Wannabe Baiter saying hello

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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 9:25 am

I remember joining here around five years back, with a first post (quickly locked) equating scambaiting to mosquito breeding or something.

So, when the text above my avatar changed to "wannabe" I looked back and realized I had never said hello.

Not only that, nobody said hello to me either. And when I had a question or something I found lots of other guys with the same problem, and so I rarely posted.

So, this is to say hello, and thanks to the resource that these pages have been for five years, the inspiration for a few baits, the source of material for warning people I meet regarding scams on the internet, and above all just fun ...

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 10:06 am

Welcome back, the Lads are still out there waiting for you. Plenty of new toys to play with use to keep the lads entertained.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

Wow N&D -- that's a blast from the past. Laughing

Good to see you up and about once more. Hope you stick around and that more people say "hello" to you this time.

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:51 pm

Trophy Videos · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:52 pm

Hello, N&D! Very Happy

Welcome back! Very Happy

Things have changed a bit in 5 years, you'll see. The hellos will come pouring in now. Very Happy

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:53 pm

Hi Neil&Dan

If you do have any questions that you cant find an answer to, please ask Wink

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:59 pm

Welcome back! I was one of those people who lurked much more than posting back in those old days, when it seemed like an important secondary mission of the forum was to give a hard time to new members. especially those who didn't know as much as the regulars. these days there are a lot more efforts to help new members along, and a lot less of the "toughen up or get out" attitude.

Fortunately we still have some mods who are mad with power.

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 1:42 pm

Neil&Dan in his first post wrote:

It goes like this: You set up little dishes of water and decaying vegetables around. The mosquitoes lay eggs. They hatch. And, when the wrigglers turn pupa you overturn the lot onto dry ground and start again.

The mosquito has to hatch just one progeny to be successful, and she lays hundreds of eggs. Interesting parallel to scambaiting, and about as useful in its intended purpose, in my opinion.

But I can be persuaded otherwise . . .

Interesting analogy. I seriously doubt we would lock a thread like that now, unless the OP requested a lock, or became disrespectful to other members who were offering sincere responses. Confused

I will lock this thread however.

Kidding. Wink

I hope you'll feel free to post more regularly. The more the merrier! Very Happy

(That goes for members as well as opinions.)

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 1:54 pm

Hi Neil&Dan and welcome back to Eater!

I have been trying to get a thread I started locked since I got here. Almost did once. So consider yourself lucky! Laughing

Glad you are back! Very Happy

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 720

Hi

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

Howdy.

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 4:41 pm

Hi Neil&Dan, Welcome back. I lurked for years before joining in, the people really are very helpful. Some of them just pretend to be mean.

Dora....Now that you brought it up, you know people are now going to go searching for your original posts, don't you?

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

DoraTheExplorer wrote:

I have been trying to get a thread I started locked since I got here.

I did, and I earned a quarter of a flag from it. The trick is to ask a mod to lock it. The OP (usually) has that privilege. Very Happy

Welcome back, Neil&Dan.

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 6:10 pm

Welcome (back), Neil&Dan.

Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 6:25 pm

Hi and welcome back N&D.

Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 4:57 am

Thanks for all the kind words.

My opinion on scambaiting has not, however, changed since then. I still consider it an entertaining sideshow which might not be directly effective in curbing scams.

The entertainment and publicity that it generates, however, will.

So let's all have more of the likes of scrooge ...

Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 5:07 am

Hi N&D, welcome back, the mods are just fluffy pussy cats now, you're bound to meet one at least Very Happy

Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 5:28 am

Neil&Dan, baiting may not curb scamming totally, but it can educate and help prevent some people from becoming victims. Wink

thud419 wrote:

I did, and I earned a quarter of a flag from it.

You're my new hero, thud! Very Happy

Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:24 pm

Welcome!While it might not be directly effective at curbing scams,I have to believe that the sheer frustration we cause the lads has to count for something somewhere.

Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:21 am

Welcome!

Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 3:37 am

Baiting will never stop scammers completely, but we sure inconvenience the hell out of them and cut into their productivity, so that's a big plus! Very Happy

I hope you'll jump back in. The water's fine. Wink

Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 4:47 am

I have seen many cases where a bait has prevented somebody from being scammed.

Baiter baits a scammer
baiters wastes some time
Scammer is de-educated and frustrated
baiter post the bait
potential victim finds teh details of the scammer posted on baiting site.

Baiting alone will not stop scammers, but it can and does prevent many people from losing money to scammers, both directly and indirectly

I doubt anybody who has been saved by a scam by baiters actions would see it as being like a mosquito bite

Posted: Sun May 17, 2009 3:41 pm

I'm reminded of a time when I was bouncing around Italy. I was sitting in a park killing time between trains when a guy came up to me and asked me to break a bill so he could have change for the phone. I didn't have enough to make the whole bill and offered to just give him what I had instead. He wouldn't take it, and seemed confused about the whole thing. After a few minutes of trying to understand each other, he walked off without the change, and without using the phone. A few minutes after that, another man walked up and handed me my backpack.

Apparently the first guy's job was to distract me while his buddy grabbed my stuff. The guy who returned it had seen what was happening and chased the snatcher guy down. That man could never hope to rid Italy of crime, but I was extremely grateful for what little he was able to do.

Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 8:02 am

Howdy N&D, and welcome back. Don't be such a stranger for the next 5 years.

Not too many of us remaining from 2004. Firehouse, Shiver, and me... Maybe a couple others. Try not to drop out of sight again for so long.

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