Mike Greathouse
Reptilian Dreams
Wow – this is pretty amazing Rich.
Was this the method that you finally settled upon to increase the waning traffic on Fauna? I guess by turning Fauna into the National Inquirer, you very likely will enjoy an increased activity level. What’s next – an alien abduction forum?
Before I begin, I would like to thank those who have shown support and those who have shown restraint in responding to speculation. I would also like to point out the post made by John Schmitt, was his own and was not requested by me, as has been implied by some. I have simply not had the opportunity to read this until this morning.
Let’s set the record straight here once and for all. I’ll start with the serious allegation and work my way down.
I had absolutely no involvement in a DDOS attack on this or any other site.
Additionally, there have never been any attempts, or even thoughts, of any sabotage to your servers. I resent the implication and, although I am no longer surprised by your actions, I can say I never saw a statement like that coming from you. The expense you incurred moving your servers is a direct result of your own paranoia. You never received any indication from me that I would even consider something like that.
Yes – the Shrillomn persona was created by me.
This began as a good-natured parody of one of your very outspoken members. I do admit that it took on a life of it’s own and got out of hand. It has been some time since I read any of those old posts, but if anyone’s feelings were hurt by the comments made – I apologize.
No – I did not create the Sledgehammer persona.
My contact with Ben (if that is his real name) was strictly via activity on a couple of forums and private emails. As far as I know, he is another reptile enthusiast.
No – I did not create the Walk of Life persona.
This is the identity that I find the most disturbing. This individual seems to have intentionally created similarities between himself and me. The name, the interests, and the timing of his appearance on Fauna and Digital Herper. All of these things were just subtle enough to not be completely obvious.
I cannot explain the IP match with Walk of Life, other then to offer some possibilities.
I connect to the internet from a number of different sources.
My cell phone is internet capable, I always carry an IPAQ which is internet capable and use it frequently in my travels. I make frequent use of public WIFI for internet access.
One of the most common is that of Brighthouse Networks public WIFI access which has hotspots in multiple locations in several surrounding counties. I find this to be a very convenient method, given my routine. The downside to this is that you are sharing an IP address with potentially thousands of people on any given day.
The IP address that I am posting from now is from my home account. Note: Roadrunner owns a block of IP address and they routinely change. My purpose for going into all of this detail is to clarify the reason why there are so many IP addresses associated with my account.
I recently experienced a complete failure of my computer and was forced to build a new system from scratch. One of the issues that I overlooked, was securing the wireless router. It wasn’t until all of this came up that I even thought to check it.
Now it seems a stretch that someone would create a false account on a forum that I used to frequent, open up a dialog with me on my own forum, and then a couple of months later, essentially park in front of my house to grab my IP.
But barring the use of software/hardware IP manipulation, (which is not particularly difficult based upon what has been said by several posters) I cannot currently offer any other solution. The bottom line is this, I am not this Walk of Life character, and am somewhat concerned about his motives and ultimate goals. Whether you believe what I have said or not, it smacks of someone who joined into the game with an agenda.
I trust that I have sufficiently answered the questions put forth here. If not, I am sorry, but I made a decision to back away from Fauna some time ago, and I think the timing is right to make that a permanent situation.
To those good friends who have not jumped to a judgement until hearing my response…I thank you. To those good friends who have posted on my behalf, I thank you even more.
To the rest…take this as you will.
Good luck to you all.
Mike Greathouse
Was this the method that you finally settled upon to increase the waning traffic on Fauna? I guess by turning Fauna into the National Inquirer, you very likely will enjoy an increased activity level. What’s next – an alien abduction forum?
Before I begin, I would like to thank those who have shown support and those who have shown restraint in responding to speculation. I would also like to point out the post made by John Schmitt, was his own and was not requested by me, as has been implied by some. I have simply not had the opportunity to read this until this morning.
Let’s set the record straight here once and for all. I’ll start with the serious allegation and work my way down.
I had absolutely no involvement in a DDOS attack on this or any other site.
Additionally, there have never been any attempts, or even thoughts, of any sabotage to your servers. I resent the implication and, although I am no longer surprised by your actions, I can say I never saw a statement like that coming from you. The expense you incurred moving your servers is a direct result of your own paranoia. You never received any indication from me that I would even consider something like that.
Yes – the Shrillomn persona was created by me.
This began as a good-natured parody of one of your very outspoken members. I do admit that it took on a life of it’s own and got out of hand. It has been some time since I read any of those old posts, but if anyone’s feelings were hurt by the comments made – I apologize.
No – I did not create the Sledgehammer persona.
My contact with Ben (if that is his real name) was strictly via activity on a couple of forums and private emails. As far as I know, he is another reptile enthusiast.
No – I did not create the Walk of Life persona.
This is the identity that I find the most disturbing. This individual seems to have intentionally created similarities between himself and me. The name, the interests, and the timing of his appearance on Fauna and Digital Herper. All of these things were just subtle enough to not be completely obvious.
I cannot explain the IP match with Walk of Life, other then to offer some possibilities.
I connect to the internet from a number of different sources.
My cell phone is internet capable, I always carry an IPAQ which is internet capable and use it frequently in my travels. I make frequent use of public WIFI for internet access.
One of the most common is that of Brighthouse Networks public WIFI access which has hotspots in multiple locations in several surrounding counties. I find this to be a very convenient method, given my routine. The downside to this is that you are sharing an IP address with potentially thousands of people on any given day.
The IP address that I am posting from now is from my home account. Note: Roadrunner owns a block of IP address and they routinely change. My purpose for going into all of this detail is to clarify the reason why there are so many IP addresses associated with my account.
I recently experienced a complete failure of my computer and was forced to build a new system from scratch. One of the issues that I overlooked, was securing the wireless router. It wasn’t until all of this came up that I even thought to check it.
Now it seems a stretch that someone would create a false account on a forum that I used to frequent, open up a dialog with me on my own forum, and then a couple of months later, essentially park in front of my house to grab my IP.
But barring the use of software/hardware IP manipulation, (which is not particularly difficult based upon what has been said by several posters) I cannot currently offer any other solution. The bottom line is this, I am not this Walk of Life character, and am somewhat concerned about his motives and ultimate goals. Whether you believe what I have said or not, it smacks of someone who joined into the game with an agenda.
I trust that I have sufficiently answered the questions put forth here. If not, I am sorry, but I made a decision to back away from Fauna some time ago, and I think the timing is right to make that a permanent situation.
To those good friends who have not jumped to a judgement until hearing my response…I thank you. To those good friends who have posted on my behalf, I thank you even more.
To the rest…take this as you will.
Good luck to you all.
Mike Greathouse
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When I was at your home last September, I saw the secret hideaway with separate lan lines running into it with the warm glow of multiple computer monitors.... All to convenient if you ask me! You know it was done out of love don't you Jim? 
