Stalker faking Ignorant-Speak?

Dario D. · Jan 13, 2009

Hi everyone.

Someone wrote this to me in an email a while back, and I think they might've been faking Ebonics (or just faking "ignorant-speak" - they claimed to be from Alabama). Does this look fake to anyone? The lines that got me were:

1 - "hmm nah what about you wasnt you going to blockbuster?"
2 - "meh they dont care much for grammer and yea its likes 5am there"
3 - "also where does it says they live at? i dont remember putting that info on any forums"

The parts that got me were "wasnt you", "its likes", and "where does it says". I don't think Ebonics users (or just "ignorant" white people from Alabama) say those particular things (without knowing for sure), because it seems like those S's in there make it HARDER to talk (I trip all over them when I try to say that)... especially the last two. Do those lines sound strange to anyone? I thought ignorant-speak was meant to speed up talking, and make it easier...

-

Without getting deeply into it, I thought it might've been a girl I know contacting me with an anonymous IP, but I'm just not sure... (their IP traced to Alabama, but the person I think it might be would be more than keen on using an IP Anonymizer app, then just saying they're from whatever location their IP originates from. Every anonymizer I tried tells you up front where each IP is located)

So, my suspicions so far that lead me to believe it may not really be an ignorant person from Alabama:

they used what looks to ME like possible fake language (need confirmation on how other people see this)
they accessed my website using Ubuntu (Linux) at least once (a little nerdy for those people?)
they TYPED the way they speak (I looked this up on Yahoo Answers, and the consensus was that only a few Ebonics-users (not sure about ignorant people), actually type the way they talk... Anyone know anything about this? Not talking about very heavy "net speak", which is common, but actually talking in full Ebonics/etc)
they did quite a bit of hovering around my personal site's forum (never posted), and somehow ended up in every video-game match I ever played online with the name "Dario" (a few matches at the beginning of my public beta)

Anyway, any opinions on this? I'm tripping over that language use right now, and trying to figure out if it could be entirely fake or not...

Devil Ledbetter · Jan 14, 2009

I run a grief web site with private forums. Occasionally, some freakazoid will try to sneak onto those forums (because they get their jollies gawking at the freshly bereaved or faking bereavement themselves; they make me want to vomit). Invariably, the person trying to fake their way on will feign ignorance and use horrible grammar, all lower case typing, and say things like "im new to teh intardwebz and just kant see threw my tearz to kumplete the applekashun process plees to just let me in anyways?"

The times I've erred on the side of compassion, it always turned out to be a troll - just as I'd suspected. Always pay attention to your internet BS detection meter.

Maryn · Jan 14, 2009

Dario, I see several grammatical details which suggest this is neither ignorant speech nor the ebonic variety of ignorant speech, which has its own rules.

1 - "hmm nah what about you wasnt you going to blockbuster?"
2 - "meh they dont care much for grammer and yea its likes 5am there"
3 - "also where does it says they live at? i dont remember putting that info on any forums"

Looks like someone would like you to think differently, though.

Maryn, whose newspaper carried a story about a woman charged with murder based on her consistent misspelling

Plot Device · Jan 14, 2009

Devil Ledbetter said:
I run a grief web site with private forums. Occasionally, some freakazoid will try to sneak onto those forums (because they get their jollies gawking at the freshly bereaved or faking bereavement themselves; they make me want to vomit).

Sounds like Helena Bonham Carter's character from Fight Club.

Devil Ledbetter · Jan 14, 2009

Plot Device said:
Sounds like Helena Bonham Carter's character from Fight Club.

But these ghouls are real. One of them even carried on about imagining her dead baby rotting in the ground. You know, because the people who actually belonged on the board weren't suffering enough without that image.

People like that make me sorry I don't believe in Hell.

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 14, 2009

I'm not exactly sure what the issue here is. Sometimes I'll talk like that there just for the fun of it. I likes the sound of the sentence. I'm not even sure I even know what Ebonics is, but it's just a fun affectation I puts on.

Dario D. · Jan 14, 2009

Yeah, but the person was being completely serious...

Dario D. · Jan 14, 2009

*bump*, dang, already on page 2... Still needing some opinions.

Joe270 · Jan 14, 2009

Yeah, but the person was being completely serious...

It's Ferret, Dario. Not a doubt in my mind.

Seriously, those examples you cited really look 'doctored' to me. There's too much correct, and then just one oddball spelling tossed in. I'd be very suspicious of this person, too.

Now, is the question one of your safety? You live in Ca, and this seems to originate in Alabama. Is there a way to fake that? If not, you seem okay, but have a nasty cling-on stalker stuck in an internet prison.

That said, I wouldn't like it, either. Perhaps there's a way to report this person to the pages you frequent where they have given you problems? Get 'em booted from all of them, problem solved.

I'm not tech savvy, so my response doesn't hold much water.

But, at least it keeps the thread off page two a bit longer, and, hopefully, enough people will be happy to blast me for my horrible ignorance on the internet and give you more answers than you can use.

Hopefully.

Pagey's_Girl · Jan 15, 2009

I'm not an expert, but most of my family is from the south, and I know what they sound like...

"Wasn't you going to Blockbuster" sounds southern enough - although it's more like something one of my much older relatives would say: "Wasn't you fixing to go to Blockbuster?" But the second and third one sound totally fake to me - like someone trying to do a very bad "hillbilly" act in a movie or something. Even if they spoke that way, it's highly unlikely (at least in my experience) that they'd type it out the same way unless they were putting on.

Kate Thornton · Jan 15, 2009

Dario - some people have trouble typing and the words you mention may simply be an example of keyboarditis.

(I had to correct 4 typos in the above short sentence as I typed it.)

Dario D. · Jan 15, 2009

Dario - some people have trouble typing and the words you mention may simply be an example of keyboarditis.

That's a possibility, but everything else was typo-free, and it's only those added S's thrown in there at the end of words...

Now, is the question one of your safety?

Fortunately no... The person I'm suspecting I've known pretty much always. If I can be absolutely convinced it's them (looking pretty clear so far) then I know what to do. (fortunately also, there's probably a clean, easy solution, if I can figure out what they're getting at)

"Stalking" in this case wouldn't be confused with "threatening".

C.bronco · Jan 15, 2009

Dario D. said:
Hi everyone.

Someone wrote this to me in an email a while back, and I think they might've been faking Ebonics (or just faking "ignorant-speak" - they claimed to be from Alabama). Does this look fake to anyone? The lines that got me were:

1 - "hmm nah what about you wasnt you going to blockbuster?"
2 - "meh they dont care much for grammer and yea its likes 5am there"
3 - "also where does it says they live at? i dont remember putting that info on any forums"

The parts that got me were "wasnt you", "its likes", and "where does it says". I don't think Ebonics users (or just "ignorant" white people from Alabama) say those particular things (without knowing for sure), because it seems like those S's in there make it HARDER to talk (I trip all over them when I try to say that)... especially the last two. Do those lines sound strange to anyone? I thought ignorant-speak was meant to speed up talking, and make it easier...

-

Without getting deeply into it, I thought it might've been a girl I know contacting me with an anonymous IP, but I'm just not sure... (their IP traced to Alabama, but the person I think it might be would be more than keen on using an IP Anonymizer app, then just saying they're from whatever location their IP originates from. Every anonymizer I tried tells you up front where each IP is located)

So, my suspicions so far that lead me to believe it may not really be an ignorant person from Alabama:

they used what looks to ME like possible fake language (need confirmation on how other people see this)

they accessed my website using Ubuntu (Linux) at least once (a little nerdy for those people?)

they TYPED the way they speak (I looked this up on Yahoo Answers, and the consensus was that only a few Ebonics-users (not sure about ignorant people), actually type the way they talk... Anyone know anything about this? Not talking about very heavy "net speak", which is common, but actually talking in full Ebonics/etc)

they did quite a bit of hovering around my personal site's forum (never posted), and somehow ended up in every video-game match I ever played online with the name "Dario" (a few matches at the beginning of my public beta)

Anyway, any opinions on this? I'm tripping over that language use right now, and trying to figure out if it could be entirely fake or not...

The writer of those lines might have had a few too many.

Pomegranate · Jan 15, 2009

I would have assumed it was spam and deleted it. If it was real, they'd contact me again.

Dario D. · Jan 15, 2009

Pomegranate said:
I would have assumed it was spam and deleted it. If it was real, they'd contact me again.

They did... (There's a little more to the background stuff than I explained; I'm just mostly focusing on this for now)

Williebee · Jan 15, 2009

It strikes me as trolling or phishing at the moment.

Does the header information show you that it came from Alabama? If you don't know how to tell, PM me, we'll work through it.

Bottom line, if you even think you feel threatened, tell somebody official. I'd rather be sorry I'm wrong than wrong and sorry.

Dario D. · Jan 15, 2009

Yup.

In the original post, I said:

(their IP traced to Alabama, but the person I think it might be would be more than keen on using an IP Anonymizer app, then just saying they're from whatever location their IP originates from. Every anonymizer I tried tells you up front where each IP is located)

Stalker faking Ignorant-Speak?

Dario D.

Devil Ledbetter

Come on you stranger, you legend,

Maryn

At Sea

Plot Device

A woman said to write like a man.

Devil Ledbetter

Come on you stranger, you legend,

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

Dario D.

Dario D.

Joe270

Pagey's_Girl

Still plays with dolls

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

Dario D.

C.bronco

I have plans...

Pomegranate

Dario D.

Williebee

Capeless, wingless, & yet I fly.

Dario D.