Funny stuff at this Springsteen board (BTX, in the 'Loose Ends' off-topic forum):

Some dude who was a long time poster faked his own death, replete with local obituary notice and memorials from a weekly Springsteen internet radio show (Sirius?), and the NY Mets baseball team.

Long and short of it: dudes family and friends started getting calls/emails of condolences, and then it comes to light the dude was just faking it.

Peeps are going crazy over there- "how he could he do such an awful thing?", "I'm so hurt", "what a sick, awful person" (after numerous threads claiming he's such a great guy).

Great successful internet hoax brings out the worst, the most pathetic, and the screamingly funniest in Springsteen fans (the most embarrassing fanebase in pop music, bar none).

did they say how he did it?

:spooky

Cancer of some sort.

People are like: "Oooh, my friend/sister/mom/etc. died from cancer. How dare you disrespect cancer victims!"

I reckon if he claimed suicide, it would be "how dare you disrespect victims of suicide blah blah blah..."

maybe you are feeling in a funny mood tonight mr Y, but this stuff, to me, is no laughing matter...it is unnessary imature behavior and it causes people pain.  maybe he wanted attention like that idiot balloon boy father guy in colorado a few months ago.  

:wtf2

wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 7:50pm:

maybe you are feeling in a funny mood tonight mr Y, but this stuff, to me, is no laughing matter...it is unnessary imature behavior and it causes people pain.  maybe he wanted attention like that idiot balloon boy father guy in colorado a few months ago.   :wtf2

Why, Platter? I honestly don't get where the outrage comes from.
I understand making friends on the internets, but the few pals I've made- they've been real friends, i.e. talking on the phone, keeping up, discussing REAL life stuff. Ocassionally meeting.

If you read any of the numerous threads on BTX, it sounds like people are pissed off because he "betrayed" their "trust", or something; something to do with "community" (what a load of bollocks).
It's the internet. If you "vett" or otherwise decipher that someone could be a worthwhile pal, that tends to be a small, private matter.
If our "Joey" turned out to be Rush Limbaugh, I wouldn't blink twice; I'd laugh my ass off.
Immature? Maybe. But as long as no one gets hurt, I say immaturity isn't so harmful. The "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast from the '30's was quite entertaining, but only when people got so freaked out that bad things happened did it become "immature" entertainment.

I'll be the first to admit it - I registered on that board to see if this actually happened.  I can't make it through all 36 pages of that particular thread though.  Could the faker-of-his-own-death be Tele using another handle?  People go to great lengths to dodge a bar tab.

Hilarity?

Nothing funny about that at all. Nothing.

Here's hoping that this thread doesn't see the 'Light Of Day'...

Ginda wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 8:38pm:

I'll be the first to admit it - I registered on that board to see if this actually happened.  I can't make it through all 36 pages of that particular thread though.  Could the faker-of-his-own-death be Tele using another handle?  People go to great lengths to dodge a bar tab.

The responses- for his supposed death AND the revelation that it was a hoax- are downright histrionic, aren'y they?

I know a thing or to about death and survivors guilt- cancer, suicide, overdoses, military operations, Alzheimers, plain old street hassles- and I will feel what I feel when I feel it. And what I feel now is contempt for a large poecentage of Springsteen "fans" who post at BTX. Hypocrites, liars,and shallow, souless, spoiled American consumers.

The dude faking his own death may be fucked up, but I think Bruce himself would admit, if he was candid, that many of his so-called fans are pathological cretins. They deserve this blast of "psuedo-reality theater".

Oh- and I'm a big Springsteen fan myself.

left shoe shuffle wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 8:57pm:

Hilarity? Nothing funny about that at all. Nothing. Here's hoping that this thread doesn't see the 'Light Of Day'...

How do you know? Have you read all the threads?

While that site can be good for getting Springsteen info. Espicially during a tour and their are some decent people on there, like thier is on all sites. The moderator(s) of that site are absolute morons. The crap factor among the majority of posters is knee deep. If their is one act who you would think wouldn't have the incessant,bitching,whining,moaning you see on a lot of internet sites. You would think it would be one of the biggest Springsteen fan sites on the net. After nearly 2 straight years of touring at a quality most bands can only dream about at their peak,this one put some of best shows ever. Still doesn't stop the bitching and moaning. Add to that the fact that their hasn't been a fan magazine put by the moderator in over year for something that was supposed to be a quarterly and it's almost unreadable. Never the fuck mind about loose ends. Rocks Off is a better Springsteen site than Backstreets....No offense to our beloved Stones either btw. :willya

"Believe you me, when I read the RIP thread, my first fleeting thought was...bullshit....but, that little voice in my head said..."don't do it, there actually could be that 1% chance that he really did die, and boy, would the shit storm rain down on me, so against my first thoughts...I posted a very unsincere RIP message..."

BTX in a nutshell.

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 9:24pm:

While that site can be good for getting Springsteen info. Espicially during a tour and their are some decent people on there, like thier is on all sites. The moderator(s) of that site are absolute morons. The crap factor among the majority of posters is knee deep. If their is one act who you would think wouldn't have the incessant,bitching,whining,moaning you see on a lot of internet sites. You would think it would be one of the biggest Springsteen fan sites on the net. After nearly 2 straight years of touring at a quality most bands can only dream about at their peak,this one put some of best shows ever. Still doesn't stop the bitching and moaning. Add to that the fact that their hasn't been a fan magazine put by the moderator in over year for something that was supposed to be a quarterly and it's almost unreadable. Never the fuck mind about loose ends. Rocks Off is a better Springsteen site than Backstreets....No offense to our beloved Stones either btw. :willya

LOL

I've been a subscriber to 'Backstreets' magazine since the early or mid 80s, I think. It's a great website for Bruce news but their fans forum seems to be full of absolute arseholes - I dont see that on other Springsteen sites in fairness, although to be honest the only one I spend any time on is Greasy Lake (and I hardly bother when there's no real news to speak of).

Can't see the point of making people register for a site if you're not then going to moderate it and get rid of the trolls. I didn't bother registering after they did that (I didnt visit it much anyway) but when I hear stuff about fans deliberately posting fake info such as bogus setlist updates and this kind of thing being tolerated, then its no wonder I stopped taking it seriously.

One guy registered on here at the start of the Licks tour and posted a fake setlist from the Palais Royale warm up show - he never got the chance to post another one. Unfortunately, that forum is an example of what happens when you allow trolls to take over.

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 4^th, 2010 at 9:24pm:

Never the fuck mind about loose ends. Rocks Off is a better Springsteen site than Backstreets....No offense to our beloved Stones either btw. :willya

Somewhere in Boca a man just  :Youmakeagrownmancrylikejoey  :wtf3  :whydontcha

LOL...

well keeping each topic (Stones or in the case of non-Stones info, one for each artist) to one thread always helps, I think.

At least if you want some info, you know where to get it without having to wade knee deep through a load of crap to find it.

if it wasn't for the mods here, a few of us may have become news worthy... they save our lives in a lot of ways...  the keep us informed and safe... not an easy job in itself, and they have jobs and families.

"Let's not start suckin' each other's dicks just yet...." -  Winston Wolf

LadyJane wrote on Feb 5^th, 2010 at 6:52am:

sweetcharmedlife wrote on Feb 4th, 2010 at 9:24pm: Never the fuck mind about loose ends. Rocks Off is a better Springsteen site than Backstreets....No offense to our beloved Stones either btw. :willya Somewhere in Boca a man just  :Youmakeagrownmancrylikejoey  :wtf3  :whydontcha

I thought about you when I hastily added the last part LJ. Believe me I know RO is ALWAYS Stones first, everything else second. :wtf1 :wtf2

Wasn't there a guy here, or some other Stones board, that claimed he was deployed to Iraq, only to be found out he wasn't?

Edith Grove wrote on Feb 5^th, 2010 at 10:14am:

Wasn't there a guy here, or some other Stones board, that claimed he was deployed to Iraq, only to be found out he wasn't?

It was this one. I remember his 'real' name was Chris, but I'm trying to think of his user name - was it RollingStonesUSA?

Claimed to own a Stones-themed bar as well ("The Lovin' Cup") somewhere around the Carolinas, and even posted pics of a party which were supposedly taken there, including one of his wife with Flavor Flav.

He then announced that he had got his papers and had to go to Iraq for a tour of duty. I was surprised to see him logged in here  a few weeks later, but didn't think much of it.

It was Saint Sway who eventually smelt something fishy and outed him after some pretty impressive detective work. To be fair to the guy, he came back on here and came clean about it and didn't take any abuse for it, but he seemed to disappear shortly afterwards, probably out of embarrassment.

If enough people think you are dead, along w/ the media and sorts...you basically ARE dead...
Insurance scam???
Debt relief???
Avoiding a mob hit???

Gazza wrote on Feb 5^th, 2010 at 10:22am:

Edith Grove wrote on Feb 5th, 2010 at 10:14am: Wasn't there a guy here, or some other Stones board, that claimed he was deployed to Iraq, only to be found out he wasn't? Claimed to own a Stones-themed bar as well ("The Lovin' Cup") somewhere around the Carolinas, It was Saint Sway who eventually smelt something fishy and outed him after some pretty impressive detective work. To be fair to the guy, he came back on here and came clean about it and didn't take any abuse for it, but he seemed to disappear shortly afterwards, probably out of embarrassment.

I know there is a "Stick Fingers" in Wilmington NC...

http://www.stickyfingers.com/Default.aspx

Pdog wrote on Feb 5^th, 2010 at 7:36am:

if it wasn't for the mods here, a few of us may have become news worthy... they save our lives in a lot of ways...  the keep us informed and safe... not an easy job in itself, and they have jobs and families.

And all that just for the likes of us. They also did a marvelous job at Verdun, Normandy and Tarawa.
And their rescue efforts were marked by great dilegence and heroism at Ground Zero on 9/11 and currently in Haiti.


Just kidding, mods! Here's one of those stupid smiley things to prove it   ;D

Wasn't there a guy in here pretending to be a lawyer?

Or was it a doctor?

Pastor?

.....................+

SemiahmooDude wrote on Feb 5^th, 2010 at 6:29pm:

Wasn't there a guy in here pretending to be a lawyer? Or was it a doctor? Pastor? .....................+

I am not only a lawyer but a doctor, too.

And it just so happens that I'm a pastor as well.

But, unlike that odious charlatan- I'm not pretending.

Gazza wrote on Feb 5^th, 2010 at 10:22am:

Edith Grove wrote on Feb 5th, 2010 at 10:14am: Wasn't there a guy here, or some other Stones board, that claimed he was deployed to Iraq, only to be found out he wasn't? It was this one. I remember his 'real' name was Chris, but I'm trying to think of his user name - was it RollingStonesUSA? Claimed to own a Stones-themed bar as well ("The Lovin' Cup") somewhere around the Carolinas, and even posted pics of a party which were supposedly taken there, including one of his wife with Flavor Flav. He then announced that he had got his papers and had to go to Iraq for a tour of duty. I was surprised to see him logged in here  a few weeks later, but didn't think much of it. It was Saint Sway who eventually smelt something fishy and outed him after some pretty impressive detective work. To be fair to the guy, he came back on here and came clean about it and didn't take any abuse for it, but he seemed to disappear shortly afterwards, probably out of embarrassment.

Aye, I remember! When he was outed he left and signed up later as WattsatScotts. Then someone (probably Sway) saw that WattsatScotts was RollingStonesUSA and he left again even though everyone was OK with it...

The hilarity continues.

Things are getting downright Hobbesian over there- "All against all".

A messege board dedicated to a pop star...

This kid's like 16 years old I think:



To tell you the truth, I think all that stuff is a little weird...

... I guess I find it somewhat alarming that people look to this board for serious friendship and companionship. I know a few people out on the East Coast actually meet up together, do things, etc. That's a lot more normal to me. They're actual friends, and BTX is just another medium for them to communicate. But crying for a week because someone you exchanged PMs with died? That's bizarre. I've met some great people on here, and it's enjoyable to read the board for fifteen minutes a couple of times a day. But I don't feel that same personal connection that some obviously do, be it the people on the board or the board itself. Worries about ruining the reputation of the board? Come on guys, it's an Internet message board. Let's get a little perspective and move on.

LOL

I've been a subscriber to 'Backstreets' magazine since the early or mid 80s, I think. It's a great website for Bruce news but their fans forum seems to be full of absolute arseholes - I dont see that on other Springsteen sites in fairness, although to be honest the only one I spend any time on is Greasy Lake (and I hardly bother when there's no real news to speak of).
[/quote]
Greasy Lake is the better site, more Euro-centric I think (and therefore better educated and less of a sense of entitlement about their "hero"), but there were some serious problems in the past with draconian over-moderating. I think Karsten did his best to have a live and let live policy, but some of his mods were a bit humorless and quick to jump the gun (a hard jod, I'm sure-  I'd be banning people left, right and center on any given board).
Back in '03 or '04 they conducted a huge purge of people for posting decidedly non-political off-topic zaniness (most of them screamingly funny and highly intelligent Aussies and Brits).

Socio/political offensiveness ought to be taken seriously by mods and admins.; laugh out loud wit or humour, I don't think so.

Interesting thread...

Moderation of a board: I guess it must be a very difficult thing to get absolutely right and I'm sure it is also extremely time-consuming for Gazza, Voodoo and Jaxx (although one day someone will have to prove to me that Jaxx actually exists, I never see much evidence). So thanks to the Trilogy for the umpteenth time, you all do a FANTASTIC job and you help make this place what it is!!!!!

I ended up coming here because I used to be on IORR and found the censorship much too restricting. I mean, censoring the word "fuck" on a board of fans adoring a band whose lyrics deal with eating black pussy, starfuckers, etc....? I don't think so! I think in the end I left because Bjornulf censored the word "beaver", which even though it seems funny now, not even Pol-Pot on a bad day would have done.

After successfully finding medication that stopped my epileptic fits every time I looked at the flashing pictures and dancing emoticons (pdogs girl with the quivering breasts comes to mind), surviving the first aggressive flaming (by tab-dodging Tele, of all people, later more than enthusiastically and very unfairly joined by Glencar, may he rot in whichever black hole he fell into!) and slowly beginning to comprehend the meaning of Joey's bowel movements, LadyJane's penchant for blow-up-sheep, Nanky's weekend pastime of chiba-chariot-racing, TomL's fetish for Paris's Peepee and a few other idiosyncracies- I'm still here.

I can't say there hasn't been the odd time when I thought "what the fuck are they waiting for to ban this person?", but I guess that we all have "off" days and at least there is a very liberal spirit and everyone gets more than his/her fair chance to apologise and make amends. When negative , bilious "life-suckers" finally get banned, I don't think they are missed much by anyone. I also have to say that I laugh on this board like I have never laughed before, so the freedom of speech definitely has its pay-off in absolutely whacky, making-you-snort-out-your-tea-through-your-nostrils humour, so thank you for the freedom you all grant us, Unholy Trinity!

This is the bestest site ever in cyberspace, and I don't spend ANY time anywhere else (possibly also because I do have a life). There are some amazing people here and I'm proud to have befriended and met some of them in person.

Here's to making friends and meeting up with many more at the next tour again, at which GTRM WILL BE WITH US !!!!!! And Jesus Christ: never mind fucking Obama, life's too fucking short, get your loin cloth in gear and your sandals clip-clopping and find us a fucking liver donor, will ya?

:kissmyass

:willya