WOW

[rusty_halo]

I know this already making the rounds within fandom, but for anyone who's managed to miss it, you really must read this: apparently a huge amount of the wank that's gone on in Harry Potter fandom for the past few years was all caused by one batshit insane fan and her zillion sockpuppets. I was over here (barely) participating in Spike fandom, yet even I remember a bunch of this stuff happening. Crazy to see that it all ties together like this.

It's quite a fascinating study in human social interaction--almost a guide on how to manipulate people and play on their biases in order to gain social power. Very much worth reading, even just to recognize the signs and avoid such people in the future.

10zlaine, you'll find it quite interesting.

(Personal/TMI:)
This is also just such an interesting documentation because it captures this personality type so well. Everything she did reminds me of someone I knew, the same thing--the lies to gain social power, the thrill of causing drama, and the utter lack of qualms about hurting those who called her a friend.

This "friend" of mine, among other things, lied that her boyfriend had killed himself in front of her, that she was variously suffering from AIDS and/or cancer, that she was working full time to support her insane mother, that she had cut her wrist and was bleeding right there over the keyboard while IMing me, that she was best friends with the band Orgy, and that she was a gorgeous model and musicial genius (while in fact being overweight, ugly, and musically mediocre). She had a million and one fake names with a string of lies and alienated former friends behind them, and she nearly destroyed my friendship with my best friend by playing us against each other, creating fake emails and IMs, and lying to each of us about what the other had said. And it was all part of her attempt to get close to the lead singer of a certain band, and also just because she loved the thrill of starting shit, playing people against each other, and casting herself as heroine/victim.

So, yeah, this msscribe person could be her twin. It's scary.


In other news, now that I've had a good night's sleep and washed off the ickiness of the Hartford train station, I've decided that going to Hartford wasn't a mistake after all. I mean, you know, it was PIG. And ... yeah.

Now I'm trying to decide--should I go to San Francisco and LA, or should I try for the three Texas dates, Austin, Dallas, and Houston? I want to go to the ones that'll have better crowds. I'm leaning toward SF and LA, but those guys I hung with in Florida might be going to the Texas ones, in which case it would be fun to have traveling partners. And then, should I go to the final show in Nashville, too? I'm tempted, but it's on a Thursday, meaning I'd have to take two vacation days. Argh. I'm going to wait and see.

Comments

[bloodypoetry.livejournal.com]

I spent the better part of two days reading that. I've never been all that intrested in the HP fandom, other than to avoid it, due to the wank, but this was just...wow. I even made a post about it. It's one of the most intresting things to come out of fandom for a long, long time. That woman has serious skills. It makes you really wonder.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

If only she had directed those skills to something... MEANINGFUL. I mean, of all the trivial things upon which to waste such insane amounts of time and effort... ::boggles::

[bloodypoetry.livejournal.com]

I know! There are ways to manipulate people for a good cause. I mean, she could maniuplate people into feeding starving children! Or something. But....biggest BNF eva? So not worth that much effort

[kellyhk.livejournal.com]

And I thought all the various dipshits in our fandom were scary.

*hands prize to msscribe*

btw, I must have apparently been in a box as the HP imploded.

*snuggles the Btvs dysfunctional fanfic fandom all the tighter*

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Well, the dipshits in our fandom are still scary. But yeah, I think msscribe takes the cake. And to think, there wasn't even a OMG-HE-REALLY-LURVES-ME hot actor type at the center of it all. She just did it so that OTHER FAN WRITERS would pay attention to her!

[mary5958.livejournal.com]

And to think, there wasn't even a OMG-HE-REALLY-LURVES-ME hot actor type at the center of it all.

Sounds like (another) fandom story I'm clueless on. :-)

shadowlass steered me to the msscribe thing and I read it yesterday. Seriously, I was just going to glance at it, get the gist, but I was totally riveted. Couldn't tear myself away til the bitter end. It was sad and scary and wierd and bizarre and etc. Read like a good true crime book - one of my past guilty pleasures.

I've never seen anything like the vaunted Inner Circle in the Buffy fandom, and if it exists, I don't think I want to know about it.

See you in - yikes! three weeks!

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think Buffy fandom is anywhere near that insane. Harry Potter is a unique kind of crazy.

Although, when it comes to Buffy convention fandom ... well, there's not much crazy I'd put past some of those people. (See aforementioned quote about hot actor type at the center of it all...)

See you soon!!! :)

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

Yea, it's a personality type, man. A clinical one. I've known at least three. Blechhhh.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I guess the only good to come out of this will probably be that a few of us will be better able to recognize the signs and avoid such people in the future. *shudders*

[rockgoddes.livejournal.com]

I said something almost exactly like this in my LJ, without the actually knowing someone like that part.

It's just an absolutely fascinating read, all the way through.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

It is fascinating. I'm torn between horrified and riveted.

*sigh*

I've known too many people like this. And it sucks, because even when they ARE exposed to one group, they just move on to the next and start over with a whole new set of lies. You can't stop them, but at least you can be aware of the personality type and avoid the next one that comes around.

[mommanerd.livejournal.com]

I'm so totally creeped out about the Msscribe thing that I had trouble sleeping. It's just...deeply icky.

I had a roommate in college that was a lot like that too. There wasn't anything that hadn't happened to this chick (according to her) and she liked to morph into baby voice when she thought situations were sliding out of her control with other people garnering attention.

Reading about that whole messy ordeal has served to bring up a lot of bad memories -- and also taught me what can happen when we become to lax and trusting.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I get what you mean about the ickiness. And the bad memories. :( Still, I feel like it's so important for people to be AWARE that these types of people exist. As much as it's upsetting, it's necessary for the truth to come out.

It seems like so much of the reason she got away with all this is that people just couldn't/wouldn't believe that anyone would actually do what she was doing. I hope this'll inspire people to be warier in the future, and will hopefully stop the next MsScribe far sooner.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

I'm still boggling.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

The fact that a person likes this exists doesn't surprise me. But that she got away with it for so long and fucked over so many people, and that many of the major players of the fandom went right along with it... that's scary.

[bookishwench.livejournal.com]

::blink::

I just spent two hours reading the msscribe thing. Seriously, seriously messed up. I remember now why I was scared to go into HP fandom... and why I never actually have.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Well, hopefully HP fandom will be much less scary now, since it turns out the "hundreds of lunatics infesting the fandom" were actually, y'know, just one.

[d-irge.livejournal.com]

The sheer amount of effort she put in; the number of people she trampled in the process; all for such an insignificant, pointless goal. Simply amazing.

I mean, if she'd just funneled her energies into something more useful.

P.S. If you are going to head up to the west coast, you could start from Seattle and work your way down. Depending on my schedule, I'll be catching the Portland and possibly the Seattle show.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

REALLY? Oh, now I'm so tempted. There's four in a row from Seattle to LA, which means less time I'd have to take off work. And Seattle is a Sunday, which again, helps with the work thing. Maybe I'd even go a day early and spend some time in Seattle. And all four are in major cities, not lame suburbs an hour away from the city like they've been playing on the east coast.

Do you know anything about the venues? Are they decent? Do people usually show up? How's the sound?

*wants to go*

Do you have any advice about getting around? My research indicated that a train from Seattle to Portland would be easy, but I'd have to fly from Portland to San Francisco, and probably again from San Francisco to L.A. Is there any other way aside from flying? (Driving's out, ARGH.) Why does the West Coast have to be so BIG??

That's awesome that you might go. It's very, very much worth it.

And, erm, yeah. The MsScribe thing. It really is *amazing*. Y'know, in a bad way. The person who wrote that up must be feeling so vindicated right now. (I remember the incredible relief I felt when the truth came out about my partcular lunantic, and people finally figured it out and believed me.)

[d-irge.livejournal.com]

I...ah, have no idea. I've never been to a concert in Seattle. I've only been there for musicals. As for PDX, I finally managed to recall being at Sabalas years ago for a Black Sabbath tribute band concert. It's about the size of a good sized nightclub with many different substages and such, and it was pretty crowded. Folks here in PDX love music, so I bet it'll sell really well.

If you do consider the Seattle-Portland venue, I can provide transportation and a guest room for you in my house (I live in Portland, and by "schedule" I mean getting up off my ass and going instead of staying home and watching Dr. Who).

Flying does indeed suck, but it's probably the most efficient way to get around here. I've found that sometimes Southwest or Alaska Airlines has cheap last-minute tickets.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Really? That is the most awesome offer ever. Are you sure? I don't want to impose, but if you're sure it's not a huge bother, I might take you up on that. It would be really fun to have a traveling buddy to go to those two shows with!

How would it work exactly? We'd meet at the show in Seattle on Sunday, then stay at your place afterward (how far is it?), then go to the show in Portland Monday, then I'd stay over Monday night and take a cab to the airport Tuesday morning? Are two nights okay or should I get a hotel for one of them? How far are you from the airport? You are SO awesome for offering this, but if it turns out to be a pain don't feel bad about changing your mind, just let me know.

Hee, your "schedule" sounds a lot like mine most of the time. ;) And PIG is FAR worth the effort of getting up and skipping Dr. Who....

[d-irge.livejournal.com]

It's not a problem for me at all. Your plan sounds about what I was thinking. I'll probably be in the area earlier on Sunday, indulging my disturbing fascination for IKEA kitchenware, so I can meet up with you either at the show or before.

monanotlisa, my drinking buddy when I was in Germany, is offline for a few weeks, otherwise she could attest that while I may be a lush, I'm not actually an axe murderer ;).

It's about a 3 hour drive from SEA to PDX, but minutes to Sabalos. I'm about a 20 minute drive to the airport. If you're leaving early on Tuesday, I can drop you off before I go to work. And really, two nights is not a big deal. That room stays empty ten months out of the year, except for when the 'rents or guests visit.

Speaking of which, when my mother came with her boyfriend (who's a vegan), he brought along a bunch of notes about the vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the Portland area. I can try to dig that up for you as well.

Anywy, if you do plan to do this, email me @ deadboyslim@hotmail.com and we can hash the details out.

[nick-iz-kool.livejournal.com]

I still don't know if I'm even going to the Texas shows. I havn't spoken to Cody about it for a week or so and I just really don't know how practical it will be for me. I really want to, though.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh hey, I didn't realize you were on LiveJournal. (How did you find me? Pigasm?)

You should go to at least one of the Texas shows. Come on! It's PIG. Plus, they've gotten a lot tighter, and Raymond knows all the words now. You've got to see Situation at least once without him reading from the lyric sheet. ;)

I'm kind of thinking Seattle -> Portland -> San Francisco -> LA. But that's going to be so exhausting and expensive. Still... fun. I hope I don't creep them out by showing up incessantly.

And then there's the final show in Nashville, which I kind of want to see for the sake of, you know, symmetry. I was at the first show, I want to be at the last. If only it were on the WEEKEND!

[james-translate.livejournal.com]

My craziest crazy first appeared as a clumsy over-emotional 18 yrs old boy with a heart of gold, spending a lot of time helping people on a message board. He was good with techs and had a lot of time.
He was the last of several kids from the same mother but different fathers, his mother had died recently (his father years earlier) so he was at times very confused. He was in custody of his (much) older bother (insert "awww" from other members here).
I know that at least 2 people got him on the phone, but for me I only exchanged emails with him and IMed once or twice. Also exchanged a few emails with his brother.
A couple of times he was supposed to meet other fans, or put up his photos online, but each time he had a major freakout afterwise, saying his brother was pissed and recommanded to be more careful.

He also disappeared without a trace for months. He kept taking more importance on the board, and when we moved from Yahoo to a custom-built one, helped the tech to set it up and beta it. Interesting enough, he is the one who insisted we had a feature to detect multiple posters with the same IP... And who identified a few crazies like that and designed the tools to keep them at bay.

When he was too busy, he gave some work to a school friend of his, who annoyed me a lot with his posts in AOLspeak...

He was trusted and loved by nearly every one. So it came out as a shock when it was revealed that in fact, him, his brother and his highschool pal were one and the same, a guy in his 50es with diagnosed schizophrenia.
In fact, it tore the board in two, as half of the mods were lenient about the issue and supportive of him, others had considered him a good friend and felt betrayed by his lies - and didn't want him to keep posting on the board.


Hm, re-telling the story, I know wonder if some of them weren't his sockpuppets, too... How convenient he was the only one who was given the possibility to check multiple-IPs by the board tech?...


Less intrusive, there's this insane chick who did admit having been in a mental asylum a few times for "depression", and when she posts, she always have some exciting news about having met and chat with a co-star or relative of the celebrity that fandom is about (a U.S. actor).
Could happen, of course. Except she doesn't live in L.A. or has any connection explaining frequent celebrity meetings. She's French or Swiss and lives in Paris, and doesn't work in the business...

I live in Paris too, and though I do occasionally see a famous face, it's never the people I'm interested in, and it's never in circumstances we could talk (then again, when I cross by Roman Polanski or someone going out of a shop, I leave them alone. I don't ask for autographs unless the celebs are "at work" in public events).

Hmmmmyeah...

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Given that nearly everyone seems to have encountered one of these lunatics at some point, it really makes you wonder what percentage of the population is just... insane. It's a little scary.

[mary5958.livejournal.com]

Didn't see the personal part of your post until I sent the other reply.

Sounds horrifying. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and happy that you got out of it.