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	allen 2003-12-27 12:28 am UTC (link)
	Er, once more in English? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	eljuno 2003-12-27 12:33 am UTC (link)
	Seconded. I haven't the foggiest what that's supposed to say. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	kijikun 2003-12-27 12:33 am UTC (link)
	That better? New keyboard. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	allen 2003-12-27 12:34 am UTC (link)
	Much, thanks. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	eljuno 2003-12-27 12:34 am UTC (link)
	Bit, thanks. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mauralabingi 2003-12-27 12:36 am UTC (link)
	Out of curiosity, how do you know the site was suspended by the web host? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kijikun 2003-12-27 12:39 am UTC (link)
	A bit ealier when you tired to go to the site, it actaully took to a page that said the servses was supsended. Probably due to lack of payment, if some of the memeber of Bit of Earth are to belived. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mauralabingi 2003-12-27 12:42 am UTC (link)
	Site's back up now, but the forum has been deleted. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mauralabingi 2003-12-27 12:45 am UTC (link)
	Aaaaannd..... if you type in just the address that used to be for the site's web forum (http://pony.bitofearth.net/), it takes you to the website of a New Jersey printer? WTF? This truly is the wank that never stops being amusing. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	pinkrinse 2003-12-27 12:49 am UTC (link)
	I did read earlier that Turimel, the member who was scammed for $10,000 plus, has set up an LJ to save some of the entries and continue the investigation: www.livejournal.com/users/turimel (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kijikun 2003-12-27 12:58 am UTC (link)
	mind if I add that to the wank? I didn't grab it in time before it all went down. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	backfromspace 2003-12-27 01:04 am UTC (link)
	VB was like the absynthe of wank. (Reply to this)

	thoms 2003-12-27 07:05 am UTC (link)
	Explanation of why the new forum is down can be found in Rakshi's journal, in this post. Not as nefarious sounding as the other, really, but this whole thing really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm very glad I didn't get involved with that whole thing. (Reply to this)

	ladyrogue 2003-12-27 12:06 pm UTC (link)
	Well, both the site and her LJ say that VB has "officially" left all her fandoms. So, who wants to place bets on how long this will last? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	xylona 2003-12-28 01:42 am UTC (link)
	Oh, that's been there for a while. VB officially gafiated, hrm, a year ago? Maybe more? Before she officially moved out to Oregon, but before she supposedly committed suicide. (Because gafiating after you commit suicide is just silly. Sillier. Something.) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	(Anonymous) 2003-12-28 05:14 am UTC (link)
	About a year sounds right. I think she was in Oregon before the 'suicide' happened, I think it was staged in Oregon. And I think she moved either just before or just after Thanksgiving last year... Just trying to help. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	kijikun 2003-12-28 09:31 am UTC (link)
	We're currently being villifed for the orginal wank post calling them sheep. Oh yea. (Reply to this)(Thread)

mirabellawotr
2003-12-28 06:52 pm UTC (link)

Ah, yes, complete with the ever-sensible-and-not-at-ALL-hypocritical reformed-Wanker's cry of "It's only funny if I'm the one doing the pointing and laughing, dammit! You all stop laughing at things I don't think are funny!"

Sorry, but I'm with Anne Ellis on this one. It's not like no one tried to tell them. If they want to continue to insist that the fact that someone is a batshit-crazy, unreliable, manipulative, identity-hopping con artist in her "personal life" is in NO WAY RELEVANT to how safe someone else's money is likely to be with that person... well, dude, whatever, but you know, you're not allowed to declare the Nigerian government as a dependent on your income tax returns.

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	kijikun 2003-12-29 02:04 am UTC (link)
	Warning dont go to the oringal pp forum. I just went and got over 30 screens of the page unavalbie pop up and more we're adding when I rebooted. (Reply to this)

More interesting bits.....

nabiki_gmyw
2003-12-29 03:34 am UTC (link)

The site (Bit of Earth and corresponding forums) is back up again and it was working today (dec 28, 7:58 pm eastern time), but since I'm betting it'll go to hell at any second, a recap of the events:

Bit of Earth down and the printer's website: Actually, it never went down. It was hacked into and somebody copy/pasted a whole bunch of printer stuff, but the bosses of the site managed to get a back-up and fix the mess. Big questions: who did it and why? Is this VB striking back? OB? and why a printer's website?

Fandom Wank gets mentioned...but is defended by 'notmean'. Sure, FW has been accused of being mean-spirited, but the way I see it, FW has provided a bit of community service in its own perverse way. And lets be serious....the whole VB-channeling-Frodo thing is bound get a few snickers, and if FW was the one to give it to them, so be it. Everybody knows the whole thing is a tragedy, and the fact that some people refused to listen in the beginning is just makes it even more tragic. I think in this particular wank, everybody loses.

Celebrities being alerted: Apparently, some letters of apologies have been sent to Sean Astin and back in June a staff member sent Elijah Wood and Billy Boyd's managers and agents the news that Mr Frodo was a weirdo using Elijah's middle name and channeling his mojo and stuff. Good, I say. The last thing we need is a 'LOTR Freak Stabs Elijah Woods' on CNN. That explains why they failed to say anything while planning events and stuff.

The rest of it is horror stories from Mr Frodo and OB. The lurker's story on how she put two and two together (with some help from FW, horray for us!) is fascinating.

The most creepy thing? The story on how one of the members wasn't allowed to meet Sean Astin's family. Apparently, Mrs Astin spent the whole day waiting for the fan in the hotel, while VB and OB cruised around town with her husband. That is SO wrong on SO many levels.

Other details: an anon named Peek, (the one that sent the link to the police's website) stands up and defends her action. More power to her, I say. She says she fears revenge. And can we blame her? She knew it was serious when she saw it in two Oregon news stations and three newspapers. (YIKES!)

More wank, as it develops...

"This is FW Headline News. We mock because we care."

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Re: More interesting bits.....

kijikun
2003-12-29 03:43 am UTC (link)

*Ahem* I'd be notmean. That aside, thanks for recaping for us. Some side notes are that measures are being taken to protect the fourm untill it goes under for lack of payment. The new PP site is having issues where its reporting to much bandwith. Clebs have been notifyed so that end is safe. I'm a bit worried about 'little sam' that was living with VB/JW and OB.

And yes if anything else us keeping track of all this, and reporting on it has probably gotten alot of peoples attenions that otherwise wouldn't have realized something was going down.

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Re: More interesting bits.....
(Anonymous)
2004-01-01 04:09 am UTC (link)

It wasn't a bit of earth staffer who notified Elijah's publicist or contacted Billy's people. It was me and some other mates of mine who were just so blown away by all of this we felt the celebs had to know who the fuck they were dealing with. I did it the very day I toddled over to BoE and read that Elijah Wood had been "approached" to do the Hall of Fire. Shortly thereafter, his name was removed and the story put out about reshoots. And by the way, he was supposed to be the one to do the marriage proposal, according to my spies. But he was "unavailable".

So they fell back on Sean. At least that's what my spies tell me.

You can see where they were headed with this. Elijah Wood calling OB and proposing on behalf of Jordan.

It beggers the imagination.

What I'd like to know is what was Sean Astin's reaction when he was introduced to Jordan Wood. Now THAT'S a picture I'd like to have....

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	nabiki_gmyw 2003-12-29 03:55 am UTC (link)
	Then three cheers for you, kijikun. In a way, this is what the internet is all about (besides mocking, of course...) These things need to be said and discussed, lest there be other victims. It's not right to keep quiet, you have to say it, scream it if you have to. That's how things can get fixed, says my little head... (Reply to this)

Not to butt in, but....
(Anonymous)
2003-12-29 08:25 am UTC (link)

*boggle* Um. I was there. No, really. I was at GenCon, and I SAW the proposal as it happened. My online name is Freya Lorelei (http://www.livejournal.com/users/freyalorelei), and I posted the entire thing (http://www.livejournal.com/users/freyalorelei/2003/07/28/) in my journal. I had no clue of the deep inner goings-on...I met a bunch of Bit of Earthers there, they seemed like nice girls, and they invited me backstage to see Sean Astin. (I had earlier tripped on my Ren faire dress and fell on my face while getting up to ask him a question). I was the only non-BoEer there. I was as surprised as anyone else regarding the proposal, but was completely out of the political loop, and thought it rather keen at the time. I think I may have met a couple of ladies named Poppy and Rachel, they would be able to confirm my appearance at GenCon. You can also hear me online asking questions at the Q&A (I said a bunch of stuff about Silm, and plugged a Beren and Luthien film), and of course humiliating myself in front of hundreds.

I must say, that is rather a kick in the teeth to read about the whole thing being a scam and the charity money stolen for personal reasons, and it partly taints my memories of GenCon (which really was a wonderful time, and Sean Astin is a lovely, gracious man).

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Re: Not to butt in, but....

kijikun
2003-12-29 06:42 pm UTC (link)

It was competely a scam. Alot of good people tried to do alot of good. Unfourently VB and OB pocketed the charity money it seems. If you donated anything..even time, call the Marion sheriff ASAP. The more they know about how deep the scams went the better. I'm sure Tumerial will be able to give you the4 correct phone numbers and contact.

This happens to the best of us. I've been burned by fandom scam before which is why I'm following this so closely. But don't give up on trying to to good.

Peace
Kiji

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	Re: Not to butt in, but.... (Anonymous) 2003-12-29 09:22 pm UTC (link)
	shakes head No...I never donated anything. One of the girls gave me a password to the Prancing Pony, but I only posted a few times for introductory purposes, then sort of fizzled away (I'm very much a lurker). It's just so odd to have something that I was personally present for, snowball into infamy. (Reply to this)(Parent)

sistermagpie
2003-12-29 05:54 pm UTC (link)

Wow. This is a pretty amazing wank, unfortunately involving real money. Not to sound superior because I'm sure I'm not unconnable myself, but I'm surprised at how long this could go on. It sounds like there were huge organized events involving lots of money going on all the time, and I'd think the first time I heard an excuse like, "Elijah Wood can't come because he has to go back to New Zealand because his facial features have changed so much" I'd be pretty suspicious. That sounds like something I'd expect to hear in a bad rps.

Geek that I am, the most painful thing for me reading it is that this crazy woman goes by the name "Mr. Frodo." Mr. Frodo does not defraud people and fake his own suicide! (Except in bad fanfic.)

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