This topic has 67 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by 
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Some of you puppy lovers may not be surprised, but I received an email this morning from Clint Sears.
Clint claims he’s okay, and based upon some of the things mentioned in the email I do believe it’s the real Clint Sears that wrote this, versus a shadow account. As such, I’m reposting the email and the image he sent me in full below, so everyone can read and see for themselves.
I have a ton of thoughts on this, and am reluctant to say much more right now because we don’t know who is watching, reading, or listening. But please take the time to look at both the email and the image.
But for the record? I don’t eat pancakes.
Never silent, y’all. Email as follows:
Subject: Good morning!
Hey man, sorry I have been MIA, I guess the cat is out of the bag now though so I thought I’d drop a line to let you know everything is fine.
In fact, I was just going through my pics of SXSW and got cheered up… 🙂 Remember when the waitress did this to your pancakes? Haha, I’ll never forget how you said, “I wonder if she did anything else to them?” and then you had that upset stomach all day? I’m still not sure that she didn’t! Anyways, I’m super busy and I promise that I can’t really talk these days but everything’s great on my side and I hope it is on yours too.
Take care!
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This all feels very much like Clint and Darren are under duress. As though rather than there being separate entities writing for the Shadow accounts, they are being forced to do it with someone over their shoulder. If you’re being held hostage and monitored but able to get communications out, you would try to hide little clues in order to let the reader know something is wrong without the person listening catching on. The pancakes, the unusual initials choice.. They want people to notice these discrepancies. I think it’s a cry for help.
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so I thought I’d drop a line to let you know everything is fine.
@macbethinabathtub I’m on board with that theory exactly! -
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Under “caption” on the right in @mistere’s version with the file info, it says “Trust me, walk the fuck away, Bryan. Now.”
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@mistere how did you even find that? You had to open it up in photoshop? I’m always on the forums from my phone so maybe I see things differently. I tried saving the image and looking at “more info” on the photo but that didn’t show the caption.
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@pandace88 – you’ll need something that can view EXIF data. If you’re on your phone you’ll need to download the image, go to an online EXIF viewer, then upload it
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If you have an iPhone the app ViewExif is brilliant. If you don’t have an iPhone, why don’t you?
ViewExif by Skyjos Co., Ltd.
https://appsto.re/us/Vnhw4.i
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@pandace88 Or you can download the picture and open it up in text/edit. It’s not fully steganographized so it shows up even in the info when you just right click.
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The puppy picture @bcbishop has a message in it too. I wondered why it had been uploaded on DropBox and checked it out after people pointed out the message in the pancake image. Looks like we didn’t catch on quick enough there…
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@bcbishop Just out of curiosity – what time did you receive this e-mail?
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Update: I was going through the second email Clint sent (where he said he wanted to make sure everyone saw the above), and noticed several hyperlinks.
One was to an article warning people against sharing photos on social media when they’re out of town because it makes them easier targets. (I’m in Vegas for a work trip and posted to that effect yesterday.)
Another was a link to an image of the words “Never Silent.”
The last was the cover of the Booker T album “Sound the Alarm.”
I am being absolutely serious when I say I’m wondering if this isn’t a warning to be heeded. They gave us the opt-out email the other day for a reason.
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@kevin what is the message in the dog photo?
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@pandace88 The message said not to talk about the message. True story!
I don’t want to betray the request so I’ll PM it to you.
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@bcbishop – Can we get the links to the other images? If one image has one hidden message, it may not be alone…
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@kevin or someone else, would it be possible to get a screen capture of the puppy message? I opened it up in “text/edit” and couldn’t find it.
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Going with what @electrichippo said and PMing for those interested.
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I think the puppy image was @bcbishop’s first attempt to pass on the message from Clint (hiding the message in the exif) but then he decided to just flat out share that info in a post rather than hiding it. It’s the same message. Am I right?
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@coryphella Yeah, same message for the most part. @bcbishop’s message with weird capitalization was a hint at what we needed to do with it.
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So then by this rationale, by getting distracted by the puppy and forcing @bcbishop to break with his instructions, have we exposed Clint and put him in danger?
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@kevin can you please PM the message to me. I am so technologically illiterate that it’s frustrating.
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In case it’s helpful – this is from a Mac user:
Photoshop instructions:
1. Download image.
2. Open image with Photoshop.
3. Go to File > File info…
4. You’ll see the message on the basic tab.Preview instructions:
1. Download image.
2. Open image with Preview.
3. Go to Tools > Show Inspector (or hit cmd-I)
4. Click on the tab with the “i” in a circle.
5. Click on “IPTC.” -
Sorry for the delayed response, everyone. At a trade show today so typing much of this on the run. 🙂
@blondie Email came in at 9am sharp. Basically four minutes off from the Shadow clint-sears post here on the forums.
@thegilded Links are as follows:Don’t share on social when media when you’re away from home
Never Silent (this was linked three different times, but always to the same image. I suspect the message here is that we should always be sharing information publicly, no matter the consequences.)
@electrichippo Thank you for your discretion in sharing the original message.To clarify since others have been asking, Yes, the puppy (although super cute on its own, c’mon) was a first attempt to pass along the information while maintaining the discretion that Clint did. The message was essentially the same. After that forum post went up Clint emailed again (he referenced the puppy in the many-linked follow-up email), because it seemed the message wasn’t getting out fast enough, and pushed for it to be shared in full.
That’s probably on me for not being more explicit in the first place, but my only motivation was to protect Clint. I’ve seen firsthand how rattled and paranoid Darren is by whatever’s going on. The realization that Clint may be in a similar place is more than distressing.
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@bcbishop thank you for clarifying all that. When you posted the puppy thread I was starting to get suspicious of you but now I totally get it. Lol 😉 phew..*wipes brow*
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Thank you for sharing, Bryan.
For what it’s worth, here is the source of the “Never Silent” image: Never Silent LINK
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Thank you very much, @bcbishop.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-25/never-silent-never-violent-toowoomba-offers-helping-hand/6974044
Interesting continuation of that familiar quote… Anyone think this as any bearing on what’s happening? -
Thanks @bryan .
I translated the images in reverse order pancake then puppy, as it’s said “Never Silent” I reported what I found, and showed the way to do it.
I’ll be more cautious in the future, we all need to be. Be safe everyone.
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My concern with this train of thought is that people are going to be hesitant about sharing information and that is the worst thing that can happen. The rules have always been: share unless you are explicitly told not to. Withholding information can be just as dangerous/detrimental, not to mention frustrating when it is revealed that something that was potentially time sensitive.
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Agreed, @blondie. I tried to share while still remaining “in game” with regard to the threats posed to the Creators, but we can’t get much stronger guidance than one of them specifically telling us to spread the word in an email that also reiterates the “Never Silent” phrase multiple times. Seems pretty clear that should be our credo moving forward.
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Agreed, @bcbishop, the flow of information is what it’s all about. That could be all the they mean by showing that particular statue. NEVER SILENT, our credo and their command, etched in rock forever.
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Probably worth noting for those who’d forgotten, (I definitely did and the character guide on the subreddit helped me remember) several phone calls people received ended with the phrase, “Never silent.”
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@bcbishop But you did pass on the information. You just did it in a way that was awesome and required effort. Then, you were given a nudge because there were those who didn’t get it. I completely understand why you would embed the message and not put it out there completely. These boards are being watched and we know DLB and Clint are too.
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To add on to @lukasrl post, where did “Never Silent” first pop up? Isn’t the OSDM supposed to be a data mining organization? If it started with them maybe they are trying to see how information is shared.
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Until Clint today, we’ve had NO IDEA who this phrase has been coming from. Certainly sounds like something the OSDM wuold say though.
The first Never Silent call was from an unidentified woman. My Never Silent call was from a unidentified man who “was not Noah.” I thought it was Darren at the time. In retrospect (and TRUST ME I’ve lost some sleep over this topic) maybe it was Noah being super snarky? Like a “No… it’s not Noah… it’s Santa Claus” kind of a thing. But then when I was outside of the bar, he willingly identified himself over the phone. So who knows.
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Why does Clint have a picture of your pancakes @bcbishop as if it was served to him?
Also since you’re sharing images what about the one with you on the bed in the hotel.. you know in case it has a hidden message as well!
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For my brothers and sisters in the Android master race.
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Okay, so some of this is pretty clear, Clint and DLB are in trouble. Clint is pretending that everything is ok, but sent a secret warning in the pancake photo specifically to Bryan (who was a blackmail target by Noah Sinclair). Clint and DLB are both rattled by Noah Sinclair.
Never Silent and “Sound the Alarm” seem like distress signals/get the word out signals.
What I don’t really get is the article on not posting to social media while on vacation? It seems like it’s about posting vacation photos (giving away your whereabouts like Austin…Biloxi…Panama City…), and then having someone break in and rob your house while you’re away. Did someone rob their houses while they were away?? And now they have “dirt” on them? Not sure…this is going in a lot of different directions!
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@sfire8 I took the social media post as a warning to me, specifically.
Noah knows my wife’s name, and mentioned her specifically when he tried to blackmail me. I also gave him my address when I signed up for The System.
Posting travel plans on social media would let him — or whomever he works for — know when she’s home without me.
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Omg, @bcbishop! That is so freaky. So Clint is basically warning you that your wife is in danger. Not just from Noah. Ok, no wonder you are rattled!
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@bcbishop In your Periscope you mentioned that Darren said they had pictures of him in Panama City. Was this just a statement indicating there was proof he was there? I ask in light of the recent messages in photos and photos potentially being used as blackmail.
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@ziegenbart Darren made a point of saying the pictures were “nothing bad”, which seemed to indicate that they weren’t blackmail. It was more a message that was sent to him: he was being watched. (I believe I mentioned this earlier in the initial write-up, but he said he’d received an email from one of their accounts that told him to go the motel. When he was there, somebody walked up to his SUV and showed him the picture.)
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That’s great, @maenicole! What was his answer, how do he and Sarah judge your worth?
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