No matter what I've already said or not, people continue to twist it, turn it, and mold it into their own grand conspiracy theories and libelous assumptions.
So let's recap:
I believed just as much as the next person, maybe even more, that this was the real deal as it was happening. This was not pre-planned, orchestrated, on the side of Interference. The entire zine staff was mislead, fooled, manipulated. The entire zine staff was also very upset when we finally did realize something may not be 'right'. No one on staff, zine or forum, orchestrated this. We still do not truly KNOW who 'the edge' was.
And for those of you seeking some new information...
There were other names used besides Don or Jill Smith. One such name was that of the "16 yr old girl" which supposedly had a surname of Walsh and only lived with her mother (not father)... which IF true, doesnt give much validity to the whole 'Don and Jill Smith' thing. Whomever this was also commented on things that were not yet public information, things that have since come out in recent interviews, and as well often made private comments about things going on with U2.com, as well as other things, prior to them happening. One interesting comment was brief, but pointed us to
www.vertigocr.com , check if you're interested - maybe Vertigo really was a place and not some randomly chosen lyric? So what does this all mean? Bluntly... who the fuck knows. I'm confused to the point where I really dont give a shit about it anymore, as it's unlikely we'll ever KNOW anymore FACTS about it. What I do know is that from this point fwd interviews will be double checked and double confirmed as to source and content. As well, anyone on the forum that even attempts to come across as someone official in public (that I become aware of) will be asked to 'prove it' and explain what has trasnspired. Example... if Bono decided to start using one finger to say hello here on the forum... I'd tell him to have someone take a digital picture of him with Interference on the screen and him in the shot (someone suggested something like that, I like the idea).
And as for Angelas comments on someone who hasnt logged in since 2002 or whatever... I'm not sure who or what shes referring to.. however if it is refering to Ethan which is listed as an admin, it would be because Ethan is a friend of mine which helped convert the forum a couple years back... he also runs Murmurs.com.
It really is time to move past this. We're a month out from the release of an album that Universal reps have chained to their bodies. I'd like to spend the time being an excited U2 fan.
Joel