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This page contains a few common questions that are often asked at Eater. Keep in mind that any views or opinions in here
are those of myself, but I'll try to keep it as unbiased as I can.
BAITING QUESTIONS
My lad wants my phone number. What now?
Lads do that. Personally I've never spoken to a mugu, and I've never been dropped (that I know of) because of that. But a
phone call will add to your credibility and cost your lad money / phone credit. If you want to do phone calls, I would suggest
setting up a k7 account (info available at Eater) or something similar.
Many members offer a "pimp my number" service at Eater, where they will take or make a call on your behalf.
Just find a member offering the service and PM them, or start a thread in the forum asking for a pimped number.
What is a safari or trophy, and how do I get them?
A trophy, if I recall correctly, is anything a lad does just for you. A silly photo, a sculpture, a video, or just about
anything else. Photo-chopped pictures, cheesy certificates and things he found on a google-search don't count.
A safari is a trip your lad embarks on in pursuit of the easy money you're sending him. To qualify, the journey must
be (I'm pretty sure) over 200km OR involve crossing an international border. Once your safari is verified (usually by IP
address), you get a little hat in your signature line.
I suck at trophy/safari baits! They require a lot of time, patience and convincing. We're talking months here. The best
trophy/safari baiters usually have a 5% success rate. Because lads are so lazy and cowardly, these things are considered
major accomplishments.
My lads keep leaving suddenly. What's wrong?
Nothing. Lads bug out all the time for hundreds of reasons. It's a fact of baiting. As time progresses, you will notice
your baits getting longer as you figure out your best tricks and strengths with each type of bait. There is no magic formula:
Only experience can teach you how to keep them on the line. It doesn't take long.
When your lads leave you, take a look at the last couple of messages you sent them. Then ask yourself "If I was
a lazy parasite coward sumbitch looking to rip people off, what would I think?".
Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up. There are plenty of other lads just waiting to be abused by you, and they don't
cost anything!
My lad has issued an ultimatum, and is threatening to leave me if I don't comply. What now?
Reply with acceptance of his terms. Something like "well obviously you are not serious / professional enough to work
with me on this, so bye" will do it nicely, or you can get all thunder-and-lightning on him if you want.
He's not really ready to leave you; this is just another bluff. Remember what I said about lads lying? If your lad wanted
to leave you, he'd just stop sending messages.
I think I got some information on a real victim! What do I do?
Notify the first mod you can find immediately. If that fails, notify me. Provide as many details as you can, including copies
of e-mails with full headers. It will be taken care of right away.
My lad just gave me his bank details, what now?
This is where Alan (alan@aa419.org) gets involved. There's a sticky in Eater (Scambaiting Help, Hints & Tips) about it,
or you can ask me or any mod how to notify him. Alan will have the scammer's account investigated and hopefully shut down.
He's very busy and may not reply to you, but be assured this guy has destroyed more scammers than HIV has.
What is a dolla-chop, and who is this Bello / Axeman character?
The Dolla-Chop:
This happens when someone else moves in and steals a scammer's Western Onion payment out from under him. There are many lads
who will really do this to each other (no honour among thieves, even less among lads), so it makes for a great baiting tool.
It pisses the lads off to no end to think that somebody else took their "hard earned" dollars.
The Axeman:
As you surely know, there are things far more dangerous than 419-lads in this world. One such thing is Usman Bello, aka the
Axeman, a real live dolla-chopper. He is well aware that Eater knows about him, which is why his name is always masked and
any threads/posts about him are removed quickly in the forums. Due to his profession, he does not like publicity. But this
ain't the forum!
Very few real details are known about him, but he is not someone you want to trifle with. Well educated and very successful,
he (and it may be more than one individual) makes his living by preying on weak scammers, mostly in coastal Africa. His computer
skills are phenomenal, and he knows more about the 419 process than any lad or oga does. He is also incredibly ruthless,
and will eliminate anyone who challenges him. He is wanted by many law enforcement agencies for a list of crimes including
extortion, theft, kidnapping, torture, murder, and racketeering to name a few, but obviously has friends in very high places
because he's never been caught. While he may be a lads' worst enemy, he is most certainly not a baiter's friend. While he
seems to leave us alone, Eater does not associate with known thieves who have a habit of murdering people. Needless to say,
he should not be baited!
EATER QUESTIONS
Why can't I talk about cash-baiting, hacking, or sending viruses to the lads?
Because those things are against the law, and we're the good guys in all this. A website owner can be held legally responsible
if they allow illegal things to be discussed in their forums, and we don't want our beloved site shut down.
Remember, the law doesn't care if you're only doing it to scumbag criminal types who really deserve it. Whether or not
you DO those things is your business, but you can't talk about it in public.
Why are "ethics threads" bad?
Mods don't like threads about certain topics (baiting ethics, politics, religion, etc) because they can quickly become unfriendly
and personal, creating a bad atmosphere for the site. Ethics is a perfectly valid topic, but it's one that always contains
deeply held personal views. While I may think it's OK to talk a lad into circumcizing himself with a rusty chainsaw, someone
else may have a problem with it and say so. Then someone else may read it, and call THAT person a lad-hugging wussy, and
so on and so on, and the mods just don't want to deal with that. I don't blame them really!
As you've noted, "flame wars" are not tolerated at Eater and are stamped out quickly. That's simply because
Eater is a friendly (friendly goddammit!) place where people are welcome to ask questions and engage in meaningful (not always
meaningful) discussions, and schoolyard-type arguments have no real place there.
A lot of people think that saying "no offense" before telling someone that they're an absolute asshole will
get them off the hook. It's never worked so far.
What is "newb-bashing"?
I hate the friggin' n-word! But it gets used a lot, so here we go... newb-bashing:
This happens when a newer member starts a thread, asks a question or posts a comment that has been seen many times before
and is often covered in the stickies. Newb-bashing is when certain members take offense to the post and decide to "correct"
the newcomer by replying with sarcasm, condescending remarks, insults or other decidedly unfriendly words. It's also not
allowed at Eater.
Why do some people do it? Because they're assholes. Often a newb-basher will misinterpret the question/comment and start
going off on a self-righteous rant to show how "baiterer-than-thou" they are. My advice is to ignore them. If
they persist, let me or Lotta know. Then duck and cover.
IMPORTANT: If you've spend more than 20 minutes at Eater, you've noted that smartass humour and the odd harmless jab
is quite common. There are also members who will reply with a link to another thread/sticky, or with a short or terse reply.
That's not "newb-bashing"; some people just aren't the post-whore that (example) I am!
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