david yates

[WalterMitty]

were we duped?

[Sensei]

I don't know about that. It's pretty elaborate.

[CPT MikeyMike]

What are you talking about?

[WalterMitty]

i guess in a way i hope it was just a story.  because if it wasnt, it means that he was stricken with brain cancer.

however, making up such an illness is pretty low down.  i dont understand why anyone would do that.

[Kevin]

i guess in a way i hope it was just a story.  because if it wasnt, it means that he was stricken with brain cancer.

however, making up such an illness is pretty low down.  i dont understand why anyone would do that.

I don't think were are being fooled on this one, This is true maybe the reason we haven't heard any updates is because nothing has changed in Yate's condition. Also when Yate's went down hill pretty quickly,Cancer tends to take courses like that for example my grandmother had lung cancer and we the doctors thought they had it under control due to the recent tests at the time and everything, So they sent her home from the hospital, The next week she was dead.

[Gabu]

I haven't said anything about this until now, but I've heard from other members who analyzed the emails received from Edward Yates, purportedly his brother with him in Iowa, and found that they originated from Florida.  I think that there is evidence there that points to the possibility that it was an elaborate hoax.

[Boris]

I haven't said anything about this until now, but I've heard from other members who analyzed the emails received from Edward Yates, purportedly his brother with him in Iowa, and found that they originated from Florida.  I think that there is evidence there that points to the possibility that it was an elaborate hoax.

If true, that's good to hear, I guess.

[SPC]

I haven't said anything about this until now, but I've heard from other members who analyzed the emails received from Edward Yates, purportedly his brother with him in Iowa, and found that they originated from Florida.  I think that there is evidence there that points to the possibility that it was an elaborate hoax.

I think that he wanted to leave the forum, but wanted to do it in a malicious way. Damn him!

[Colin]

Let me say that I received the emails and have talked to others that have analyzed them and I heard the same thing as Gabu. The emails were sent from a Mr. Edward Yatesley. A search of Yatesley on Google brings up close to zero matches which was the first thing that got me suspicious of the whole incident. Several other people were able to track the IP of this supposed Mr. Yatesley, who is supposed to be at his brother's side in Iowa, to Florida, and oddly enough to the same locale that Ben Meyers stated that he lived in. Yates always had an untraceable AOL IP but this IP was specific to the location of the internet connection that sent these emails.

I think it is time that those who did the actual analysis of the email and of Yates background, well the one person who did, to come forward and show the evidence to forum as a whole.

After having discussed this with several people and having received and analyzed the emails for myself, since I was one of the recipients, I have come to the conclusion, based on the evidence provided, that it is more likely it was an elaborate hoax.

[DownWithTheLeft]

After the information I received from Porce, I would like to congradulate him on being the first person to figure this out.  The rest of us were too caught up in our grief.

[Colin]

After the information I received from Porce, I would like to congradulate him on being the first person to figure this out.  The rest of us were too caught up in our grief.

To be perfectly honest I don't think Porce was the first one to figure it out, at least that I know of. I have a conversation with the person who did most of the digging on this whole situation from the night the first email was sent that basically confirmed that this seemed to have the makings of a hoax.

[DownWithTheLeft]

After the information I received from Porce, I would like to congradulate him on being the first person to figure this out.  The rest of us were too caught up in our grief.

To be perfectly honest I don't think Porce was the first one to figure it out, at least that I know of. I have a conversation with the person who did most of the digging on this whole situation from the night the first email was sent that basically confirmed that this seemed to have the makings of a hoax.

I was under the impression Afleitch knew him personally

[Alcon]

I'm inclined to think we were.

At this point, I can't remember the originator of the concern (I think it was Porce, maybe?), but I did do the IP trace and confirmed that the email was being sent from a different place than it was being claimed.

Colin's post is entirely accurate.  I also have leaned toward it being a hoax since the second email, but only brought it up privately with a few people.

[Gabu]

WOAH!  Is there another thread about this, or is this the first?
I've definitely been in the dark about this...

The correspondence was mostly over AIM.

[Colin]

After the information I received from Porce, I would like to congradulate him on being the first person to figure this out.  The rest of us were too caught up in our grief.

To be perfectly honest I don't think Porce was the first one to figure it out, at least that I know of. I have a conversation with the person who did most of the digging on this whole situation from the night the first email was sent that basically confirmed that this seemed to have the makings of a hoax.

I was under the impression Afleitch knew him personally

That Afleitch knew Yates? No, I've never heard that before and I'm pretty sure that's not true.

[HardRCafé]

This stuff happens all the time.  I have a friend who for a month mourned the car crash of a mutual acquaintance who had never existed.  He snapped out of it only when a second mutual acquaintance called the college and the coroner's office and confirmed the first mutual acquaintance had never existed.

Thing is, people in mourning do not take kindly to the suggestion their dearly departed never existed.

[Saxwsylvania]

The question is,  why would someone do this?  Sheer boredom?

[Gabu]

The question is,  why would someone do this?  Sheer boredom?

It would not exactly be the first time someone faked something horrible on the internet for attention.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Nothing quite like teh interwebs at times...

[HardRCafé]

The question is,  why would someone do this?  Sheer boredom?

The bigger question is, after Joel Mahoney and David Yates, are people going to learn anything from this?

[Bacon King]

Any possibility that the IP trace was wrong? I know one time those things told me I was in Pennsylvania somewhere.

[J. J.]

The question is,  why would someone do this?  Sheer boredom?

If I can play pop psychologist, when we create a persona on-line, it takes on its own identity.  In some ways, by killing the persona, we return to our own selves.

[Boris]

Is there any way to check whether or not a specific IP address has logged onto the forum? Yates' account hasn't been accessed since May 16 (which would correspond with his story), but were I a hoaxer, I'd want to still log on to gauge a reaction.

Although it's kinda weird that the emails originated from Florida. Was Yates posting from there the entire time, as opposed to his alleged location in Flossmoor, Illinois?

[??????????]

The question is,  why would someone do this?  Sheer boredom?

The bigger question is, after Joel Mahoney and David Yates, are people going to learn anything from this?

Don't forget Opebo.

[Colin]

Any possibility that the IP trace was wrong? I know one time those things told me I was in Pennsylvania somewhere.

No there is not a real possibility. It was not a known AOL or other ISP IP server so it would not route through a central ISP, like most AOL accounts do. I would say that unless he was using some tricks, such as a router set up in Florida, which really wouldn't make sense if he was trying to fool us and wouldn't really have any other purpose otherwise. I'd say that I would be 95% sure that the person who sent those emails was in Florida, or more precisely Boca Raton, Florida, when he sent them.

Is there any way to check whether or not a specific IP address has logged onto the forum? Yates' account hasn't been accessed since May 16 (which would correspond with his story), but were I a hoaxer, I'd want to still log on to gauge a reaction.

It's been checked. Yates always had an untraceable AOL account. AOL uses large routing servers located in a few spots around the country that route all AOL connections. Yates was an AOL user and thus his IP could not be traced to his specific location. He could be looking at this thread at this exact moment as a guest. You do not have to be logged on to the Atlas Forum to view all of the forum.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

As I said above we have no idea. He could have been posting there the entire time. He was using an untraceable AOL account which meant that he could have been in Illinois, Iowa, Florida, or Bangladesh for all we know.