The Truth About Ruth - Part 2 - Merge

[JellyHope]

Holy crap, I made it to the end! (Or, at least the current last page.) Whoa. 2 nights of staying up way too close to when my 2 toddlers will be up in the morning. Huge kudos to those who did all this sleuthing.

Question: So there *was* no "sin in camp" or the Oprah thing?

[Lainey]

Holy crap, I made it to the end! (Or, at least the current last page.) Whoa. 2 nights of staying up way too close to when my 2 toddlers will be up in the morning. Huge kudos to those who did all this sleuthing.

Question: So there *was* no "sin in camp" or the Oprah thing?

I can't search TWOP to confirm, as I don't have an account. But if those stories came from jhawksgirl1, then I very much doubt it.

[keeks21]

I can't search TWOP to confirm, as I don't have an account. But if those stories came from jhawksgirl1, then I very much doubt it.

So he is a smug fundie bastard for multiple reasons but I still feel disgusted that Josh's reputation was slandered this way. Dude was just a juvenile. :(

[Mustang Sally]

Selfishly, that would mean long-time lurkers like me would miss out on knowing what happens next.

Just a shot in the dark, but I'm guessing there are more than a few current fundie/ATI people who secretly read here because they are starting to have their doubts about the movement, but who are not yet at a stage when they would post. For their sakes, mostly, I think this needs to be kept either in a public area of the board where they have the best chance of being able to see it, or at least in Snark where registered members can read it without having had to make multiple posts.

Also, presumably being put on a JTTH does not prevent RR being able to read Chatter anyway - unless I have that wrong.

I don't think there's any need to worry if Odds ends up posting a whole blog that tells all the details - everyone will know then, it will be open to the public and linked from here, and keeping some stuff in Chatter until then will give her a better chance to find everything out.

Being on JITH does prevent RR from reading Chatter, I checked with Curious.

[Lainey]

So he is a smug fundie bastard for multiple reasons but I still feel disgusted that Josh's reputation was slandered this way. Dude was just a juvenile. :(

Yeah, and some of the "sin in the camp" rumours were particularly vicious. :(

[Green Glass]

Although I have been skeptical of her blog for a long time, I am really shocked to find out that the person behind it seems to be some kind of experienced scam artist. I figured it was just someone having fun with creative writing and maybe parts of it had some basis in truth. I am impressed about how rational the discussion here has been, though.

I'll never understand how someone can make all those things up and accept donations. Unreal.

[already hungover]

Edited - sorry!

[Mama Mia]

Yeah, and some of the "sin in the camp" rumours were particularly vicious. :(

That is one thing that always bugs me, the tiniest little rumor gets taken as gospel truth and magnified a hundredfold.

It's like a really mean game of telephone.

I think I did it myself in this thread about one of Ruths personas, just by not reading through a whole story on one of the links :embarrassed:

As far as the scam itself: I've worked in the social service field for years, a small percentage of people are going to be con artists. It doesn't matter how many barriers you put up, how much documentation you require, how good of a b.s. detector you think you've built up..... There will always be someone who can scam their way through. But it can't stop you from generally believing in people's life stories and feeling empathy and compassion.....or you'll end up worse than the scammers. IMHO

[Mustang Sally]

What about 4chan?

You really wanna go there?

Everything falls off 4chan after a few hours anyway, if it's still the same as it was a few years ago. I can't see how that would do any good for posting public info. I think Odds has this one handled.

[Clementine]

I hope that this information somehow will reach PrincessJo - I am not sure if she is a member here anymore.

She got a lot of sh*t when she questioned Ruth and I know that she recieved some horrible PM's or e-mails accusing her of horrible things. Three years later, now we know that her doubts were legitimate.

I also wonder what happened with "Ruth's" claims that she had revealed her true identity to Vyckie from NLQ. I would love to hear Vyckie's story.

I also think that Ruth contacted the sister of a member of FJ to get legal advice regarding the sister's pregnancy. At least that's what she said. Was there any truth to it all?

It feels so surreal and almost impossible to write about Ruth and Rachel without adding "" around their names. They never existed and we have no idea who is behind it all.

I am very much looking forward to reading what Oddeverything has found. Can't wait.

[silverspoons]

I can only speak for myself, but I'm just interested in putting together sort of a master list of all of these assumed identities that follow the same pattern. It won't be long before an Amy from Centennial Park or a Miranda from Provo or a Casey from Waco surfaces, and maybe this time fewer people will fall for it.

I also worry about the TLC chain from the Gosselins to 19 kids to a possible sister wives scam. I am personally looking out for any polygamy escape stories. I have EDS 4 and nothing but time on my hands these days and my husband spends a lot of time these days (including tomm) in CP/Colorado city. My husband spent a lot of his childhood up there and has family there still. It will be a lot harder to get away with a polygamist scam. Help is everywhere so once someone leaves they have many options. In fact I was surprised driving from Southern Utah to SLC last week the groups that help have billboards off I-15 in areas known to have polygamists group with 800#'s.

Speaking of driving, R/M route was very odd? I was writing back and forth with her since I had driven cross country 15+ times on a budget about hotels and routes. She didn't want advice but oddly the day after I told her the part of the freeway I lived off of , she posted here she staying right off my exit. I thought wow, I can't believe she is right off my exit the day after I suggest the route to her? Since I live near I-70 I thought she would be going that way but suddenly she was on 1-80. The other thing is she drove very slow when the speed limit is 80-85 here , maybe she didn't realize this when writing her tale. It was taking here 2 twice as long as what it takes us to drive (and my husband goes the speed limit or 2 under).

[Oddeverything]

I'm beginning to be one of those jerks who says she's going to be but here she is, back online.

In the event no one saw my redaction, increasingly it appears as if the person involved in this scandal is definitely not in the media. I spoke too soon. More may come later but as for now I do not think the two women are the same woman. Just another weird coincidence.

I have been screenshotting and saving out the wazoo.

And no worries about domain names and hosting fees if I have to take this off Google. This is my husband's line of work, more or less. We're middle class with no kids and can afford to pay for everything if it comes to that. But I will keep all offers and suggestions in mind. You are all very kind.

Because I accidentally ended up stirring the pot, I plan to keep all of my speculations and research to myself until it is over because I worry I may be muddying the case. I also want to make it clear that I am mostly looking over and typing up the research of others. I'm sort of the one keeping the minutes for the meeting, so to speak. :)

But I still have a lot of empathy now for the mods. A stranger mess I have never seen.

[Oddeverything]

I hope that this information somehow will reach PrincessJo - I am not sure if she is a member here anymore.

She got a lot of sh*t when she questioned Ruth and I know that she recieved some horrible PM's or e-mails accusing her of horrible things. Three years later, now we know that her doubts were legitimate.

She is on my list of people to contact tomorrow. I hope she feels vindicated.

[Mustang Sally]

I hope that this information somehow will reach PrincessJo - I am not sure if she is a member here anymore.

She got a lot of sh*t when she questioned Ruth and I know that she recieved some horrible PM's or e-mails accusing her of horrible things. Three years later, now we know that her doubts were legitimate.

I also wonder what happened with "Ruth's" claims that she had revealed her true identity to Vyckie from NLQ. I would love to hear Vyckie's story.

I also think that Ruth contacted the sister of a member of FJ to get legal advice regarding the sister's pregnancy. At least that's what she said. Was there any truth to it all?

It feels so surreal and almost impossible to write about Ruth and Rachel without adding "" around their names. They never existed and we have no idea who is behind it all.

I am very much looking forward to reading what Oddeverything has found. Can't wait.

I think she is still a member here - or someone else with almost her exact username is - and it looks like she's visited recently, so hopefully she's aware. I'd be interested in hearing what she has to say...or better yet, I'd be interested in her telling Oddeverything her whole story for when the entire thing is published on the site.

[Clementine]

And no worries about domain names and hosting fees if I have to take this off Google. This is my husband's line of work, more or less. We're middle class with no kids and can afford to pay for everything if it comes to that. But I will keep all offers and suggestions in mind. You are all very kind.

Well, you could always add a tip jar on the blog to get help... 8-) (Sorry, couldn't help myself...!)

[Clementine]

She is on my list of people to contact tomorrow. I hope she feels vindicated.

Thank you Oddeverything. :) I really liked PrincessJo and thought it was appaling the way she was treated.

[lilith]

I can't search TWOP to confirm, as I don't have an account. But if those stories came from jhawksgirl1, then I very much doubt it.

JimBob did claim that there was some "sin in the camp" after his election loss. Anything further and any links to Josh and/or the sin being of a sexual nature are pure gossip and speculation.

[stonechat]

Thank you mods and admins. Great job! Like many others, I believed RR's story until the adoption.

Just wanted to make a quick observation (although maybe it's a bit late for this now). I am very familiar with RR's blog and her posts on FJ. I went to GOMI for the first time this week, out of curiosity, and was immediately struck by 'Terebithia's' posts on the RR thread:

getoffmyinternets.net/forums/fundie-blogging/razing-ruth/page-2/

Her style strongly resembles that of RR, IMO (capitalisation for emphasis, wordiness, mega paragraphs). Some of the content seems off to me too, including the outing and loooong defence of herself as the commenter on RR's blog who 'threw Ruth a lifeline'. Also, the odd email contact with the scammer, who shared Ruth's sister's 'real' name. And the similar background to Ruth (conservative Christian upbringing, waitress, nanny, lives in the same area of CA).

Long-time lurker but this is my first post here. Hi!

[Clementine]

Here is an old thread, from April 2012, right after the "niece" was adopted, where people aired their well-grounded scepticism:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9402&hilit=paypal&start=220

"Ruth's" reply on her blog:

http://razingruth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/0 ... again.html

Once again, a post on another website has started questioning whether I'm real or not. Once again, I'll say what I've said for almost four years now- it is up to every person reading this blog to decide if they trust that I am who I say I am. I won't fault anyone for having a healthy dose of skepticism about anything they read on the internet. I understand that I can't give the details that some people think would cement my "truth". I understand that my choice to be anonymous means that there will always be some people who don't believe me or my story. There's no comfortable way for me to prove to everyone that I am who I say I am.

I am, however, tired of being called a liar. I don't ask anyone to read and I don't ask anyone to donate. In fact, there's been some talk that I'm making a whole lot of money on this blog. That's not true. There's been a suggestion that there was a baby shower for Rachel. Not true. And, actually, when I think about, if I were faking this story for four years and I created a pregnant sister to get money or gifts, then wouldn't it have been more prudent to have let my sister go to her due date in some story to give people more time? As it was, I wasn't comfortable accepting gifts for her for her an adoption and, as it turned out, she gave birth before anyone could plan to do anything. She went early. That's life. I don't know what to say about the tip jar. It's there because there are some people who occasionally like to donate. If anyone thinks I'm raking in the money, then I'd be happy to show someone I've grown to trust here the real data and let them verify that this is not the case. Then I think about how ridiculous that seems and I just think it'd be easier to take the tip jar down.

:liar:

[Effie]

I have been away from FJ for a week... and this is what I miss?! Hmm sad panda. :cry:

[Koala]

Yes, clearly Oddeverything is very invested in this and has provided a wonderful solution for further investigation. I had not seen her latest post when I hit submit on my last post. She clearly has the time and the energy. Unfortunately, I do not have that time or energy, but I am very glad that she is stepping up.

As to accusing me of wanting to plug my ears, or asking others to plug their ears, to unpleasantness nothing could be further from the truth. If you look, several of my other posts describe my frustration and anger at the situation. I also have some understanding as to why FJ's hands are tied due to the ToU. I dislike bashing FJ admins over this because their hands are tied by the ToU that also protect my privacy -- and yours too. Curious and the Admins have explained this elsewhere.

Believe me, I also want this serial scammer stopped! I hate what she is doing. I take it seriously. I first became aware of Possummmomma in 2006. I had no idea that RR was connected until two days ago. I was shocked. I also had no idea of how many scams she was pulling off. It is horrible. Dig all you want. No-one, least of all me, is trying to stop you.

If you perceived my comments as dismissive, sorry. If you think I'm bossy, fine. I know myself, and I am neither bossy nor dismissive. Tone is always difficult on the internet and my post was badly written. Obviously.

What the heck. Its past my bedtime. Have fun digging and feel free to berate me some more. I doubt that I'll respond because I have more important things to worry about than your opinion.

I'm sorry, but who is bashing FJ admins over their hands being tied???? Certainly not me. I totally agree with their decision. I would follow the letter of the TOU if I were in their shoes too.

This is like your quip to Apple to "rage on". I don't even know what you're talking about.

[treemom]

I can send princessjo a message on fb.

[uber frau]

Just wanted to make a quick observation (although maybe it's a bit late for this now). I am very familiar with RR's blog and her posts on FJ. I went to GOMI for the first time this week, out of curiosity, and was immediately struck by 'Terebithia's' posts on the RR thread:

getoffmyinternets.net/forums/fundie-blogging/razing-ruth/page-2/

Her style strongly resembles that of RR, IMO (capitalisation for emphasis, wordiness, mega paragraphs). Some of the content seems off to me too, including the outing and loooong defence of herself as the commenter on RR's blog who 'threw Ruth a lifeline'. Also, the odd email contact with the scammer, who shared Ruth's sister's 'real' name. And the similar background to Ruth (conservative Christian upbringing, waitress, nanny, lives in the same area of CA).

!

Interesting

[ILoveJellybeans]

I think its possible that "Ruth" has done this before and will do this again-these kind of scammers arent going to quit just because they were outed once. I bet we dont hear a resolution to this, the blog shuts and she isnt heard from again, but then she creates a new identity, new blog, joins new forums....shes probably aware of this by now, and is hiding out watching TLC doing research and trying to decide on a new lifestyle she can adopt.

I never knew that this person invented the sin in the camp story. Shame on them. Josh was only a teenager, even if he grew up to be a smug asshat, he really didnt deserve that.

[DarkAnts]

Epic flame blog. She wont comment over here and talk to us directly. That shows that she has something to hide.