Each month The Bigfootery Enquirer will bring readers a dust up of the month. What is a dust up? It’s one of the hallmarks of bigfootery, where two or more personalities collide in a public forum over perceived differences, a questioning of one’s expert status or bigfoot pecking order, perhaps an upstart newbie who did not read the “How To” section. Some call them flame wars, we consider them bigfootery gold.
This month’s dust up started back in July, 2008 and died down until January 1st when one of the principles, Susan Farnsworth (which may be a pen name – remember the advice about handles) re-stoked the fire by responding to some criticisms about her little research group. The resulting discussion include criticism of the amount of activity they encounter (see the post on is bigfootery a pseudoscience and the shyness effect) and the fact that a good deal of the website is devoted to the selling of bigfootery merchandise (a hallmark of the carney barker level of “Bigfoot Research”). An interesting counter expose was then posted, particularly damaging in regards to the possibilities of a hoaxed photo and to issues of consistencies in truth. Things would continue into the level of bigfootery silver as a sympathizer/group member jumped into the fray and violated the “be initially submissive” tip for the second level “Bigfoot Researcher” by bragging about a thermal camera they were using and impugning the reputation of this particular forum.
The bragging about the thermal camera and an amazing image they had captured came back to haunt this person a few days later when someone did a comparison picture of the image and the area in the daylight. Suddenly the amazing breakthrough picture of a bigfoot, or in this case for marketing purposes the mongolian monster, turned out to be a pine tree in the distance that receives enough sunlight to remain warmer than the surrounding area. But wait, then the “B” word was uttered. Evidently some in this misguided group of Arizonians had sent the image on to Tom Biscardi without the knowledge of the person who was operating the thermal camera, bigfootery gold!
But it does not end, those that are posting the content that exposes the transgressions of the group are chastised, they are “hot spot” snoopers and transgressors, they are hardly honorable, they have no manners when compared to Biscardi and crew. Then a new voice wades in on the side of the Farsworth supporters, criticizing the posters as armchair cut n pasters and not “field researchers”, another second level “Bigfoot Researcher” tip violation.
Then, just when it seems everyone has vented their spleen and there is no more blood to spill, Farnsworth returns with some classic’s right out of the fourth level “Bigfoot Researcher” playbook, she claims the high ground as someone out there producing evidence and that people are taking the words that have come back to haunt them out of context. And then another hallmark move of the Carney Barker “Bigfoot Researcher” refusal to answer any further questions, let’s take it to personal emails.
What can we learn from this particular dust up in bigfootery? Plenty. Often times pride does cometh before the fall in bigfootery. One will also find many of my tips for the lower level “Bigfoot Researchers” were violated, which energized the crowd. One can also find some of the classic strategies employed by the Carney Barker level of researchers when confronted and the kitchen is getting hot. One can also see the value of those that do mostly inter-net bigfootery, they were able to pretty much uncover and dismantle the credibility of some individuals and groups who were striving for fourth and fifth level “Bigfoot Research”. Any dust up, and there are many that do, that involves Biscardi is usually at a grand scale. And finally, this dust up is bigfootery gold and what The Bigfootery Enquirer means by the human drama of bigfootery competition. One can only hope next month’s dust up is as good.
And for those wanting to investigate further:
The dust up thread:
http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?showtopic=22945
The forum that provided a good bit of the fodder for those who dusted up Farnsworth and her crew. Notice the copy-write notice and the attempt to keep their words and images from haunting them.
http://azcro.lefora.com/forum/
Your mileage may vary, ours are skeptical eyes.
