Whedonesque Mobile : Comments on 16446 : Future on Fox confirms DOLLHOUSE viral/ARG/transmedia game on.

Pretty sweet and good to see that they have a good sense of humor about it. I personally believe that Dollhouse couldn't be in better hands.

zeitgeist | May 26, 18:21 CET

Hee, that's pretty awesome. Kind of like fessing up to wrongs done. On a weekly, if not daily, basis I am seeing things that are making me feel more and more optimistic about how Fox will treat the show.

swanjun | May 26, 18:31 CET

I do have high hopes for this "new" FOX under "new" management, it does make a big difference, it seems.
They do sound different from the network that canceled Firefly.

[ edited by Numfar PTB on 2008-05-26 15:42 ]

Numfar PTB | May 26, 18:37 CET

I am seeing things that are making me feel more and more optimistic about how Fox will treat the show.

Mods - If this isn't allowed, let me know and I'll take it out ('no posting your own stuff' rule?)...but when the trailer was released at the upfronts, I tried to catalog the reasons we have to NOT WORRY SO MUCH this time around. Over here, mainly in the comments section.

You guys might find it of interest.

:-)

ProgGrrl | May 26, 18:37 CET

I've worn out my copy-paste related shortcut keys responding to all of the sky-is-falling re: this being on Fox.

zeitgeist | May 26, 18:38 CET

I think it's been said that self-linking is okay in comments but not as the main submission itself.

swanjun | May 26, 18:38 CET

That tickled me quite a lot! The fact that they are aware of our presence and are taking steps to address our concerns is fascinating. This also raises them in my estimation a bit, they have a ways to go yet.. But I think that if Joss believes in them; then I will try not to hold the past against them..

But if they harm one hair on his strawberry blonde head!! ;)

Tarheelfan | May 26, 18:42 CET

I've worn out my copy-paste related shortcut keys responding to all of the sky-is-falling re: this being on Fox.

Poor Damon. Some people will only start to really believe it, when they're actually under the sky in question, and even so, it might actually stir some more pre-emptive action, for not really believing that such sky is not really falling.

Numfar PTB | May 26, 18:46 CET

Fox are no better or worse than the rest of the US networks. Still it's nice to see a friendly face on the body of ~~soul destroying money grabbing~~ big business.

Also tried numerous username and password combinations, none of them seemed to work.

Simon | May 26, 18:57 CET

That's pretty much what I'm trying to say, though I personally think that Fox is the preferable network at the moment. If its a good show that has any ratings issues, there is nowhere I'd rather have it than Fox under its current executives.

zeitgeist | May 26, 19:02 CET

And let's be honest Fox is the only network that would want to work with Joss. It's a win win situation. Well until it isn't.

Simon | May 26, 19:04 CET

Heh, it's pretty amusing how aware they are of the fans. That in-of-itself reassures me that Dollhouse is in good hands. This isn't the same FOX that canceled Firefly. I always felt that if Firefly had been kept on for a full season, it would have become a successful show. So many DVDs sold based on the fans working to get the word out. Maybe the new management is looking back and getting that, and realizing courting the fanbase is actually worthwhile. It doesn't mean Dollhouse is protected from being canceled, but there has been a noticable climate change.

In other news, the ARG thing: UGH. Just when I feel like I know the interweb inside and out, something comes along to show me how wrong I am. I feel like a grandma asking about that FaceSpace thingie and why can't I get a rotory dial on my sell telephonator?

[ edited by Dizzy on 2008-05-26 19:49 ]

Dizzy | May 26, 19:15 CET

Given that Joss is ready to forgive Fox, I am ready to give them a second chance. So far they seem to be doing the right thing. It's a pleasant surprise to see them address our concerns.

What is this transmedia game thing? Some sort of online scavenger hunt for clues about Dollhouse or something? I haven't been doing the online fan thing much during the last few years and am quite confused by these obscure links.

Aviva | May 26, 19:17 CET

Is this part of a game, or is it just viral marketing? If it's a game, there must be some objective, right?

Invisible Green | May 26, 19:17 CET

This whole ARG thing is bluring the line between reality and game and promotion, and leading me to question my own existence. Am I part of a game I didn't even know I was playing? Am I real because people can observe my posts? If you placed me in a box, would I neither be dead nor alive?

Could be I'm thinking too hard on this. ;)

[ edited by Dizzy on 2008-05-26 16:35 ]

Dizzy | May 26, 19:31 CET

Why when I click the above link, are the reply fields filled in for b!x?

Confoosed!

brynmars | May 26, 19:36 CET

A puzzle! Crap, I suck at this kind of puzzle.

Sunfire | May 26, 19:39 CET

They also addressed your cancellation fears...on a weekend, no less!

No wonder. The fan campaign became the number one Dollhouse story on the blogosphere over the last few days thanks to Wired and BoingBoing and us. People weren't talking about the trailer, they were talking about that instead.

In some Fox office, some exec was thinking "we need to get a response out sharpish". If you notice, the rebuttal was good natured, self-depreciating and joking. Fox managed to reclaim the news cycle without making it look like they were panicking. All in all, an effective PR spin campaign. I await the next big fan kerfuffle to see how Fox will handle it.

Simon | May 26, 19:41 CET

I await the next big fan kerfuffle to see how Fox will handle it.

*nods*

Well, anything that perpetuates a Dollhouse news cycle, 8 months ahead of the show's air date, should be alright by us. And them.

[ edited by ProgGrrl on 2008-05-26 16:47 ]

ProgGrrl | May 26, 19:47 CET

I hope someone figures out the first part of this thing soon. Because I think I've just found how I'm going to survive the next 8, Dollhouseless months: fun internet games!

Jobo | May 26, 20:13 CET

[A]nything that perpetuates a Dollhouse news cycle, 8 months ahead of the show's air date, should be alright by us.

Agreed. But non-stop DH "news" for the next 8 months, in the absence of actual content, may just tire and burn me out on the whole thing . . . but I'm guessing that's the minority (i.e. my) view.

SoddingNancyTribe | May 26, 20:22 CET

Leave out the www from the southlandlabs URL.
http://southlandlabs.com

There's a pretty picture there and the only HTML in the body is a comment that says soon. but not yet.

Sunfire | May 26, 20:39 CET

Well, in the words of that Windows vs. Mac fake-commercial on youtube...

!!GAMES!!

If we must wait, at least there's something to make us all squibble.

cookiepartier | May 26, 20:42 CET

But non-stop DH "news" for the next 8 months, in the absence of actual content, may just tire and burn me out on the whole thing

With the ARG, the constant drip of spoilers from the casting sides (and wholesale leaking of the scripts) and the inevitable leaking of the pilot means the fandom will be in the same situation as we were for Serenity. We are in danger of talking his project to death well before the public gets a proper chance to see it.

Simon | May 26, 20:56 CET

There's not much we can do about that, though, I'd imagine Simon. Ultimately, people don't have to look at spoilers.

gossi | May 26, 20:58 CET

Ultimately, people don't have to look at spoilers.

True. Personally I love spoilers. But back during Buffy season 7 and Angel season 5, it was getting faintly ridiculous when the fandom knew months in advance what exactly was going happen in a particular episode. Course that was back then. With the proliferation of blogs and social community sites it may get even worse.

Simon | May 26, 21:03 CET

With the ARG, the constant drip of spoilers from the casting sides (and wholesale leaking of the scripts) and the inevitable leaking of the pilot means the fandom will be in the same situation as we were for Serenity. We are in danger of talking his project to death well before the public gets a proper chance to see it.

Simon, very wise, as always.
Pilot leaking seems to be something quite unavoidable, at some point in the upcoming months.

Numfar PTB | May 26, 21:07 CET

I never knew about the Foxhome/Firefly site (the "any reason" link). Got some nice wallpapers for my laptop, found out from the videos that Tim Minear must have also mind-scanned the secret of Miranda (but hasn't been cured yet), and that Morena was an understudy on "The Seagull" (which ties in with a recent posting).

[ edited by OneTeV on 2008-05-26 18:45 ]

OneTeV | May 26, 21:44 CET

I am 99.999% sure that this login page doesn't actually work.

1) it posts to login.php but that page doesn't exist. You get a 404 error and the error page returned is this login form again.
2) it appears to be a static page and serves the exact same session ID every time.
3) the HTML source code is lifted straight from a standard Squirrel Mail login page. Squirrel Mail is a popular open source webmail system. They just removed the references to Squirrel and threw in some extra blah blah.

IMNSHO it's a false front and no login/password will work.

Maybe at some point they will replace it with something that actually does something. But not today.

AlanD | May 26, 21:45 CET

Or maybe if you email brink@somedomain (or topher or tbrink or t.brink or whatever) you'll get information back (it does say to contact him if you have access problems) ?

Saje | May 26, 21:50 CET

I have a feeling b!X's email account has a ton of spam in the pipeline. And I can't believe the info is still there after all this time... coincidence? *eyes b!Xy suspiciously*

cabri | May 26, 22:00 CET

Or maybe if you email brink@somedomain (or topher or tbrink or t.brink or whatever) you'll get information back (it does say to contact him if you have access problems) ?

I tried that about an hour ago. Nothing... yet.

Oh god, I'm getting sucked into this.

Dizzy | May 26, 22:07 CET

I'm very pleased that the networks are starting to keep an ear closer to the fans. I think FOX may have learned a thing or three about that by the way "Firefly" was handled as well as "Angel" and the WB. There're several cases in this trend, but I don't think I need to bring them up here, the room knows. Again, I'm just happy the networks are starting to learn how to operate in our world.

Madhatter | May 26, 22:07 CET

Hmm. Curiouser and curiouser...

*still enjoying this immensely*

That's the thing about transmedia: as vague and/or confusing as TPTB can make it...the hive mind of fandom can usually figure it out.

Given time.

ProgGrrl | May 26, 22:09 CET

I checked out the JavaScript page for southlandlabs at http://127.0.0.1:1025/js.cgi?pa&r=9741 and nothing looks unusual (but I didn't make it to the end of JS class ;)). Perhaps there are some clues I'm not seeing? Or I'm reaching for straws?

Oh, and hey gossi, how about a dedicated forum for this over at Dollverse? It'll save us posting about every single little thing here.

ETA: Oh, wait, that must be a standard JS page, I get the exact same thing on Holomove. Oh, and did y'all check out Hollowmoves?

[ edited by cabri on 2008-05-26 19:17 ]

cabri | May 26, 22:15 CET

As convoluted as this is, I'm a sucker for a puzzle. I remember when people were trying to figure out the password for the secret forum at goners; the thread devoted to all the passwords that were tried went on and on. I was never very active at goners, but the day gossi finally gave some clues, I logged in, figured the password out in about 5 minutes, and logged out--never to log in again, I don't think, heh.

This type of thing may have the same effect for many people. Playing the game just for playing the game is fun--outside of anything it has to do with Dollhouse. The fact that it's linked to something Joss is doing is just a bonus.

Dizzy | May 26, 22:21 CET

I know virtually nothing about web programming but that URL is on your machine cabri (127.0.0.1 is the loopback address known as 'localhost' and is always the host machine, it's used for testing or connecting to server software that's actually running on your computer).

ETA: And which domain did you use Dizzy ? I sent a bundle to various@southlandlabs.com but haven't had anything back yet. I anticipate many bounce messages in my future ;).

[ edited by Saje on 2008-05-26 19:30 ]

Saje | May 26, 22:27 CET

Oh, shoot, there's a secret message in the code for Nathan Bozeman's last blog entry. "To those I can trust, follow me to a very obvious place." and then a code. O.O

cabri | May 26, 22:30 CET

Sage I used southlandlabs.com. I too expect many bounced emails.

Dizzy | May 26, 22:41 CET

I'm still wondering about some of the odd post-tagging on the Fox blog.

Gee, wouldn't it be funny if this silly game ends up linking ALL the new Fox sci-fi shows somehow? That'd be...a first...

[ edited by ProgGrrl on 2008-05-26 19:56 ]

ProgGrrl | May 26, 22:45 CET

The secret message is followed by these numbers:
52.4012 31.183341 41.963631 38.539329 44.963462 13.013109 121.437194 -87.662734 -0.145408 -93.24028 123.47, 138.59, 164.81, 164.81, 185.00, 207.65, 185.00, 164.81, 185.00, 185.00, 164.81, 138.59, 123.47, 123.47, 164.81, 164.81, 164.81, 207.65, 246.94, 277.18, 246.94, 246.94, 277.18, 277.18, 246.94, 207.65, 207.65, 246.94, 220.00, 207.65, 185.00, 164.81, 138.59, 123.47, 138.59, 164.81, 164.81, 207.65, 246.94, 277.18, 246.94, 207.65, 185.00, 164.81

I'm too lazy (or stupid) for ARG's, but I'm sure a lot of people are going to have fun with it.

Caroline | May 26, 22:49 CET

Wow, that was surprising, and amusing. Nice to see a recognition of the whole 'brown' mess.

I suck at all this puzzle-yness, but I wondered the same thing ProgGrrl. cabri: where did you find the message- I looked and couldn't see it. I expect this will be a frustrating few months. I hate not being able to figure things out. Makes me grumpy!

onthedrift | May 26, 22:54 CET

52.4012 31.183341 41.963631 38.539329 44.963462 13.013109 121.437194 -87.662734 -0.145408 -93.24028 123.47, 138.59, 164.81, 164.81, 185.00, 207.65, 185.00, 164.81, 185.00, 185.00, 164.81, 138.59, 123.47, 123.47, 164.81, 164.81, 164.81, 207.65, 246.94, 277.18, 246.94, 246.94, 277.18, 277.18, 246.94, 207.65, 207.65, 246.94, 220.00, 207.65, 185.00, 164.81, 138.59, 123.47, 138.59, 164.81, 164.81, 207.65, 246.94, 277.18, 246.94, 207.65, 185.00, 164.81

Holy crap! That's the combination I have on my luggage!

zz9 | May 26, 23:05 CET

Holy crap! That's the combination I have on my luggage!

LOL!

Did anyone else notice the correct log-in details for adelle's website are now posted on the Fox blog? I'm now inside her "webmail". I'm going to get sucked into this too now...

GVH | May 26, 23:15 CET

Damn! I've resisted getting the internet at home for years now. This stupid game is going to finally convince me to do it, because my phone can't handle some of these sites. *poof* There goes the next 8 months of my life trying figure this stuff out.

Dizzy | May 26, 23:25 CET

I just googled those numbers and got to here.

So, what's this Holomove?

GVH | May 26, 23:27 CET

Cabri, your link starts with the IP for a loopback (local) connection.

zeitgeist | May 26, 23:41 CET

Wait, there's an actual puzzle here? Damnit, I'm only good at crosswords!

Madhatter | May 26, 23:44 CET

I was logged in and tried feeding it the paths to other default folders like Sent and Trash, but no luck.

zeitgeist | May 26, 23:47 CET

So is everybody else only seeing the one message in Adelle's inbox?

onthedrift | May 26, 23:50 CET

Yeah I think the idea is to keep checking back until something else appears.

Cabri, your link starts with the IP for a loopback (local) connection.

Ahem ;-).

Man, that roof-letters puzzle was brilliant (good googling GVH ;) but so, so involved. I doubt i'm gonna have the time (or brainpower ;) to do anything but trail along behind as everyone else solves this thing.

Saje | May 26, 23:51 CET

Unfiction tracking. More stuff on page 2.

gossi | May 26, 23:53 CET

Heh, interesting that the person on the findkimi blog talks about receiving a letter from Kimi that was "... wrong". That rings River shaped bells ;).

Saje | May 27, 00:00 CET

Is Kimi Lassek Whedoneditor Lisa Lassek's imaginary sister?

Pointy | May 27, 00:11 CET

See what happens when I skim, Saje? >:^)

zeitgeist | May 27, 00:19 CET

Anarchy and chaos, that's what. Knowing you're fallible makes me afraid ;-).

Saje | May 27, 00:24 CET

This kinda stuff makes me crazy, so this would be the kindest thing you can do.

QuoterGal | May 27, 00:35 CET

*peeks in via blackberry*

Uh...

Whoa!

*hurries out*

ProgGrrl | May 27, 00:47 CET

Out of interest, how do we know its not a fanmade ARG?

Simon | May 27, 01:04 CET

Hey, why is z smiling?

Madhatter | May 27, 01:06 CET

FWIW, I did not post that comment over there, the one that says "ORLY?" -- I have never used "ORLY" in my entire life.

theonetruebix | May 27, 01:28 CET

I have a feeling b!X's email account has a ton of spam in the pipeline.

I have no idea what this means, having been off in the real world for most of the last three days.

Out of interest, how do we know its not a fanmade ARG?

Given the lack of sophistication to it right now, we don't.

theonetruebix | May 27, 01:36 CET

Maybe another piece in the puzzle?

http://findkimi.com/

Simon | May 27, 01:44 CET

Feeling invisible, today Saje? :)

jcs | May 27, 01:47 CET

I've started a trend, clearly skimming is the new black ;).

Saje | May 27, 01:47 CET

So do we have an official place to discuss all this and work all teamified? Or is here okay?

This is my first time of being right at the start line of something like this. I wanna volve myself in!

brynmars | May 27, 01:47 CET

I've started a trend, clearly skimming is the new black ;).

Hand on heart, I only read one in ten comments here.

Simon | May 27, 01:49 CET

We got a login now, just thought I'd fill you in.
Username: adelle
Password: wipe
Not much there though, just a mail from Topher talking about relaunching the southlandlabs site.

Djungelurban | May 27, 01:50 CET

I read every comment; I only understand every one in ten . . .

SoddingNancyTribe | May 27, 01:52 CET

That's because one in ten comments are about Morgan Freeman, SNT.

gossi | May 27, 01:54 CET

This is growing. Yes, I suspect Kimi is one of the dolls, reaching out. Fun.

Out of interest, how do we know its not a fanmade ARG?

We don't. Although the linkage on the official FOX-blog is a very good hint that it's official.

So, I googled this Sheridan Owen fellow, who's apareantly searching for Kimi. I did find this facebook page, but I have no clue if this is an actual person unfortunate enough to share a name with a fictional ARG character bound to start getting googled a lot now, or an actual ingame hint. The fact that I have no facebook account, does not help ;).

I have never used "ORLY" in my entire life.

Heh. I got suspicious there, thought ORLY might be another clue, only to find out that it's internet slang. I am so out of the loop ;).

also: Sheridan Owen is Morgan Freeman

GVH | May 27, 01:58 CET

Hand on heart, I only read one in ten comments here.

Then statistically speaking this is the perfect time to mention my favourite 'ship - Buffy and Clem 4 evah !

*waits to see if he rolled the hard 6*

That's because one in ten comments are about Morgan Freeman, SNT.

On the board in general maybe but I like to think my own personal Freeman Quotient is higher ;).

Saje | May 27, 02:04 CET

Well apparently Sheridan Owen works in Government, and adding that Facebook page does not say she works in Government. So either it is seeeecret, or she's not in game.

I googled ORLY too, and was a little disappointed that it wasn't anything more fun. Then again, it is a place in France. Maybe Kimi's eloped.

ETA:

Oooh, ooh, in Adelle's email if you click From, Date or Subject it asks for more passwords... where Adelle/Wipe don't work. Dodgy page or cloo?

[ edited by brynmars on 2008-05-26 23:06 ]

brynmars | May 27, 02:04 CET

I've never met anyone from Manchester who said they lived in Manchester, Greater Manchester. And I actually lived in Manchester back in the early 90s.

And Sheridan can be a bloke's name.

Simon | May 27, 02:06 CET

Maybe Kimi's eloped. With Clem, yes?

I'm on summer break, and am thus tempted to try and give this ARG thing a go. But I really don't understand it, its point, or how to play. I'm like the fat foreign exchange student in the middle of a game of dodgeball.
Any hints or general tips on what I'm supposed to be looking for, or how to find it for that matter, would be appreciated.

I did manage to access Adelle's email, and read the thing from Topher. Is that it? So confused!

BandofBuggered | May 27, 02:10 CET

Has anyone found any actual connection between Nathan/Holomove and the Adele/Topher/Southland/Kimi/Sheridan stuff? Or are those two different potential ARG's that we are (wrongly) trying to combine?

Like I said, I am still getting distracted by the tags on the "official" Holomove post.

I am very impressed with y'alls hive mind today, nice work. :-)

ProgGrrl | May 27, 02:12 CET

Then again, it is a place in France.

Oh, right, this means I lied. I have used "ORLY" in my life, back when I was like 12 and flew into that airport.

And is someone saying that Sheridan Owen somehow knows Morgan Freeman?

ETA: Or are those two different potential ARG's that we are (wrongly) trying to combine?

Given that one is clearly put together by someone spending some money and the other is not, I cannot imagine that they are the same game/promotion.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-05-26 23:13 ]

theonetruebix | May 27, 02:13 CET

Bandofbuggered, I'm a fatter foreign exchange student in a game of dodgeball and I even forgot my kit! I feel like I'm in a vest and off-white pants!

brynmars | May 27, 02:14 CET

Judging from the picture, I think Lisa Lassek's imaginary sister disappeared into the Dollhouse camera crew.

dreamlogic | May 27, 02:15 CET

I was just thinking, if Kimi is a missing doll then why isn't her name like Echo and Alpha and Sierra's. And then I realised that these people would have all had real names before this. And so Kimi could actually be Echo.

~~And so this could all be Paul Smith's investigation. Perhaps. Straw grasping fun!~~

[ edited by brynmars on 2008-05-26 23:23 ]

brynmars | May 27, 02:22 CET

Just found this via poking around Nathan's blog and following the YouTube links out...this video was apparently posted on May 18.

Then follow the vid links to this blog (apparently hosted by those UnFiction guys) and what do you see? The Holomove/Emergen-C/HR puzzle stuff was seeded to them on...May 7? Did any of you get here already via other sources?

*ponders the empty Emergen-C pack*

[ edited by ProgGrrl on 2008-05-26 23:28 ]

ProgGrrl | May 27, 02:26 CET

My heart stopped for a moment there with the link to firefly. Oh my god how I love that show. *sigh*

But I'll stay clear of this, it makes my head spin. Not of dollhouse though. Can't wait. Have to wait much much longer than you guys. *sigh*

Harpy | May 27, 02:29 CET

Also, in that youtube user's favourites there is a video called Vampires Exist. Buffy shoutout? Could this really be Dollhouse related?

And watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWMqNPaLhE4

Very creepy doll.

brynmars | May 27, 02:33 CET

That's funny, are we even discussing "Dollhouse" anymore?

Madhatter | May 27, 02:39 CET

are we even discussing "Dollhouse" anymore?

We are discussing the ARG around Dollhouse, IMHO...hey, we got the call. This is the process.

ProgGrrl | May 27, 02:45 CET

Wow. You guys have really gone above and beyond with this, huh? I just tuned in, and I can't fallow it :-P

Valentyn | May 27, 02:50 CET

I can still see no connection to this Holomove ARG, apart from the original tag on the post. These ARGs always tie into the fictional universe created on the shows, right? And Fringe and Dollhouse are seperate universes, so it would not make much sense for FOX to connect those in an ARG. Then again: who knows?

Wait. Is Morgan Freeman from Manchester?

GVH | May 27, 03:10 CET

We are discussing the ARG around Dollhouse, IMHO...hey, we got the call. This is the process.

Actually, I'm pretty sure some of us are discussing a completely unrelated promotion. ;)

theonetruebix | May 27, 03:22 CET

Okay, has anyone solved the Holomove HR puzzle? Or, for that matter, knows the login name and password for the second level on Adelle's inbox?
Also, I filled out the little form thing, and I now have a username and password with which I can do nothing because I can't find the place to use it.

Oh, computer savvy persons, help!
I'm suddenly having an image in my mind from the movie Mercury Rising. Maybe this is best left unsolved.

Okay, I tried to stay immune, but a few stray clicks have gotten me hooked. This is a bad thing. I may go insane before January.

BandofBuggered | May 27, 03:55 CET

ProgGrrl, thanks for the post and the hive-mind comment, which made me laugh. Way behind the beat as usual, I wanted to put in a word about spoilers: just say no, don't click, don't open, don't give the game away. For example, I'm there for cast notes on Dollhouse but didn't want to see the sets and wouldn't consider reading about the pilot. Can't wait, but won't peek.

doghouse | May 27, 04:32 CET

doghouse, yeah well, hive-mind gets ya every time don't it? ;)

I am super, duper, uber-sensitive to spoilers about other shows...I'm trying to stay at least 85% "spriginal" for my current fave show this season. Not easy.

Luckily, I don't think ARG's are ever really about spoilers. They seem to usually be more about adding details/ backstory/ sidestory to a show that doesn't need the extra stuff. The extra ARG material is just there, take it or leave it. Also gets you tweaked while you wait for the actual show. :)

ProgGrrl | May 27, 05:08 CET

"Jeff Davis" . . . no better name for a confederate ;-)

Pointy | May 27, 05:09 CET

I just have one request�can someone summarize somewhere, for those of us (like me) who are tragically impaired in this arena, what all ends up being learned at the end of the day?

swanjun | May 27, 05:16 CET

I think the Holomove stuff is Fringe related, personally. Neat, in any case; always dig ARG material.

zeitgeist | May 27, 05:19 CET

I have a feeling b!X's email account has a ton of spam in the pipeline.

I have no idea what this means, having been off in the real world for most of the last three days.

It means your name, email, and website were auto-filled-in at the FoF blog for quite a while. I almost posted under your name, thinking Firefox filled my info in for me, but caught it just in time. That's probably where the ORLY? came from.

And I'm offline for 8 hours and have no idea what y'all are talking about. :(

BoB, the HR puzzle at Holomove is embedded in the source code. It's a matter of looking for unused font size tags and then I think it's a substitution code with a bit of a twist. I really have no idea, as I just stole the solution from UnFiction. The solution is a tag on my original post. (Which also answers ProgGrrl's 'which page?' question. ;-D )

ETA: And I just rechecked the comments at FoF and you hadn't even posted there before I did, so I have no idea why your info came up at all.

[ edited by cabri on 2008-05-27 03:52 ]

cabri | May 27, 06:22 CET

I am also clueless when it comes to this kind of game, but I take it that the Kimi Lassek that Sheridan is looking for is the same Kimi Lassek that posted Adelle's password in the comments. Spoiler alert!!
Could she be the sister that Echo is looking for in this clip?

samatwitch | May 27, 06:50 CET

I would, frankly, be surprised if anything in this game is directly related to a story in Dollhouse itself.

theonetruebix | May 27, 07:05 CET

Kimi Lassek sent me an email giving Adelle's password and then just 'Help.'

cabri | May 27, 08:54 CET

Still too lazy/strapped for time for this, but I find it awesome and hilarious that Adelle's email server thingy is the same as my college's former email server thingy. Go Squirrel Mail!

ShamelessSingingRennie | May 27, 09:31 CET

Ah, I thought we "knew" that the Holomove stuff wasn't 'Dollhouse' related (with 'Fringe' seeming to be a good candidate). Is it now possible it is ?

And I think the clip with Echo and Smith wasn't genuine (i.e. I don't think Echo was really looking for her sister, that was just an imprinted story, I think it was a setup to trap Smith).

Saje | May 27, 12:44 CET

Ah, I thought we "knew" that the Holomove stuff wasn't 'Dollhouse' related (with 'Fringe' seeming to be a good candidate). Is it now possible it is ?

Why would it now be possible that it is? There's been absolutely nothing to back up that assertion.

Kimi Lassek sent me an email giving Adelle's password and then just 'Help.'

Or someone pretending to be her sent you email giving you information we already had, just to make themselves appear to be "in game".

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-05-27 10:22 ]

theonetruebix | May 27, 13:21 CET

Why would it now be possible that it is? There's been absolutely nothing to back up that assertion.

Well, that was what I was asking rather than asserting anything (hint: assertions generally don't end with a question mark ;). I.e. has new information come to light so that we now have reason to believe the Holomove stuff might be 'Dollhouse' related ?

(I mainly asked because of zeitgeist's comment "I think the Holomove stuff is Fringe related, personally." which was expressed as an uncertainty whereas i'd thought it was actually pretty certain that it was indeed 'Fringe' related and nothing to do with 'Dollhouse')

edited to snip some snippiness ;)

[ edited by Saje on 2008-05-27 10:44 ]

Saje | May 27, 13:32 CET

Since this is a Joss Whedon-related ARG, shouldn't there be Game Related Reality -- GRR -- to go with it? :) (I'm sorry, I couldn't stop myself ...)

Shapenew | May 27, 14:25 CET

Or grrr "ARG"gghh? (I couldn't either)...help myself that is...

Jossaholic | May 27, 15:40 CET

@samatwitch & Saje: I don't think that Kimi would be Echo's sister because of reasons above. I think this would have more to do with the suggestion made in the trailer by Boyd, that the Dolls do not actually volunteer for duty...

Just a guess.

ProgGrrl | May 27, 16:17 CET

(I mainly asked because of zeitgeist's comment "I think the Holomove stuff is Fringe related, personally." which was expressed as an uncertainty whereas i'd thought it was actually pretty certain that it was indeed 'Fringe' related and nothing to do with 'Dollhouse')

Didn't mean for it to come across as uncertain, I was just trying to avoid sounding like a mean old know-it-all ;). I just keep seeing people say that it is because of the tags on the blog entry, which I think proves precisely nothing.

zeitgeist | May 27, 16:26 CET

You mean we're meant to try not to sound like that. Ah. Shit.

;-)

I don't think that Kimi would ...

On the other hand, even if they do, since it's highly illegal they presumably wouldn't be able to tell anyone where they were going (so it might seem like they just fell off the face of the Earth).

But on the other other hand, why would someone with people who care about them volunteer for something like that ? And even though I think it's more interesting from a character perspective to have them volunteer, it's a more straightforward hero story if they don't.

Saje | May 27, 16:38 CET

Have you read Warren Ellis' Oceanic? He postulates a culture where workers willingly let the corporations take over their minds i.e. for a tour of duty.

Simon | May 27, 16:46 CET

But on the other other hand, why would someone...

I was thinking more along the lines of LA FEMME NIKITA, where this is the better option of two bad choices. Or, perhaps Kimi is an outsider (like the people who started investigating the Dharma Initiative from the outside in the LOST ARG), and she discovered too much?

One might interpret that Nathan in the Holomove ARG is also a man who knows too much, IMHO...

This thread is the best example I've ever seen of why ARGs become fun/addictive/timesucks. :-)

[ edited by ProgGrrl on 2008-05-27 14:02 ]

ProgGrrl | May 27, 17:01 CET

Huh. So playing this game as an extension of the show, a seemingly very smart, top-level staff person at a secret illegal operation hiding from the FBI set a four-letter password to her email account, which is accessible from a website.

Sunfire | May 27, 17:54 CET

Lassie says Kimi fell down the well.

Simon | May 27, 17:54 CET

Topher should have had her at least change it to w!P3 ;)

zeitgeist | May 27, 17:55 CET

No kidding. A common dictionary word, no less. She might as well have used "password."

Here I was going for something more difficult yesterday. There are a hell of a lot of anagrams for ADELLE DEWITT. WIELDED LATTE is by far my favorite though.

ETA: I did try mindwipe though. Didn't think to break it up.

[ edited by Sunfire on 2008-05-27 14:59 ]

Sunfire | May 27, 17:58 CET

Or Idle Lewd Teat... for anyone who needs to waste some time, click here. Remember Dollhouse can be arranged as Holed Soul and Topher Brink is Brother Pink (or Pro Biker Nth) ;).

zeitgeist | May 27, 18:02 CET

Cartman says to Kyle, "Oh my god, they killed Kimi!"

Jossaholic | May 27, 18:02 CET

Those bastards.

Do you mean 'Ocean' Simon (I keep calling it Oceanic too) ? Yeah, though I must admit I don't remember that bit, which probably means I should re-read it.

Hiring out your brain or parts thereof has been around a while though (William Gibson's 'Johnny Mnemonic' for instance).

Saje | May 27, 18:59 CET

Yes Ocean, I have Lost on the brain.

Simon | May 27, 19:02 CET

http://www.adelledewitt.com/src/webmail.php

Adelle replied to Topher's mail. Plus, there's a SquirrelMail site link on the top right. I guess this is new. Where is this all leading to ?

Perseo | May 27, 20:44 CET

I don't think this is a reply to Topher's, but rather an email to the security team about Paul getting nosy. The SquirrelMail has always been there, it's just the host for the fake AD mail.

cabri | May 27, 21:06 CET

To be clear, SquirrelMail is just the GPL licensed webmail program that they bastardized for purposes of the ARG :)

zeitgeist | May 27, 21:23 CET

Likewise, that odd script at the top of the Find Kimi blog and the appearances of 897 seem to merely be part of a several years old Blogger template called No. 897.

Sunfire | May 27, 21:34 CET

I don't think this is a reply to Topher's, but rather an email to the security team about Paul getting nosy.

Not Paul. Sheridan Owen. You can't think in terms of the show, you have to think in terms of the game.

ETA: I'm finding it incredibly annoying that the technical skills of whoever is behind this thing (since I'm still not convinced it's official) are so odd they don't even have the standard www.* working on any of the domains except for the adelledewitt.com one. It fails for southlandlabs and it fails for findkimi.

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-05-27 18:49 ]

theonetruebix | May 27, 21:45 CET

Hey, I was lucky I even remembered the Paul, no way was I gonna remember Sheridan. ;)

I've started a thread over on Dollverse to try to suck more people in but I've only been able to summarize a bit, I'm missing a lot because of my absence yesterday. So Go! Summarize for me! :P It'll save wear and tear on the black, you know if it starts fading to gray they're going to blame us. (Yes, Whedonesque is just like old black jeans.)

Oh, and in case anyone's still interested in the Nate Bozeman story, I got into his real blog (thank you, Unfiction!) but haven't had a chance to catch up yet.

cabri | May 27, 21:57 CET

Yeah, maybe it would help to summarize what we think we know so far, to separate ideas that haven't seemed to pan out and those that there is some evidence for.

1. The Dollhouse has a website under redesign by Topher (http://southlandlabs.com/).
2. Someone named Sheridan Owen is (looking for an Active named Kimi).
3. Adelle is has called a meeting about Sheridan's search.
4. The Dollhouse's network security is ~~made of fail~~ nonexistent.
5. Kimi, or someone pretending to be Kimi, has leaked adelle's username and password.
6. Sheridan mentions a letter he received from Kimi that is "wrong" and that he will post a video to youtube.
7. Adelle copies herself on group emails or is using a list she's on.
8. Adelle does not sign her name on her emails. Topher does.
9. Topher seems multi-technically-talented.

Some of the technical stuff is kinda messing with the reality of it. In terms of the Find Kimi site, the lack of www. makes sense-- the fictional author is using a Blogger template after all. The adelledewitt site is odd overall though, and I agree there. Plus I have a hard time imagining Adelle setting up a domain that's based on her name and is just her email access. The southlandlabs site makes no sense as it currently appears, other than to say "Dollhouse game players, keep your eyes on this space. kthxbai."

[ edited by Sunfire on 2008-05-27 20:39 ]

Sunfire | May 27, 22:07 CET

Some of the technical stuff is kinda messing with the reality of it.

It's a bit Heath Robinson. It's like Fox gave Fringe a budget of $1 million for their ARG and Dollhouse got 10 bucks and the change that's fallen down the back of the sofa.

Simon | May 27, 22:11 CET

Well Fringe is premiering a lot sooner than Dollhouse, so it might ramp up later. If this is official.

I agree though that it makes no sense for Adelle to have a domain that's just her email log-in, which just has a four letter password. That was given to us. Which, apparently, you don't even need, since I just clicked on the above link to the new email without needing to log in. Also, why would it say to contact Brink with problems? Is she supposed to email him if she can't access her email? Or just walk over to his office, in which case, why the need for that note? And she doesn't get a lot of emails, does she? Maybe she sells @adelledewitt.com email addresses on the side.

hacksaway | May 27, 22:58 CET

Also, apparently southlandlabs.com is now down.

crazygolfa | May 27, 23:04 CET

Ha. I guess they decided to take southlandlabs down as requested, and will relaunch once the design is good to go.

I'm just guessing here.

QuoterGal | May 27, 23:13 CET

I agree, the technical side is nowhere near as proficient as any of the other secret illegal mind-wiping organisations i've had dealings with. Say what you like about the theft of self-hood and coercive bullying tactics but those guys usually have their web shit proper sorted.

(adelledewitt.com is maybe just a bit too overt - if it wasn't linked on the official Fox site it'd definitely seem like a fan effort. Not really sure about the weak password thing though, in the real world it's a very valid point - and a great case for not letting users pick their own - but obviously we're meant to get into the website, it's not actually designed to be secure)

Saje | May 27, 23:17 CET

but obviously we're meant to get into the website, it's not actually designed to be secure

While gameplay such as this frequently requires some suspension of disbelief, there is a point at which such suspension is taken so far that it actually thwarts the ways in which the gameplay is meant to be immersive and engaging.

A half-assed website with a plain English password that apparently you don't even need if you know the direct link qualifies, I think, as suspension of disbelief taken too far.

theonetruebix | May 27, 23:24 CET

Thanks for the summary, Sunfire!

swanjun | May 27, 23:37 CET

A half-assed website with a plain English password that apparently you don't even need if you know the direct link qualifies, I think, as suspension of disbelief taken too far.

Maybe there's a clause in the dollhouse T&Cs against deep linking ? ;)

Have to admit, i've never bothered with this sort of thing before so if you say it's "half-assed" in comparison to most ARGs then i'm happy to believe you theonetruebix. It certainly doesn't seem anywhere near as involved as the Holomove puzzles so maybe you're right and it's a fan thing or Simon's right and it's way under financed ? Or maybe, as is the case with large corporations the world over, one hand doesn't know what the other's doing and it's been launched much too early ?

Regardless of the technical side, at the moment it doesn't feel terribly immersive for the simple reason that there haven't really been any puzzles that I can see, it's just been a matter of waiting to be told stuff (brute-forcing a password, however weak, isn't a puzzle).

Saje | May 27, 23:41 CET

Yeah, the fakeness of the email interface was the first shot fired at my disbelief. Still, I hope the game continues and gets better. I think they may have underestimated how technically savvy the internet fanbase is. I wonder if any of the writers are involved in this? Would they typically be? If not, maybe they should be. I just can't see Topher slapping a picture of Echo on their site like that. It should be super stealthy.

Sunfire | May 27, 23:42 CET

There is nothing at Southland Labs anymore, not even any source code.

cabri | May 27, 23:51 CET

Well, the source at southlandlabs looked like something I'd've done in 1994 using vi from my shell account, too. If I were in a hurry. How much ya wanna bet these guys will get tired of prank calls from Dollhouse ARGers? (they are aka Southland Labs as you can see from a couple of sites in this search

zeitgeist | May 28, 03:02 CET

Are you seeing something? I get a completely blank page.

cabri | May 28, 03:23 CET

Wow. I'm so glad I got a head start on this. Too bad I'm already behind again. :(

korkster | May 28, 04:21 CET

I think this thread should either be linked on the sidebar, or there should be a new one that is, just for the purpose of tracking the game. Just because... this will be off the front page soon.

ETA: You guys already saw the new email, oops.

[ edited by Jobo on 2008-05-28 19:08 ]

Jobo | May 28, 22:07 CET

I've started a new thread for the game over at Dollverse and figured out how to read Adelle's mail, even hidden stuff. (Although that might've been found previously.) We don't need no stickin' log-in! I've been thinking of starting one for the Holomove game too but it's a lot less likely that that belongs to Dollhouse so I'd have to do it in the general forum and I'd rather keep them together just in case. Maybe I can get Gossi to make me a forum... *pauses hopefully* Nah, guess not. :(

cabri | May 28, 22:36 CET

Well, the source at southlandlabs looked like something I'd've done in 1994 using vi from my shell account, too.

I was always sissy scared of vi. I'd have done it in pico. How scary is that.

theonetruebix | May 29, 22:07 CET

May 26 2008