[DML] SonnyV Question.

[Marc Levy <malevy_nj@xxxxxxxxx>]

[MODERATOR NOTE] - this has been held up a bit for further consideration and research  due to its somewhat personal and potentially inflammatory nature, but we've decided to proceed. Replies will be conservatively moderated and random conjecture deleted.]
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On Nov 19, there was a message posted to the DML
signed by James Espey.

http://www.projectvixen.com/dmcnews-archive/msg10116.html

It was later pointed out to me by someone that this
message was sent from "sonnyvr2000". For some reason,
this message has been removed from the Yahoo archives.

Later in the day, a similar message was posted by
James:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/message/46806

And, 3 more messages by Sonnyvr2000:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/message/46798

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/message/46799

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/message/46800


All four of the messages sent by Sonnyvr2000 came from
the same IP address, an address that is in common with
posts made by James from DMCH.

No big deal, because Sonny said he was in Houston
getting work done on his car. It is possible he was
using a computer at DMCH to send those posts before he
returned to his home in Springfield, MO.

Searching the DML Yahoo archives, it became obvious
that most of the posts made by Sonnyvr2000 have been
removed! The only record of any posts made by this
person are in quoted responses to his posts. Why is
this?

The only one I found was post 39097, which came from
an IP address in Houston, TX. It also happens to be on
the same ISP as DMCH uses (rr.com). But Sonny claims
he lives in MO. I remember James once saying he was
from or had family in MO.

So, I took a look at some e-mail archives of the DML
from 6/15/2001 to 9/30/2004, and searched for all sent
by sonnyvr2000

DATE SUBJECT IP
7/24/03 Re: Stainless Steel Ill 24.173.4.228
8/5/03 windshield antenna 24.173.4.228
8/13/03 Monroes and Gabriels 24.173.4.228
8/20/03 100404 Wheel bearings ! 24.173.4.228
9/4/03 Cleaner/Sealer 24.173.4.228
10/16/03Re: Door struts and do 24.173.4.228
12/1/03 Who wears XXXL? 24.173.4.228
1/7/04 Refurbished Fascias 200.9.59.10
1/12/04 Permacast wheels? 24.173.4.228
2/22/04 New angle drive receiv 24.242.224.139
3/7/04 DMCH's performance eng 24.242.228.133
3/8/04 DMCH's performance eng 24.173.4.228
3/11/04 clutch release bearing 24.173.4.228
3/11/04 Exhaust note of DMCH E 24.173.4.228
3/29/04 angle drive update 24.173.4.228

I included the subjects so you can all see the content
of these messages in your own archives, or at
http://www.projectvixen.com because they have been
removed from the Yahoo archives. Please look at the
content and evaluate for yourself.

The bulk of the mail came from 24.173.4.228, which
also happens to be the same IP address most of James
Espey posts come from. Do a search of the Yahoo
archives for that address and you will see.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/messagesearch?query=24.173.4.228

Furthermore (thanks Dave):

24.173.4.X (24.173.0.0/16) belongs to Roadrunner
(southeast).  Roadrunner is available in MO, but only
in Kansas City, not Springfield.

24.242.224.139 and 24.242.228.133 both resolve DNS to
names with "houston.rr.com"

200.9.59.10 (200.9.48.0/20) belongs to Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad y Telecom, based in San
Jose, Costa Rica

On 1/7/04 Sonny sent an email from 200.9.59.10, on the
same day James sent an email from 200.9.59.10 as well.

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/message/38076?source=1


Assuming Sonnyvr2000 is a real person, why is it that
his posts are all missing from the official Yahoo
archives? And he sure does spend an awful lot of time
at DMCH, Odd for a guy who lives 700 miles away in
Springfield, MO (?), and seems to know a lot about
DeLoreans. Almost as much as someone who works for a
DeLorean vendor.

But, he asked for shipping estimates to Farmington, MO
63640 which is over 800 miles from Humble, TX.

(look @ the quoted text at the bottom)
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/message/38079

I would conclude that SonnyV is someone at DMCH. But,
is SonnyV a real person?

In the past 2 weeks, a few members of the DML have
been talking about this topic off line. The purpose of
getting others involved before "going public" was to
verify the information to be correct, and make a fair
decision on how to proceed.

I feel the group was unbiased, and we wrestled with
the pros and cons on what action to take. We concluded
that someone at DMCH was likely posing as "Sonny", and
decided that it was wrong to condone this behavior by
allowing it to remain hidden/be erased and that no one
in the DeLorean community should allow such to go
unnoticed. Ultimately, we decided to let the community
see and think for themselves as to what, if anything,
should be done.





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