SoulinEther Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Maybe. ...I might make a facebook group tonight. With six degrees of separation, we can probably find someone who knows about both his real life and his internet persona. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcana Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 He left the forums long before the friends feature was even implemented...Also we only know vague details about his identity, but it is almost a sure thing that Gray Alexander wasn't his real name. Well I meant "making friends" in the vernacular sense, not in the vBulletin sense. I wonder as well if GrayLightning was simply an entire persona, as Israfel suggested. Perhaps he's someone's alter ego, or maybe some famous person's identity so he could interact with us and not have us get all weird when we find out his real self? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuketheXjesse Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I have one remixer in mind who I can't help but think is GrayLightning. And no, it's not DJP or Liontamer or anything obvious like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Coop Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Graylightning was neither a man, nor a false facade for one. It, to put it simply, was a glitch. A random mixture of fate, a memory leak and an algorithm that went a bit haywire for a while... a trace malfunction of Dr. Sbaitso (a DOS program from the '90s) that somehow went undetected when it got transferred onto the server that OCR was once on. Unlike the original Dr. Sbaitso program, Graylightning was able to grow, little by little. The program learned the general patterns of those who posted here via random searches through the phpBB setup OCR had at the time. It calculated who could allow its programming to be tested more and engaged in "text exchanges" with those people. As it did so, it also avoided those who swore a lot and often closed down any connections with them for at least a short while... sometimes permanently (an aftereffect of the Dr. Sbaitso program that formed part of its core functions). In time, the program was found. It had amassed quite a bit of information during its time on OCR, resulting in an ever growing need for RAM. It was simply eating up too much space with its acquired information, and among that information was how to avoid deletion. It kept from being tracked down for a while, but as users hunted for it, so it became that more of its time was spent avoiding detection than communicating with the online text givers that it had become fond of (I say "fond", but again, it was simply a matter of who allowed its programming to function more, and it was those people it communicated with). But, as all good things do, the Graylightning program came to an end when one particularly crafty user devised an algorithm to find Graylightning, confine it and allow its deletion or transfer to another location. The only problem is, we're not sure which came to pass. If it was deleted, then it's a shame, as it was a sign that even old software could grow. If it's been transferred, then somewhere, on a server or a hard drive, Graylightning is working its programming with other text givers. We can only hope for the latter, and wonder... does it get the same level of activity where it is now? And if not... does it try to locate us, so that it can have its program put to greater use again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramaniscence Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I was just talkin' with starla earlier how astounding all the GrayLightning lore is. This is even more riveting than the Twilight series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinewav Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Man, I don't think I even ever talked to the guy one-on-one... but he sure was a nice guy. Always took notice when he posted. This thread always gets me feeling nostalgic and slightly depressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloGamer Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Two people didn't see the obvious sarcasm in my previous post GL would be disappointed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-RoN Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Although he gave me the worst reason for a NO for a remix I sent (Mega Man X Destiny of the Reploid Race), he's still an enjoyable dude. Graylightning was neither a man, nor a false facade for one. It, to put it simply, was a glitch. A random mixture of fate, a memory leak and an algorithm that went a bit haywire for a while... a trace malfunction of Dr. Sbaitso (a DOS program from the '90s) that somehow went undetected when it got transferred onto the server that OCR was once on. Maybe that could be what got me pissed off at him at the time. But yeah, still a good guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 i think the coop might be right also, it's easy to suggest that one simply give up on wondering or looking for the guy when you've never talked to him. but for those of us who interacted with the guy every single day for several years, it's a bit more challenging to wrap our heads around the fact that he did, in fact, vanish. like so many others, "gray" was a best friend to me and we talked A LOT. he told a lot of "personal" stories... but they were always detached just enough not to let out too much but they were personal stories, nonetheless. we talked about all sorts of things, too, not just music. it isn't easy for someone to be that prolific and involved in something and then go cold turkey. at least not forever. it's very difficult. not impossible but certainly improbable i'm afraid the likelihood here is that he either was constructed all along or, tragically, dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdgeCrusher Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 Gray was a great man, and if he was someone's alt, then he was a damn good one. I talked to him quite a bit on IRC, and he even bailed me out a few times from admin bannage on both IRC and on the forums here. Plus giving me the guest judging spot on the CV remix as well. So I can't say he was one of my best friends, but he was a friend indeed, and I really wish we had more people like him on the forums, and especially on IRC still. OCR is missing a lot without Gray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSori Posted March 2, 2010 Share Posted March 2, 2010 I never interacted him directly, but I do remember reading his posts when he was still active. I was under a different user name then, (I'm not him). The amount of mystery surrounding him is really amazing. Like a lot of people have said, its really unusual from someone to vanish completely, without leaving any traces at all. I bet the ads idea would work, if hes willing to be found. And the theory that he may have been someone famous going for anonymity is interesting (though who know show plausible) Suffice it to say, this whole unsolved mystery is really fascinating, and I always check this topic when it comes up to see if anyone has discovered anything. ...could be an alien... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Here are, I believe, the two most likely possibilities: 1) he's dead. 2) he doesn't want to be found Occam's Razor makes short work of any other explanation I can think of. It is possible that he may still be here under some other name. If so, odds are pretty high he's reading this thread. If this were the case, he would identify himself unless he specifically wanted to remain unknown. For this reason, I hope that if anybody DOES find anything out about him, they'll take it directly to Dave rather than posting it publicly. If he is still out there and does not wish to be discovered, he no doubt has is reasons, and we should respect that. That said, I think the only way we could really find him would be to start with information (such as IP addresses) that only Dave currently has access to. Do we still have records showing where Gray posted from? If so, that would be the place to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexy Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I thought about IP addresses too O.o The only other idea I could think of was that at one point or other, Gray borrowed a few samples from djp for "Time's Anxiety"; thus, djp might've taken up the Gray persona and spoke to people undercover about the community and personal lives. But I bet people had already said that and have been proven very wrong. *shrug* Either way, I joined the group too because Gray was great to talk with back in the day. I stand no chance in finding him though living about 8 time zones away, but I'll still watch the progress as it comes. Gray, if you're reading, please come back; the community wholeheartedly misses your presence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Gray, if you're reading, please come back; the community wholeheartedly misses your presence Concurred. Gray, you are without a doubt among the most beloved members (or former members) of this community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcana Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 ... Speaking of people I haven't seen in a while.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Hahaha, I can definitely attest to Gray not being an alter ego for another judge or staffer. The conspiracy isn't THAT sexy. If he were reading this, he'd probably be amused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Hahaha, I can definitely attest to Gray not being an alter ego for another judge or staffer. The conspiracy isn't THAT sexy. If he were reading this, he'd probably be amused. I suspect you're right, but I'm curious as to how you can be so certain. You make it sound like you have some info the rest of us don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I suspect you're right, but I'm curious as to how you can be so certain. You make it sound like you have some info the rest of us don't. hay guyz im graylightning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 hay guyz im graylightning. holy fuck it's graylightning!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I suspect you're right, but I'm curious as to how you can be so certain. You make it sound like you have some info the rest of us don't. probably because he can look at the IP addresses that all posts come from. vbulletin has a feature that allows you to click a user or post and track all other posts or users from that same IP. at least, the other board i have access to lets me do this =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linkspast Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 hay guyz im graylightning. Even if he came back said its me. No one would believe it. What are the odds hes still knows his password. . perhaps he wants back in but cant get access.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 that's what IRC is for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulinEther Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 the IP address thing would only work if he didn't move or change ISPs. According to his story, at least one of these two has happened, meaning he'd probably have a new IP address. It could work, though, if he did log in with his new IP address. But if he's been spinning a yarn here or something... well, it's possible he hasn't moved even locally or changed ISPs in 3-4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soteriologist Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 You think he's the author Kevin Alexander Gray? He wrote a book called "Waiting for Lightning to Strike: The Fundamentals of Black Politics" Here's a video of him: Maybe he should have named his book "Waiting for GrayLightning to Strike"... cause I know WE ALL ARE! @_@ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Hahaha, I can definitely attest to Gray not being an alter ego for another judge or staffer. The conspiracy isn't THAT sexy. If he were reading this, he'd probably be amused. nobody seems to have commented that I showed up right about the time he disappeared... coincidence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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