# Has anyone seen chowder?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [September 10, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289 "2010-09-10T14:21:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/1 "2010-09-10T14:21:35Z")
I know he’s getting on a bit in years, and [doesn’t seem to have posted since January](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php). Just wondering if anyone knows where he’s gone.
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### Author:  [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/2 "2010-09-10T14:30:15Z")
also interested.
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### Author:  [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/3 "2010-09-10T14:48:16Z")
I miss **chowder** too.
He’s probably too busy going to Rochdale away matches.
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### Author:  [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/4 "2010-09-10T14:53:03Z")
I’m sure he’s battling that gnome infestation. Hopefully the gnomes haven’t won. :eek:
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/5 "2010-09-10T15:26:31Z")
I tried to contact him, but the email associated with his account doesn’t work anymore.
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### Author:  [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/6 "2010-09-10T16:16:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> I tried to contact him, but the email associated with his account doesn’t work anymore.
You should ban him then…
…for being a Manchester City fan 😉
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### Author:  [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/7 "2010-09-10T16:47:53Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#):
>
> …for being a Manchester City fan 😉
Wouldn’t it be wrong to discriminate on religious beliefs, even if they are demonstrably false?
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### Author:  [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/8 "2010-09-10T17:48:28Z")
> [@Giles](#):
>
> > [@bucketybuck](#):
> >
> > …for being a Manchester City fan 😉
>
> Wouldn’t it be wrong to discriminate on religious beliefs, even if they are demonstrably false?
Not in the slightest.
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### Author:  [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/9 "2010-09-10T18:38:46Z")
[I fear the worst…](http://www.ericlevonian.com/flamingos.htm) ☹
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/10 "2010-09-11T02:36:32Z")
I’ve been curious lately, too, and was thinking about asking the question myself. Hope he’s okay.
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### Author:  [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/11 "2010-09-11T03:11:11Z")
Yeah, the gnomes thing was fun to read. And the story of the cat and the new cat. Hope you’re well, Chowder!
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/12 "2010-09-11T04:18:01Z")
Assuming his real name is the same as the name in his email address, I used the search engine at _Manchester Daily News_. It took me to the [legacy.com](http://legacy.com) website, which did not return any obituary results.
Perhaps an admin has his real name on file. If so, the admin can do some online searching for us if s/he is so inclined. Or perhaps the admin can contact the Manchester papers and explain that [**chowder** ’s real name] is a respected member of our community, and would they be so kind as to see if anything has happened to him?
I didn’t read **chowder** ’s every post, but from what I did read, I like him. It seems strange that he’d disappear in the middle of the UK 2009/2010 Football Season thread. ( **Ximenean** noticed in May that he was missing.)
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### Author:  [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/13 "2010-09-11T04:59:43Z")
Searching on the name in his email turns up a gent in Manchester, FWIW.
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### Author:  [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/14 "2010-09-11T17:36:56Z")
I found someone of the same name/age on LinkedIn and sent him a message asking him to check in. Of course, it may not be him but fingers crossed. I miss him too.
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### Author:  [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/15 "2010-09-11T19:14:59Z")
I live quite close to Manchester. Is there anything I can do by virtue of being on the ground? I am happy to go to the effort.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/16 "2010-09-11T19:47:44Z")
> [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#):
>
> I live quite close to Manchester. Is there anything I can do by virtue of being on the ground? I am happy to go to the effort.
That **chowder** stopped posting so suddenly (las post was 18 January 2010), and apparently last logged on the following day, makes me fear the worst. It just doesn’t seem likely that he would drop out of the football thread like that. It’s possible that something happened to divert his attention. Maybe some family emergency with his [long-lost sister](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=409223), or some other thing that has him too busy to post. Or maybe, for reasons of his own, he decided to disappear without explanation. It happens sometimes. If such is the case, I’d hate to violate his privacy.
But I didn’t see any indication that he wanted to disappear. That he did, is worrisome. If you have better access to news resources than just googling newspapers, you might try seeing if you can find an obituary or other news story or public record starting at 19 January. I feel that if the worst has happened, he should be remembered by our community.
I hope he is well.
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### Author:  [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/17 "2010-09-11T20:35:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> > [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](#):
> >
> > I live quite close to Manchester. Is there anything I can do by virtue of being on the ground? I am happy to go to the effort.
>
> That **chowder** stopped posting so suddenly (las post was 18 January 2010), and apparently last logged on the following day, makes me fear the worst. It just doesn’t seem likely that he would drop out of the football thread like that. It’s possible that something happened to divert his attention. Maybe some family emergency with his [long-lost sister](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=409223), or some other thing that has him too busy to post. Or maybe, for reasons of his own, he decided to disappear without explanation. It happens sometimes. If such is the case, I’d hate to violate his privacy.
>
> But I didn’t see any indication that he wanted to disappear. That he did, is worrisome. If you have better access to news resources than just googling newspapers, you might try seeing if you can find an obituary or other news story or public record starting at 19 January. I feel that if the worst has happened, he should be remembered by our community.
>
> I hope he is well.
I don’t know what I have access to. If anyone with experience in such matters wants to clue me up I would appreciate it. I have the name from chowder’s contact email address, and that’s it.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/18 "2010-09-11T21:09:36Z")
I’ve just checked [Manchester Archives](http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/info/archives.html). They say that due to the volume of requests received, one should search other sites provided.
I went to the General Register Office for England and Wales, but didn’t notice anyplace where I could search the name.
Next I went to [rootsweb](http://userdb.rootsweb.com/uki) and did a search. Nothing under his (assumed) name.
The Manchester Archives have about ten links to places where death information might be found, but I haven’t checked them all.
Of course the name in the email address might be a pseudonym, or else the surname may be a phonetical abbreviation. If I had access to obituaries from the general timeframe, I could browse them for his birth date, which is given in his profile. I assume that the admins have a record of his actual name, and can confirm whether the one in his address is it. It’s been a while since I’ve registered, so I don’t remember if we had to give our real names. I don’t know if they keep the name information from credit cards or PayPal (assuming **chowder** had a paid membership at one time – and I know they don’t keep the numbers), but they might be able to track him if they have the correct name.
If I ever disappear, I hope someone would look for me.
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### Author:  [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/19 "2010-09-11T22:10:02Z")
Damn! I’ve always enjoyed **chowder’s** posts. I hope he turns up soon.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2010, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-seen-chowder/553289/20 "2010-09-12T01:24:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> If I ever disappear, I hope someone would look for me.
To what purpose? I mean, nobody’s going to notice that I’m missing from a message board for the crucial 15 minutes that I’m slumped in my computer chair dying, and if some months later someone finds an obituary for Frank -----, what good does that do either of us?
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