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Elbe Trackway

Just as Randi exposed con artists like Geller and Popoff I think the cons of the BF world should also be exposed.

Rick Noll was promoting the trackway @ first. Noll promotes the Skookum elk arse as BF after it has been shown conclusively to be an elk lay. Noll is a con and deserves to be exposed.

Cliff Barackman as a member of the Finding BF show also deserves to be shown up as a money grubbing con. Unless he's the village idiot he has to know BF doesn't exist.

If a skeptic can show these con artists for what they are then they are doing a public service.

Certainly they should be exposed.

You can do that without planting evidence and then pointing and laughing. You can do that without ridiculing people.

People have to trust and respect you if they are going to listen to you or consider your ideas. Especially if you are trying to change minds.

Besides, I contend that footers make fools of themselves plenty already. I have no problem pointing and laughing when they make fools of themselves.
Just look at Moneymaker and that deer skeleton...absolutely hilarious.

I'm just not a fan of setting people up.
 
Sometimes believers need a slap in the face to understand they are being foolish, and this hoax was certainly a slap in the face to a few of them.
For that reason I think it was a good idea and well played, even though I may be biased in saying so.
 
Sometimes believers need a slap in the face to understand they are being foolish, and this hoax was certainly a slap in the face to a few of them.
For that reason I think it was a good idea and well played, even though I may be biased in saying so.

Sure, but it doesn't appear that a skeptic made the trackway... :D

More of an own goal...
 
Bigfoot is fake seems to be stated as many as a fact, correct?

Facts can be proven, correct?

But you cannot prove a negative, correct?

So, by stating BF is fake, doesn't that then make one a 'bleever' of another sort?

I'm done engaging in THAT conversation. Wow.

However, I am curious.

Tontar - were you involved in any way with the Elbe Trackway?
 
Cotter
Can you give an example of a trackway that was shown to be a hoax?
Do you think the Blue Creek Mountain trackway at Bluff Creek in 1967 was a hoax?
What's your thinking on whether every hoax trackway was exposed as a hoax?

I suppose I didn't give you a good answer to your very specific questions. I will try again.

Question 1) I cannot, I personally have not studied or researched trackways, human, or BF feet to determine whether one is real or not, nor have I been made aware of any vetted scientific study that has been published - perhaps someone could point me in that direction.

Question 2) See Question 1. I have not personally researched ANY trackway to know if it is a hoax or not.

Question 3) I'm not sure of your question, but this question may have been answered in the previous 2. If that doesn't satisfy, perhaps you could rephrase it.

Bottom line, I'm not sure what trackways are real and what are not, hence the question to Tontar if he was involved with Elbe, I would consider that as anecdotal evidence. The researchers feel it is a hoax, and perhaps I've prematurely called the track find a hoax, but I've been doing my best to remove any mention of 'hoax' from my statements regarding the Elbe Trackway.

I look forward to your response. Those questions seemed more loaded than a Kennedy on a first date.
 
Good example William. Where does the T-rex thing fall below? I would guess under the statistics portion, correct?

fact [ fakt ]
1.something known to be true: something that can be shown to be true, to exist, or to have happened
2.truth or reality of something: the truth or actual existence of something, as opposed to the supposition of something or a belief about something
3.piece of information: a piece of information, e.g. a statistic or a statement of the truth


Or perhaps you are correct in that T-rex is extinct is indeed NOT a fact, but something else entirely?
 
It is a fact that T. rex is extinct, but it cannot be proven in a straightforward "scouring the earth with eyes, ears and nose" in the similar way that you would check your backyard to see if there is an elephant there.

Yeah, it's tough to prove a negative. To prove that there are no living rexes anywhere. Tough because of the size of the planet and whatnot.

So instead, we switch things around so that we are actually trying to prove a positive. It is a fact that we possess no evidence that confirms that there are any living rexes on the planet. And it isn't like undocumented living worms and mice because EVERYBODY knows a living rex when they are looking at one.

We can prove that we have no evidence confirming the continued living existence of Tyrannosaurus rex. It is a fact that proves itself.

No confirmatory evidence = no rex.
 
Tontar's been an outspoken advocate for the non-existence of the creature known as BF. Very vocal in several arenas.

I don't believe that's an accurate characterization of what I have said or how I feel. I am not an outspoken advocate for the non-existence of bigfoot. But I believe wholeheartedly that the vast majority of the evidence purported to be from bigfoot is not from bigfoot, but from people. In a different vein, what I have argued most strongly about is that the evidence that proponents believe could not be the product of anything other than a real bigfoot, such as prints, such as the incredible number of prints, such as the PGF, such as the shape, dimensions, motion and appearance of Patty, is not even close to impossible for people to produce.

You seem to think, like many other proponents, that arguing in favor of humans' ability to manufacture bigfoot evidence, such as Patty as the prime example, is equal to arguing that bigfoot does not exist. That's a mistake on your part, as well as anyone else's that makes that jump. It's not at all the same argument. Bigfoot may exist, I don't know either way. But arguing that Patty could very well be a man in a suit is not the same as arguing that bigfoot in general doesn't exist. I really try to choose my arguments the best I can. And I try to leave possibilities open when necessary.

So just to be clear, arguing that Patty could be a man in a suit is not the same as me being an outspoken advocate for the non-existence of bigfoot.



You carry yourself as one who knows a lot about costumes and fake feet. I think it's important for both sides to understand who is out there fabricating evidence.

I know a little bit about a lot of things. Not as much as some people do, and more than maybe some others. My main interest is is the PGF, whether Patty was real or not, which means whether it was a man in a suit or not, whether all of the crazy little details make sense, whether the footprints indicated a giant of a beast made them, or whether they were even made on the same day as the filming. Patty has been held up as the holy grail of bigfoot evidence, from what we see on film, to what we see as the alleged footprints made by "her", and so on. If Patty was a hoax, then who made the prints, and how? Interesting question. If Patty was a hoax, then who made the suit, and why are so many people fooled by it still?

The PGF is where my main interest is. Bigfoot has always been a fascinating subject for me, from the time I was a kid, like it has been for a lot of people. I also like movies, I also like sci-fi movies, "monster movies", and as a fan, I like to learn about special effects, costuming, makeup, the works. Since so many people argue that Patty has to be real because no suit could look like Patty, and since I disagree with that concept, I argue based on what I think, what I can learn about it, and what makes the most sense to me.

I certainly don't know as much about costumes and fake feet as I seem to be credited for! Clearly within this thread there have been huge revelations about fake and real feet, which would behoove anyone interested in bigfoot tracks to absorb and utilize.

As far as finding out who is out there fabricating evidence, I think that's a lot bigger task than you seem to think. Considering how long evidence fabrication has been going on, and I hope that even you will agree that it has been going on a very long time, there's no way to even scratch the surface. Just check the most recent prints that were shown by what's the guy's name, Outdoor Wilderness or something like that? He found them, he reported them, he swears they are real, and he has fake bigfoot feet photos in his collection from well in the past, saying how he'd love to have a set so he could stomp around making fake prints. Now he challenges people that say his are fake by saying they're calling him a liar?

Fact is, people have been faking bigfoot evidence all along. Just for the sake of being neutral, it doesn't matter if bigfoot really exists, most evidence is produced by people. Make a long list of all the bigfoot evidence you can come up with, and honestly question which is real and which is fake. Even allowing for the existence of bigfoot, which is hard to do on a skeptical forum, you still come up with most being faked. So if you want to identify people who hoax evidence, you'll be opening a can of worms so big you might not be prepared for what's inside! Trying to find satisfaction or solace by "outing" one hoaxer is neglecting the unbelievably huge mountain that came before and continues to come after.
 
I suppose I didn't give you a good answer to your very specific questions. I will try again.

Question 1) I cannot, I personally have not studied or researched trackways, human, or BF feet to determine whether one is real or not, nor have I been made aware of any vetted scientific study that has been published - perhaps someone could point me in that direction.

Question 2) See Question 1. I have not personally researched ANY trackway to know if it is a hoax or not.

Question 3) I'm not sure of your question, but this question may have been answered in the previous 2. If that doesn't satisfy, perhaps you could rephrase it.

Bottom line, I'm not sure what trackways are real and what are not, hence the question to Tontar if he was involved with Elbe, I would consider that as anecdotal evidence. The researchers feel it is a hoax, and perhaps I've prematurely called the track find a hoax, but I've been doing my best to remove any mention of 'hoax' from my statements regarding the Elbe Trackway.

I look forward to your response. Those questions seemed more loaded than a Kennedy on a first date.
So you think the Elbe Trackway may be "real" and you will accept without further evidence only a confession by someone, to convince you that it is a hoax. Lol.

Sorry, I don't believe you.

Pardon me for saying so but it sounds like what is really going on is you are set on vilifying someone rather than looking at what this episode can teach you. Your reaction would, of course, be the result predicted by the theory of cognitive dissonance. So I really don't expect that you will review some of the famous other trackways and try to apply what has been learned in the present case.
 
Surely there are some elements of bigfootery where not only is hoaxing not especially naughty, but it is one of the few methods -- perhaps the only method -- by which scientific analyses of bigfoot expertise can be conducted?


Supposition A: Experts are capable of telling sasquatch-derived (real/genuine) footprints apart from human-derived (fake/hoaxed) footprints.


This inference underpins much big-footer lore and literature, although its truth hasn't particularly been established. What if you wanted to test it? Well, you could start by breaking it down into its two corollary hypotheses:


Hypothesis A: Experts correctly identify real footprints.

Hypothesis B: Experts correctly identify fake footprints.


Let's start with Hypothesis A.

Is it testable?
Yes and no.​
Does it make predictions?
Yes: The prediction it makes is that experts would never identify a real footprint as a fake one.​
Is it falsifiable?
Yes and no: If experts stated that a known-real footprint was a fake, it would falsify the hypothesis.​
Is it repeatable?
Yes and no.​

The major problem here is obvious: There are no confirmed-real footprints which one could use as a testbed. The absence thereof means that, although it's theoretically testable and falsifiable, it isn't practically so, therefore it's useless as a scientific test of Supposition A.

Note also that it suffers from a problem of one-sidedness: The ability of experts to correctly identify genuine footprints says nothing of their ability to identify fake ones. Even in a world in which we had confirmed-real footprints to test with, an expert could say "Yes; it's real" to all of them and it still wouldn't falsify hypothesis A, which only concerns itself with genuine prints.

Hypothesis B is much more interesting:

Is it testable?
Yes.​
Does it make predictions?
Yes: The prediction it makes is that experts would never identify a fake footprint as a real one.​
Is it falsifiable?
Yes: If the prediction was falsified (experts stated that a known-fake footprint was genuine), it would falsify the hypothesis.​
Is it repeatable?
Yes.​

This time there is no problem with the lack of confirmed-genuine prints. The falsification of the hypothesis only requires that experts mistakenly identify a known-fake as being genuine.

It also suffers a one-sidedness problem, but it isn't really a problem given that we're dealing with existence claims. Hypothesis B makes no comment about experts ability to correctly identify genuine prints. As opposed to hypothesis A, they could say "Yes, it's fake" to all of them and still not falsify hypothesis B. But they don't do this. Of necessity, they must identify some prints as real or the existence claim wouldn't ... ermmm ... exist.

In the absence of unambiguously confirmed-genuine footprints, falsifying hypothesis B (which is testable, predictive, falsifiable and repeatable) is the only scientific way to test the validity of self-identifying expert opinion regarding footprints.

Hoaxing is arguably the only way to do this in a natural setting.

So: Rather than petulantly demanding apologies for hoaxing, shouldn't the footers apologize for getting in the way of real science?
 
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Bigfoot is fake seems to be stated as many as a fact, correct?

Facts can be proven, correct?

But you cannot prove a negative, correct?

So, by stating BF is fake, doesn't that then make one a 'bleever' of another sort?

I'm done engaging in THAT conversation. Wow.

However, I am curious.

Tontar - were you involved in any way with the Elbe Trackway?


Yes, it is a fact that bigfoot does not exist.

Look it up in the taxonomic record. It's not there = fact. If you or someone else wants to present evidence to the contrary, feel free to do so. The hand waiving and brow beating does nothing to further your case.
 
A few comments.


River - I'm not here to prove BF's existence to anyone. It hasn't been proven to me, so I'm not sure how I would do it to others. No matter, that's not my intention.

Parnassus - perhaps you could prove to me that the Elbe trackway was a hoax? You laugh that I haven't conclusively come to the decision that it was a hoax? I can't prove it to you with the info I have, perhaps you have some info that could be helpful? I'm not aware of any 'hoaxed' trackway that was proven to the degree that 'unhoaxed' trackways are required to be proven. Additionally, I'm not going to base any 'belief' or the like on anyone's confession of hoaxing. I will however, use that to weigh their credibility. On a side note, if a poster repeatedly pushes mis-information as fact to try to win an argument, that person's credibility is also called into question. Credibility is important don't you think?

Tontar - Very eloquently put response. So, you do acknowledge then the possibility of BF existing, good to know. I apologize for the mistake. I however do have one question for you.

Were you involved in any way with the Elbe Trackway?

Thanks.
 
Unless the photographs were fake that DDA posted - only an inexperienced tracker or Bigfoot bleever would think for one second that those were the real tracks of a real flesh and blood creature.
Perhaps a better question that you bleevers (yes - you are a bleever) should be asking is "How in the heck could anybody think those were real?"
 
Unless the photographs were fake that DDA posted - only an inexperienced tracker or Bigfoot bleever would think for one second that those were the real tracks of a real flesh and blood creature.
Perhaps a better question that you bleevers (yes - you are a bleever) should be asking is "How in the heck could anybody think those were real?"

Yep I'm a bleever and that is the exact question I have been asking since I first saw the pictures. Has anyone noticed that most of the pictures have been removed from the original BFF Elbe thread?
 
Yes, it is a fact that bigfoot does not exist.

Look it up in the taxonomic record. It's not there = fact.

Is that what you guys call logical fallacy? There are animals being discovered every now and then that have had no record. Animals need to exist before they are even discovered.
 
WGBH said:
<snip>
Has anyone noticed that most of the pictures have been removed from the original BFF Elbe thread?

That's fairly typical behavior over there.
 
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Is that what you guys call logical fallacy? There are animals being discovered every now and then that have had no record. Animals need to exist before they are even discovered.


My bolded: True! They need to exist in order to be discovered. Bigfoot does not exist, and will not ever be discoered. Should I argue the same for unicorns? (insert any other social construct here) How about Santa? lol.

Mythical beings, will always be mythical. More stories will not change this. My statement was acccurate. . If you don't agree, then point out bigfoot on the taxonomy chart. You could use the same argument for tyrannosaurus rex. Is it a logical fallacy to say T rex is extinct? No. Can you prove to me T rex is extinct? Can you prove unicorns don't exist?
 
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