Apology and explanation

P

Padraic

New Member
Apology and explanation

I owe you all an apology and an explanation. What happened was not the result of two beer swilling pranksters having a bit of a laugh at your expense. It was mostly the result of a man with a wife working second shift who got bored waiting for her to get home in the evening. I had been reading these forums for a while, seeing how lame some of the hoaxes were, and finally my ego got the best of me and I said, "I can do better than these people." I told my brother one evening when he came over what I was doing and he wisely advised me against it. He said that I should either come clean right away or just stop posting. I had too much of an ego to follow his advice. He is younger than me and I have never been used to him giving advice. In some ways he is wiser than me. I told him that I could do it, that I could do better than those others and he told me that I would be gone before September. By then he had gone on the forum and read a bit and he told me that there were some smart people who would see the holes in the story. That is when he made the bet with me that I would be sunk before the end of the month.

There were some elements of truth in the story. I did have an ancestor who served on that ship. He was killed in 1813 when she was beaten by HMS Shannon and left behind a wife and son in Norfolk. I am descended from him, but I am not him. We don't know much about his life other than the fact that he was in the Navy, so I took the liberty of filling in the gaps as best as I could figure. I think Grayson had me figured out pretty early because my nautical knowledge is not as exhaustive as a sailor of that era would have possessed. I tip my hat to him.

So it comes down to this. It was a fun ride for a while, but it was a ride I should not have had at your expense and for that I apologize. To the admins of the board, I offer my sincere apologies, to Ralan and the others who believed me I am sorry for getting your hopes up and then for dashing them back down again. To Satan, I am sorry for using your board in such a way for my own petty enjoyment. Now that gives whole new meaning to "giving the Devil his due." I am old enough to have known better. The persona I had created was something of a composite of two people who actually existed, a 19th century sailor I am descended from, and a 21st century financial services rep who has too much of an interest in the past. I am the latter, and sometimes dream of being the former.

I need to be going now. My wife will be waking up soon and it is my morning to cook breakfast. I hope you all will accept my apologies and find it in your hearts to forgive my immature attempt at deception.

Sincerely,

Padraic
 
Apology and explanation

Padriac,
I will not speak for anyone else on this board but myself. I accept your apology. You have explained yourself adequately.

Please understand that it will be a while before I trust what you say. Trust will be gained in time and in your sincerity of your future posts.

"Mom"
 

Apology and explanation

Charles/Padraic,
I have issued a warning to your account. Additionally you have been placed on Moderator Queue for 7 days.
 

Apology and explanation

Also, Padraic, I would like to refer you to the following rule applied to time traveler hoaxes:

11. After admitting a hoax stop hoaxing afterwards. Further hoaxing on top of a hoax can result in a ban.
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Given your polite demeanor I have chosen not to exercise a ban. If you choose to remain amongst us you are welcome. However, you should drop one of the two accounts you are currently using and only post on the remaining account. Please notify me or one of the other admins which account you will be using such that the other can be deleted.
 
Apology and explanation

I do feel that I will stick around. The other account is indeed my brother's name, but I doubt that he will wish to post on here anyway, given that he is a most adamant tt skeptic and did not like the idea of me being on here from the start. Plus, he didn't like the idea of me setting that one up in his name, on his computer, and using his email address. That was pretty low. You can delete that account, since I will not be posting under someone else's name. I've done enough of that!

Padraic
 
Apology and explanation

Ok. Can the Don't Rub It In and Trouble at My House threads be deleted? Won't be doing to have clutter in the Are You One section like the old forum did.
 
Apology and explanation

Originally posted by Ralan@Aug 26 2004, 11:27 AM
Ok. Can the Don't Rub It In and Trouble at My House threads be deleted? Won't be doing to have clutter in the Are You One section like the old forum did.
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They have been removed.
 
Apology and explanation

Padraic: I would say well done, but I am afraid that I can't. You hoaxed, you were caught and after a struggle, you confessed. I would have been happier if we hadn't've had to go through the little bit of blarney that was spun to try and give some last ditch credence to a crumbling tale. Had you immediately confessed, I would have still held you in the high regard that I had come to from our first meeting.

I would offer some points for you and any future hoaxers that would journey to this site, bent on showing how smart they can be.

Firstly I would say this, don't, because it is inevitable that the sustained effort of lying will eventually burden you in a number of ways. Your inherent morality may convince you to confess in the face of lying under such stressful and sustained circumstances. You may suffer the I want to tell them that I fooled them stress, under which circumstance we get the gloating apology. Or, you will engage with the people at this site on a personal level and attempt to humanise your new persona and become a real Community Member, which will inevitably lead to a blurring of the character lines and ultimately to your undoing.

Secondly, I would suggest that any future, or extant, hoaxer research their tale thoroughly. Whether it be future Sci-fi, near future war, or as in your case, an historic unintentional Traveller.

Your lack of any real understanding of the Chesapeake was apparent from the first, which is probably the time that you should have chosen to bail out and come clean. You didn't and chose instead to visit the site where a person who had given you your greatest technical challenge to your tale posted. I made a detailed post in the Moderator Forum regarding the technical flaws in your tale some days ago, I warned you that we shared information and still you persisted. So, we were all on our guard, feeding you line and you kept taking it and wrapping it around your neck, even when the jig was up.

Cary never trusted you, his instincts served him well. Many were uncertain as you posted a prosaic tale which seemed historically accurate and offered a sympathetic backdrop for our lost Padraic. People could and did emote with this lost soul and you persisted in perpetrating this charade in the face of sympathetic, compassionate and engaging posts from our Family Members here. After warning you not to do this, you persisted.

But, we are not unfeeling here and you are good company. You have a charm to you and an ability to engage people in a most human way. This makes you what you are, not the tale of Padraic and this is what this Community is all about. We care and we share.

So, let your tale be a warning to others. No matter who you are, or how well you spin your tale, when the jig is up, confess and end the lie.

We are not here to be hoaxed, we are not here to be trifled with. We are here to offer an opportunity for people to explore the possibility of and debate the rationality of Time Travel. We won't say, Don't hoax us because we are smart, but we will share information, hunches and evidence in the background each and every time an alleged TT'er shows up. As a Community, as a Family, we will find you out and we will reveal your lies.

Stay Padraic, enage us with the man behind the tale, but in doing so you become duty bound to look after this Family, as we look after each and every other Member.
 

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