unforum

[NickSmall]

Alright, several things.

@SpaceBass: nice summary, much appreciated! One question though, what was the possible meta slip in the eBay photo browser? I can't make out the video clearly.

Now, just some general thoughts. First, yamauchi.com does exist, but I am 99% sure it is OOG. I've tried every other combination I can think of, but the only other thing remotely close is ywc.com, which is also OOG. I did a WHOIS on phebco.com (which was registered on 1/29/0 and picked it apart. The nameservers are located at 64.202.176.155, which a reverse DNS determines is just generic GoDaddy nameservers. The domain is registered to the Big Fat Institute. Fine, great. But there's a phone number listed as well, and it wasn't until AFTER I tried calling it that I figured out it's the same number as that listed on Big Fat's actual website. Very cryptic voicemail, though.

Alright, so next, I checked out the source on phebco.com. Few interesting notes. Earlier today, before the Notice box went up, there was a contact form on the site, but it was commented out. So now the "Contact Phebco Today" link is there all by itself. Also minute, the header is actually two different images. The left half is phebco_logo.gif. Fine, great. The right half, though, is holder_bannerflash.jpg, which makes it sound like there may eventually be a Flash header here. Be on the lookout for that. Also commented out is a link to the page professional_services.html, which currently doesn't exist, but I'd keep checking that. And my last minute details are a commented link to a "White Papers" section and the fact that the Privacy link at the bottom goes nowhere.

I do have two more observations on the website, though. In the header, there are two commented out links to "phebcoeasytest.com". Currently, the domain isn't even registered, so it may be nothing. But why have it in the header then? PLUS, also comented out, further down the page, is an image: . So we have a couple references to testing. Could be somewhat important. And finally, if you take a look at the staff page, "these are a few of our key members" is printed at the top. Provided that the banner in the header is not a stock image, there is the slightest, EVER SO TINY change that the man in the header is our Donnie. But I somehow doubt it.

Let's see... what else... So, I've emailed just about every address I could possibly find (including both of Donnies') with requests for information. d.hoyleSPLATphebco.com is an autoresponder, which we already know. But it appears none others are... meaning that the "autoresponse" that Johnnybmoto got wasn't actually automatic. Proof is the fact that it didn't (I don't think... Johhny?) respond right away, but even more so that it picked up on his spelling errors. Either Big Fat has come up with a way to dynamically create autoresponders, or a real person answered that email. Speaking of, though, where DID you send that, Johnny? Where did you find an employment email on PhebCo?

Now, in Donnie's autoresponder, he encourages us to call or text him. So I've been hunting for a phone number. That's the reason I called the number on the registrar, but aside from that, I haven't been able to get anywhere. Nowhere on Phebco that I could find, and I tried searching for employee entrance points, or a directory or anything like that. No go. I've emailed Donnie at his .mac address, in addition to Phebco, and Tanika, asking for information on the conference (to check if they were autoresponders), and also to try and obtain his phone number. Obviously not autoresponders, so I'll post again as soon as I get an answer back. I've searched everywhere else related to the game, but no phone number.

Ah, and speaking of Tanika, her description states "Product Stewardship Institute", which seems to actually exist, but OOG. But it's interesting because a number of verbage and phrases from http://www.productstewardship.us is very VERY similar to that on phebco.com. Which leads me to my next point. Both of the sites are heavily focused on the environment. They mention waste dumping, breaking down old goods and electronics, recycling, global warming, new energy methods, etc. Also, Tutorial #1 features a cold environment, and in Tutorial #5, Donnie blows up a lovely beach. That may just be a stretch though. My point is, it may be possible that the "for who" on this ARG is environment-related.

Few other possibilities though: On the eBay auction forum (http://yousuckat.freeforums.com), Donnie seems to really really push SnapzPro, a Mac screen capture program. Could be something... Also, there are a ton of Lord of the Rings references. Could also be something. But probably not. I say environment-related is most likely.

I think we'll be able to tell whats IG and OOG because everything in game is pretty hilarious. I've really been enjoying this so far, and I look forward to wasting another several hours of my life on it.

Just a few final comments. I agree with the fact that the Ricky mentioned on eBay is probably the wife's other man. Also, I don't think the $760 came from CafePress, but I think Donnie may have privately sold the ring, because that's about the value it was going for on eBay before they took it down. Makes a lot of sense, because I doubt Big Fat has a ring to ship off to a buyer, unless the buyer is themselves...

That's it for right now, here goes several hours of my life!

[Lysithea]

In an attempt to converse with the "auto-responder" I sent an email to Phebco.

I wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam, Today I received a "Final Termination Notice" in the mail from your company. All my waste removal needs are currently being met by the Wildfire Sanitation Authority. Can you please tell me why I received this letter?

Phebco Automated Email Response Mechanism wrote:

Thank you for your interest in your final termination notice of waste removal. Your question has been forwarded to our Final Termination Deployment department which will determine whether or not you should have received this notice. But as an automated email response mechanism, I would recommend chillaxing. Good day, Phebco Automated Email Response Mechanism

This is going to get interesting.

[chuSTAR]

[jabroni]

These people are hilarious

[SpaceBass]

[Johnnybmoto]

[NickSmall]

Alright, well I got a response today:

[danteIL]

The Phebco website is too funny. My favorite bits are these two asterisk points, under "About Us":

[NickSmall]

http://www.phebcoeasytest.com was registered today, but it is registered to a "MetaPredict", instead of Big Fat Institute. No change to the phebco.com source, so this may or may not be an in game site.

Edit: No luck on Yamauchi yet.

[Rogi Ocnorb]

You're likely to find a lot of the domains people have been searching for the last couple of days registered, now.

Given the name of the registrant, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's just the due to the practices of opportunistic low-lifes.

See this thread for more on that kind of domain hijacking practice.

[TVRotBrain]

A friend of mine said it was Dane Cook. I said "Really?" I don't think it sounds like him. I know there were a few pictures of Dane in Volume 2. Also, Dane Nooktool is listed in the Staff Directory of Phebco. Maybe someone is just a fan. What do you guys think?

[chuSTAR]

[chuSTAR]

Sorry for the double post...I originally edited but figured since the site updated, I might as well bump

[jabroni]

I am positive (well just in case I am like 99% sure) that is not Dane Cook's voice. But it does sound like him. Also, those pics of Dane Cook are in the "Pussies" folder and named Douche. Maybe he gets that he sounds like Dane Cook alot and does not like it.

[Johnnybmoto]