes they are not. I remember a very cheesy Excite banner in NYC a few years back - you NYC folks may remember a big, red banner on a buliding in Manhattan that had a guy with a cheesy cowboy hat on giving a quasi-smarmy look to the masses.

Anyway, why not have a regionalized billboard/signage program that gives different clues to the next parts of the puzzle? Perhaps each one will be a snippet of an overall monologue or haikus that must be assembled chronologically - not necessarily in the order of the time given in the longitatude/latitude coordinates.

What if these are billboards/signage scheduled to be updated that day? This would give us the element of "things are not as they seem". For instance, let's say that there are ten billboards scheduled to be posted in a given metro area on Tuesday. Nine of these are innocuous, pronouncing a product or service or a company known to all. However, one is for something which appears to be legitimate, but is actually a clue to the next puzzle. This also lends credence to the comment from Dana saying, "You guys are the ones on the frontlines. So it's your call. Do you want to be there when the axons go hot?" It is not necessary to be at each location as this is when the game will really be beginning, and thus, more of these mysteryous billboards/signs will be cropping up all over. Add to this that the coordinates changed, and it can be postulated that the locations of new locations changed beyond the control of the PMs and/or they received bad data in the first instance.

What is the importance of the time? I can only guess here - as if I have not been doing that thus far - that these are the times when they will be "unveiled". Further, why are all the times Pacific rather than local to the coordinate? To me, this keeps the focus on the west coast, and more specifically, the SF Bay Area since that is where all this mystery spawned from according to the "physical" location of Dana/ilovebees.com.

Do I have to be at one of the sites or can I watch the net for new developments on Tuesday? Why not both? The game has to have been designed so *everyone* can play. What if you are confined to your home convelascing from an injury? It seem grossly unfair that you cannot participate in the game because of your condition. It further seems illogical that you have to have the assistance of other people to solve the puzzles or finish the game? Of course, it helps considerably that there are so many of us thinking about this together!

It has also is common knowledge that there is a timer on the ILB site. One theory, again postulated by Extrasonic: http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=57619#57619
that we have to solve the puzzle *before* the zero-hour. What if it is a countdown to when the game begins, and all the clues we have in our possession thus far will become relavent on the 24th? This is not to say we have been wasting time thus far, but rather our theories will be proven/disproven.

What of the competing theories of what the scope of the game encpomasses? (Too many to link) Well, let me give you some game industry background having worked in it for a couple of years on the retail side. Everything is about making money. In fact, the gaming industry generates more revenue than movies and music. Microsoft wants people to buy Xboxes and Halo games. If you own an Xbox, you will be buying Halo 2 (if you are not, why do you have an Xbox? ). However, what of all the non-Xbox owners out there? What better way to build interest in a real game than to make a game out of Halo 2? Putting on my game company hat, I would fix it so that all the answers will be resolved by buying Halo 2. Otherwise, what is the point of all of this? I will concede that many ARGs are desinged as just that - ARGs. However, some are designed as elaborate marketing ploys to build brand/product awareness *and* drive dollars into the coiffers of the company behind it. So, what is my point? All of this is going to play into Halo 2's storyline in some way. I have never read the books, and I do not think you have to know anything about anything Halo to play this game. However, all of this allegory about Queens, Spider, Widow, Flea, etc. plays into the story of the battle for Earth in Halo 2.

Bring on the fishes. I am more of a salmon guy, but Rainbow Trout is OK too!
Cheers,
Dano

edit: I have also posted this in
http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5737

[Cherry Cotton]

I agree, thebruce. Life's too short to fight over ARG puzzles.

It's okay and very necessary for us to debate and analyze and reanalyze and communicate to each other on likely solutions. That's the meat of these games, and what makes them so much fun. But there's a fine line between honest intellectual debate and personal attacks, which are completely out of line for adult discourse.

We need to recognize that we're all on the same team here. No matter who's theory is right or wrong, we all helped to refine and formulate an answer and equally part of the effort. Never lose sight of the goal; this is a game, and we're trying to have fun.

(edit: cmcdannold, I was typing my post when you posted yours, so I don't want to seem like I was blowing you off, as yours was a very good post. It probably belongs in a different thread, but still, excellent work, my friend.)