| Author |
Message |
    
AmateurSleuth
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, December 04, 2005 - 9:15 pm: | 
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This must be where the director/producer of From Hell got the idea to portray Frederick Abberline as an opium-smoking detective. What proof does Rumbelow have that Abberline was an opium addict? |
Dan Norder
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Dannorder
Post Number: 1049
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Monday, December 05, 2005 - 8:05 pm: |
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Hi A.S.,
I don't recall Rumbelow making that claim. Do you have a page number handy?
Dan Norder, Editor
Ripper Notes: The International Journal for Ripper Studies
 Profile  Email  Dissertations  Website
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AmateurSleuth
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 06, 2005 - 1:52 am: |
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Hi Dan:
Thank you for responding to my post. To be honest with you, I have not read the book yet. I am only asking based on the synopsis I read pertaining to the book(found below). Did Rumbelow place this thought in a myth section of the book or is it an ascertained fact found in Scotland Yard files?
That's why I thought I would ask the experts found here on Casebook.
Complete Jack the Ripper by Donald Rumbelow
Complete Jack the Ripper
Author: Donald Rumbelow
ISBN: 0140173951
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Year Published: 1992
Extent: 384pp
Casing: B-format paperback
Status: Available
Our Price: £8.09
Who was Jack the Ripper?
A comprehensive guide to the mysterious figure behind probably the most infamous unsolved crimes in British history, this covers every aspect of the ghastly murders perpetrated by the entity called Jack the Ripper and Opium smoking Inspector Fred Abberline's attempts to solve these grisly crimes. Rumbelow evokes the murky, gas-lit streets of Victorian Whitechapel and leaves the reader feeling haunted and deliciously uneasy.
Our Price: £8.09
Normal Price: £8.99
You Save: £0.90
% Saved: 10.01%
Availability
This item is normally available for delivery within 2-3 days.
There are currently no reviews for this product. Be the first to review by clicking below!
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Dan Norder
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Dannorder
Post Number: 1050
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 3:47 pm: |
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Hi A.S.,
Odd... I went to the Penguin Books website to see what's what, and it does list "Opium smoking Inspector Fred Abberline" in its description of the book. In fact, it also adds "and through his visions track down and trap Jack the Ripper," which of course is complete nonsense.
I can only imagine some intern or someone like that working at Penguin who was trying to come up with short descriptions for the books on the website tossed that in trying to be "helpful" based upon what he or she had seen in the movie.
I wouldn't read too much into this. Rumbelow most certainly does not say that Abberline was a psychic opium addict.
Dan Norder, Editor
Ripper Notes: The International Journal for Ripper Studies
Profile Email Dissertations Website
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Thomas C. Wescott
Inspector
Username: Tom_wescott
Post Number: 455
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 9:14 pm: |
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Ugh! I HATE it when people say Abberline smoked Opium. A TRUE Ripperologist knows it was Absynthe. And he only did it to aid his psychic abilities and save lives. Surely that must count for something? It was through said diligence - and some really kind bud - that Abberline was able to expose a national travesty of the time, and that was that poor people couldn't eat grapes. They simply didn't exist in the East End. This is the real reason we must doubt Matthew Packer's story. Forget his changing the time and sequence of events when repeating his story, Abberline saw through the lie the moment he mentioned selling grapes. Couldn't have happened. Damn shame Abberline died, in Whitechapel, at the age of about 38, only a few years after the murders. Damn shame. Good thing Godley was there to quote Shakespeare (oh that Godley!) and put coins in his eyes. At least Abberline didn't die friendless.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott |
Stanley D. Reid
Chief Inspector
Username: Sreid
Post Number: 666
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 9:46 pm: |
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Was opium illegal in England in 1888? It wasn't in the United States. In the view of the law would a user be looked at much differently than being a drunk which was how Abberline was portrayed in the 1988 TV movie. Everyone seems to want to hang some kind of substance abuse problem on this guy.
Stan |
Thomas C. Wescott
Inspector
Username: Tom_wescott
Post Number: 456
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 10:13 pm: |
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Yeah, eventually they need to make 'Cheech & Chong Meets Fred "The Dead Head" Abberline"!
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott |
Bob Hinton
Inspector
Username: Bobhinton
Post Number: 434
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 4:59 am: |
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Hi everyone,
I do think that if AS is going to clutter up these boards with 'corrections' and remarks like the one above, he really ought to take the time and trouble to ensure that he knows what he is talking about.
To accuse someone like Don Rumbelow of saying something silly in his book - and then having the unremitting cheek to say he hasn't read the book, takes the biscuit.
I would suggest that AS stops wasting his time and ours making 'corrections' to everything ( based on what I have no idea) and starts getting stuck into some books.
When he has accumulated one thousandth of the knowledge Don Rumbelow has, I'm sure we will all be pleased to hear from him.
Bob Hinton |
Lindsey C Hollifield
Chief Inspector
Username: Lindsey
Post Number: 541
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 5:15 am: |
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You know, Abberline probably didn't. But what if he did? Does that make him any less in our books?
Lyn x
My first reaction is, "OMG that's crazy". But then I'm thinking this just may be crazy enough to work.
copyright © Bradley McGinnis Sept. 2005
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AmateurSleuth
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 07, 2005 - 10:54 pm: |
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Hi Dan:
Thanks for looking that up - you may be right about it being an intern or some opium-smoking student.
Hi Tom:
Thanks for the good laugh - you're funny!! Fred "The Dead Head" Abberline vs. Harry Pothead
Hi Stanley:
I agree with you. So what if he did smoke opium. It doesn't mean he had a substance abuse problem. That's like watching a bride at her own wedding having a glass of champagne and people whispering, "she must be an alkie". |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3361
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 9:43 am: |
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It strikes me that AS is having a lot of says on a lot of threads here......remarkable for someone who by his own admision hasn't even read Rumbelow!
Suzi |
john wright
Sergeant
Username: Ohnjay
Post Number: 23
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 10:13 am: |
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AS has the right to say whatever, its called freedom of speech |
Bob Hinton
Inspector
Username: Bobhinton
Post Number: 436
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 11:09 am: |
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Quite right John. However I feel that people might take him a bit more seriously if he actually had the vaguest idea of what he was talking about!
But of course I would be the last person to try and stop him posting garbage if that's what amused him.
By the way I cannot see anywhere in Suzis posting where she says he hasn't got the right to post! |
Andrew Spallek
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 1016
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 11:13 am: |
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If I remember, the film showed Abberline using laudinum, which is an opium derivative form. I don't think it was illegal in the UK in 1888. Supposedly this drug was common among the more "bohemian" crowd in the period.
I'm sure there is no evidence to believe that the real Abberline used the substance.
Andy S. |
Eduardo Zinna
Detective Sergeant
Username: Eduardo
Post Number: 102
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 12:21 pm: |
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Hello everyone,
I daresay Andy Spallek means laudanum, not laudinum.
Laudanum is tincture of opium, though it derives its name from a medicament developed by Paracelsus. During the Victorian era, laudanum was a painkiller and all-round drug prescribed for everything from headaches to tuberculosis. Originally, laudanum was thought of as a drug of the working classes, since it was cheaper even than gin. Its use spread rapidly across the social scale. Victorian women used it more or less in the same way Valium was used a decade or two ago, and quite a few became seriously addicted to it. Victorian nursemaids spoon-fed laudanum to infants, occasionally causing their deaths. The outbreak of tuberculosis may have been another factor in laudanum's rising popularity. For a while, what’s been described as the "consumptive look" (very pale skin and frequent fainting spells), was quite in vogue. Women went to great lengths to emulate the look, often taking arsenic to whiten their skin – remember Florence Maybrick. Yet laudanum's biggest claim to fame was its use by the Romantic poets, such as Byron and Shelley.
Among my notes I have this excerpt on how laudanum was made:
" *** got up and went to the cabinet and took out a basketful of withered poppies and set about making laudanum. She picked out the poppy heads one by one, pierced the capsules with a sewing needle and then dropped them into a small glazed crock and set it near the stove for the opium to sweat out."
This extract would be then be mixed with sugar and perhaps alcohol to make it easier to drink – not to smoke.
What Abberline is shown to use in From Hell is not laudanum but opium, which is smoked using a pipe. Opium is still used in some parts of Asia – laudanum is not used anywhere any more. Read your Sherlock Holmes or your Dickens for a glimpse into the use of opium in Victorian London. Your De Quincey, if you are a completist.
Of course, Abberline was a real person, not a literary or film character. While we don’t know what he looked like, we may be certain that he looked neither like Michael Caine nor Johnny Depp and that, having been born in Dorset, he spoke neither the Cockney of the one nor the faux Cockney of the other. Nor is there any evidence whatsoever that he was an alcoholic or an opium eater. The Abberline of JTR and From Hell is to the real Abberline what the characters in such cinematic sagas as My Darling Clementine, Gunfight at the OK Corral, Tombstone or The Hour of the Gun are to Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. Ditto for Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and General Custer. It’s OK to like From Hell and other productions of its ilk. I do. But they are not history and it is nonsense to discuss them as if they were.
Eduardo
(Message edited by eduardo on December 08, 2005) |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3364
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 1:14 pm: |
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I have never said anything about anyone's right to post! In fact, quite the opposite, creatures of every hue and persuasion are welcome here,and dear God we've got a few!
Fred Abberline at the end of the day was a distinctive ,seriously good copper of the time.IMHO..someone who I feel Jack Frost would have been proud of!
Suzi |
Andrew Spallek
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 1017
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 2:24 pm: |
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Thanks, Eduardo for correcting my spelling. It always was my worst subject in school!
While it has been quite some time since I saw From Hell, I do not remember Abberline smoking an opium pipe. I remember him heating a substance and mixing it with sugar exactly as your excerpt above says. Hence my comment. I believe he then consumed this substance while in the bath. Perhaps my memory is at fault.
Andy S.
(Message edited by aspallek on December 08, 2005) |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3367
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 3:55 pm: |
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Andy-
AT THE END OF THE DAY
- it was a good enough movie from a comic /graphic novel--- end of story eh!
Suzi |
Thomas C. Wescott
Inspector
Username: Tom_wescott
Post Number: 462
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 4:12 pm: |
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Eduardo and Andy,
If Abberline wasn't using Absynthe in the movie, then why did the Hughes Brothers say he was and even include a documentary (Absynthe makes the heart grow fonder) on the DVD?
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott |
Andrew Spallek
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 1018
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 4:47 pm: |
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I thought so, Suzi!
Andy S. |
Simon Owen
Inspector
Username: Simonowen
Post Number: 272
Registered: 8-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 6:24 pm: |
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Laudanum is opium dissolved in brandy !
PS : I drank absinthe in France and it had no effect on me , I think its illegal to sell absinthe in the UK now but I'm not sure why. |
Spiro
Sergeant
Username: Auspirograph
Post Number: 37
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 8:03 pm: |
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Hi all,
On the use of opiates in the movie "From Hell", there are several scenes that show not only the taking of Absinthe as has been described, but also the smoking of opium in the Chinese 'opium dens' known to be operating in Victorian London.
Alan Moore blended the idea of the contemporary and extensive use of these drugs and the character Abberline in a generic sense. The graphic novel is the source for the idea that the Inspector was a drug-addicted sensitive mocked up and a composite of several Ripper themes to relate to a particular readership and eventual film-going audience, who generally are drug and serial killer enthusiasts.
Alan Moore was also not too keen on the way the film-makers adapted the graphic novel and in interviews distanced himself from it's portrayal.
I agree with the notion that it is an enjoyable film but not history unless in atmospheric and broad brush-strokes.
The use of generic composites of characters is simply a film-making device that delivers information of a story in the relatively short time it takes to view a movie as opposed to a book.
Spiro |
Dan Norder
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Dannorder
Post Number: 1057
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 10:07 pm: |
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Hi Spiro,
Actually, the graphic novel was not the source for the idea that Abberline was a drug-using sensitive. That was new with the movie, when the blended the characters of Abberline and psychic Robert James Lee from the comics into one character, while adding the opium stuff as some sort of glue to hold them together (and possibly at the actor's request).
Actually, Alan Moore's psychic wasn't even psychic in the strictest sense. He was portrayed as a charlatan who just happened to get some things dangerously right, which I think was one of the more clever parts of the series. The actual psychic visions in the comics happened to the killer instead and were handled rather clumsily, in my opinion.
Dan Norder, Editor
Ripper Notes: The International Journal for Ripper Studies
Profile Email Dissertations Website
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Spiro
Sergeant
Username: Auspirograph
Post Number: 38
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 - 1:52 am: |
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Quite right Dan, which really emphasises the fictional aspects of the film. What a dog's breakfast. |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3370
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 - 9:14 am: |
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Hi all
Absinthe is of last year legally for sale in the UK.It's pricey though and comes in various strengths from 30%,through loopy to colour television!!!
The 'magic' ingredient is wormwood,which ( allegedly) is responsible for ,in largeish amounts,for the semi-hallucinogenic effects.
Absinthe may have played a considerable part in the music,art and attitudes of the 'fin de siecle' peroid,and been responsible for a fair few bouts of 'odd' behaviour!!
Personally I'm a bit of a fan,which reading back through this last bit may 'explain a LOT'!!!
Spiro....A Dog's breakfast is the same as a Horlicks!
Suzi |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3371
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 09, 2005 - 12:36 pm: |
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A Dog's Dinner is something else agin!!! LOL
Suzi |
Destiny
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 12:51 pm: |
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These message boards are for everybody Bob, i read them alot and find everyones point of view very interesting, i often think your posts are inflexible and intolerant of anyone else with a different opinion to yourself, Suzi is like the parrot who sits on your shoulder and repeats and agress with all you say. For someone who takes an amateurish interest in JacK himself, i find myself almost scared to join in the chit chat as people like yourself would make me feel unwelcome. This is a free country Bob and Suzi, please remember that. |
AmateurSleuth
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 2:12 pm: |
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I'm sorry that I even asked a simple question on these boards. There are obviously some very angry people with a lot of issues on here. I suggest that people learn some manners. I may not know everything about Jack The Ripper but at least I am polite when speaking to people. I will not be reading any more posts from Bob Hinton.
And more importantly, I am a female Bob, so I guess that you are ignorant and sexist. |
AmateurSleuth
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Thursday, December 08, 2005 - 2:39 pm: |
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I would like to thank everyone who responded to my posts in a polite, sane and rational manner. Also, to those who came to my defense. I never claimed that Abberline was a drug addict or that Rumbelow stated that he was. I was just asking what the synopsis of the book was referring to. Here is another important question that maybe someone would be so kind as to answer - why are there angry people on these boards? Do they not have anything better to do than call other people's posts garbage? Stephen Ryder is going to have a hard time getting new casebookers to stay here with poisonous people like that.
P.S. I will endeavor to delineate specifically the precise parameters of your conglomeration of puzzlements, Bob.
And, I am a woman everyone. |
Bob Hinton
Inspector
Username: Bobhinton
Post Number: 444
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 9:20 am: |
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Dear Destiny,
Please feel free to make any comment you wish, however if you want people to take you seriously I would suggest that the comments you make at least have some validity.
AS wrote:
This must be where the director/producer of From Hell got the idea to portray Frederick Abberline as an opium-smoking detective. What proof does Rumbelow have that Abberline was an opium addict?
Now AS hadn't even taken the trouble to ascertain that Don Rumbelow ever made such a comment she just demanded that Rumbelow show his proof. How can you take someone seriously who criticises someone’s book and then later admits they haven't even read it?
Why is it that when people starting saying ‘this is a free country’ what they really mean is ‘ as long as you agree with me’
Presumably as you insist this is a free country, you won’t mind me expressing my point of view?
Bob Hinton |
Bob Hinton
Inspector
Username: Bobhinton
Post Number: 445
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 9:25 am: |
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AS
You wrote:
“I never claimed that Abberline was a drug addict or that Rumbelow stated that he was”
but your question was:
“What proof does Rumbelow have that Abberline was an opium addict?”
That sounds like an accusation to me.
Your accusation that I am ignorant and sexist - how childish! Of course I am ignorant of your sex - since you prefer to hide behind a nom de plume how on earth am I supposed to know what sex you are?
As for being sexist - see previous comment!
Bob Hinton |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3386
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 9:34 am: |
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"Destiny"
Many things I may be but a parrot doesnt spring to mind.....I chose my friends..they are people I actually LIKE and any views of ganging up are mainly remarked on by non registered 'guests'
Im sorry but as I remarked on earlier these boards are there for all creatures great and small
Suzi |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3387
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 9:55 am: |
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And...... ignorant is not a word that springs to mind either.........sexist....????????........never!!!
Give us a name maybe and we'll consider you as someone who can comment on the people who post on these boards!
Suzi x |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3388
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 10:09 am: |
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AS
Have just read back through your posts....Please dont think that anyone here knows EVERYTHING... Blimey if we did there would be no boards!!
As to sexuality ..why did you have to make the point that you were female...
Suzi |
Howard Brown
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Howard
Post Number: 1231
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 10:10 am: |
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"So what if he did smoke opium. It doesn't mean he had a substance abuse problem."
Yes it would A.S. We're not talking about just any drug here. Two derivatives of the poppy,heroin and morphine,are among the most,if not the most addictive drugs on earth..No time for "weekend warrior" stuff with a detective like Abberline who had to be on the ready at all times.
That opium reference in the paragraph containing information on Mr.Rumbelow's book is just an enticement for us to buy the book...
Opium is a debilitating drug,Amateur Sleuth. A few hits off a hookah in the morning and you are incapacitated for hours. No detective could function on pure,uncut merch and acquire 84 awards like Abberline did and be an opium addict or frequent user.......Besides the addiction factor,there is the performance assessment by his superiors to consider. Abberline would stand out like a sore thumb...even his handshake would be a "high five". |
Spiro
Sergeant
Username: Auspirograph
Post Number: 43
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 10:27 am: |
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Actually, these boards are not for everybody! Of course, as I understand it, everybody is welcome, but it's not for everyone.
It is clearly for those interested in the study, discussion and research of the crimes of Jack the Ripper and of course the period in which he and the murdered victims lived.
Yes it is annoying when people drop into the house that Jack built and ask corny questions all the time and over multiple threads insisting everyone else is wrong when they don't bother to read and research for themselves first.
You don't need to be a registered member to access the valuable and prolific resources that this site has to offer and as such is offered, it would appear to me, as a public service for the distribution of reliable information.
Bob and Suzi have always been very civil and supportive to me and I have no hesitation in saying that they are very sincere in their intentions and quite knowledgeable on the case.
Thanks
Spiro
Now where were we...oh yes opiates from hell found in a dog's breakfast. I hope the cat doesn't get to it first. Horlicks? Downunder its a night-time soothing drink...
(Message edited by auspirograph on December 11, 2005) |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3389
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 12:20 pm: |
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Spiro
Spiro!
Thanks for that!!!!
Glad you GOT the dog's breakfast!!!!! He he !!!!....can't beat a Horlicks though ......Diddles would know doubt agree
Howie-
Some good points!!
Suzi |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3391
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 3:22 pm: |
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OK that took a while to read back as to 'where were we' LOL
OK...It's more than likely that F.Abberline didn't partake of anything too 'risky' maybe just something that was easily available and lead to some sort of 'relaxation'---- BUT Mr Holmes - according to Conan Doyle was a habituee of cocaine and on occasion- opium.
Now what that lead to and what it lead Mr Holmes to surmise, we'll never know -but it may put a different angle on how he reached his 'conclusions'.
Suzi |
Suzi Hanney
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Suzi
Post Number: 3392
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 3:35 pm: |
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Suzi |
Dan Norder
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Dannorder
Post Number: 1060
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 11:37 pm: |
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Hi all,
Regarding opium, Inspector Thomas Byrnes of the New York police (you know, the guy who made fun of Scotland Yard's Ripper troubles, wasn't concerned with Tumblety much when he showed up, and then later had a huge problem with the later murder of Carrie Brown) wrote a book about 19th century criminals and had a section devoted to how the opium dens worked and what it did to you. He's not the most unbiased guy in the world, of course, but the section was pretty eye-opening. I wonder if that's available online somewhere?
Dan Norder, Editor
Ripper Notes: The International Journal for Ripper Studies
Profile Email Dissertations Website
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Destiny
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, December 11, 2005 - 10:04 am: |
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Thanks for your comments Bob and Suzi, i see the two of you are joining forces again, can Bob not post a comment Suzi without you having to back him up, are you both insecure or a double act?? I still wish you knowledgeable JTR buffs would treat the lesser read individulas like myself a little more gently, all this was new to you once, all of us wet beind the ear mortals need handling with kid gloves.gently gently ..you need to encourage new blood onto the boards surely without frightening people off before they dare make a comment or ask a question. |
Bob Hinton
Inspector
Username: Bobhinton
Post Number: 447
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, December 12, 2005 - 11:51 am: |
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Dear Destiny,
I reprint my earlier post since you obviously haven't bothered to read it.
"Dear Destiny,
Please feel free to make any comment you wish, however if you want people to take you seriously I would suggest that the comments you make at least have some validity."
Now can you explain to me how inviting you to 'feel free to make any comment you wish' is frightening you off?
I have always welcomed newcomers to the boards for obvious reason that a new pair of eyes might spot something previously overlooked.
However I do feel that newcomers ought to understand exactly what it is they are joining. This website has contributions from some of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of Jack the Ripper. They weren’t born with this knowledge they acquired it through many hours and even years of study, something that takes determination, effort and a willingness to learn.
The amount of work that has been done by people like, Stephen Ryder, Jennifer Peg, A P Wolf, Leanne Perry, Philip Hutchinson, Caroline Morris and many, many more is phenomenal.
Because of this they deserve our respect, something which I notice is sadly lacking in a lot of new posts, many of them from ‘unregistered guests’. For example look at this contribution:
“O, I'm srry for not being proper wit me English, is the phrase "Go suck a duck." proper enough? Actually I just find that phrase funny.
So where is dis spellchecker thingy that I hear about at? Can it fix everything in dis post”
This person cannot even bother to exert the effort required to write understandably. That being so why does he/she/it assume that they have the right to be treated with deference by the other posters on the board?
AS complains that she has not been treated politely, something with which I disagree, but has she treated us politely?
For example if I were in the position she was I would have written something along the lines of:
“Hi Everyone,
I have just noticed a strange anomaly. Using the age given in the 1881 census I see that a lot of the birth dates arrived at do not match the information on this board. Is there a reason for this?”
She didn’t. She just plastered the board with ‘corrections’ that for the large part are in error because she didn’t take the small amount of time and effort it required to check that she had her facts right. In other words you lot are stupid and I’m here to put you right.
May I make a suggestion? If you wish to join the boards then do so. Register with Stephen Ryder and use a proper name, that goes a long way to show people like me that you are taking this seriously.
My private email address is in my profile. If you want to email me off the boards then please feel to do so.
Bob Hinton |
Monty
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Monty
Post Number: 2056
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 10:48 am: |
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Bob,
Proper name? What is a proper name?
Maud?
Geoffrey?
Monique?
Let me get this straight, just for my comprehension you understand. Having a proper name gives you more credibility than someone with a silly name, that correct?
Wonder what the Great Viper would make of that.
Regards,
Monty
It begins.....
|
Bob Hinton
Inspector
Username: Bobhinton
Post Number: 448
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 11:01 am: |
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Dear Monty,
What is a proper name? Presumably the one on their birth certificate!
If someone used the names Maud, Geoffrey or Monique at least we would have an idea whether they were a man or a woman - something that is impossible to do with names like Amateur Sleuth.
When I referred to AS as 'he' I was accused of being sexist because AS is in fact a woman, and presumably I should have used magical ESP powers to deduce this fact!
Using a proper name doesn't give you more credibility, but I have to ask myself why would anyone want to hide their identity?
For example if I met you at a function surely you would expect me to introduce myself as Bob Hinton - not the masked avenger or what have you.
yours aye
Bob Hinton (The Hamster in Raybans) |
Monty
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Monty
Post Number: 2058
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 11:24 am: |
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Bob,
I acknowledge the readers disadvantage with nom de plumes.
I also acknowledge that the disadvantage is unfair.
The accusation from Destiny to yourself is rather lame simply for the reason you give. How can someone be accused of sexism when the sex of a poster has not been established? On that point I am in your corner.
Using a proper name doesn't give you more credibility, but I have to ask myself why would anyone want to hide their identity?
For example if I met you at a function surely you would expect me to introduce myself as Bob Hinton - not the masked avenger or what have you.
Im glad that credibility is not effected if you have an 'unproper' name. Mr Flangewurter and Mr Dichlik will be relieved.....true names I kid you not.
And if you ever, ever, ever meet me at a function I suggest you run.....far and fast.
A'lus respectful,
Monty
It begins.....
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Jennifer Pegg
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Jdpegg
Post Number: 3306
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 11:25 am: |
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Monty -
is a proper name. Isn't it?
ps Monty, people kept asking after you at the conference you know. you are going to have to show your face at one of those things one of these days
(Message edited by jdpegg on December 13, 2005)
"Does a 'ton up' on his sleigh? Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?"
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Monty
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Monty
Post Number: 2059
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 11:29 am: |
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Jenn,
Monty is akin to Slim Shady.
My name is...wha?
My name is...who?
My name is...ticker ticker Mon-teeee !
Nah, disnae work.
Slim Shady
It begins.....
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Donald Souden
Chief Inspector
Username: Supe
Post Number: 896
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 12:03 pm: |
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Monty,
My stepfather once worked with a fellow whose square moniker was Trueworthy Lovejoy. Honest.
Don.
"He was so bad at foreign languages he needed subtitles to watch Marcel Marceau."
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Jennifer Pegg
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Jdpegg
Post Number: 3307
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 1:15 pm: |
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Monty,
ok, ok, whatever you say. You lost me somewhere, I'm sure.
I meant it about the conference you know!!
Jenni
"Does a 'ton up' on his sleigh? Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?"
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Jennifer Pegg
Assistant Commissioner
Username: Jdpegg
Post Number: 3309
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 13, 2005 - 1:20 pm: |
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ps we should have figured something was up when you started naming yourself after potential serial killers, shouldn't we? No wait it is your name
"Does a 'ton up' on his sleigh? Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?"
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