# The ghost poster
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [September 13, 2000, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966 "2000-09-13T00:00:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@KeithT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithT)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/1 "2000-09-13T00:00:06Z")
Strange… I have seen two posts in two threads today by what might be considered by some to be a ghost. By this, I mean the user information block- name, registration date, and post count are missing.
Instead of seeing something like this:
* * *
**KeithT**
Member
Registered: Apr 2000
Posts: 43
* * *
I see this:
* * *
Registered: Dec 1969
Posts:
* * *
Affected threads are these:
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38013)
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38180](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38180)
Is the SDMB haunted, or is it a clever plot by the Illuminati to distract me from my studies? Mystery poster, reveal thyself!
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### Author:  [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/2 "2000-09-13T00:13:26Z")
Sometimes I wish my posts would do that.
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### Author:  [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/3 "2000-09-13T00:39:32Z")
Wow, that’s strange.
It’s like seeing light from a dead star, or a thread/post by Wally get bumped to the first page. Very vaguelly eerie, indeed.
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### Author:  [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/4 "2000-09-13T00:52:43Z")
The really eery part is the registration date. 1969?
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### Author:  [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/5 "2000-09-13T01:08:10Z")
whoever the ghost is, they seem to be knowledgable about the board. Could this be a regular poster and a VB glitch?
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/6 "2000-09-13T01:12:00Z")
I was coming here to start a thread about this . [here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=728596#post728596) a direct link to one of the posts . I see a reg. date of 1970 .
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### Author:  [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/7 "2000-09-13T01:39:38Z")
The other thing I _think_ I noticed was an awful lot of this:
[Edited by UncleBeer on 09-12-2000 at 05:21 PM]
Wonderd if it might be related ?
What a strange day, Freaky self-destructing, the weird CD Milk and this stuff… Admins and Mods you have my very firm appreciation. Thanks.
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/8 "2000-09-13T01:59:54Z")
Ok well here’s what I can see .
In the IMHO thread [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38180](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38180) a poster called **niveous** is mentioned by **relic\_11** but I can’t see any posts by niveous.
In the GQ thread [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38013](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=38013) **UncleBeer** did a test edit on the ghosts post. This could be because of the no name thing but could this have somehow wiped the posters (niveous ?) details from the server . It must be a recent change as nobody in the threads seem to notice it including one moderator .
I don’t know of a poster called niveous but there you go. Also now that I think about it , it may be a referance to nivea cream considering what the threads about .
My 2p worth
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### Author:  [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/9 "2000-09-13T02:04:45Z")
Wow, 1969. That’s what I call an amazing amount of foresight.
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### Author:  [@relic\_11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/relic_11)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/10 "2000-09-13T02:09:27Z")
Wait, there was a post by a **niveous**! I went back to check on the spelling twice! And there wasn’t a ‘ghost poster’ last time I was there, but there is now. The ‘ghost post’ is _not_ the post I commented on by **niveous**. Whats going on?
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### Author:  [@relic\_11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/relic_11)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/11 "2000-09-13T02:12:47Z")
No! I mis-read the second time! The ‘ghost poster’ **_is_ niveous**!
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### Author:  [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/12 "2000-09-13T02:22:32Z")
I see a poster called Nimue who relic 11 replied to calling them Niveous. I can’t see Niveous but I can see a ghost poster
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/13 "2000-09-13T02:23:07Z")
😃 . Throws his Sherlock hat into the air .
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### Author:  [@relic\_11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/relic_11)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/14 "2000-09-13T02:32:36Z")
No, that can’t be **Primaflora** , The ‘ghost poster’ mentions **nimune** in the begining of the post, so it can’t be her.
[Catches **yojimbo** ’s Sherlock hat, puts it on, gets an odd craving to snort coke and play the violin, whips hat off and tosses it back to him]
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### Author:  [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/15 "2000-09-13T02:34:33Z")
I wonder if the ghost poster could be the new user
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=9495](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/member.php?action=getinfo&userid=9495)
seeing as user 9495 is an “invalid user.”
When I did a search for niveous I get the star trek thread
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37688&pagenumber=2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37688&pagenumber=2)
where there’s another ghost post.
Very wierd!
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/16 "2000-09-13T02:34:45Z")
Poster in thread 38013 is poster number 8938
Poster in thread 38180 is poster number 9495
Assuming the numbers are assigned sequentially, the first has been around at least a little while but the second must be one of the newest members. The MB home page shows the newest member to be **el mono** , number 9497. Interestingly, **el mono** ’s profile shows up, but the two mystery posters’ profiles do not. (I get an “invalid user specified” error).
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### Author:  [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/17 "2000-09-13T03:00:51Z")
You’re correct **bibliophage** there are two of them .
I think it’s fairly certain that one is **niveous**. The Star Trek thread also shows the ghost as 9495 .
But who’s the other one ?
This is **so** much fun. I’m just glad I’m not one of the techs(you guys/gals rock) who have to clean up the mess .
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/18 "2000-09-13T03:03:20Z")
Damn. I hope trolls can’t capitalize on this.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/19 "2000-09-13T03:06:25Z")
Try and search for **el mono** ’s posts. I come up with nothing. Plus strange, ne?
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### Author:  [@KeithT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithT)
#### Post date: [September 13, 2000, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-ghost-poster/32966/20 "2000-09-13T03:12:29Z")
Yoink!
::grabs the Sherlock cap off **yojimbo** ’s head::
Poster number 8938 appears to be **MJH** in this thread:
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37662](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=37662)
A search for MJH’s posts confirms this:
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=35032](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=35032) and [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=35875](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=35875)
were started by this poster.
I’m not a MySQL expert, but is it possible that the database somehow “ate” these users’ profiles?
::gingerly hands the cap back to its owner::
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