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[aboynamedsam]

[evilblackbunny]

[Dray]

Though there is little evidence to back up my opinion, I don't think that we'll find that the Operator is not evil... or if not evil, at least is not an unintentionally malignant force. His presence inspires a dissolution of Alex's project and friendships, drives Jay on a quest that -- fueled by hints from totheark -- drives him further from being normal the deeper he investigates. His presence causes memory loss and headaches, and perhaps extreme paranoia (though it could be that one lends itself to the other.)

It's had to argue that totheark isn't evil, but I don't think that we have a case where because totheark is apparently a manipulative force for bad, the Operator is a warning force for good.

I actually think that the Operator is just as bad (if not intentionally, than by sheer dint of his existence) as we might guess, and that totheark is an arguable force for... well, not for good. A force for change, then. The Operator will stick you into a loop of unhappiness, and totheark is struggling to move all of the players around in a way that will break free of that.

On the other hand, there seems to be more evidence that totheark is working to force everyone into the same rut just when it seems that they'll be free, so... it's hard to tell. I think that I just want totheark to be a force for good that is so masked (no pun intended) by misintention and miscommunication that he seems quite evil. Also, they have been doing a good job so far with making Alex, who we hoped would be good and helpful, into a pretty frightening guy, that it feels balanced to think of someone presented as so frightening might be helpful.

...That sort of loops back into your ideas of the urban legend of warning, though I suppose it wanders off tangent. I dunno... anyone else think that's the case?

[Riovas]

@aboynamedsam: Where did you get your avatar pic from?

[SecretPerson]

[Riovas]

[Zarggg]

If not evil, at best TTA is a dick/jerk/troll/etc.

[OffsetServbot]

This is just me but I happen to think that TO is not evil but trying to accomplish some sort of goal and he can not die or will not stop untill that goal is reached. Its not clear what that goal is but It is clear that he has some sort of obsession wit Alex. It could be Alex owes something to the operator ( like his soul or something along those lines ) or Alex just Angred the operator and TO wants revenge.

[Strontium]

I remember when Alex was talking in entry 23, when Seth got taken away. He didn't really say "The creepy guy in the suit" took them away, he said "He", right?

There's a chance that the main "villain" of this series is someone entirely different, and that the operator's purpose has not been exposed yet. Let's face it, though with the head-bleeding incident in entry #12, the operatpr hasn't really punched or maimed anyone, or definitely been the cause of pain that is set in stone and not a theory.

[punxtr]

I remember busting my head up once, I felt so embarrassed I wasn't even mad at what caused me to do it. It seems like Alex hurt himself after seeing the Operator, ran away, and came back once he thought it was safe. He was either oblivious to the blood, or he didn't feel it was more important than replacing the tape.

The Operator doesn't have to touch you to hurt you, you only need to see him watching you.

[aboynamedsam]

[Dray]

[The Slender Man]

Ok this is going to be a very long one but bear with me.
We can see that Alex was acting highly unstable throughout the series, and has shown an extremely violent streak, but we have always assumed that this was just an effect of the Operator. However we have not seen the increasingly hostile, angry and otherwise paranoid behavior in Jay, Jessica, or any other set member to anywhere near the same extent aside from Maskie (which i will get back to later). While it is possible that this is simply due to Alex's greater "exposure" (which if Alex's comment in #22 of Jay being "gone" indicates that Jay was previously exposed to the Operator is in itself false), maybe there is another factor at play which explains this.
The maskies themselves, while terrifying have not yet shown any attempt to harm Jay, only to harm Alex, and this is despite having the means and opportunity to do so on numerous occasions. In fact if TOTHEARK is indeed related to them, then they may indeed have been trying to warn him or otherwise scare him off, and when Jay encounters them they are only shown to chase him away, or to watch him sleep. However we can also see they have a special dislike for Alex, who himself is extremely hostile towards them, despite the lack of evidence they were doing the same to him.
As for the Operator, Alex is both terrified of, and obsessed with him, seeking him out one day, and screaming at Jay for "leading him" to his apartment the next. the entity also terrifies the maskies who stop their attempt to kill Alex when he appears nearby. Jay himself is terrified of the operator, but never seems to actively seek him out (until #40, but even then he was there on Alex's orders).
In my opinion, the Operator himself, while the key factor in events, is little but a red herring to the actual story, aimed to distract Jay (and the by proxy the audience) from what is really going on.
My theory is that Alex is a serial killer, who murdered the Marble hornets cast and crew (hence the title of the series being Marble Hornets, as it is the story of what happened to the people making the film) one by one in the Forest, and later the old factory we saw in #22 and other entries. in #22 Seth wasn't helping Alex hunt the Operator, Alex had lured him down there to his "killing ground" as shown by the blood spattered everywhere, and killed him as he was facing the other way. He also killed Amy after #26 (hence his lies to Jay and Jessica that his actions are to try and find her) and possibly others if totheark's "classified" message referencing what he did to "the twins" is anything to go on.
The maskies who are Tim, the guy in the black mask and possibly (if they are not the same) the guy in the "skull mask" glimpsed in entry 26, eventually found this out during his spree (which itself infers the other maskies are survivors of, or related to the Marble Hornets crew) and are trying to stop him. Their attempts to scare Jay off, their watching him in his sleep, have all been (in their twisted minds) to protect him from Alex, and they have also been doing the same for Jessica. the TOTHEARK video "version" gives Jay the location of a tape showing Alex's murder of Seth, and the other videos have been trying to alert him to who Alex is.
As for Alex, they have been tracking him down since the murders, and thanks to him getting in contact with Jay again, they now know where he is, and began to hunt him down and try to kill him. All of which while horrific would be fairly mundane had these events not been complicated by the Operator.
Amid these events, "the Operator" came into play. Alex saw him when he was committing his crimes (Alex's reason for seeking him in #2 because the operator "scared his dog" just seems a little off), or was already being stalked by him (as #37 would indicate), and is thus terrified of him both because of him being well... the operator, and because it saw what he did, but also obsessed with him as the operator reminds him of what he did, both exiting him and filling him with guilt.
The operator in turn became (or always was) extremely interested in Alex, and thus has been stalking him and watching his crimes. To date all of his appearances have been in places where Alex has either killed someone, or is about to. The evidence for this is that all of his appearances have been in either remote or secluded areas like under bridges, alleyways, derelict structures, deep forest, or in buildings Alex lives in, which are thus extremely convenient areas to kill, and dispose of bodies. Also in entry 46 he appeared just as Alex was getting seriously pissed off with Jay, or in 26 when he seemed to be getting unduly irritated with Amy for playing with his camera, possibly in anticipation of Alex snapping again. Possibly Alex discovered the Operator when revisiting his crime scenes (which is a noted habit of serial killers like Ted Bundy), and realized after seeing him in so many of these places that it was following him.
It is also possible that he has been manipulating the events for his own reasons like removing memories of important events from characters apart from Alex in order to ensure they do not find out his crimes until he has done this so many times, they build up a resistance to this, but go insane and become a Maskie instead. on this note if he has been stalking Alex his whole life, he may indeed be the cause of his psychosis.
the operator toyed with the the Maskies in this manner while they were investigating the disappearances of their friends, and due to this they are driven into insane fury when thinking about Alex (see Tim's interview and his behavior when Alex is mentioned, as opposed to instantly fleeing when the Operator is referenced). Alex in turn both hates and fears the maskies as they know what he did. When Jay first encountered one (or more possibly) in Brian's house, they were trying to find Alex themselves, and became obsessed with Jay both to protect him, and to try and access Alex through him.
As for Jay, when he got the tapes from Alex (who wanted to dispose of evidence and to escape the guilt of his crimes which is why he told Jay to never mention them again), he was just another bystander during Alex's crimes, whose mind was messed with by the operator into amnesia. However both the Maskies and Alex have been using him for their own ends, the Maskies (as mentioned earlier) to get to Alex, and Alex to appease the operator by giving him Jay as a "sacrifice" (as he believes the story he told Jay in #38 about his origin), which is shown by Alex making Jay go to areas Alex is sure he will appear. the operator however remains fixated on Alex, which serves both to terrify him into more extreme behavior and actions, and to also protect him from the maskies who themselves are terrified of him.
However, as of #47 Jay has finally realized that Alex has been lying to him the whole time, and not just that but lying about the safety of someone Alex supposedly deeply cares for. Now I predict Jay will begin to take a much deeper look into Alex's actions... by stalking him in the vein of both the Maskies and the Operator.

[Riovas]

[Strontium]

I've always had this theory about proxies, that Slenderman(in general, not the Operator per say) isn't good with what we perceive as a physical medium.

In most series that do it right, Slendy never really comes in physical contact with anybody. Sure, making Evan and Vince throw up blood, Alex bleed from the head(it's safe to assume that), he can cause physical violence, but he's more of a mental vessel than a physical once, hence his warped and disfigured appearence.

Proxies are his way of tapping into the real world's physical medium- letters, texts, etc. You see, an elaborate plan that would please Slendy would involve both mediums- physical to lure and warp in that medium, and mental for everything else. These two factors are what make him strong- if he was merely a physical entity like The Rake, he would just be a scary, feral creature. But, there's the gremlin, and then there's the ghost. the gremlin can attack you, but the ghost- he will kill you. Right in your noggin.

sorry about that OT-ness, just always wanted to share it.