8/25 Q&A with Mason on slack

Short version of what went down:

-Mason showed up on slack
-Asked for help
-We asked him a fuckton of questions
-He said this his group had been monitoring Tension since last year, but decided to get involved after The System event
-He didn’t answer anything else, really
-Lust Experience (@a) account jumped on
-Mason said Briarberg had received a box a week ago
-That message was deleted
-Lust told Mason to check his phone. Mason then took a phone call. (It seemed like @a was calling Mason.)
-Mason dropped for a while, then came back. Suddenly said everybody was mean and had to go, and questioned @thebuz’s judgement in being friends with us.
-@a seemed to threaten Mason into dropping.

Now @a has said Mason was just a fan and to ignore his posts, but Mason’s Slack account is still active and his messages are there, which is SUS.

I called him out on his shit investigative skills and he attempted a burn notice. A

What is @masons72 true intentions with getting in touch with the previous or present actors of Tension and Lust? Is it really because he is concerned? It feels shitty to question someone’s intention but look at the game we are in… there’s no good coming from this and we know that and it has been proven time and time again…

I still think this is a poor strategy from a competitor… another organization perhaps? Trying to one up the Investors and Creators? The fact that @a came in and said it was a disgruntled participant and handled it out of character, just shows that they are trying to downplay who this is. Are the creators nervous or afraid we will abandon ship if something a little more shiny comes along? We are all very suspicious of this Mason character, so what is his actual intention??

I have to say, painting this as a game jacking is, in itself, a fascinating example of skirting an ethical line in immersive theatre.

Just seems odd that there are multiple ways of getting in touch with performers attached to Lust/Tension and he decides to contact participants instead?

Either he’s lying or he’s incompetent. Simple as that.

If @masons72 was a fan, then TPTB had countless opportunities to discredit him over the past several days when he was calling and emailing us. So either the Mason on the Slack isn’t the real Mason and this fraud was exclusive to Slack today, or “A” is lying to discredit a real threat to their operation. Why are we so quick to pile on Mason as being incompetent? Is he more deceitful than @joycecarlberg? More ineffectual than @staceyerikson and the Midnight Commission? More inconsistent than @maddyxxx? I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt to anyone who spends more than a few days trying to unravel this mystery and protect us from whatever the Investors are planning.

Oh @mason72 is most definitely incompetent, at least at what he claims to be (a researcher of immersive theatre ethics). It’s quite possible that he is NOT that at all, of course, and is quite competent at whatever he actually is.

I messaged Stephanie and she basically said that Mason has been incredibly creepy.

In her words: “He is strange and in my head I keep picturing crispin glover.  he’s just off when you speak to him, like he knows the answer to every question he is asking but just wants to hear your response.”

I’ve felt the same way. Like when I was “helping” him, he already knew everything before I told him and was just leading me along To see how truthful and compliant I could be.

Along with what I just said, @a seemed to be rather threatened by this Mason, which would explain the unsatisfying “it’s an unhappy participant” strategy. What does Mason already know, or who is he that causes such a quick and desperate attempt to cut him down? He was sent in to do someone’s dirty work, the question remain, who??

@kasch With what you just confirmed from Stephanie, and your own personal gut feelings about @masons72, it sounds to me like he is testing the waters to find someone who is not as witty or suspicious of him, who is willing to be perhaps blindly honest, that he can take advantage of and use to get what he wants… he sounds dangerous and a perfect specimen to be a serial killer, which both intrigues me and terrifies me

Mason is most likely going to turn out to be wayyyy darker and more disturbing than what we’ve seen of him so far. Either he’s working for a rival company, or he wants to manipulate us himself somehow.

@thegilded and I were just told to “Please delete user MASON from Slack and Forums.”

References to game jacking and theories are now being deleted from Slack. It seems someone demands our silence on this topic

FYI, Stephanie just called me. Mason called her out of the blue to tell her that he was was deleted from Slack and the forums. Then he abruptly ended the call.

Why did he tell her this? She’s not even registered here.

Poor Mason.. He just wanted a little help with his research project. Geez…

If @masons72 was a game jacker why would the Lust FB post ‘never silent’ for @russell to post this message? (assuming that’s what the ‘never silent’ was for…)

Seems their new deal is not to just to turn players into performers but performers into players.

Also why have Joyce threaten @creepsociety and try pull the “fan” cover up on Slack. Those are two wildly seperate approaches to the Mason situation.

Are they just flailing?

I would assume not. They had a very prepared and immediate response to Mason coming on Slack, which was to threaten or buy him out over the phone.

Just seems odd to use two very different avenues to deal with Mason.

Honestly I’m not buying it. There are too many holes and inconsistencies… something is up and it seems the “delete what they say to urge them to stop talking” tactic is being used. They are threatened by this Mason character and are doing everything they can to silence him and us!

Be on the lookout for a box.

What’s in the box?

I also am curious as to what show of power could have silenced Mason so fast.

Do they have data on him that is deeply personal?
Did they promise him a payoff to fuck off?

@bcbishop

What’s in the box?

I would be content with Horace’s balls… or head 😉

@chloe

Mason is most likely going to turn out to be wayyyy darker and more disturbing than what we’ve seen of him so far.

One of us goes missing and it goes from ‘yay fun Noir vibe‘ to ‘Misery‘, 0 to 100, real quick.

I just want to know who the board member of Briarberg is who commissioned this investigation. I think that might clear up some of the mystery. But I’m pretty sure Mason is not a game jacker. It wouldn’t have been allowed to go on this long if he were.

Completely agreed, @remrelganaps, and I think that the Facebook page’s quoting of @coryphella bears that out. Whatever Mason’s true motives are, it’s clear that he and the Collective pose a threat to those who A and @joycecarlberg represent, and frankly anyone who has them nervous is worth hearing out in my book. I just hope today doesn’t deter them.

I think the exchange between Mason and @a reignited an old question…who is @a?

@a seems very invested in shutting up Mason. And shares that goal with Joyce.

Is @a an investor? Another facet of HCDI? Joyce was the one who announced the Slack and urged us to join, and @a was the first Slack member, so it makes sense that @a would be HCDI, or at least some form of PR. Maybe a coworker of Joyce’s.

I frankly don’t believe anything HCDI has to say. So I guess that means I’m now skeptical of @a.

Anybody thinking maybe Mason is in cahoots with @a?? Like, all this could be misdirection to get us riled up for something else, see how we react. The fact that @a was RIGHT ON IT when Mason showed up in slack is definitely sus…and all that about “pay no attention to this angry participant.”

And also Mason is not who he says he is, if the intended meaning of that quote is correct. He is NOT a “researcher” on ethics in immersive theatre. And whatever he IS is enough to frighten @joycecarlberg. So who is he and what is he really after? The person who might hold the most clues to this is Stephanie, since she seemed to have repeated upsetting interactions with him.

Here’s the full transcript of Mason’s first appearance on Slack, back on August 25.

Hello everyone, first off, I wanted to introduce myself, my name is Mason, and I am collecting information for a report that is being constructed on ‘ethics’ in theater and entertainment.
Allow me to preface this – I am not here to pry sensitive information out of you, as I understand it, that is already being taken care of from the people who run this experience. Instead, I am looking for any insight to help connect a few dots.
I am sure the producers, and creators are watching this slack, as such I would like to be as transparent as possible, and invite them to reach out to me directly (they have my number, and email).

(Buz expresses skepticism about Mason’s investigative abilities)

I need to be clear, I tried for over a week to get ahold of the members of the LLC
it wasn’t until an event a few weeks back that changed our passive curiosity

(Kipsie remarks that you can’t swing a cat without hitting a Tension actor)

finding them isn’t our problem Kipsie

(after a pause)

sorry I was just booted
please give me a moment to catch up
this is flying by

As I was saying it was an event in Hollywood
two weeks back
that our passive role changed

I need a few moments
I am trying to read all of this

okay sorry
I am sure I have more questions than the lot of you combined

(Larry asks if he realizes the actors are likely under NDA)

Yes Lawrencemeyers
and that is a problem
however, in the last 10 days we have been sent a box

(the post about the box is immediately deleted, as A has appeared on the scene)

A: mason look at your phone
Mason: ?
A: stop for a moment
and look at your phone
Mason: message received – I’m standing by

(a few minutes later)
Mason: transparent – i won’t disappear
but I need to take this call
i am signing off
not dying
A: ring ring

(a while later)
Mason: ok, I am now caught up on all that has transpired. I understand my presence here is not embraced. After scrolling through the missed messages I have a feeling that whatever I have to say here will be mocked and not taken seriously. Again, I do not blame you and understand. Sorry for wasting your time @thebuz. Since you are such an excellent judge of character I am shocked about the relationships you have formed with those closest to the production. Or, are you just pretending that they are as innocent as they seem.
regardless,
A: now
Mason: goodnight
A: last warning

(a few minutes later)
A: mason is fan, and not associated with anyone or anything
disregard all of his posts
pay no attention to this, no trailhead. just an angry participant trying to make themselves feel important
This is our last post for the night. @mason should not be listened to, and ignored.