Jonathan ,'Touched'
A thread to discuss naming threads, board policy, new thread suggestions, and anything else that has to do with board administration and maintenance. Guaranteed to include lively debate and polls. Natter discouraged, but not deleted.
Current Stompy Feet: ita, Jon B, DXMachina, P.M. Marcontell, Liese S., amych
We're not talking about just internet identity, though. We're talking about business transactions. The person we know as Gus was able to sign for Fedex packages and cash checks under the name of Guy Straley at the address we have from Brenda's company. While my correspondence with him was not physical, it was in a professional context.
Plus the phone # we have is tied to the name too, right?
Laura (WRT to backchannel) and Beverly speak for me. And I want to say Hi to Margaret, who I always think of when I think of "lurkers in email", and who I want to thank for posting
The person we know as Gus was able to sign for Fedex packages and cash checks under the name of Guy Straley at the address we have from Brenda's company.
Ah, I must have missed that. Does make it less likely, then, doesn't it? Hmm.
Well, I confess myself baffled. Also perplexed. And puzzled. Possibly even bemused.
Liese, anyone can sign any name for most Fedex or UPS packages, unless the sender specifies otherwise.
They get the pkg to its destination, get someone's signature, and that's that. The driver may confirm the name that's been signed, but I could sign my cat's name, essentially, and they'd just ask me if "Rafa" was spelled with an "f".
Thanks, Sophia. I support you all in my head, if not in email.
You don't have to show ID to sign for a FedEx package.
And you can deposit checks through an ATM to your account and they'll stick even if isn't your name on the check.
AFAIK, anyone can get a DBA (doing business as) bank account and use it like a real name, signing for packages and cashing checks. Many sole proprietors of businesses do that. So the fact that he could "sign for Fedex packages and cash checks under the name of Guy Straley at the address we have" doesn't prove it was his real actual name.
I was dark from late morning Friday (board time) until early yesterday evening. So I didn't see things unfold in anything close to real time. I've stayed silent, mainly because I couldn't think of any way to say what I wanted to say. And because, with my limited experience of Net boards, this is the first time I've seen such a situation.
But I think Trudy has a point, even if it isn't quite what I hear her saying. When I logged in yesterday, this was the second busiest thread over the last 4+ days. This thread was busier than Bitches. And virtually all of it in 2 days. While I haven't kept track, this thread has continued to be extremely busy over the last 24 or so hours since I logged back in.
I think the community has overanalyzed this to death. OK, I know, we're Buffistas. Overanalysis is what we do. But I'm not sure how much more can be accomplished at this point.
Not to say there aren't legitimate questions. And I don't have any quarrel with the tone -- if it's been a lynch mob (and I don't think it has), it's certainly the most polite lynch mob I've ever heard of. But it's reached the point of diminishing returns.
certainly the most polite lynch mob I've ever heard of
Fred, I'd like to tag this, if I may?
And, well, I think this has to run its course. It hasn't, quite, yet.
Fred, even more than most, I think. that's got to be a decision by the participants in the discussion.