unforum

[GiantGoldenMole]

[SPEC] SOTA e-mail address = puzzle?

[Yauch]

I had the same feeling when I first visted the site. I spent a while scouring the html hoping to find a broken or empty mailto: tag. But it appears the only e-mail address found on the site isn't responding. At the same time, there's not a lot else going on so theres no reason not to look.

[Urk]

It's possible, but typically puzzles are presented (or at least hinted) as such.

[mannythestud]

this could just be my gay computer but when ever i try to join the mailing list it brings up anywhere from 57-63 different internet explorer pages all saying that my internet connection is down. i know this prolly is nothing but i found it weird.

[Arkane]

The text on http://www.societyoftheancients.com/members.html is written ina strange style, and could definitely be a riddle for us to solve. I'll paste this text into my next message.

However, emails sent to anything@societyoftheancients bounce back with the error PERM_FAILURE: SMTP Error (state 13): 550 relay not permitted.

Now I'm not an expert, but gmail says that "SMTP Error 550 relay not permitted" is caused by:

This bounce message was not caused by Gmail. This bounce indicates that the recipient domain's MX (Mail exchanger) record is misconfigured, and does not recognize current Gmail servers.
Please contact the domain's administrators to inform them of this issue. If you're a new Google Apps administrator, please be aware that MX record propagation can take up to 48 hours to complete.

As I see it, this means one of two things:

1) At some stage the email server will be configured correctly, and emails will start getting through; or

2) That the real riddle is to replace the domain name (societyoftheancients) with the answer to the riddle.

[Arkane]

Text from http://www.societyoftheancients.com/members.html:

I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." - Isaac Newton

MEMBERSHIP

Founder – David George (Small Business owner and Notary Public), Normal Illinois (1995) Current Global Membership – 510 and growing

To sign up for the SOTA mailing list, click here.

A note from Dave George:
When I first started SOTA in 1995, I was living in Santa Fe, NM. A neighbor (Aaron Elliot, our current SOTA membership chairman) and I were talking during a backyard BBQ when the conversation turned to a book series (bought on TV and popular at he time) dealing with unsolved ancient mysteries. After a 2-hour discussion, and a brief foray into Aaron's duplex to find the mysteries book, I became quite interested in ancient artifacts and their relationship to possible extra terrestrials.

Not long after that meeting, I became engrossed in the research that led me to the Ancients theory. Books, video, radio, anything I could find I obsorbed.

It was sometime in 1996 that I ran into this quote by former U.S. Astronaut and the 6th man to walk on the moon, Edgar Dean "Ed" Mitchell.

"I have been over the years very skeptical like many others [about extra terrestrial existence]. But in the last ten years or so, ~I've come to realize that the evidence is building up to make this a valid and researchable question." - Dr. Ed Mitchell Apollo 14 Astronaut, MSN Interview

Well, Mr. Mitchell's words made an impact on me. Perhaps not a kick in the teeth impact but they left a dent non-the-less. And the first thing I like to say to possible new members is, "If these words made an impact with you, no matter how small, then maybe you would like to hear more of what we are talking about."

Please take the time to consider our points. There are others out there with the same questions, and a few with the answers.

[Arkane]

It appears as though Ed Mitchell really did say that, a quick google search finds a number of UFO sites that quote it, e.g.:

http://www.home.zonnet.nl/pollie_37/Quotes1.htm

Ed Mitchell has a website and a recently created (2007) bulletin board, but I scoured it and can't find anything to indicate that it's in the game.

http://www.edmitchellapollo14.com/phpBB2/index.php

[Yauch]

[Yauch]

[Phyltre]

I'm feeling very Zen tonight, so here is my Zen answer to your Koan:

If the SOTA mailing apparatus is a puzzle, then surely we have failed it.

[AngriBuddhist]

Weird question. Does the SOTA site have any reference to a pet?

[Crazed Geek]

[AngriBuddhist]

Crazy thing. I just started looking at the missing letters and....well I looked but couldn't see that anyone is seeing what I'm seeing. I could be seeing things but damn what a coincidence.

I would like to stare at it a little longer before I throw it out there and 2 minutes later someone else has figured it.

Question: If I was looking at a message that was telling me to addend (add) a 4 letter word to the doyougrokSPLATsocietyoftheancients.com email address, where would I put it? Before the @? After? Not after the dot, right?

[Jordan117]

[AngriBuddhist]

How would I check if the website exists?