The-Con-Artist.com

[AceGambit]

Well, yes IP addresses work exactly like real life street addresses but your machine routes through a large number of machines, each with different IP addresses to get online.  You can trace it back through all those machines quite easily but really, all you can find out is the city from which the IP address originates (without a database of users on the entry-level ISP).

This is mostly true.  Unfortunately there are ways of averting accurate detection of people without proper tools or clearance.  For example, if you work for a company with many different offices and choose to make your posts on the discourse via your work computer, depending on the sophistication and setup of your company's infrastructure, your post could end up reporting an IP from the other side of the country.  Theoretically, a woman living in PA could go into work, log into her remote terminal or Citrix box, having the server farm actually living in Spokane, WA, and make a post on the discourse.  You're not going to be able to trace and RDP or TS session with simple tools.

So while possible, it's unlikely.

[Kanped]

Any of the trace tools I've seen would report that the WA server was not a user terminal, whether it could go any further or not.  You basically type in the IP you're looking for and it traces the connection until it either hits that IP or can't go any further.  I'm totally willing to accept that that situation could easily come up, though.

I mean, let's be honest here; computers just work off 1s and 0s; if you're skilled enough, or circumstances present themselves, you can forge any result of any test.

'Unlikely' is an understatement; let's remember that before the test was made, I specifically said that I thought it would show up as Spokane, WA (the phrase I used was '80% sure').  Of all the possible locations of a proxy server, 'unlikely' doesn't cover it.  I'm not psychic (although Shane Carter is so transparent, there really isn't any need to be).

[whoami]

I ... was going to try it here and see if alex could catch it

I was thinking the same thing.

[NathanCanadas]

Well, yes IP addresses work exactly like real life street addresses but your machine routes through a large number of machines, each with different IP addresses to get online.  You can trace it back through all those machines quite easily but really, all you can find out is the city from which the IP address originates (without a database of users on the entry-level ISP).

Actually 2 computers connected on the same internet have the same IP address, even if they live in two different houses accross from each other.

[Kanped]

Actually 2 computers connected on the same internet have the same IP address, even if they live in two different houses accross from each other.

No.  The router they're using has an IP address, which is what you'll probably find if you try to trace the IP but on that network, every machine will have its own IP address.

lol @ 'connected on the same internet'... there only is one.

[Linguist_]

Wow, this topic is still going stong, eh? Although it seems to be more a discussion about how IP tracing works rather than about this company. If there's nothing more to say about the 'company' then wait until there are some developments to comment on.

[AceGambit]

I think what he was getting at is that two houses in the same neighborhood using the same ISP will have the same IP address, but this is only true for the last hop, there's still one more jump beyond that to get to the house.  For all intents and purposes, every internet service BILL/Invoice has an IP assigned to it.  Two computers in the same house that are not paying independently for internet will report to be feeding from the same IP.  While their external IP (the one provided by Comcast, Verizon, RCN, etc will be the same, they have an internal IP (192.168.x.x) that their personal router provides them.


EDIT:  Sorry, Linguist is right, if we want to continue the IP tracing conversation, we should take it to another thread.

[Daniel]

hahaa  this thread is sooo cool!!! makes me kinda scared to join forums now though. haha. but yeah if these people suddenly shit out a great design from somewhere, it'll be kinda embarrassing. don't you think. i liked their page anyway just to see updates. seems like they're posting random pics. like the newest one. wonder what that is.

[Kanped]

if these people suddenly shit out a great design from somewhere, it'll be kinda embarrassing. don't you think.

Questions have question marks and it's 'this person', not 'these people'.

No, I don't think it would be embarrassing at all.  I have reacted, arguably, more strongly than anyone else here and frankly, I'm quite proud of my restraint and humility based on the available evidence.  We have proven, excepting extreme coincidences. that Shane Carter is behind TCA, that he is a compulsive liar, possibly delusional, with no provable talent for anything at all (including design work).  Anyone capable of critical thinking, which should be anyone at all, will see that doubting and trying to spread the word about the fraudulence of TCA is the only reasonable course of action.

[Daniel]

if these people suddenly shit out a great design from somewhere, it'll be kinda embarrassing. don't you think.

Questions have question marks and it's 'this person', not 'these people'.

No, I don't think it would be embarrassing at all.  I have reacted, arguably, more strongly than anyone else here and frankly, I'm quite proud of my restraint and humility based on the available evidence.  We have proven, excepting extreme coincidences. that Shane Carter is behind TCA, that he is a compulsive liar, possibly delusional, with no provable talent for anything at all (including design work).  Anyone capable of critical thinking, which should be anyone at all, will see that doubting and trying to spread the word about the fraudulence of TCA is the only reasonable course of action.

I just thought that he might be working with some people you know. It's a con, it's fun to work on a con with friends. Not saying it's a good thing.
And yeah i guess it won't be embarrassing. haha. you seem to have proven everything you've stated and that's pretty solid. I've skimmed through this thread and their page and they've not come up with any proper, solid defense, so yeah, it should be what it looks like, a con.

[xela]

Daniel, there is no reason to be afraid of joining forums now. IP addresses are logged everywhere you join, including Facebook and even emails. SMF software comes with an IP tracking feature that lets me see every action a certain IP does on a forum, regardless of account. Yes, I could hypothetically use the feature to stalk people, but I have better things to do with my time. In reality, I've used the feature to figure out who that troll sxephil is, and now with the help of Kanped, figured out that TCA is creating fake accounts to boost PR.

As for TCA pumping out an amazing product, I wouldn't care. Would you buy a Porsche for $10,000 (a steal) from someone who has a track record of scamming, lying, cheating, stealing identities, making fake claims and violating copyright laws?

[Aaron]

Daniel, there is no reason to be afraid of joining forums now. IP addresses are logged everywhere you join, including Facebook and even emails. SMF software comes with an IP tracking feature that lets me see every action a certain IP does on a forum, regardless of account. Yes, I could hypothetically use the feature to stalk people, but I have better things to do with my time. In reality, I've used the feature to figure out who that troll sxephil is, and now with the help of Kanped, figured out that TCA is creating fake accounts to boost PR.

As for TCA pumping out an amazing product, I wouldn't care. Would you buy a Porsche for $10,000 (a steal) from someone who has a track record of scamming, lying, cheating, stealing identities, making fake claims and violating copyright laws?

Can you see everything someone does from an IP or only things the person does on your site? and I agree with the not purchasing from him thing.

[Kanped]

There's no way he could see everything an IP does.  Only when that IP accesses the server this site is based from.

[Aaron]

There's no way he could see everything an IP does.  Only when that IP accesses the server this site is based from.

So would this example work:

Someone is on Aethercards.com, I have other tabs open and om using those sites as well. Can alex see it?

That is pretty awesome if he can.

[Linguist_]

There's no way he could see everything an IP does.  Only when that IP accesses the server this site is based from.

So would this example work:

Someone is on Aethercards.com, I have other tabs open and om using those sites as well. Can alex see it?

That is pretty awesome if he can.

I'm not exactly sure you understand what an IP is or is used for. Every device connected to the internet has an IP; and every website you visit - whether simultaneously or not - uses your IP. You can't tell much from an IP except the user's Internet Service Provider and their general location. The location can be traced to around their street with a great deal of innaccuracy, but will likely get the correct town/city. If you want to see the information your own IP reveals about you then check here If someone needed you exact address and had the authority to get it (i.e. from a court) then they can contact your ISP and get your details from your IP.

People are much more likely to gather information you submit overtly - i.e. from posting in these forums; your facebook pages - rather than covertly through tracking IPs.

Still not sure why there isn't a thread about IP addresses if everuone's so keen on talking about it, but whatever.

[Evan]

I'm starting to think that The Con Artist may not be a scam after all....
I'm done saying that its fake and a scam because we can't be 100% sure until they actually scam someone... It's sad that, that is pretty much the only way but it is.

[Linguist_]

6 months of scripting has gone into their plan to get all the negative publicity as possible to keep everyone talking and waiting to see what's next

Jeez, which university did their marketing adviser get their marketing degree from. "You must get as many people to mistrust you as possible when trying to create a new brand. Mistrust, lies, deceit and lack of transparency is the key to a good company."

As alex. alluded to above, it is not a case of whether the company is a scam (that is, takes people's money on a basis of pretence). Even if this company produces the most wonderful deck that has ever been created and sold it for $0.99, I'd never give them my money for it, nor publicise them to win a competition for a free gross of them.

If a company wishes to keep developments secret, it does not say to its designer, "go forth and comment on our deck and lie when people ask if you are affiliated to us; create fake accounts; pretend you do not know us". It just shuts up and gives sneak peeks.

[Kanped]

If he's just the designer, why is the site registered with his email address?  If his other company has started the design on a computer game, why were they asking for that (in regards to making a computer game) paltry sum on Kickstarter and then continue production without receiving a single cent?  If 6 months of planning went ito this, why was the website only registered 3 1/2 months ago?  Surely, that's the FIRST thing you do. Come on, people.

He seems to be getting kinda upset now.  I really can't be happy about that but I have no regrets, either.

[Aaron]

I think we should all just lay off and give him a chance, lets see where he goes with this. If he pakes a nice deck of cards that is sold for a decent price through Paypal, I will buy it.

[NathanCanadas]

I just don't understand if he isn't a scam, why would he have created a fake account here, registered his FB page, pretended to be different from the company owner, made tons of failed kickstarter projects... I just don't understand.

[Kanped]

He's obviously lying and just sitting back is only going to make it harder on genuine start-up designers when everyone discovers this.  I mean, I guess, best case scenario, he was trying to build up an impossible amount of hype with ridiculous stories and had (and has) every intention of releasing a deck but he can't keep the 150 deck promises and the cards were doomed, ultimately, to be a disappointment if it weren't for the fact that myself and others have been so negative about it.  It could be that he's just seriously egotistical, possibly deluded, a compulsive liar but isn't trying to rip people off; that's very much a possibility but it still muddies the waters for up-and-coming designers.  Like linguist said, I wouldn't buy these things if they were the greatest cards ever made, cost nothing and had free international shipping; I will not support a company who conducts business in this way and for some reason, people are starting to buy into his BS again.

Basically, I'd rather stop the timebomb than say 'I told you so' to the smouldering crater.  In saying that, this thread exists, there's a link to it on his page and I'm done researching him; I think we should have enough here to convince anyone that his stories will not add up, so in that respect, yes; I'm leaving it alone.

[Aaron]

I just don't understand if he isn't a scam, why would he have created a fake account here, registered his FB page, pretended to be different from the company owner, made tons of failed kickstarter projects... I just don't understand.

Who knows! Just because he has created fake accounts and has failed KS projects doesn`t mean he is a scam. I do know he has BAD PR though, I just think we shpuld wait and see what comes of this company.

[Don Boyer]

I just don't understand if he isn't a scam, why would he have created a fake account here, registered his FB page, pretended to be different from the company owner, made tons of failed kickstarter projects... I just don't understand.

Who knows! Just because he has created fake accounts and has failed KS projects doesn`t mean he is a scam. I do know he has BAD PR though, I just think we shpuld wait and see what comes of this company.

Think about what you just said for a moment, if you would.  Failed KS projects come and go, but his were sketchy and shady right off the bat.  And have you known ANYONE from ANY card design house to run around making false accounts in a lame attempt to redirect a negative conversation about them or their products?  Well, besides this dingbat, anyway...

Whether he's a fraud and scam artist remains to be seen, but it's very clear that his ego appears to be writing checks for him that he can't cover.  Some people delude themselves into thinking that the sizzle really is the steak and that if they can convince themselves of a desired version of reality, everyone else will believe it, too.

To put this in the simplest terms, no individual designer or company deserving of respect in the marketplace does the things that this person has done.  They let their products do the talking and don't stretch hyperbole into outright lies.  Honestly, that FB message Evan posted - it was marginally readable at best and didn't make a lot of sense; it was barely more than semi-coherent ramblings of the type I'm used to hearing from mentally-unbalanced people.  Either he's got terrible communication skills or a serious deficiency.

I don't think any things he may or may not produce, no matter how great, are worth a fraction of the attention we're giving them here.  We busted him, and life goes on.  I have no further interest in letting him rent real estate in my head.

[Kanped]

Here's some new PMs (Facebook);

Shane Carter
Chris no offense bro, but your pretty much a loser aren't you, trying to drag my name through the mud is pretty screwed for someone you dont know. I gotta say though you seem like a pretty tough guy with those 1980 pants and the grandma dog photos you post all over your page, but hey I'm not judging! So what my ex wife gets 1 bad feedback on eBay, who cares! Is that all you can scrounge up on me hahahah oh don't you think it's weird that both those kickstarter accounts were launched 1 week before The-Con-Artist.com? Don't you also think its weird how my fight wear is worn by people on live televised events in front of millions and how I helped create the Arcane Gaffed deck, dont you think it's weird how I was at battery park for Tropfest Tribecca, yet I help a company with some cards to help toss you around and you think your a tough guy singing in your little school band, or is this about hating me for something that you could never EVER achieve in your lifetime? Most millionaires including Trump try things if they don't work, they move onto the next! I have a ton of ideas for artwork in my head, why is it a problem if I try them all until one fits? Magic is my life and it has been since I was 4 years old, so Creating cards with E and now The-Con-Artist.com is a wicked awesome achievement for me, yet you try to bring my name through the mud? It's pointless and only proves how much of a childish ass you are!

Chris Wilson
"Your" indicates ownership. "You're" is short for 'you are'. You always do that. You also seem to be oblivious to what the term 'offence' means.

If I was worried about people seeing any of that stuff, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to see that stuff, it isn't difficult.

You haven't had a single piece of success in your life. I wonder if you believe that you do? The way you act, the things you've done; people draw their own conclusions. All I did was point out what was available on you online. Then you started lying about it.
I'm not a tough guy; I hate fighting. I am, however, smart and you're not. I'll always have that on you and I value that more than anything you could possibly achieve. I don't need fucking fame because I have good people, people I respect who already love me. I guess you don't.
Everything I've seen from you is based on the same, pathetic get-rich-quick premise where because you want something SO bad, you must get it if you try, right? No, you need luck and talent. Even if I was wrong, I fucked up the luck aspect for you, buddy; lots of people don't trust you. As for talent; in everything you have ever done, I have seen no evidence of any talent in any aspect of it. The best I can say about you is that you're photogenic. If you wanted to be a model, fair play, that'd probably go well for you. You want to be a designer? I've seen your website. That will not go well.

Let's cut the BS (if you can), here. I caught you lying and you tried and failed to adapt the lie to the truths that I found and failed. You're now getting desperate and this message is just 1 more attempt at getting me to back off. It spurs me on, you know. I felt I'd done enough, really but after this message? I could probably do more, really. The fact that you didn't mention the hacking is pretty suspicious here. Hoping I'd forget? I still don't think you're good enough to hack an account, unless there was some ridiculous security flaw but like I said, you're getting really desperate. Awww, c'mon; this one I'm not sure on and can't check out. Did you do it?

Shane Carter
Listen I did nothing to you man, you contacted me! If your implying that I'm a dumb jock, I never claimed to be smart nor do I, I am however extremely creative and you will see that in the coming months. However if you think you are some brilliant master, then I am afraid you are mistaking, I believe you think you are smart and will argue with a fence post if it was standing in front of you to see who is gonna move first. I did think you were hitting on me for a minute there as well, but don't worry, I won't post that in all the forums as what your into is your thing and not my business, just don't touch me and we will be fine. If your so smart then I assume you already figured out the last photo that TCAC posted? I'm sure they appreciate your brilliant self not giving it away. If your smart then you know your band will never make it, yet you still do it why? Like I though you have a dream and don't judge others for living theirs. I feel sorry for you as you have nothing better to do in your life then try and hurt innocent people. Your a hack good luck living at home with your mom the rest of your life!

Chris Wilson
My band 'making it'? Dude, we play weddings and stuff, all the time. We do covers; that's all we do, all we ever will do and it's good. We're making money and having fun. Seriously, though "your" and "you're" are different words. I will argue with a fence post if it is blatantly wrong, sure. I have absolutely no interest in solving your asinine little puzzles. I zoomed in and read it, if that's what you mean.

Shane Carter
Haha exactly how I feel, just drawing a couple packs of cards and making some money on the side and I am good at that, so stop judging me when you do basically the same things, only in a different aspect in life!

Chris Wilson
Bullshit. You've been lying, constantly; talking crap about building negative publicity. I don't screw with people to market the band. I don't know why you're still doing it. Why not just come clean about everything if you actually intend on selling a product? Are you actually mentally ill?

Shane Carter
Chris there is a deck being produced at USPCC that The-Con-Artist.com is printing. geesh you just don't get it Brotha! Seriously though stop talking your crap about me when You know nothing about me man it's childish and for someone that says they are as smart as you, you look like a fuckin idiot to me!
I'm done with you and have nothing to prove to you and I owe you nothing! Just wait and see and look like a clown! Shakes head and walks away!

Chris Wilson
Maybe there is a deck being printed. That's beside the point. You lied about being involved, you lied about the MMA and Kickstarter projects, you lied about WHY you lied about being involved. If you actually intended to sell something, then WHAT WAS THE POINT IN ALL THE LIES? You really can't see that if a new company comes along making a bunch of claims (the kind we hear a lot from brash young upstarts that go nowhere) about how impossibly great the cards are, and then find out that their biggest support is themselves under a different name, and all the other shit, that it's reasonable for everyone to be seriously suspicious of that company? If someone on eBay said they were in Washington but you discovered they were in fact in Michigan, regardless of the legitimacy of the product, surely you would avoid them like the plague? Isn't that reasonable? Why did you lie so much, what was the point? What were you hoping to achieve?

[Paul Carpenter]

To put this in the simplest terms, no individual designer or company deserving of respect in the marketplace does the things that this person has done.  They let their products do the talking and don't stretch hyperbole into outright lies. 

Amen. Products or not, the "marketing strategy" (term used very lightly) employed here is beyond bizarre and I can only assume this person fiercely believes the worn out old dogma of "any PR is good PR."

I would hang my head in shame if I got into the situation he finds himself in and didn't comport myself with some honesty, kindness and helpfulness. I guess the pervasive attitude in society of "whatever I want to do is fine, who needs consequences" rears it's ugly head once again. I even contemplate and craft posts on forums like this because I know it reflects on me and my work.

(As an aside I find it interesting that Shane now says he's helping this company design cards when previously he stated he had nothing to do with it. Lies compound lies, and suddenly the hole is large.)