Would You Be A Good Hoaxer?

[Num7]

How good a hoaxer do you think you would be?

What does it take to imagine, go forward with and then get away, with the perfect hoax?

We've seen a lot of hoaxers here over the years, some of them were pretty lame, others, on rare occasions were good. Do we know all the traps and possible mistakes a hoaxer can make and would YOU be able to avoid them?

I personally don't have the motivation or interest to perpetrate a hoax, but I have to assume I wouldn't be that bad...

What about you?

 

[ZeoEmeraude]

No motivation for me as well Num. I would say it's a tough act overall. Some who can plan and execute the lie well, are hard to catch. Some are just plain sloppy. I make it no secret that I don't like them. They insult the intelligence of others and create chaos with deception. It just plain makes it harder to find those who wish to share experiences that invigorate our need for the truth. And that's why we come here..too seek and explore those questions that drive us in our pursuits.

 

[TnWatchdog]

I wouldn't be a good hoaxer as I have no interest in deceiving people.
I have known compulsive liars whom after a while believe their own story of lies. I think this type of person would be most likely the hoaxer type. They want to get attention while patting themselves on the back. The hoax is their hobby, which becomes their obsession. In addition to posting, people making fake youtube videos fall into this deception for attention senerio.

 

[Classicalfan626]

@TnWatchdog - I'm with you on that one!

 

[PaulaJedi]

I couldn't do it. I simply am not that kind of person, but I think writing skills help a lot. Look at John Titor -- whether you believe him or not, he had fairly good writing skills, he rarely lost his temper, he answered most questions the best he could, and he was in it for the long hall (more or less). Also, as far as I know, he didn't harrass or stalk people, either. This is why people listened to him.

Good behavior goes a long way.

 

[Gacut]

I couldn't do it. I simply am not that kind of person, but I think writing skills help a lot. Look at John Titor -- whether you believe him or not, he had fairly good writing skills, he rarely lost his temper, he answered most questions the best he could, and he was in it for the long hall (more or less). Also, as far as I know, he didn't harrass or stalk people, either. This is why people listened to him.

Good behavior goes a long way.

This remindes me the film called "Prestige" where they say something like "If you want to make magic, you need to sacrifice everything to this cause" And that fits perfectly to John Titor.

As for the hoaxers, i am not much a writer, i only did poor time travel webcomic, so i wouldn't do such thing.
I am not even looking at threads like "Hello from 2368503" because it's a waste of time. John Titor was at least entertaining to read.

 

[Thoth93]

I've been accused of hoaxing and there's no defense against it if you are genuine or a hoaxer. Then the question is how much of what we see is a well made hoax believed by many and how much is actual phenomena written off as a hoax? Even my own colleagues have told me my evidence looks fake sometimes. Luckily my evidence is for my colleagues and my own research and not for the world. If my evidence looks real or not is irrelevant it is real and when I am able to teach the techniques to my students and they see themselves making contact and experiencing the phenomena for themselves it's all good.