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Friday, May 29, 2009
What's Up With Ferarro & Paladin Schmaladin?
I have to take a quick time-out from the norm to outline a concern that I have about the honesty of blogging and bloggers. For those of you who normally read blogs, it may impact you on some level, so it won't be a complete waste of your time.
If you found yourself over at fellow WoW-blogger Ferarro's website today, Paladin Schmaladin, you were greeted with a new message that the "blog is open to invited readers only." According to her Twitter updates, she believes that she has a stalker, and things are getting a bit too uncomfortable with all of the private information she has been posting.
Now let me be serious for a second (it's all I can muster): if she does have a legit stalker, she made the right decision in closing shop. Playing it safe is the only way to go in that scenario. There is nothing worse than feeling exposed, after all (we Warlocks know that all too well). However, I am getting reports that the stalker story is about as straight as Tom Cruise, and that I should have listened to my mother when she told me to never believe everything I read on the internet... that I don't write myself.
According to multiple sources in-WoW and out, Ferarro was outed as a fraud when an astute Warlock posted a convincing link on the WoW Forums, pointing to a website called TechDarling. All over the site are pictures of a girl that we know as Ferarro. In fact, many of the pictures there are identical copies of those we've seen on Paladin Schmaladin. But instead of the WoW game-tester we all know, we see a real-life social-blogger who is into the tech scene and has posted pictures from various blogging expos and web design events -- pictures stolen by and featured on Paladin Schmaladin and that Ferarro presented as of herself, and her job as a game-tester for WoW.
Doing a little bit of digging, it seems that all of the self-portraits posted of Ferarro on Paladin Schmaladin originate from TechDarling and its author's own web pages, including Facebook and Flickr. In fact, there are many images there that authenticate TechDarling as the legitimate source and owner of the pictures and events. Oh, and btw, WoW is never mentioned on these other sites. Not once.
So what does all of this craziness mean, exactly?
Well, for starters, a bunch of love-struck boys are going to experience some heavy frustration when this comes to light, and we are bound to see some nerd rage soon. For bloggers like me, it is a little disheartening. Ferarro has basically been lying about her identity for years, and stealing someone else's content and posting them as her own. She has taken advantage of another blogger and her reader's trust, and that makes my job as a fellow blogger just that much harder.
On a WoW-related front, this mess also means that Ferarro isn't a game tester for Blizzard. The "game-testing" images that were posted on Paladin Schmaladin were relabeled TechDarling images that were taken at a blogging expo.
I gotta admit, just thinking about this gets me a little angry, and my mind is going crazy with a series of difficult questions: what drives a person to do this kind of thing? Why would anyone lead people on like that? And for what means? And do you know what the worst part about this whole thing is? Paladin Schmaladin was a great resource and excellent WoW blog. Why it needed to be masked by someone else's pretty face is straight attention-whoring.
And here's a piece of advice from your friendly neighborhood Warlock Therapist: if you post someone else's picture and get caught, don't take down your blog and try to explain it away as a problem with a stalker. Don't go into hiding and conjure up 7 different identities when that doesn't work either. Fess up, make things right, and move on. It may hurt at first, but it is the only way to help guarantee yourself respect and friendship in the long-run. And lets face it, you owe at least that much to your readers, right?
It will be quite interesting to see where Ferarro goes from here. While watching the changing status of Paladin Schmaladin's accessibility, I wish her, or him, some much-needed sanity.
I am Jagoex. I'm a husband, a father, a professor, and a warlock. That's all you need to know. ;)
UPDATE: Apparently, Ferarro has closed her Twitter account and many of her articles at Retpaladin.com are MIA. Threads started on the WoW Forums linking to TechDarling or this post are being reported as harassment and immediately removed. Also, many young boys are in complete denial.
UPDATE 2: TechDarling is aware of what is going on and according to her Twitter page, she was unaware anyone was stealing her images and content and using them as her own.
UPDATE 3: Retpaladin.com admins played no hand in the posts that were being deleted on their website, and were clueless on what was going on until after the fact. Also, Ferarro's character on Alexstrasza is no longer showing up on the Armory.
UPDATE 4: Paladin Schmaladin is available for viewing once again, with a long explanation of what has happened -- including a creative story detailing 7 different owners of "Ferarro" the Paladin.
UPDATE 5: WoW.com just posted a very detailed look into Ferarro's explanatory post, basically debunking her statement that Ferarro was operated by 7 different people over the years.
472 comments:1 – 200 of 472 Newer› Newest»
- May 29, 2009 at 5:50 PM
Where do your forum posts keep going? I hear she's marking them as spam.
- May 29, 2009 at 5:55 PM
- Aislinana said...
A person feels the need to cloak their identity in this case when and if they feel that the image they present would sell their information better.
Being a tester for Blizzard doesn't sell your cred when people find out you're a fraud.
- May 29, 2009 at 6:13 PM
I knew she was too good to be true.
- May 29, 2009 at 6:59 PM
- muh said...
- creating a blog... 5mins
- writing and posting... 30mins
- gaining rep from the community... a few months
- identity theft and lying... SHAMELESS
- May 29, 2009 at 7:33 PM
- Star said...
Oh Jago, you know how this will play out don't you? It happens all the time. She'll play the "stalker" card until you go away or people will forget, and then she'll start all over again. People like this would rather be someone else than themselves, and at any cost, because on the internet, there isn't any real cost in their minds.
Who's the psychology person now?! ^.^
- May 29, 2009 at 8:23 PM
I wonder how she plans on spinning this to her inner circle. No matter. They'll believe whatever her picture says.
- May 29, 2009 at 10:46 PM
Same article on both blogs.
- May 29, 2009 at 11:34 PM
- Jagoex said...
Yes, it is becoming very clear that she stole content. There are also videos she tried to pass off as her own, like this one:
Thank goodness for the Google cache.
- May 29, 2009 at 11:43 PM
Just so you know, any post on the Paladin class forums that even mentions your article or what happened is mysteriously disappearing. It looks like someone is trying to report them all. That's a guilty behavior if I ever saw one.
- May 29, 2009 at 11:49 PM
- Teej said...
There's so much irony in that clip that Ferarro stole.
- May 29, 2009 at 11:52 PM
- May 30, 2009 at 2:14 AM
I didn't believe you at all. But I watched the Sarah Townsend clip and wow. Lol. It makes me think that Ferarro is the stalker.
What do retpaladin and wowinsider have to say about this.
Wowinsider just interviewed her? Did the interviewer meet her in person?
- May 30, 2009 at 3:13 AM
- Gryph667 said...
I believe the closest they get is over the phone, transcribed; outside of blizzcon of course.
- May 30, 2009 at 8:26 AM
- Jim said...
why would having a stalker maean you have to take your blog down? Wouldnt just disabling comments would be enough? Something seems strange, indeed
- May 30, 2009 at 8:36 AM
- Britt Wilson said...
Well this story is becoming more and more interesting....
At first I felt bad that she felt she was being stalked, but now with this information coming to light, it seems less likely that its true, as it would be hard to have a reasonable explanation for all these examples of questionable identity.
Just to add a bit more I found. As you reported, all her posts from RetPaladin.com are gone. So is her account from the forums. I don't know if deleting her account deleted her post, or she deleted them and then closed the account. Regardless, if she had any admin privileges for their forums, they are gone.
So who deleted the post asking about what happened to her? It was created by a person who made their account specifically to do so, and then was responded to in like by more 1st posters, which was curious in of itself. It was up for 1 day, and then disappeared.
So either the owners of RetPaladin.com know something we don't know, or "Ferraro" has asked them to delete comments about her because of the stalking.
- May 30, 2009 at 9:40 AM
- Words of Ivory said...
Didn't it possibly cross your mind that maybe she just ran both blogs? As it stands, your post is largely conjecture and here-say.
The internet: Fuelling conspiracies since 1995.
- May 30, 2009 at 9:43 AM
Looks like someone legitimately caught Ferrarro stealing someone's identity.
Good work to whoever did the sleuthing.
But the entire thing hinges on Techdarling/Sarah Townsend not being a game tester or wow player.
loving this drama
- May 30, 2009 at 9:56 AM
- Jagoex said...
@Words of Ivory:
That was my first guess, actually. But after seeing a chunk of the material it is highly unlikely that is the case. And just think about this: why would all of Ferarro's stuff disappear while TechDarling's remains available?
- May 30, 2009 at 9:57 AM
that persons other account is named "everdash"
do some simple google searches
- May 30, 2009 at 10:11 AM
- Words of Ivory said...
"And just think about this: why would all of Ferarro's stuff disappear while TechDarling's remains available?"
Maybe she just lost interest in the WoW scene? Maybe she doesn't want it public knowledge in her professional life? There could be a dozen other reasons, and we don't know the person well enough to say either way.
- May 30, 2009 at 10:11 AM
also, Townsend seems to be surprised about it acording to her twitter
- May 30, 2009 at 10:13 AM
- Jagoex said...
@Words of Ivory:
Again, I tried very hard to believe the best of things, but we are pretty much well beyond that point now that TechDarling has caught wind of this (thank you, Anonymous), and has had a few things to say already...
"UGH-some creep on WoW named Ferraro has been using my photos?"
"You have to be kidding me, even WoW.com wrote stories about this creeper?"
"Ha, I guess. The thing is whoever this person is they're on my FB friends because they have photos from private albums!"
It's looking more and more like Ferarro is the stalker.
- May 30, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Who is "everdash?"
- May 30, 2009 at 10:23 AM
- Britt Wilson said...
@Words of Ivory
"Maybe she just lost interest in the WoW scene? Maybe she doesn't want it public knowledge in her professional life?"
WoW.com JUST did and interview of her 4 days ago.
That sure sounds like a person just "losing interest".
If you have a point, argue it. Dont just argue because you want to argue.
No one knows the full story, this article seems to me to have been made to put together the info we know. Until "Ferraro" actually speaks out or someone comes up with some actual proof as to what happened, we are free to speculate.
- May 30, 2009 at 10:28 AM
- moop said...
ah her twitter!
it will be intresting to watch this playout
- May 30, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Wow Jago! Back with a bang! Nice expose. I'm going to have to nominate you for a Pulitzer for this one.
- May 30, 2009 at 10:41 AM
So Ferarro was doing the stalking. What a tool.
- May 30, 2009 at 10:45 AM
- Britt Wilson said...
@Jayson of Exodar
"So Ferarro was doing the stalking. What a tool."
I know its not looking good for the person called Farraro, but lets keep the name-calling/Shit-slinging out of this until we know the full story.
I don't want to be involved in trashing a person who could possibly be innocent, or is some variation of innocent.
- May 30, 2009 at 10:55 AM
- Shik said...
wowzers, crazy stuff... clearly she is the real stalker here.
why the need for all the deception? will certainly be interesting to see how this all turns out. Great write up Jagoex!
- May 30, 2009 at 10:59 AM
- moop said...
how on earth did all this get discovered was it the lock who orginaly discovered this ?
- May 30, 2009 at 11:25 AM
- moop said...
was it you i mean
- May 30, 2009 at 11:40 AM
I think you're right in asking if there are legal issues here. Ferarro wasn't an idiot and apparently got away with stealing someone's persona for years. S/he probably also knows that doing so carries some serious consequences, and that is why s/he is in hiding.
- May 30, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Probably self-owned her/himself with that Wowinsider article.
Although what's interesting now is to see what was actually real or not. Certainly the paladin guides were actually useful to many players.
What about all the bragging about being a "external" Blizz tester? How much of that was real? Makes me wonder if it was all falsified, why didn't Blizzard crack down on it sooner, as he/she seemed fairly prominent even before the Wowinsider feature.
- May 30, 2009 at 12:45 PM
- Jagoex said...
It was. But the thread I posted TechDarling's link into vanished the morning after it was posted -- but not before people had seen it.
I have known Ferarro (well, I can't really say that anymore can I?) for a few years and have always been suspicious of her identity. I only recently stumbled upon TechDarling when Ferarro posted a picture of a baggage claim tag with "1337" written on it, from a trip she said she had just taken.
I had seen that image somewhere before, and did a Google Image Search that led me to TechDarling's blog. Needless to say, my suspicions were confirmed, and that is when I posted the link in one of her congratulatory threads.
S/he is not an external game tester for Blizzard. The company does all of it's own testing internally.
- May 30, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Jagoex, I just saw your talent spec on the armory. You have Ruin. Everything makes sense now.
- May 30, 2009 at 1:33 PM
- Teej said...
FerarroWatch 2009:
Her character on Alexstrasza does not exist anymore:
If anybody is expecting an explanation from Ferarro about what happened, don't hold your breath. She's taking the coward's way out of this, covering all her tracks and disappearing into the internet.
I'd probably be surprised if we ever see/hear from her again. It's probably for the best though.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:02 PM
Ferarro is a liar.
Ferarro doesn't work for blizzard.com
Ferarro is the stalker.
i didn't believe it, but after reading the information here and at techdarling I do. And being the spurned ferarro follower I am I reported it to the powers that be as a serious issues. I think only Blizzard and wowinsider aren't taking this seriously.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:09 PM
Slashdot might like the expose. Good work Jaego.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:13 PM
- Teej said...
You know, I never really read much of Ferarro's older blog posts, but it's surprising how long she's gotten away with her lies. Example:
In the "Life's a grave" article, she claims to have been hunted down by a guy on Friendster during her senior year of highschool. If she's 26, that would have been somewhere in the range of 1999-2001, Friendster wasn't even founded until 2002. In her interview with WoWInsider, she claims to have discovered WoW when she was 16, which would put her at 21 years old at *most*.
I could go on and on, but the more I read her old stories, the more obvious it is to me that this person was living in her own fantasy land, and may have serious self-esteem and identity issues. It's kind of sad, really.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:28 PM
- Valkiryn said...
Couldn't it be that they are the same person? And the reason the paladin site got removed is in fact cause of her agreement with blizzard? IDK just playing devils advocate here.
I just got into reading her blogs, I (while i may not be as techy, or as big of a number cruncher as other people) think myself as knowledgeable in paladins (from info I learned over the years playing them) i will try to help others out and do what I can.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:39 PM
From twitter: http://twitter.com/theoneinpink
"UGH-some creep on WoW named Ferraro has been using my photos? Thx to @Russianguns and e-mailer named Doug 4 outing her. http://bit.ly/wXuSM"
"You have to be kidding me, even WoW.com wrote stories about this creeper? http://bit.ly/1tibS"
"@ahmednaguib Ha, I guess. The thing is whoever this person is they're on my FB friends because they have photos from private albums!"
Definitely not the same person. Ferarro is a sick scumbag that needs help.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:51 PM
Maybe, but:
1) The Paladin Schmaldin site is down, no response, twitter account gone.
2) Tech girl site is up, and calls Ferarro a "creep".
3) The whole "working for blizzard", doing theory-crafting and getting paid for it, but not actually a Blizzard staffer shtick just screams fake to me. Why would Blizzard hire a raid group to raid for them; shouldn't all that stuff be done in-house?
Circumstantial at best, but the evidence is pretty damning.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:54 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
You can play Devil's Advocate, that's fine, but it has to make sense.
If Ferraro is TechDarling, why would she not just come out with it? Why would she deny any knowledge of creating a very popular WoW blog that would probably increase the visitors to TechDarling as well, increasing her net popularity?
Would the logical course of action then be to claim being stalked, then delete all your presence from the internet..... EXCEPT for your real blog, TechDarling?
It doesn't even make twisted psycho sense. I don't believe for one second that is the actual situation here.
- May 30, 2009 at 2:59 PM
Those pics look familiar to anyone?
- May 30, 2009 at 3:28 PM
I think we should refrain from sending all of Ferarro's old stalkers to TechDarling. Wouldn't you agree?
- May 30, 2009 at 3:35 PM
one of "her" other chars:
that "everdash" seems to be his/her another usernames
ferraro had account "imtheoneinblue" on photobucket
but the other one she used many times was "everdash", containg images related to ferraro chars in wow
now check the comments they both made on mmo-champion forums,
theres threads made by Ferraro, then bumped by everdash
comment on mmo-c by everdash:
"e4e wasnt needed - it reverse scaled with resilience."
on wow.com by ferraro:
"E4E wasn't OP, especially considering it reverse-scaled with Resilience."
theres most certainly is no "outsourced test groups" working for bliz
lots of her infos and knowledge was quite high grade
she did post those WotLK box leaked images on her site way before any other site, claiming her friend worked on the printing/making of those boxes or something
and considering everything shady thats been happening now on forums and other sites she was part of,
my theory is that the person might actually been someone really working somehow in bliz related spot, perhaps some lowlevel GM etc
(maybe with access to email sending from bliz servers asking to take materials down ?)
but thenagain
- May 30, 2009 at 3:38 PM
I think we should refrain from sending all of Ferarro's old stalkers to TechDarling. Wouldn't you agree?I feel bad for TechDarling if that's the case, but the genie is out of the bottle already.
- May 30, 2009 at 3:49 PM
- Ellsworth Primmer AKA Valkiryn said...
I guess I did not make my devils advocate clear. Maybe the way to close down ferraro blog was to create the identity crisis. While we all know it is not the same person it is still funny to find a way that they "could" be the same person.
- May 30, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Well didn't see this comming, really just thought it was a helpful wow player trying to help other wow player's out.
Never guessed for a moment it would turn out to be an internet buffalo bill type scenario, the whole someone wanting to be someone they're not.
Question is now though, did the guy's over at retpaladin.com know about this? Also didn't "ferarro" have guildies on wow? Surely an ex-guildy could tell us all if it was indeed a female or male voice on vent or whatever?
- May 30, 2009 at 4:36 PM
I was in a guild with her years ago. She never got on Ventrilo and always rambled something about a broken mic.
- May 30, 2009 at 5:00 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
I just heard back from one of the Admins from RetPaladin.com, and he at least did not delete any posts, nor did he know of any of this hullabaloo.
That doesn't mean NO ONE at RetPaladin knew, but at least one says they didn't.
- May 30, 2009 at 5:20 PM
Newsflash, The Paladin Forums are in fire, people are asking what the hell happened to Ferraro, and paladins are trolling her like no tomorrow!
- May 30, 2009 at 5:20 PM
did "ferarro" have everyone fooled? this discovery seems to be spreading like wild fire atm!
I feel sorry for techgirl, to find out that some random girl/guy was stealing your identity, to then use it to create their own fantasy life/world, it must really be a bummer :( wonder if we will ever hear from "ferarro" again?
- May 30, 2009 at 5:28 PM
Quote: Anonymous said:"did "ferarro" have everyone fooled? this discovery seems to be spreading like wild fire atm!
I feel sorry for techgirl, to find out that some random girl/guy was stealing your identity, to then use it to create their own fantasy life/world, it must really be a bummer :( wonder if we will ever hear from "ferarro" again?"
I doubt Ferraro will show her face in the paladin forums, she in fact changed the name of her old paladin and also made a server transfer.
Check it out, she posted in this thread: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=17367879647&sid=1&pageNo=2
Click on her armory and it won't show her
- May 30, 2009 at 5:40 PM
Quote: I doubt Ferraro will show her face in the paladin forums, she in fact changed the name of her old paladin and also made a server transfer.
Check it out, she posted in this thread: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=17367879647&sid=1&pageNo=2"
well seems like "ferarro" may of been a fraud after all then :(
shame really, as an avid paladin player felt kinda reassuring to know that someone on the inside of blizzard played a paladin, but turns out it was a web of lies
Click on her armory and it won't show her
- May 30, 2009 at 5:48 PM
About the name "everdash"...
I googled it, found a 'facesofwow' page that has been since removed, but..
- May 30, 2009 at 6:17 PM
- Oliver James said...
well, that's crazy.
Yo Jago...it's me Six. Good to see your blog up and running again bro! me and nikki was talking about you the other day. she misses you guys.
I started a new blog. methbomb.blogspot.com
it has some of my old artwork and screenplay writing. drop by if you have the time!
- May 30, 2009 at 7:14 PM
- Sarah aka TechDarling said...
To all who are interested, this Ferraro character is indeed a phony. My name is Sarah Townsend, I run TechDarling.com (which was just recently moved to a new platform, in the process of moving to new hosting and getting a redesign, so it's a mess, I apologize). The blog used to be owned by TomsHardware.com(I used to work for them), which earned me more than a couple of strange fans. However, I've never been on World of Warcraft, nor have I ever written on that blog or posted on any of those forums. Whoever this Ferraro is, they seem to know a lot about WoW, so I don't doubt their intellect on the subject, just their morals and possibly their sanity. :)
I'm not sure I want to publicize this nonsense any further by making a blog post about it, but I'm happy to provide whatever proof necessary that the photos and videos previously known to many as "Ferraro" are in fact me, Sarah Townsend.
P.S. That l33t tag was hilarious, no? What are the chances, really.
- May 30, 2009 at 7:24 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
In a new interesting note, The thread on RetPaladin.com that was asking questions about what happened to Ferraro yesterday that disappeared has been verified by Megaphone that it was Ferraro's login that deleted it.....
- May 30, 2009 at 7:32 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
@Sarah aka TechDarling
Thank you for shedding some light on this for us Sarah. I am sorry that whoever this is did this to you, and I hope you don't have any negative repercussions from this incident.
- May 30, 2009 at 7:41 PM
- Sarah aka TechDarling said...
Nah, it's all good! It's strangely flattering, after all, it's not everyday you find out a quasi-famous WoW player is moonlighting as you.
But thanks to all that alerted me of the situation, you all seem awesome.
- May 30, 2009 at 7:51 PM
Ok, at this point it's obvious that Ferraro is not who she says she is, she's been stealing identities... etc, etc... we all know this.
However, there are a few things that don't add up.
First of all there's the few inconsistencies that people are spotting now (such as the marketing thing mentioned on her profile) that were left in from before. If you'll allow me to play armchair cop, mixing in a little bit of truth with the lie makes the lie stronger.
I believe that, inside these inconsistencies, the truth, or some of it, is revealed.
Second of all, (s)he had shots of WotLK's box way before everyone else. Which means she had an inside line of some kind.
*Puts on conspiracy hat*
So, I'm going to go with... Blizzard marketing dept employee. Maybe even an actual female one (girl writing as a different girl is easy. Guy writing as a girl is harder). Marketing thought of a great way of getting an 'in' with the blogging community, or at least a way of getting some 'leaks' out that they had control over. Ferraro was created as a trial, a proof of concept experiment, using TechDarling's images as a cover, simply because it was easier and it didn't matter - it was only a temporary trial. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it took off, and Blizzard was forced to carry it on. From there, it spiralled, with Blizzard forced to make the lie more expansive, fill the backstory with more 'personal' detail. It may not even be a sanctioned Blizzard thing, just one employee giving something a go as an experiement that suddenly took off.
Fast forward to this week, Jagoex does his digging and finds all this. Marketing girl is caught... and Legal finds out. Suddenly everything is damage control. Impersonation of this sort may not necessarily be illegal (I'm not sure if it is or not) but it would certainly be a bad idea for Blizzard to be caught like this.
So everything is hidden, Ferraro is renamed and transfered (all several versions of her, unless those extra pictures on the WoW.com article were not Ferraro characters) and community managers manage the forums, trying to keep everything as quiet as possible. Which explains how quickly the threads were locked down in the early stages.
So basically, a Blizzard department, or a lone employee, is behind this. S&*t hits the fan, Legal panics and all this happens.
*Takes conspiracy hat off*
Or it was just one loan freak who wanted friends.
Actually, side point: Blogs can make money, and quite a lot of money too. Best way to do this is through more visitors. Best way to get visitors? Have good content (ie, write what you know) and something else that attracts people to your site. In this case Ferraro clearly knew her subject. And everyone knows that a hot girl who is into the same things as he is every male nerds fantasy... ergo, money making exercise becomes conspiracy :D
PS, if anything, this has finally proved the age old rule 'There are NO girls on the internet' - and espeically not in WoW :D (joke, I know there's at least one!)
- May 30, 2009 at 7:56 PM
- Ellsworth Primmer AKA Valkiryn said...
Yeah that leet tag was pretty funny. I am checking my tags from now on lol.
Well spoken from techgirl herself she is not ferarro so hat clears that up. No moe Devils Advocate for me /cry
Well here is hoping Ferarro comes back as his/herself and graces us with more paladin tips.
- May 30, 2009 at 7:57 PM
Wow, the entire situation is creepy beyond belief. Apologies that your identity was stolen and used in such an... odd manner, TechDarling!
Regardless, good luck with your own blog! On the bright side of things, this brings a few more hits to it, no? :)
Not quite sure how you feel about that, but hey, it's something. :D
- May 30, 2009 at 8:00 PM
- Teej said...
Interesting theory, but it's doubtful this was some sort of viral marketing. Blizzard couldn't have used Sarah's likeness without her permission as Ferarro did illegally, not to mention that blog existed for a year+ before the box art leak.
Ferarro most likely knew somebody working at the printing press that was making the box art, as she originally claimed. This person probably wasn't an employee of Blizzard, nor was Ferarro.
Ferarro retroactively changed the story from "I got this from a friend at a printing press" to "I work for Blizzard" when she realized she could get more attention by claiming to have insider connections and information.
- May 30, 2009 at 8:07 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
I don't know, I think it being a plot by Blizzard is not very likely.
Mostly because of your idea of it being a test, and then it got popular. So what? Popular blogs close all the time, and some people just stop blogging and never say a word. Both of these ways to stop would have been less suspicious than just deleting everything.
Also, Blizzard making a blog acting like they are some young cute lady, sure I could see that. Ripping images and content is pushing it really far. They could have just as easily used someone on their staff, or hire a model for some pictures. Stealing someones online identity is moral gray area at best. I don't see them putting themselves in that position.
I'm not trying to say your dumb and wrong, I'm all for coming up with ideas as to what really happened, as I doubt we will ever hear from Ferraro, but I don't think the Blizzard story holds much water.
- May 30, 2009 at 8:16 PM
- Unknown said...
In a twisted way this is genius. Bravo Ferraro! (whoever you are)
He/she managed to keep up an elaborate lie for several years. That's quite a feat considering the medium used.
Then there's the imtheoneinblue photobucket account that parallels imtheoneinpink.
There's also the LOTR webcomic that has been blatantly ripped off another site and never given proper credit (to my knowledge).
It's like all the clues were there but everyone just ignored them because "AMG HOT GURL PLAYING WOW!"
Regardless of the recent events, Paladin Schmaladin and the Ferarro persona was a great paladin resource. So what if it was all a lie? It was useful information nonetheless.
- May 30, 2009 at 8:22 PM
- Unknown said...
What's even more comical is that I followed "her" on Twitter earlier this week and tweeted that I thought stalking was "fun", however I wasn't eluding to "her" at all. I was referring to in general. She then tweeted "Stalkers are cool."
I naturally thought she was talking about me and got paranoid, but at least I know now it wasn't me, rofl.
Oh, well. This is all amusing.
- May 30, 2009 at 8:59 PM
"Why would anyone lead people on like that? And for what means? And do you know what the worst part about this whole thing is? Paladin Schmaladin was a great resource and excellent WoW blog that a lot of people enjoyed and depended on."
Of course you understand this. The blog reached the prominence it did because of who the author claimed to be. Independent publishing offers only so much meritocracy; and then it's marketing, marketing, marketing.
- May 30, 2009 at 9:15 PM
- Jagoex said...
So much information in such a confined space. Thank you all for the insightful comments.
Thank you for clarifying your place in all of this. It is strange to be stalked, I am sure, but to be stalked by someone with access to private images on your Facebook and who is impersonating you in an online world is another beast altogether. I'm glad to see you handling it so well!
Hey hey! I'll be in touch soon.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:26 AM
There are several ways to market a blog without assuming someone elses identity. I don't know what this person was thinking, nor why they did what they did. In the end justice was served.
People need to learn that the internet is a public place. If you lie, sooner or later it will come out.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:33 AM
so "she" confessed.
thats pretty messed up....
- May 31, 2009 at 1:55 AM
- Jagoex said...
I skimmed through it. I can assure you it is b.s.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:04 AM
- Aislinana said...
The whole explanation reeks of the same conspiracy garbage someone posted here. Confabulation and hot air - how hard it is it to pass off a blog with paladin math and a decent, honest personality behind the guides?
ElitistJerks may get a lot of flack but they aren't trying to be something they are not. On the contrary, I'd say they are brutally honest.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:17 AM
- Teej said...
I agree, her explanation is complete BS. Just goes to show how batshit crazy this person really is.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:26 AM
Regarding the article explaining 7 Ferarros or whatever the hell it was trying to say, you know what it sounds like? It sounds like a stalker who is thinking about how he can save the life he has created for himself and thinking very hard about how to do so. Setting things up so that there are several other people involved removes singular responsibility AND allows for mistakes that are made to be explained away with "oh that was someone else!"
It is full of lies too. If you work at Blizzard you cannot talk about ANYTHING AT ALL. You cannot have a personal blog. You cannot talk about your job in detail. And you sure as hell can't post guides to encounters. This is all common sense!
As nice as this drama has been, this ferarro persons efforts are exhausted. I'm just fed up now.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:29 AM
Has anyone mentioned how much legal trouble she can get into for this? Impersonating someone else on the internet is a misdemeanor, and she just confessed to it and got 6 others involved too. And all for what, maintaining a lie? She is obviously just trying to save face with this latest one.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:38 AM
Jagoex, Paladin Schmaladin is up and has a long explanation posted. And excuse my language for saying this, but anyone who believes it is a fucking idiot.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:53 AM
- Gryph667 said...
@Anon 2:38am
I'm failing to see where any legal action could take place on the grounds of impersonation. Sarah's name was not assumed, merely her likeness.
There was no libel or slander, nor were any contracts or legal agreements defaulted on.
While this debacle has caused quite a stir, in the courts only two things reign supreme: legal documents and monetary value of loss.
At this time, it would appear that there is no evidence of the latter, precluding the existence of the former.
Was this, at most levels a wrong thing to do? Probably. Yet, it must be classified as morally wrong. There was no game of three card monte involving the loss of revenue or assets; "merely" a serious lapse in judgment, potentially on the part of multiple individuals.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:53 AM
- Teej said...
Don't worry, she didn't get 6 other people in trouble. It's just one crazy person trying to place the blame on imaginary people and explain inconsistencies in her fabricated backstory.
Even in her explanation, she lies. She claims this blog has existed for 5 and a half years, despite the fact WoW hasn't been around that long, and the blog was started in July 2007.
Ferarro gives herself way too much credit for how important or popular her blog is. The concept that it took *seven* people to maintain this blog over the course of 22 months is ridiculous. The concept that they needed to maintain a secret identity in order to protect the "idea" of Ferarro is ridiculous. The concept that they receive thousands of emails a week is ridiculous, considering an average blog post of hers generates maybe a dozen comments each.
Why is she the only Blizzard employee that's allowed to blog so openly about working for the company? Oh, wait, that's right, it's because she's lying.
- May 31, 2009 at 2:55 AM
- Aislinana said...
My generally negative comment about the blog entry got dust-binned of course.
"Comment moderation" on a "cathartic, truth-telling" blog entry?
Yeah, bullshit.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:04 AM
It's not true that you can't have a personal blog while working at Blizzard. I know someone who works there full time while maintaining a personal blog.
I think they've become a bit more lax in that area. I remember a couple years ago the most he could say is "I work for a game design company on the west coast" or something of that sort. Now he can at least mention where he works and what his job title is.
Then there's the most obvious example:
That guy has been running his personal blog for years, going back to the Starcraft days, and everyone knew who he was and where his blog was. I'm not sure the word "blog" was even around back then =p
- May 31, 2009 at 3:05 AM
- Gryph667 said...
Teej, I'd suggest thinking along more law school lines here. Burden of proof, semantics, etc.
Baldly saying "she's lying" is outside anyone's scope in regards to this latest post until it's proven in solid facts, on the same level as the ones Jago dug up in the first place.
It is, however, perfectly reasonable to state "I don't believe a bloody word of it, I think it's utter shite."
TBH, my bullshit meter blew itself apart as I read that post. The burden of proof she has to verify everything written is gargantuan. At the same time, we have a burden of proof to state definitively that the post is bs, too.
Doesn't stop us from thinking it, though, does it?
Language: it's a screwed up thing.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:07 AM
- Jagoex said...
The blog began under a different name on or around July 10, 2007. How do I know this? She sent me an email telling me about it, and it is still in my Gmail archive.
See, Ferarro and I actually go way back -- 3 years, approximately. If you go to her "15 minutes of fame" article that WoW.com posted and read the first 3 comments, you'll realize just that. She mentions Onyx (my old Horde guild from when I first started playing WoW 3 years ago) and talks about my "backhanded" comments (again, from commenting on her blog years ago).
There is simply no way for a "new" Ferarro to know these details--and this is definitely the same one we have come to know over the years, pulling the same stunts, etc. And everyone who used to play on Alexstrasza back in the day will tell you the same thing.
Liars lie. That's all there is to know about her, imho.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:09 AM
- Unknown said...
Okay, I just read what "she" posted on the Paladin Schmaladin website and I my head is in immaculate amounts of pain right now.
That whole thing just confuses the living hell out of me.
This is a lesson to us all to never take what you read online for truth. There's always some form of lies in amongst the heap.
The real questions are: What was the real purpose, the driving force behind all of this? Was it to establish a fanbase?
This totally smells like a lonelygirl15 stint. It's very similar in its execution, only people figured out lonelygirl15 a lot faster.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:22 AM
- Gryph667 said...
Never seen their standard employee NDA. Is there one floating about amongst the electrons?
- May 31, 2009 at 3:24 AM
- Jagoex said...
@Gryph and Teej:
I believe we must be somewhat careful in being accusatory. I read the anonymous post about a potential misdemeanor here, and I do not believe it applies in a situation such as this one, where damages do not really exist. Of course, one could argue defamation or property concerns, but I'm not sure how far that would get.
In terms of the truthfulness of her latest post -- I put the burden of responsibility squarely on her shoulders. She must prove every word she says in that post. Otherwise, I believe it is safe to make the assumption that it is fabricated (especially given my history with this individual, outlined in my previous comment).
@Dr. Aislinana:
Mine didn't make the cut, either. By filtering her comments, the lies simply continue, even if they are a bit more indirect.
Regarding Blizzard's policy on employees and personal blogs as it relates here: posting "guides" for WoW is a definite breach of contract and the NDA. That is a given, friends.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:25 AM
- Teej said...
I apologize for my previous accusatory comments about Ferarro.
See, the thing is that the moniker of "Teej" has been passed on between seven different people as I've commented on this article, and we all swore ourselves to secrecy that we would never tell anybody that it has been passed on from person to person.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:29 AM
- Jagoex said...
Lol! Well played. ;)
- May 31, 2009 at 3:29 AM
Internet Rule #244: Too much personal information is fake information.
This Ferraro person has a complex.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:31 AM
- Gryph667 said...
Jago, I believe I was cautioning against /pitchfork, not the other way round. Did I mistype?
(goes back, rereads)
Nope, I'm good.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:32 AM
well the blog aint exactly got exactly got worldwide appeal, considering this is the eu response to the situation:
the third post is me. i only know of this idiot because of their nonsense on retpaladin.com which i read very rarely and kept getting linked back to her shitty blog.
big /care from us tbh. no global reach at all.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:36 AM
- Jagoex said...
Oh I didn't clarify well enough that I was talking to you guys about the topic you were both discussing, not your respective positions.
You see, I just stepped into this position as Jagoex 5 minutes ago. The other 11 Jagoexs are off for the night.
Sorry, I couldn't resist. :)
And by the way, for someone who is all into being truthful atm, she really is being picky about which comments she is allowing, isn't she?
I guess that's what happens when you go from impersonating another individual to becoming a beacon of truth in less than a day.
@Anonymous 1:
Rule 244: it's a good rule to browse by.
@Anonymous 2:
Thanks for the insight from the EU. I'm curious to see the kind of response it will gather there.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:47 AM
Another EU poster here.
To be honest I don't really care about the lies etc. I'm just enjoying the good read while working on a Sunday morning.
Amazing how quick the pitchforks come out on the internet. Think a few people just need to step back and take a chill pill or 2
- May 31, 2009 at 3:55 AM
- Gryph667 said...
I'm surrounded by amateurs. What the bloody hell do you think the 667 stands for?!
The "Gryph" persona has been around for eons! Can you imagine the amount of paperwork and character development I have to sift through and organize every minute?
Especially the #327 material/dossier. He was such a slut.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:55 AM
Anon#2 here
well funny thing is man you're probably getting as many hits here as s/he ever did at that blog.
btw the internal inconsistancies in that story are ridiculous. it sounds like this idiot made themselves a forum personality on the us forums judging by the response, and now can't handle the flak, so came up with that cock and bull story. theyve now been found out as not having attractively shaped mammary glands and are now claiming to be someone else. presumably untraceable.
as for we eu'ers i don't think we could give a rat's arse. like i said, so much for global reach. we got our own drama and forum personalities and even they don't post often.
- May 31, 2009 at 4:03 AM
I love how the bulk of the comments on the post were more or less "It's okay bahbee your content rox we luv U Fararri do more posts!"
To anyone who still wants more paladin content from that site: that person(s?) just committed identity theft. What is it to say they won't mind throwing some banner ads up in the future with some malicious code?
- May 31, 2009 at 4:05 AM
EU poster,
Agree with the other EU poster we have enough cr*p on our own forums to worry about this, actually we will swap you Ferraro no matter how many lies she/he brings along with them for Athene!!!
Just take him please!!!!!! We will pay you ;-p
- May 31, 2009 at 4:08 AM
- Gryph667 said...
@Anon 4:05am
No s/he didn't. Identity theft has a very specific definition under US legislation.
- May 31, 2009 at 4:09 AM
- Gryph667 said...
@Anon 4:08 am
I've heard stories. No.
You grew that plant, you tend it!
- May 31, 2009 at 4:11 AM
Would rather use a chainsaw and cut the plant down to be honest :-)
- May 31, 2009 at 4:13 AM
@Teej and Britt Wilson
I know the conspiracy is ludicrously unlikely, but that's what the conspiracy hat is for! It absolved me of actually having to think things through! :D
I think there are two main possibilites:
1) Lone stalker nutcase who's desperately trying to salvage everything.
2) One or many people who created the blog as a money making exercise, and used the Ferraro persona as a marketing trick. Who are now desperatly trying to salvage everything so they don't lose their nest egg.
I introduced my conspiracy theory as a reason why everything was deleted and taken down, as I've dealt with legal departments before and their response to anything bad is 'make it go away and hope no one calls us on it'. Removing everything rather than coming clean straight away screams lgal department. But meh, conspiracy theories are almost never true.
- May 31, 2009 at 4:38 AM
well just read through the "confession"... LOL wtf is that crap at all. Talk about backed into a corner. Wonder if if this whole ferarro 1-7 business will become a new internet meme? :P
- May 31, 2009 at 4:40 AM
dunno but that sounds like a bloody good idea.
this is ferraro 12 posting btw. there's a waiting list.
- May 31, 2009 at 4:49 AM
One of my close friends works for Blizzard, got on board right when they were about to launch WoW. He had to transfer off of our server because it slipped in our officer chat one day that he worked at Blizzard.
Someone *knowing* his character name was enough to get him fired at work. They are under lock, stock, and key over there.
- May 31, 2009 at 5:31 AM
As Jaego said Liars lie. Ferarro is still crimping. Anyone who believes her will look silly when she fools them twice. That would be a riot.
STC said she had a RL friend in their guide. There is the verify path. Then it will all fall apart.
If she was all the good intentions. Why the char rename? Why the forum hacking. Why no word to the retpaladin site? Lots of failed character there.
A leopards spot's don't change overnight.
I'm waiting for someone to plagarize her how to guides.
- May 31, 2009 at 6:04 AM
- moop said...
its clear "her" new post is a load of shit if she worked for blizzard
atleast in the wow part of blizzard
her blog wouldnt be updated at all
remember the lock jayde ? HE does work for blizzard here is his now dead blog
ps eu poster :P
- May 31, 2009 at 7:31 AM
he/she sound slike a cylon to me:
"There have been seven "Ferraro's" running this blog throughout the last five and a half years."
"There are 12 models, 7 are known..."
- May 31, 2009 at 7:31 AM
I didn't believe a word of "her" confession. Yet another web of lies.
- May 31, 2009 at 8:46 AM
This would have gone down in infamy if she just admitted the truth, instead of spinning this 7-Ferraro lie. Now it just reeks of desperation.
Still no explanations for the iBangle plagiarism, copying TechDarling's SXSW video about stalking (lolirony), and TechDarling's 1337 image. But again, those are the hardest to explain.
ps. Just posted that on the comments of her Catharsis post, let's see if it gets approved (doubtful) =)
- May 31, 2009 at 9:19 AM
- Britt Wilson said...
Wait...... what if Jagoex is one of the Ferraros! That would explain all his knowledge!
- May 31, 2009 at 9:24 AM
- moop said...
lol i doubt wowinsider will be posting anything about whats happend
- May 31, 2009 at 10:48 AM
- Aislinana said...
I doubt Wowinsider will post anything about what happened because it's ridiculous and full of drama.
Fun as it might be, they probably have been things to be doing.
- May 31, 2009 at 10:50 AM
"I doubt Wowinsider will post anything about what happened because it's ridiculous and full of drama. "
Not read guildwatch before? :P
- May 31, 2009 at 10:58 AM
- Aislinana said...
Guildwatch is fun/dramatastic but I'm gonna assume this is really top-level drama that ought to be handled by someone else.
What would they say too? FAITHFUL PALADIN BLOGGER IS ACTUALLY FRAUD, UNSUBSTANTIATED COCK AND BULL STORY STILL EATEN BY SPOONFUL, ROCKS FALL, EVERYONE DIES.
- May 31, 2009 at 11:02 AM
People are drawn to unique authors; especially contradictions, i.e., good-looking, nerdy girls.
This mountebank likely got ahead *because* of the attractive pitch, and not so much because of the writing -- if each of us spent a few hours looking, we'd probably find weblogs of comparable quality, albeit lacking the advertising that had this one rocketing upward.
As for the internet, at the same time it allows a group of skeptics to quickly expose fraudulence, it provides a series of redoubts for con artists. WoW Insider was taken in, for goodness' sake. Lazy reporting, surely, but a testament to certain advantages online enjoyed by liars.
- May 31, 2009 at 11:03 AM
- Unknown said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- May 31, 2009 at 11:32 AM
- Jagoex said...
From WoW.com:
"We've investigated, and have determined based on IP address records of comments left by Ferarro on WoW.com between July of 2008 and May of 2009 that the comments all came from the same small subnet of IPs, and are all geographically very local to one another. This means that unless "Ferarro #1" through "Ferarro #7" live within a few miles of each other, they're the same person."
- May 31, 2009 at 11:34 AM
oh wow
- May 31, 2009 at 11:36 AM
this is like the gift that keeps on giving. kudos to wow.com for getting involved.
told you it was crap frometh the bull.
- May 31, 2009 at 11:44 AM
- Britt Wilson said...
The ISP info is especially damning to her story, and lays even more credibility to Pagoex.
I don't assume she will respond to this, but who knows, I didn't expect what we got today either.
- May 31, 2009 at 11:50 AM
- Britt Wilson said...
She just privatized the blog again. Doesnt like the new info that came out?
- May 31, 2009 at 11:57 AM
- moop said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:01 PM
- Teej said...
I was actually surprisingly impressed with Adam's investigative work over at WoWInsider. Kudos to him. I was assuming they would do a GuildWatch-esque drama rag on her.
If anybody needed burden of proof (not that we did, this isn't a court trial) that Ferarro's explanation was fake, I think the IP address information pretty much proves that it was a lie. Ferarro has already shut down her website yet again, so this article definitely struck a nerve with her.
As fascinating as this development has been over the past three days, I'm kind of hoping it just gets laid to rest.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:06 PM
- Sarah aka TechDarling said...
Just for the record, I suspect this person has been following me for a long time. The quote on her blog "Be who are you, say what you feel, those who mind don't matter, those who matter don't mind" etc etc - was on my MySpace profile some 4 years ago. She also has images of me from 4 years ago, that have not been on any websites since then. I didn't start TechDarling until 2.5 years ago. Just food for thought.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:11 PM
It just keeps getting more weirder and more creepier.
Kudos to Ms. Townsend for being so level-headed about the entire situation. I know I'd personally freak the fuck out if something like this happened to me.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:26 PM
- Sarah aka TechDarling said...
She also stole other aspects of my life, like the fact that I live in LA, and am from Virginia, and who knows what else now that her blog is private I will never know what other pieces of my personality she has stolen.
Does anyone have a copy of her confession? I never saw it.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:28 PM
- Teej said...
She re-opened her site
- May 31, 2009 at 12:28 PM
- Sarah aka TechDarling said...
Thanks for the kind words about me handling it well, but those of you who saw the doctored video from SXSW will know that this has happened to me before, many times, in very creepy ways, but never before were this many people fooled. So yeah it's creepy, but whatever. If someone wants to steal my persona online, there's not much I can do to stop them. I live a pretty public life, so it is not hard to do so.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:30 PM
Ferarro's entire blog is super watered down though. She spent a lot of time removing past entries. You're probably better off looking at Google cached websites. Somebody posted a link to one such cache...
I'm not quite sure how to navigate the various caches, but I'm sure another individual here could help out.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:37 PM
- Aislinana said...
Ferarro re-opened the site to include a line about the posts being all routed through the same IP.
When does the bullshit end?
@real Sarah - this is legit creepy and seriously an invasion of privacy. How fucked up.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Just a heads up: she's posting false positive comments to her own post.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:42 PM
this entire thing strikes me as seriously fucked up. seriously ferraro whoever the hell you are, man. get help.
you basically stole some poor woman's identity and stalked her for about 4 years in order to use her identity to apparently flirt your way into guilds and write posts in a wow blog. now you're talking bullshit about it.
really poor form, man.
feel sorry for you Sarah. the fact people do this kind of shit makes you despair for mankind.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:50 PM
The Google caches:
July 2007 -- http://18.104.22.168/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2007_07_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
August 2007 -- http://184.108.40.206/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2007_08_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
September 2007 -- http://184.108.40.206/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2007_09_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
October 2007 -- http://22.214.171.124/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2007_10_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
November 2007 -- http://126.96.36.199/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2007_11_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
December 2007 -- http://188.8.131.52/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2007_11_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
January 2008 -- http://126.96.36.199/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_01_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
April 2008 -- http://188.8.131.52/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_04_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
May 2008 -- http://22.214.171.124/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_05_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
June 2008 -- http://22.214.171.124/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_06_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
July 2008 -- http://22.214.171.124/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_06_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
August 2008 -- http://184.108.40.206/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_08_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
September 2008 -- http://18.104.22.168/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_09_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
October 2008 -- http://22.214.171.124/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_10_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
November 2008 -- http://126.96.36.199/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_11_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
December 2008 -- http://184.108.40.206/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_12_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
January 2009 -- http://188.8.131.52/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2009_01_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
February 2009 -- http://184.108.40.206/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2009_02_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
March 2009 -- http://188.8.131.52/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2009_03_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
April 2009 -- http://126.96.36.199/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2009_04_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
May 2009 -- http://184.108.40.206/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2009_05_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
Barring any copy and pasting errors, that should be everything on cache.
Ferarro can keep posting all the lies she wants. But liars get caught eventually.
- May 31, 2009 at 12:54 PM
Dang it, I knew there'd be errors in that mess.
December 2007 -- http://22.214.171.124/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2007_12_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
July 2008 -- http://22.214.171.124/search?hl=en&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fferarro.blogspot.com%2F2008_07_01_archive.html&btnG=Search
- May 31, 2009 at 1:01 PM
- Suicidal Zebra said...
Creepy. Seriously fecking creepy.
- May 31, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Jago, did you ever know you are my hero? Welcome back bud.
I love the irony in all of this. A WARLOCK as a beacon of truth, exposing a PALADIN for being a fraudulent scum.
- May 31, 2009 at 1:28 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
@Dr. Aislinana
Where is the line about IP routing? I cant seem to find it......
- May 31, 2009 at 1:50 PM
At this point, she's just plugging holes on a sinking ship.
- May 31, 2009 at 1:50 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
Nevermind, found it
- May 31, 2009 at 1:50 PM
- Cathy Bane said...
Hey there Jago, just saying hello. I'm playing WAR now and ran into an old Onyx guild member and he just got me thinking about all the fun we used to have hanging out on vent. Good times, man, good times.
Hope you're doing well.
- Nikto
- May 31, 2009 at 1:54 PM
Has Ferarro tried to contact you about all of this? One would think that if she were now cleansing her name, that she would be talking to the people that involved; namely you and wow.com.
- May 31, 2009 at 1:57 PM
Another EU guy here...
As an avid wow.com reader I was also redirected to Ferarro's blog a few days ago, and had seen her comments on the site before.
This person self-styling her- or himself Ferarro is some schizophreniac or just a very very maniac liar. From self-experience, when you lie and think it'll work out all good, it won't...
And now s/he just propels deeper and deeper down the maelstrom of lies she wove around her- or himself... And she is panicking, as well, seeing the rampant activity on her blog, closing and opening it, posting fake 'I'm still ur fan ur hawt' comments and such... A weak soul doomed to an end, desperately seeking a way out... But ignoring the right one.
Just my two cents. ;)
Ugh, some of the metaphors are quite... well done, seeing I'm not English at all :-)
- May 31, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Another thing to think about. Why would Ferarro be trying to get incriminating threads removed from the official forums? A number of us have been banned because our posts linking to this story were labeled as spam or harassment. That doesn't seem like something someone who is apologetic would do.
- May 31, 2009 at 3:25 PM
Seriously, leave the internet for a few hours, and everything moves on!
Wow, thing have kind of exploded since I last looked. Wow.com proved that all Ferraro's from last year or so have actually been the same Ferraro, thus making "her" argument about multiple Ferraro's completely mute...
Ferraro's blog has been taken down, then put back up, then taken down... is it back up again yet? I almost don't want to look!
Certainly things have been moving... I also find it interesting that my conspiracy post appears to have been taken seriously be a couple of people on the WoW forums. Do people not know what a conspiracy hat is?
If anything, this whole episode has taught me two things:
1) I need to get twitter, if only to follow all this stuff kicking off in more real time!
2) TechDarling has been more than gracious throughout this entire episode. Seriously, she's been amazing in her attidute to what's been happening here. I know that personally, if I discovered that someone had been stealing my identity for last 2 and a half years (or five and a half, if you believe the latest Ferraro post :D) I'd be a lot more freaked out. I'd also like to thank TechDarling for not posting a blog article about this mess. I'm willing to bet that her publicly announcing this to her readers would result in more than a few 'omfg you wow freaks' comments on here and wow.com which would certainly not be good for the community.
That said, I do predict that "R U Ferraro?" will become the new internet meme of 2009. I certainly plan on whispering it every paladin I find, anyway :D
- May 31, 2009 at 3:55 PM
manion/joolnoret us
my new forum signature is "I was Ferraro 5 of 7"
lawl. Thanks for outing this, and i found two new blogs to follow in my daily reading, yours and tech's. Cold beers for ya!
- May 31, 2009 at 4:15 PM
One questions I have if there were 7 Ferarro's? Was this a group stalking of tech Darling. With all of them so criminally amoral none of them ever thought it was a problem? I doubt the current Ferarro can get a single old Ferarro to fess up. Because they don't exist. But hey I thought there was a blonde Ferarro also.
And would anyone put it past Ferarro to phish on her website. To generally abuse her relationship with Wow. In a community of 11 million suscribers a certain percentage of them will be low life criminals.
But Jagox, thanks for the expose and followups. This is much more refreshing wow forum than what pretends to be the official forums.
Maybe I should dump this pallie I play for a warlock. Never played one for long.
- May 31, 2009 at 6:43 PM
We are such a shallow bunch aren't we? I've come to the conclusion that everyone who wants this Ferarro character to keep blogging is either:
1) an ignorant little kid
2) an idiot paladin
3) just plain stupid
At 1east we know who the internet morons are.
- May 31, 2009 at 7:09 PM
- Britt Wilson said...
you forgot really really lonley
- May 31, 2009 at 7:17 PM
- moop said...
whats really sad is people are going to belive this crock of shit about there being 7 people
- May 31, 2009 at 7:29 PM
All of the threads about ferarro and her idiotic lies were marked as harassment on the official forums and deleted. This person is such a con artist.
- May 31, 2009 at 8:59 PM
Congratulations, Jagoex. You are the only person I know that has ever popped a Paladin's bubble. I salute you.
- May 31, 2009 at 9:05 PM
- Oliver James said...
@ Henry. Good one. That made me chuckle.
- May 31, 2009 at 9:49 PM
It's been stated before, but people who comment on the blog debunking what has been said, their post never makes it into the comments. Seems like this Ferraro is keeping a close eye on everything and only allowing positive posts to pass through. Who would have thought?
- May 31, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Jago I have to give you mad props for exposing this fraud. If you don't mind I'd like to post my rejected comment from her site here so people could choose to read it.
"Oh my sweet Jesus.
Just give up please, just give up and leave. You understand that you're not just messing around, YOU ACTUALLY STOLE SOMEONE'S IDENTITY. I don't believe a single word you have in this article.
I can tell you why'd you'd lie now: You're desperate for attention. Just saying "Oh, I got caught, that was all me" means you'd have to slink back into the shadows but coming up with this laughable fantasy allows you to keep the drama and attention going AND keep your blog. I don't believe for a second you would step away and I completely expect to see a post in not to long from now saying your back because the people wanted it. Or more likely you'll claim it's ANOTHER Ferraro that's stepped up to keep it going. Give me a break. I can not believe anyone is buying this.
Let's say for a second you're telling the truth (I can barely even write that.) Why would the blog just not have been passed on publicly to another author instead of creating this elaborate lie? If the original author had enough faith in the next-in-line to continue to the quality of work surely they'd have faith that the readership could pick that up.
Also why steal Sarah Townsend's personal articles from her own site if you were just using her as a cover for this. It makes it obvious you were in fact hoping to supplant her personality for your own. "Surely people would love you like you do her."
You also make so many weak and transparent statements in this 'explanation' like assuring us the original Ferraro was very attractive. Yeah f-cking right. Let me be the first to say that looks are not as important as some people think but your assuring us reaks of an insecure person bolstering themselves through using a supposed other person's point of view. Also you repeatedly let us know how beautiful and intelligent you think Sarah Townsend is. We see through this that she wasn't just a random identity used as a facade but actually the object of your deeper obsession. On her for a minute, why her? If this story of yours was real why not just some attractive unknown so your lie would never be found out rather than an attractive tech-savvy blogger. Is it because she's the epitomization of 'cute geek girl' that you are either attracted to, or aspire to?
I don't get it. I really don't. You must have been smart in order to have provided the high quality of paladin information you did. It saddens me to think that someone that smart would feel it necessary to hide behind someone elses identity.
All I can say is I'm sorry for being part of this world you must find so scary and you don't need to tell us the truth, but please, please, step away. I'm not going to say you need professional help because that always comes across so hostile but I do think it would be better for your mental health in the long run for you to step away.
Good Luck.
Also as another commenter mentioned. My forum signature has just become "I was Ferarro #5." LOL! And nice work again.
- May 31, 2009 at 11:56 PM
- Howard Wolf said...
Hey jageo its me emuslayer don't know if you remember me from alex
Was just wondering what your email address is....I'll try to get it from ary...I have something you might want to know...
hope you are doing well
- June 1, 2009 at 1:10 AM
- Jagoex said...
Thanks for all of the comments everyone.
Sarah, if you are still reading this I have a question for you: do you happen to have a friend named Emily?
- June 1, 2009 at 2:06 AM
I have something to contribute to this discussion.
I'm part of the guild featured in the Yogg-Saron kill on Ferraro's blog recently.
I was intrigued by the name "everdash" because it relates in a strong way to the person who may-or-may-not have been her husband, in game, who has recently vanished from our guild roster.
I googled "everdash" and checked the image section. You get a large number of hits from ferraro.blogspot.com. All of them come from a folder on photobucket with the url as follows:
So, I googled this url, came up with a number of hits. I read the XXXX portions to look for anything of interest, found:
Of interest, because in our member picture thread in our guild, we had:
Using these two urls, I was able to find a name:
(search for everdash). The name we get is Neil Perry.
I hit up facebook. (google Neil Perry facebook). Found:
I then browsed through the friends list, just curious. I was looking for a link to Sarah Townsend since in one of Sarah's earlier post she mentioned that Ferraro had access to private FB photos, which meant she was a FB friend.
I have not found these yet -- there are any number of degrees of separation to Sarah Townsend -- but of interest is that there is one friend named Crystal Perry.
"Crystal" is the name used by Ferraro and the paladin-in-our-guild whenever she came on vent or took over the paladin-in-our-guild.
Two things possible:
1) These people are unaware victims of a further identity fraud,
2) These people are at least in part connected to the fraud happening so far.
It seems to me that these two have been in a 4 year stalk of Sarah Townsend. I read some numbers that lead to inconsistencies in the age Ferraro claims to be and as such I am hestitant to believe these two are in fact a married couple. They look like they'd be more likely to be brother sister, but who am I to say?
- June 1, 2009 at 2:14 AM
Well, she did mention the name "Neil" a few times in her personal posts on the blog. She also mentioned that her alleged husband was a musician.
- June 1, 2009 at 2:49 AM
Can't edit my comment above:
The Neil Perry you want to look for (if you care to) comes up under the link
and not the one I listed above. Not sure what went on there.
- June 1, 2009 at 2:53 AM
I can't edit my Anon comment about Ferraro mentioning Neil, but if you go to the Google cache of her site, you can find references to "Neil" (Cntrl-F search Neil) on the first three months. I didn't look at the rest, so there may be more...
- June 1, 2009 at 3:14 AM
At the end of the August 11th entry at:
... the "journal entry from 2002" is signed "~C."
- June 1, 2009 at 3:33 AM
If you look at the blog from 9-25-07 entitled "Leroy" on this page
there's a ss from her /gchat referring to some drama going on in her guild atm. Not only does it mention both "Neil" and "Crystal" she goes on to say that Neil is, in fact, her husband.
- June 1, 2009 at 3:58 AM
I am curious if there is any legal ramification for this?
- June 1, 2009 at 4:27 AM
Jago, you are my man. Well done. I have 1st seen this ferroro while she was QQing about how the legendary mace should be given to paladins. I thought what a kid.
Then i posted a provokative message under her post(to test her), saying that I talked to her GM and the mace will be going to priest CL :) She kinda freaked out and said stuff etc, then I knew that she was too immature... later on i saw her again on wow.com and kept on the mace provokation, she was QQing etc when she said shes a blizzard employee, i did not even believe her wish i was the one who found out this but you did since you know her more, you are my main man, well done.
she certainly is an attention seeking ugly girl, i read ur comments and all of them r right, like if shes the 7th ferrero, how she would know 3 yrs back, etc.
You are the greatest!
I hope blizzard or sarah sues her.
- June 1, 2009 at 4:38 AM
- Kargoth said...
I give you two words as to why Sarah Townsend may be so gracious about this whole matter and why private photos ended up in another blog...sock puppet.
You may commence flaming me now but its just something that occurred to me
- June 1, 2009 at 5:49 AM
I've been thinking the same thing, that the two are the same person. People have put it together and this all now is an attempt to separate the two for privacy reasons.
- June 1, 2009 at 6:58 AM
*puts on tin foil hat*
It could be a case of ye olde "sock puppet", i mean to a certain degree it could make sense that they are one in the same person and the whole affair is a way of maybe cuttin herself out of the WoW scene.
However, there's alot of "evidence" and rumours floating about atm suggesting otherwise.
I personally think the whole thing is pretty damn entertaining :P
- June 1, 2009 at 7:14 AM
Wow. I looked at the cached content, and was increasingly skeezed out the more I read. It was the post that accompanied the photo of a bird on (ostensibly) her shoulder, the post that prattled on about how it (the bird) was a gift from her step-brother, and how it needed a name, that really made her/his delusional presence creep me out to the max. Yeah, so techgirl has a photo of herself with a bird, and this encourages you to steal said photo, and proceed to spin a whole scenario that involves *you* receiving a bird? A bird that needs a name, and sits cooing on your shoulder?
It's f**king sad, is what it is.
- June 1, 2009 at 7:25 AM
@Anonymous & Sleuth, it is looking likely that this may have involved that couple at one point. Sadly, people won't believe it because of the most recent "multiple Ferarros" lie.
- June 1, 2009 at 7:26 AM
I love me a good Internet Drama. :D
I posted on the Wow.Com entry about single IPs, and RDP'ing into a XP box, but forgot to mention that I don't believe a word of her explanation -- just that it is possible.
That said, I don't buy into the theory of Sarah = Ferraro / Sock-puppet. I've read Sarah's blog for awhile now, and I vaguely remember when she was at TomsHardware. Distancing herself from the Ferraro identity.... why? Sarah is an admitted "Geek". Being a 'famous' WOW entity wouldn't hurt her rep, it would expand it.
My take is that Ferraro's "explanation" is that it's mostly bullshit, with enough truth thrown in to give it flavor. Multiple Ferraro's? CHECK! Her and her husband.
- June 1, 2009 at 7:34 AM
Multiple Ferraros? Who gives a fig?
If the site keeps going, I'll keep reading.
- June 1, 2009 at 7:56 AM
there's a comment under wow.com interview:
"Lol what about that stc guild that let her login and run the Everclear char."
- June 1, 2009 at 8:01 AM
Amazing ..if these people new anything about the paladin class lore wise is that they would never lie lol @ the irony
- June 1, 2009 at 8:04 AM
Everclear is/was her husband, Neil.
He vanished from the guild without a trace was soon as this whole thing began.
- June 1, 2009 at 8:07 AM
If we learned anything from the Matrix. There is no spoon.
The internet is a playground for fakes, and liars. Even Wikipedia can not be trustes as seen by the guy from Ireland faking that quote anyone can see.
I wonder if the people are so upset over this are the same people that buy those pills they get emails for to make the penises grow bigger.
- June 1, 2009 at 8:44 AM
- Aislinana said...
The problem with people that are willing to excuse evidence to the contrary of what Ferarro is lying about, despite being a "good paladin" resource is that they are allowing a "good resource" to excusably:
-profit off someone else's work
-profit off someone else's image
-not a pay cent in reparation
-creepily abuse some sort of online relationship with the person in order to create said identity
This gives the message that, oh, if you apologize and lie about it, you'll be tearily accepted by the hordes of people who just want paladin info. What an entire populace of selfish, creepy WoW fuckbags.
- June 1, 2009 at 9:15 AM
@anonymous who said "Multiple Ferraros? Who gives a fig?
If the site keeps going, I'll keep reading."
You mean keep writing. We know its you ferarro, give it up.
- June 1, 2009 at 9:24 AM
- Purple Penguin said...
The whole thing is a sham. Sarah Townsend/TechDarling is Ferraro. The story cooked up is, as a recent poster stated, a ruse being used to separate the two identities. Quite ingenious.
- June 1, 2009 at 9:39 AM
I recently started reading Ferarro's blog, and found it a very good paladin resource.
My first clue something was wrong was the "DM of the Rings" series she started posting, which --as another commented mentioned-- was never attributed, despite the fact that I'd seen it elsewhere years ago.
Ferarro's current story of 7 different Ferarros is ludicrous. For all the reasons mentioned above and at wow.com, but also due to the simple fact that it's nearly impossible to keep a secret like this. "3 can keep a secret if two of them are dead". The idea that 7 people were able to keep completely mum on this, not one of them leaking info or becoming disgruntled with the rest and sabotaging them, for this period of time, is highly unlikely.
- June 1, 2009 at 10:02 AM
*puts on magnum pi tune*
I did some digging, on "ferarro's" confession page on "her" blog right at the top you'll find the word Catharsis. I wiki'd the word wondering what it means, here's a brief look at what that word means:
"The term in drama refers to a sudden emotional climax that evokes overwhelming feelings of great sorrow, pity, laughter or any other extreme change in emotion, resulting in restoration, renewal and revitalization in members of the audience"
Ok simple enough, so i carried on digging. I went onto:
and read the comments on each page and kept comming along a poster called Catharsis80, their profile is here:
If you look you'll notice this user has been created soloy to comment on that thread in particular, by why the name Catharsis80? Along with the word Catharsis at the top of "ferarro's" recent "confession", same person? i think so, take a look at the comments Catharsis80 has left on wow.com also, can you say sock puppet?
- June 1, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Honesty is always the best course of action regardless of the situation. I liked the blog and took a lot of good information from it. But now I have to question everything I have read there because of this.
- June 1, 2009 at 10:05 AM
- Britt Wilson said...
This new info from Sleuth is very interesting....
- June 1, 2009 at 10:10 AM
@Anonymous: *rollseyes*
No dude, I'M Catharsis80. I also post as Catharsis, and my character main is Kathandor. If you really care, go to WoW.com, look up my profile, check out everything you want. I already posted on "her" article that I was a little spooked that the title happened to be my screenname that I've used for YEARS. PLEASE don't implicate me in this crap. I've been new to WoW for about a month now.
Anything else you want to know Magnum P.I.? *sigh*
- June 1, 2009 at 10:18 AM
@ catharsis80
WoW.com only shows you as a member since june 1st with the user catharsis80?
- June 1, 2009 at 10:24 AM
I'm sorry, but I feel I have to revisit this retardness from the local "P.I.", before this gets even dumber than it already is.
If you actually READ my comments on WoW.com, you'd see that I'm not even defending this "Ferraro". How in the world could you even get anything from that?
- June 1, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Yes, that's correct. I just registered so I could comment on this whole thing. That is my name I've been using for years, it's my AIM screen name, and I'm not about to change it simply because some identity thief uses it as the title of her article.
What now, Mr. Investigator?
- June 1, 2009 at 10:26 AM
@ Catharsis
"You all may want to crucify this person, but the facts is that you don't know enough for certain yet. Stop acting like a lynching mob."
Jun 1st 2009 11:08AM
I'm merely digging is all
- June 1, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Yeah, I can't stand it when people jump to conclusions...kind of like what it seems like your doing right now.
- June 1, 2009 at 10:31 AM
I feel for Ms. Townsend, and I think that she is an injured party in all of this. It must be a terrible feeling to be stalked, internet or otherwise, but she seems to be handling it better than most would, I would think.
I don't feel that she is the only injured party in this, though, to be sure.
I remember the first time i met Ferraro. I had just merged our guild with the guild she was in on Alexstraza. S/he joined the guild right after we did, I believe she came from Idiocracy. S/he was out grinding ogres at the northern ogre place in Nagrand ( warmaul hill maybe? I can't remember, have not played in almost a year ). As the officer in the new guild in charge of recruitment and janitorial services, I would sometimes roll out and talk to people, meet them face to face. Well, Torrak told me that this new guy was pretty cool and a good raider, so as I said, I went out and helped his/her paladin grind out a ton of ogre rep. Well, we were on VENT together, even though her mic was broken, but she could hear. Anyway, while I was out there, I heard Bouncer say 'Ferraro is hot!' I typed at Ferraro 'lol lad, they think you're hot!' His/her response was 'LOL'.
Well, then I found out later that she was in fact a female, and her husband, Neil, was also in the guild, a shaman. Can't remember the name, been a while.
I went on to raid 5-mans with them a few times, three times I think. I'm not sure now who Ferraro is, but I will say this, they are a good player, in my opinion. Really studied the raids, knew everything about them ( I am still famous for my lack of focus on raids, and I don't even play WoW anymore ).
I don't feel that the 'husband' in this was dual-boxing two accounts, as he would have to be superman. I remember several 5-mans I was in with Fer and Neil, and they both were way too active to be controlled by one person.
Anyway, to circle around back to my point, I feel for Ms. Townsend, who has to put up with this junk, but no one has yet come out and said anything about the old guild she was last in, and what this stuff might be doing to them. To be sure, they are nice people, I know for a fact. They took her in to be nice, not to use her, not because she was some 'hawt gamer gurl', trust me, i was there. I was in charge of after-party cleanup, I know of what i speak.
Torrak told me there was already a post on the Alex realm forums razzing the ol' PK guild, and to be honest, it's got no place in this discussion. Yah, I know, i don't play WoW anymore, but as I was riding my lawnmower a bit ago, thinking about what Torrak said, I thought I would find this blog and say my piece.
Oh, and Onyx was a pro guild, Jago. We've seen each other before, I was the GM of Knights of Tyrannor for a little over a year and a half. :)
I hope this mess gets straightened out soon. Drama really is annoying. Oh, and I think that the theory that this is all Ms. Townsend's idea of a PR campaign is rubbish.
- June 1, 2009 at 10:32 AM
@ catharsis80
"If you actually READ my comments on WoW.com, you'd see that I'm not even defending this "Ferraro""
all i did was 5 minute search and came up with:
Member Since Jun 1st, 2009
"HOWEVER, considering the stalker twitter comment, maybe THIS whole thing is made up to detract the stalker."
Jun 1st 2009 10:42AM
along with
"I hope he/she isn't in any serious trouble. You all may want to crucify this person, but the facts is that you don't know enough for certain yet. Stop acting like a lynching mob."
Jun 1st 2009 11:08AM
I merely put two and two together (may have got four but im not entirely convinced) and figuered it maybe was "ferarro" trying to scatter people away
- June 1, 2009 at 10:35 AM
@Dr. Aislinana: Only the Alliance will pick 'em up. We Horde would just camp 'em. :-)
- June 1, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Or maybe I like to give the benefit of the doubt before I throw stones.
Hey, but thanks for making me a potential target before you thought it through. Much appreciated.
- June 1, 2009 at 10:41 AM
- Cici said...
Hi Guys,
After looking into it, Catharsis is not Ferarro.
Let's not go on unnecessary witch hunts.
Adam Holisky
- June 1, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Thank you, Adam. THAT really IS much appreciated. :)
- June 1, 2009 at 10:59 AM
How do we know that's really Adam? O.o
- June 1, 2009 at 11:16 AM
Yeah, I TOTALLY didn't see that comment coming. ;)
- June 1, 2009 at 11:19 AM
"Anonymous said...
How do we know that's really Adam? O.o"
My thoughts exactly!
- June 1, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Yeah, and someone pointing fingers at people they know nothing about, all the while posting as "Anonymous" -- THAT is in NO way suspicious or secretive, either.
Get over yourselves, detectives.
- June 1, 2009 at 11:25 AM


text:
Hello everyone! My name is Natalia Davis and I live...
God Gave Me You<34197126
- by xButterfly Fly Awayx & TheePandaaChicaa1220
- Rating:
- Published: 10 Aug 2013
- Updated: 12 May 2014
- Status: Complete
Alex and Nikki are bestfriends who have been through a lot together. They decide to take a trip to Europe to take a break from all the drama going on back home. But what will happen when they each encounter the guys of their dreams? Will they go back home and forget about them? Or will they stay in Europe with them? Read and find out!
Join MovellasFind out what all the buzz is about. Join now to start sharing your creativity and passion
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subset: commoncrawl


text: Its been almost a week from the release of the Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal". I got mixed reviews about this version from other blogs. I haven't tried it yet because I am in love with the 10.04 Desktop Edition and believes that there is no need to switch right now. For the Geeks who are running Ubuntu 11.04 on their machines and are struggling with the shortcuts, below is the Wallpaper (Cheat Sheet) for you. Save it and learn them 🙂


text:
I hinted at a fun assignment I was working on last month on Twitter, and now I am excited to to be able to share the images with you. I had a lot of catching up to do when I first got the assignment to photograph Murray Stenson from Art Director Jane Sherman at Seattle Weekly, but it didn't take long for me to find out that Murray is widely regarded as the best bartender in the country. Don't believe me?Just ask Esquire, Playboy and Tales of the Cocktail. It felt like when you get a new car, and all of a sudden you realize that just about everyone else on the road has the same car as you. As soon as I got this assignment, it seemed like everyone I knew was going out to get a drink from Murray. Apparently I was the last person to know. I was quite excited to not only photograph Murray, but to also have a drink from him.
I did the shoot at Canon, which is a new bar in Seattle where Murray works, along with an all-star group of bartenders led by Jamie Boudreau who is also the owner. There is a bit of a wait to get in, but I can tell you the wait is well worth it. I filmed a short video of Murray mixing and explaining how to make an Absinthe Julep, which you can see below. And yes, I did get to drink it after we were done filming. Someone had to, and I didn't want it to go to waste. We did have to do 2 takes, but thankfully my assistant handled the second one since we were dealing with 124 proof. For what it's worth, I made sure the video was the last thing we did so my pictures wouldn't be out of focus.
Although Murray has been written up in many other magazines, this article is the first time he has told his story. It was written by Mike Seely, and is a really fascinating read. Here is the link to the article if you are interested. Along with the video, I also included a few behind the scenes pictures at the bottom.
Thanks to Jane Sherman for working with me on this, and thanks to Murray and Jamie for being such gracious hosts and subjects. Photo retouching by the fine folks at Gigantic Squid.
Behind the scenes pictures by Lonnie Webb.


text:
Blackhawks my new favorite for the Cup
Just a quick blog here, about Scotty Bowman's move to the Blackhawks as an advisor. Hard as it is for me still to believe, Scotty is somebody I've gotten to know over the years. It's still hard to believe his name is on the cover of a book I wrote, introducing it.
I'm glad he's going to Chicago to be closer to his son, Stan (named after the Cup, of course). It has been a somewhat closely held fact that Stan has been battling cancer the last couple years, and it's been a tough fight.
But Stan seems to be doing pretty well now, and it's going to be tremendous for his father to be able to work with him now.
I interviewed Stan a lot for my book, "Blood Feud", and he told some great stories about Scotty, including how he would blow off steam after losses – when he coached in Buffalo – by grooming and tending to the rink he built in the back yard for his children. And, how he would let Stan listen in to his phone calls to people around the NHL, talking shop about trades and players and everything else – and would occasionally ask Stan for his opinion on hockey matters.
Now, father and son are back to helping each other on hockey matters, all for the same team. It's a great story, and I'm sure you'll be reading more about it in the coming months. Scotty told me probably over a year ago that he might go to Chicago, but not to say anything about it, in respect to the Red Wings and his son.
Scotty's beloved wife, Suella, is from Illinois as well. I think it's pretty neat how Scotty Bowman is beginning work for his third Original 6 team as well. I'm sure there have been players who played for three, but have there been any front office people? I'm sure there have, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. (Well, I just thought of Mike Keenan, who coached the Rangers, Bruins and Blackhawks).
Scotty is going to a team that should be damn good this year – a bona fide Cup contender, it seems on paper at least. They signed Brian Campbell, have Khabibulin and Huet as their top two goalies and have two of the best young forwards in the game, in Toews and Kane.
If the Hawks don't win a Cup this year (and if they do, it will be Scotty's record-setting 13th as a coach or front office person), let's hope for a continued recovery for Stan Bowman.
I wish every hockey fan could have at least one conversation about hockey with Scotty Bowman. I'm telling you, there is absolutely nothing like it. It's like you are talking to the actual NHL itself – if it could be humanized – when you do. He's done it all, he's seen it all, and he remembers it all.
And don't kid yourself: Scotty still knows more about what's going on in the game, in his little pinkie, than 95 percent of the rest of the current GMs in the league. The Blackhawks just got a LOT better with his arrival.
Adrian Dater's best-selling book "Blood Feud" is available here.
His forthcoming book "Then Morton Said to Elway: The Best Denver Broncos Stories Ever Told" is available for pre-order here.


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I am currently working on a paper that involves an upper bound of the largest root of a polynomial. With the help of the Mean Value Theorem, I believe a colleague and I have proved the following: if f^(n)(p) > 0 (the n-th derivative evaluated at "p", for n=0,1,2..d, where d is the degree of the polynomial), then p>r, where r is the largest root of the polynomial.
The only question I have is the following: is this well-known or has been cited/proven elsewhere? It just seems basic enough that someone in the past has referenced it in a paper/Lemma. Though we could be mistaken and have a flaw in our own proof...


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TipsClick here to view our newest Remodeling Tips Videos.
- Seal your granite countertops annually for the best performance. -
- Do not use "furniture polish" to clean your Kitchen or Bath Cabinetry. -
- Yes - you can under mount a sink in laminate countertops! -
- Cabinet Refacing is a great option to completely replacing cabinetry and can save you money! -
- When doing an exterior remodel or landscaping, make sure to include plenty of lighting and be aware of where large plants and shrubs are in relation to windows and window wells to avoid giving cover to potential burglars. - Custom Alarm
- Simply replacing your cabinet doors and drawer fronts can make your Kitchen feel like a whole new space! -
- Make sure all exterior doors are solid wood, steel, or fiberglass, and include a solid deadbolt lock with a minimum 1" throw; don't forget the garage service door because that is a common point of entry for burglars. - Custom Alarm
- Security systems can add more than just protection against intrusion; with smoke and heat detectors, low temperature sensors, carbon monoxide sensors, and flood sensors to protect your most important investment. - Custom Alarm
- Use motion lights or dusk-to-dawn timer lights at all door entries including garage entry, exterior side entries, and/or back entry doors to deter burglars. - Custom Alarm
- Don't leave ladders, tools, or anything else that can be easily stolen or used to break into your home lying around during construction. Make sure to put away ladders or other objects that would assist a burglar in reaching an upper window. - Custom Alarm
- Make sure your exterior remodel includes your house number clearly displayed and well-lit at night, so that law enforcement or other emergency services can easily find your home in the event of an emergency. - Custom Alarm
- Ensure privacy fences are not giving cover to someone trying to break into your home. - Custom Alarm
- Use light timers or home automation systems to ensure you don't come home to a dark house and to give your house that "lived-in look" even when you are away. - Custom Alarm
- Test your smoke detectors monthly and replace them per manufacturer's recommendations – most have a lifespan of 10 years. - Custom Alarm
- Have all fuel-burning appliances, such as oil and gas furnaces, gas water heaters, gas ranges and ovens, gas dryers, gas or kerosene space heaters, fireplaces, and wood stoves, inspected by a trained professional at the beginning of each heating season to ensure that flues and chimneys are connected, in good condition, and not blocked. - Custom Alarm
- Choose appliances that vent their fumes to the outside whenever possible, and have them properly installed and maintained according to the manufacturers' instructions. - Custom Alarm
- Don't idle the car in a garage, even with the garage door open, as fumes can build up very quickly in the garage and, if you have an attached garage, in the living area of your home. - Custom Alarm
- Never use a gas oven to heat your home, even for a short time, or use a charcoal grill indoors, even in the fireplace. - Custom Alarm
- View your granite slabs with your purchased countertops. -
- When picking out your countertops, bring a door sample, flooring, paint, or any other materials involved in the project. -
- Dark colors of Corian countertops will wear and tear more noticeably because the scratches are light. We suggest using quartz or granite when dark colors are desired. -
- Use a 100% cast iron kitchen sink for high performance and stylish appearance. Kohler offers a 100% cast iron sink available in a variety of shapes and colors that include a lifetime warranty against chipping, cracking, and staining. -
- Many countertop manufacturers produce materials with recycled content. -
- Recycled glass countertops are very unique. The variations in the pattern and distribution of glass are part of its beauty. Recycled glass countertops are manufactured with reclaimed glass from everyday items; each color has a story behind it. -
- Use domestic granite countertops to keep your project local and environmentally friendly. -
- Choose a toilet that meets the WaterSense Standards (20% less water used than the standard 1.6 gallon toilet) to conserve water usage. -
- Water filtration faucets can be green and cost effective. All over the world we consume more bottled water that costs 1900 times the price of tap water and most of the plastic ends up in landfills. -
- You may be able to buy plumbing fixtures anywhere in town or on the internet, but are they manufactured the same? For example you can buy a Kohler kitchen faucet with ceramic disc valves from a Kohler showroom, but at a big box store it has brass valves. The price is definitely going to be different and so will the performance and longevity of the faucet. -
- A squeegee swiped on your glass shower door after each use will help to keep hard water spots at bay. - Hentges Glass Company
- Rain-X periodically applied to the inside of your glass shower doors will help with water spots and cleaning. - Hentges Glass Company
- Robe hooks or towel bars can be added onto the existing glass of your shower door for an instant space saver. - Hentges Glass Company
- When planning to put new appliances into an existing kitchen, it's important to know the maximum dimension for each unit you'll be replacing. This way you won't waste time and energy looking at appliances that don't fit. - Warners' Stellian Appliance Co., Inc.
Public Events
2017 Remodelers Tour
September 16-17, 2017
Tips From The Pros
Use light timers or home automation systems to ensure you don't come home to a dark house and to give your house that "lived-in look" even when you are away.


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To Kill A Flirtation
(A man has just brought his two dogs in, named Scout and Atticus.)
Me: "Your dogs are so cute and sweet!"
Owner: "Oh, thanks!"
Me: "I love their names! To Kill a Mockingbird is my favorite book! It's a shame your last name isn't Finch. Haha!"
Owner: "Yeah… It's also my wife's favorite. My VERY pregnant wife. And three kids."
Me: "Oh, that's nice."
Owner: "Yeah. I'm married. And I have three kids."
Me: "O… kay…"
(Once the owner leaves, my boss starts cracking up.)
Boss: "[My Name]! Stop hitting on our clients!"
Me: "I wasn't! I was just being nice!"
Boss: "Oh, my God. That was hilarious."
Me: "But… I was just being polite and making conversation!"
(After that, I was a little more careful with whom I struck up a conversation. The man and his family are now regular clients. I'm glad I didn't scare them off!)


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Give Heart Breaker (Feat. Rev. Burke) [Produced By the a listen - it's a new offering from Game. It was dropped on Monday, January 24th, 2011. Game's musical situation is improving with every new release, and Heart Breaker (Feat. Rev. Burke) [Produced By the will most definitely help the cause. It's a fine addition to the growing body of work Game has been developing since stepping foot in the game. We're looking forward to what Game has in store.
Have you heard Game's The Ocean (Prod By Dr. Dre), featuring Busta Rhymes? If you're down, make sure to visit Game's profile page for the newest info, news, songs, and mixtapes.
Are y'all feeling this one?


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Federal Tax Forms
As a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, it is expected that more taxpayers will take the standard deduction rather than itemizing deductions, leading to a less complex tax filing season.
Here you can view, print, or save commonly used tax forms and accompanying instructions for completing the forms. The links below will take you to the Internal Revenue Service website.