Since becoming a mod a few months ago, the only thing I really have done was get rid of the spammers. However, there was a new member that sent up way too many red flags. He seemed very familiar with this forum from day one. Claiming to be only 9 years old and being from Romania, this person wrote too well to be only 9. Also using penguins as avatars and starting the monthly thread in the PPP on the first day screams that it was a former member.

Since there were no other mods-or Chucky around, I made an executive decision to ban the said member. My suspicion is that this isn't the first time he has been banned from this forum. 

I had been wrestling whether to explain myself or not. I know I DON'T have to but I feel that it is the right thing to do-to let everyone know WHY I decided to ban him.



Cat

Since becoming a mod a few months ago, the only thing I really have done was get rid of the spammers. However, there was a new member that sent up way too many red flags. He seemed very familiar with this forum from day one. Claiming to be only 9 years old and being from Romania, this person wrote too well to be only 9. Also using penguins as avatars and starting the monthly thread in the PPP on the first day screams that it was a former member.

Since there were no other mods-or Chucky around, I made an executive decision to ban the said member. My suspicion is that this isn't the first time he has been banned from this forum. 

I had been wrestling whether to explain myself or not. I know I DON'T have to but I feel that it is the right thing to do-to let everyone know WHY I decided to ban him.



Cat


Great detective work! I didn't noticed those details.  ;D  ;D  ;D

Can you compare IPs as a mod? That might have given extra evidence if it matches one of a banned former member.
I don't know the user and haven't read any of his/her posts, however as long as there is no real evidence I would be careful to ban anyone. It might hit the wrong person. :-[

Can you compare IPs as a mod? That might have given extra evidence if it matches one of a banned former member.
I don't know the user and haven't read any of his/her posts, however as long as there is no real evidence I would be careful to ban anyone. It might hit the wrong person. :-[



IPs can be disguised. This has been a certain banned member's M.O. Like I said, there were too many red flags to be ignored.


Cat

all I can say is you did your best and that's all people can do

Good call! I'm not sure if that's his real age or not, but I didn't feel comfortable knowing a 9 year old was posting. It is a family-friendly forum, but sometimes the discussions aren't suitable for kids e.g. when talking about PG-14 TV show or linking a music video that is a bit graphic or crass. I had to walk on eggshells around him.  :-X

Since becoming a mod a few months ago, the only thing I really have done was get rid of the spammers. However, there was a new member that sent up way too many red flags. He seemed very familiar with this forum from day one. Claiming to be only 9 years old and being from Romania, this person wrote too well to be only 9. Also using penguins as avatars and starting the monthly thread in the PPP on the first day screams that it was a former member.

Since there were no other mods-or Chucky around, I made an executive decision to ban the said member. My suspicion is that this isn't the first time he has been banned from this forum. 

Cat


Actually, it's interesting that you should mention that. The member had previously been a registered member on my forum and before he joined inthe00s, he stated that he believed that the layout looked "tired and outdated". Yet, when he registered for an account on here, he stated that it was his first time here.

I agree with the decision to ban him from the forum. I'm starting to think that he may not actually be as genuine as he seemed.

Good call! I'm not sure if that's his real age or not, but I didn't feel comfortable knowing a 9 year old was posting. It is a family-friendly forum, but sometimes the discussions aren't suitable for kids e.g. when talking about PG-14 TV show or linking a music video that is a bit graphic or crass. I had to walk on eggshells around him.  :-X



There was one time we had an 11 year old. She posted like an 11 year old-mostly about music. Everyone kind of looked out for her. But this guy did not post like a 9 year old.

She is still a member and still drops by from time to time but not too often. Oh, and she is now 24.



Cat

Actually, it's interesting that you should mention that. The member had previously been a registered member on my forum and before he joined inthe00s, he stated that he believed that the layout looked "tired and outdated". Yet, when he registered for an account on here, he stated that it was his first time here.

I agree with the decision to ban him from the forum. I'm starting to think that he may not actually be as genuine as he seemed.


You don't think SkittlesCat is genuine? I still think he's a 9 year old. Maybe he had previously visited this forum before actually posting here recently.

I'm still divided on whether to believe that SkittleCat is 9 or not. I have my suspicions because he did seemed to know inthe00s.com too well to have been a new member.

I also told him at one point that I didn't believe that he was 9 but then he resorted to asking if he should post his birth certificate....that's also a bit suspicious.

All in all, CatwomanofV - I don't blame you for making that decision and you did want you thought was best. Cheers! :)

I think you did the right thing to ban him. Even if he was lying, I still think it's better for him to get banned and I do agree with everything you said.

I think kids these days are often a lot more precocious than they were in the past, since they've been exposed to much more technology a lot sooner than most of us here were, but what really made me feel doubtful about SkittlesCat is that he stated he's from Romania. If English isn't his first language, I highly doubt he'd be able to really post much at all at only 9 years of age.

Regardless of maturity, 9 years is still rather young to be visiting a public, free-for-all Internet forum like this as opposed to a specifically child-oriented website with extreme privacy measures that only allow, say, a specific real-life community to visit.

You don't think SkittlesCat is genuine? I still think he's a 9 year old. Maybe he had previously visited this forum before actually posting here recently.


I am starting to question it, to be honest.

I am starting to question it, to be honest.

Not to be rude, but I highly doubt he is nine. I don't understand how a nine-year-old would find out about a forum like Personality Cafe and inthe00s. I mean, what kind of nine-year-old actually cares about what Generation they're in or anything discussed here? You never know who could really be behind that computer screen. That could've been a 30-year-old man no matter how much of a nine-year-old they acted.

Not to be rude, but I highly doubt he is nine. I don't understand how a nine-year-old would find out about a forum like Personality Cafe and inthe00s. I mean, what kind of nine-year-old actually cares about what Generation they're in or anything discussed here? You never know who could really be behind that computer screen. That could've been a 30-year-old man no matter how much of a nine-year-old they acted.


That's what i'm thinking as well. Also, like #Infinity mentioned, considering that he is from Romania and is only 9 years old, it's a bit suss that his English is really fluent and as good as people who speak it as a first language.

That's what i'm thinking as well. Also, like #Infinity mentioned, considering that he is from Romania and is only 9 years old, it's a bit suss that his English is really fluent and as good as people who speak it as a first language.

Yeah, and especially considering that he said he was only nine, I highly doubt it tbh.

Good moderation work, Cat. I was a little iffy about this person too; I had my suspicions that it was someone who might've been here before under a different moniker. I also agree with what most everyone else has said here.

I'm still divided on whether to believe that SkittleCat is 9 or not. I have my suspicions because he did seemed to know inthe00s.com too well to have been a new member.

I also told him at one point that I didn't believe that he was 9 but then he resorted to asking if he should post his birth certificate....that's also a bit suspicious.

All in all, CatwomanofV - I don't blame you for making that decision and you did want you thought was best. Cheers! :)

I didn't know the person's age until you said something in that one topic in the 2000's board. Most 9 year old kids don't come off that mature, so it did seem strange. Unless of course an older relative was there with them, but that's strange too. 9 is too young to be using any sort of internet community. Now 12 pushing 13, alright. Technically too young, but what's a few months.


Since becoming a mod a few months ago, the only thing I really have done was get rid of the spammers. However, there was a new member that sent up way too many red flags. He seemed very familiar with this forum from day one. Claiming to be only 9 years old and being from Romania, this person wrote too well to be only 9. Also using penguins as avatars and starting the monthly thread in the PPP on the first day screams that it was a former member.

Since there were no other mods-or Chucky around, I made an executive decision to ban the said member. My suspicion is that this isn't the first time he has been banned from this forum. 

I had been wrestling whether to explain myself or not. I know I DON'T have to but I feel that it is the right thing to do-to let everyone know WHY I decided to ban him.



Cat

What former member do you think it was?

I didn't know the person's age until you said something in that one topic in the 2000's board. Most 9 year old kids don't come off that mature, so it did seem strange. Unless of course an older relative was there with them, but that's strange too. 9 is too young to be using any sort of internet community. Now 12 pushing 13, alright. Technically too young, but what's a few months.

I agree.

I was browsing through the threads on my forum and I managed to come across this comment made by the user:

I think it's worse than a few years ag.

That confirms that he was a member here previously.

Since becoming a mod a few months ago, the only thing I really have done was get rid of the spammers. However, there was a new member that sent up way too many red flags. He seemed very familiar with this forum from day one. Claiming to be only 9 years old and being from Romania, this person wrote too well to be only 9. Also using penguins as avatars and starting the monthly thread in the PPP on the first day screams that it was a former member.

Since there were no other mods-or Chucky around, I made an executive decision to ban the said member. My suspicion is that this isn't the first time he has been banned from this forum. 

I had been wrestling whether to explain myself or not. I know I DON'T have to but I feel that it is the right thing to do-to let everyone know WHY I decided to ban him.



Cat
Well done!

There was something iffy about that member, 'he' did have to go. It was the suspension of a nine year old being allowed on a computer unsupervised at odd hours of the day, even after midnight, and the strange schooling hours, that gave me that impression.

Well done, once again.

I was browsing through the threads on my forum and I managed to come across this comment made by the user:

That confirms that he was a member here previously.


:o wow, nice job finding that. I really want to know who it is/was. Tbh, if this guys really did used to be on here, why would he describe himself as someone who will draw a lot of attention. I mean, on a forum like this any 9 year old from Romania will certainly draw attention/get people suspicious so nothing really adds up. :-\\

Well done!

There was something iffy about that member, 'he' did have to go. It was the suspension of a nine year old being allowed on a computer unsupervised at odd hours of the day, even after midnight, and the strange schooling hours, that gave me that impression.

Well done, once again.


YES. Over on SharksFans forum, Popedia, he would literally ALWAYS discuss how he would stay up on the forums all night long while not going to sleep until the sun rose. He also said that he would go to school at really weird times even though he was often online then. He said his parents don't really care what he does either, now either he ain't 9 or his parents are just really bad becasue if I was them I wouldn't want my little kid staying up all night talking to strangers on the Internet.

:o wow, nice job finding that. I really want to know who it is/was. Tbh, if this guys really did used to be on here, why would he describe himself as someone who will draw a lot of attention. I mean, on a forum like this any 9 year old from Romania will certainly draw attention/get people suspicious so nothing really adds up. :-\\


I find that really strange as well. He probably did it as a way of sending a 'message'; being a former member who was banned, yet he was able to come back on here and start posting again. Although, like you mentioned, something seems a bit suss about the entire circumstances. I don't think it's "clear cut" and there's probably more to this than what we realise.

YES. Over on SharksFans forum, Popedia, he would literally ALWAYS discuss how he would stay up on the forums all night long while not going to sleep until the sun rose. He also said that he would go to school at really weird times even though he was often online then. He said his parents don't really care what he does either, now either he ain't 9 or his parents are just really bad becasue if I was them I wouldn't want my little kid staying up all night talking to strangers on the Internet.


But that's the thing, he might not be a 9 year old. For all we know, he could be an adult.

But that's the thing, he might not be a 9 year old. For all we know, he could be an adult.


That's probably the case

I was browsing through the threads on my forum and I managed to come across this comment made by the user:

That confirms that he was a member here previously.

Good find. I think that there's definitely more than meets the eye when it comes to SkittlesCat.

Since there were no other mods-or Chucky around, I made an executive decision to ban the said member. My suspicion is that this isn't the first time he has been banned from this forum. 

I had been wrestling whether to explain myself or not. I know I DON'T have to but I feel that it is the right thing to do-to let everyone know WHY I decided to ban him.

Its OK honey,sometimes I am unsure whather to block someone on mauisun when a suspicious name registers,its a hard call.......

We do the best we can right???

I think your doing a wonderful job here and im sure the others do also :)

Since becoming a mod a few months ago, the only thing I really have done was get rid of the spammers. However, there was a new member that sent up way too many red flags. He seemed very familiar with this forum from day one. Claiming to be only 9 years old and being from Romania, this person wrote too well to be only 9. Also using penguins as avatars and starting the monthly thread in the PPP on the first day screams that it was a former member.

Since there were no other mods-or Chucky around, I made an executive decision to ban the said member. My suspicion is that this isn't the first time he has been banned from this forum. 

I had been wrestling whether to explain myself or not. I know I DON'T have to but I feel that it is the right thing to do-to let everyone know WHY I decided to ban him.



Cat



You made the right decision Cat. O0

Yeah, and especially considering that he said he was only nine, I highly doubt it tbh.


He could be a 30 year old man in disguise.

He could be a 30 year old man in disguise.

I agree.

What former member do you think it was?



He first signed up under the username Donnie Darko. I'm sure the members who were around at that time would agree that this guy screams of Donnie Darko. He was the reason why Chucky banned "decadelogy" because he would just spam the boards with it. When he was banned, he came back under another username only to be banned again. He has come back I don't know how many times-sometimes several times in just a week. It was also because of him, people were very suspicious of newbies. Is that Donnie? We have lost many potential members because when they signed up, people just jumped all over them thinking they were Donnie. I must admit that it has been a while since he has come back. I don't think we have heard the last of him. It may be a while but I'm sure he will come back.



Cat

I agree.


I mean how in the world could a 9 year old type like that? ::)

He first signed up under the username Donnie Darko. I'm sure the members who were around at that time would agree that this guy screams of Donnie Darko. He was the reason why Chucky banned "decadelogy" because he would just spam the boards with it. When he was banned, he came back under another username only to be banned again. He has come back I don't know how many times-sometimes several times in just a week. It was also because of him, people were very suspicious of newbies. Is that Donnie? We have lost many potential members because when they signed up, people just jumped all over them thinking they were Donnie. I must admit that it has been a while since he has come back. I don't think we have heard the last of him. It may be a while but I'm sure he will come back.



Cat


I do think Donnie posts here but I don't think SkittlesCat was him. Interesting though that he was here a few years ago, I think that proves at least that he wasn't 9 years old. (and IDK why you would lie about something stupid like that  ::))

I wonder if it could have been mattejiogu, the 2000-born who was a member on here a couple of years ago?  ??? Their writing styles are a bit similar. But then again, it still doesn't make any sense as to why he would pretend to be a 9 year old from Romania.

I wonder if it could have been mattejiogu, the 2000-born who was a member on here a couple of years ago?  ??? Their writing styles are a bit similar. But then again, it still doesn't make any sense as to why he would pretend to be a 9 year old from Romania.

Who's mattejiogu?

Who's mattejiogu?


Mattejiogu was a member who was obsessed with decadeology and liked to spam the boards, just like SkittlesCat did. In the end, I think he was banned, because he kept on causing conflict and arguing over little things. It more than likely isn't him, but their posting styles are a bit similar.

I've been trying to find out a bit more information on who SkittlesCat could be, because it has got me intrigued. :P

Mattejiogu was a member who was obsessed with decadeology and liked to spam the boards, just like SkittlesCat did. In the end, I think he was banned, because he kept on causing conflict and arguing over little things. It more than likely isn't him, but their posting styles are a bit similar.

I've been trying to find out a bit more information on who SkittlesCat could be, because it has got me intrigued. :P


He got banned because he said derogatory things about Jewish, white and gay people. Actually, I don't think he was banned, he just stopped showing up perhaps out of embarrassment. (cool123 doesn't show up as Guest like SkittlesCat does.)

He got banned because he said derogatory things about Jewish, white and gay people. Actually, I don't think he was banned, he just stopped showing up perhaps out of embarrassment. (cool123 doesn't show up as Guest like SkittlesCat does.)


Oh ok. I remember he used to get involved in a lot of decadeology disputes too, so I wasn't sure if that was the reason why he stopped visiting the site.

The circumstances revolving around SkittlesCat's account are really strange, because the information is conflicting and doesn't really disprove or prove anything. For instance, I remember he stated that ProTV and Prima are his favourite channels and after quickly researching those stations, they are, in actual fact, Romanian TV channels. Of course, he could have just searched them up and picked any random Romanian channel, but why would someone go to the effort of doing that?

He also uses the "SkittlesCat" username on every single site he goes on, such as Twitter, Personality Cafe, my forum etc. If he wanted to create an alias for inthe00s, why would he use it for every single website he has an account on? It's also strange that it took him so long to create an account on inthe00s. If he was a former member, you'd think that inthe00s would have been the first site he would have tried to create an account on.

Even though, I do remember him saying once (a couple of months ago now) that he tried to register for an account on here, but it wouldn't work. Maybe he tried to register with the email account that was used for the banned account? It just all seems really strange.

Oh ok. I remember he used to get involved in a lot of decadeology disputes too, so I wasn't sure if that was the reason why he stopped visiting the site.

The circumstances revolving around SkittlesCat's account are really strange, because the information is conflicting and doesn't really disprove or prove anything. For instance, I remember he stated that ProTV and Prima are his favourite channels and after quickly researching those stations, they are, in actual fact, Romanian TV channels. Of course, he could have just searched them up and picked any random Romanian channel, but why would someone go to the effort of doing that?

He also uses the "SkittlesCat" username on every single site he goes on, such as Twitter, Personality Cafe, my forum etc. If he wanted to create an alias for inthe00s, why would he use it for every single website he has an account on? It's also strange that it took him so long to create an account on inthe00s. If he was a former member, you'd think that inthe00s would have been the first site he would have tried to create an account on.

Even though, I do remember him saying once (a couple of months ago now) that he tried to register for an account on here, but it wouldn't work. Maybe he tried to register with the email account that was used for the banned account? It just all seems really strange.


Idk if that would be infringing too much on his privacy, but don't you have his IP address?  :-X

Idk if that would be infringing too much on his privacy, but don't you have his IP address?  :-X


Yeah I do.

I wonder if it could have been mattejiogu, the 2000-born who was a member on here a couple of years ago?  ??? Their writing styles are a bit similar. But then again, it still doesn't make any sense as to why he would pretend to be a 9 year old from Romania.


and why would he live in Romania? ???

That's what i'm thinking as well. Also, like #Infinity mentioned, considering that he is from Romania and is only 9 years old, it's a bit suss that his English is really fluent and as good as people who speak it as a first language.
Admittedly, I did write and read like an American 13 year old at 9, but that's because I was bookish and I was English-speaking until I was 15 and had to change the way I talked to not get judged at school.

and why would he live in Romania? ???
It was all fake, he was nowhere near that country!

Admittedly, I did write and read like an American 13 year old at 9, but that's because I was bookish and I was English-speaking until I was 15 and had to change the way I talked to not get judged at school.
But, could you manipulate around a website/forum at that age, i.e. start new topics?

He first signed up under the username Donnie Darko. I'm sure the members who were around at that time would agree that this guy screams of Donnie Darko. He was the reason why Chucky banned "decadelogy" because he would just spam the boards with it. When he was banned, he came back under another username only to be banned again. He has come back I don't know how many times-sometimes several times in just a week. It was also because of him, people were very suspicious of newbies. Is that Donnie? We have lost many potential members because when they signed up, people just jumped all over them thinking they were Donnie. I must admit that it has been a while since he has come back. I don't think we have heard the last of him. It may be a while but I'm sure he will come back.



Cat

I remember all that... having been around here for a long while. Of course, I remember when he first joined here way back in early 2005 as "FullHouseFan"; he self-deleted that account, came back shortly thereafter as "Devo Rule" and self-deleted that profile too. Then in 2006 he was Darko, under which he ultimately got banned. And you're right, he has come back under a series of different monikers... I had no idea that this was him until seeing this post the other night, but I had a suspicion that it might have been a former member in disguise.



Oh ok. I remember he used to get involved in a lot of decadeology disputes too, so I wasn't sure if that was the reason why he stopped visiting the site.

Double D created a LOT of threads of this nature, and most everyone, especially the mods, got to their wits end with 'em.

He accessed my forum, with a completely different IP address this morning. :(

He accessed my forum, with a completely different IP address this morning. :(

Dude, that's definitely not a nine-year-old then. No kid that age would know how to change an IP address

Dude, that's definitely not a nine-year-old then. No kid that age would know how to change an IP address


Yep. It wouldn't surprise me if he keeps on using different IP addresses, just so he can go on the forum. :(

He accessed my forum, with a completely different IP address this morning. :(


How did you know it was him?

How did you know it was him?


He posted as a "guest" (with the exact same username, which is stupid of him to do  ???) on the "SkittlesCat's Account" thread. I've banned that IP address and disabled guest posting.

Yeah I do.


You can whois it to see if he lives in Romania.

You can whois it to see if he lives in Romania.


His IP address indicates that he does, but as Catwoman mentioned, IP addresses can be altered. I don't think it's a coincidence that he used a completely different IP address this morning.

He posted as a "guest" (with the exact same username, which is stupid of him to do  ???) on the "SkittlesCat's Account" thread. I've banned that IP address and disabled guest posting.


Ok that's just really dumb of him to use the same username......this guy is really bad at trying to keep his identity unknown ;D.  Good idea disabling guest posting ;)

With the use of a proxy server everyone can get an IP from whatever country he wants. ::)

He accessed my forum, with a completely different IP address this morning. :(


Man, you need to do something about this person.

He posted as a "guest" (with the exact same username, which is stupid of him to do  ???) on the "SkittlesCat's Account" thread. I've banned that IP address and disabled guest posting.


Are you sure it was the same person?

and how could he have web access in that country? ???


?

and how could he have web access in that country? ???
Oh my God Howard, you can't just ask people if there's web access in Romania.

Oh my God Howard, you can't just ask people if there's web access in Romania.


Sorry about that, that was a wrong thing to ask.

The user has used yet another IP address to access my forum and register an account. He has been doing it since I banned him a few days ago. It's getting out of hand. :(

The user has used yet another IP address to access my forum and register an account. He has been doing it since I banned him a few days ago. It's getting out of hand. :(



That is exactly what happened here several years ago. I am sorry that you have to deal with this. Hopefully he will get bored and move on. But be warned, even if he does get bored, he will be back-like he has done with this site many, many, many, MANY times.



Cat

That is exactly what happened here several years ago. I am sorry that you have to deal with this. Hopefully he will get bored and move on. But be warned, even if he does get bored, he will be back-like he has done with this site many, many, many, MANY times.



Cat


Hopefully it won't. It's a shame that there isn't a way to ban him permanently, but it's impossible, considering that he uses different IP addresses. Hopefully he won't start to come on inthe00s as well.

I was seriously considering putting skitlescat in my blocked user's lists after he started to interrogate me about my username.  :P :P :P  Why would a 9 year old kid want to know everything there is to know about a 41 year old woman?

I was seriously considering putting skitlescat in my blocked user's lists after he started to interrogate me about my username.  :P :P :P  Why would a 9 year old kid want to know everything there is to know about a 41 year old woman?


beats me, I don't know? ???