It's been 26 years since 1998 and not a single person has ever posted that they received such an email in 1998. But there's more to this part of Titor's Saga than immediately meets the eye even though we discussed it two decades ago.
When Titor/TTO first starting posting he said that he didn't care if we believed him and preferred that we didn't believe him. On 15-FEB-2001 the made the above post of his three rules of ethics for time travelers. Rule No. 1 was he would not disclose any information by which someone could personally gain by that knowledge.
Yet three weeks later on 10-MAR-2001, in an attempt to convince people to believe him, he promised to violate Rule No. 1 by giving those who opted into his email gag the daily DOW a day in advance for 1998. If one knew the opening and closing DOW every day for a year a day in advance they could make a boatload of money. So much for his ethical rules and so much for his flippant retort that he didn't care if we believed his story. It ultimately appeared that he desperately wanted to be believed.
TItor/TTO had a problem that was noticed by people, including Yareisa, who had private chatroom conversations with him. He liked to drink his wine just a bit too much. He'd get intoxicated and make mistakes. For example, and I've always just assumed that being intoxicated caused him to make these mistakes, on more than one occasion for forgot to mask his true IP address when he logged onto this site. That error was caught by Raul (MOP) who was able to identify him as a member on TTI long before there was a John Titor. As I've said before, the TOS agreement forbade Raul's disclosure of that member's identity. The IRC log with Yareisa and "G degrees" was not the only time he appeared on that European BBS. Yareisa never disclosed to me the URL of the site. But she did tell me that Titor appeared to be intoxicated on some visits and that he "creeped [her] out" which is why it took me several years to get her to reply to my emails; she didn't want to have any contact with anyone associated with him. Just to be perfectly clear: Yareisa told me that his creeping her out had nothing to do with his assertion of being a time traveler. It was more visceral than that. Without going into details let's just say it had to do with him being a "Joey" and her being a "Sheila".
And yes, we saw and discussed his little caveat about his secret agenda vis-a-vis his rules. Within the context of his story a secret agenda made no sense at all. He said he stopped here for a personal vacation and that this was not his world. Nothing he did here would affect his world in any way - it is an entirely different universe. The consistency of his story was disintegrating. He was forgetting little details from earlier posts. Thus he refigured his departure date with his Wiggle VGL and decided to exit early. This was especially so once physicist Dave Trott started asking him questions. Alcohol tends to do that to a story.
I am gonna give it the ol' college try, my educated cowboy friend. I will attempt to convince you [Darby] that John was the bonified genuine article, just for shoots and giggles that ensue with any devil's advocate.
1. DOW a day (in advance).
Going by John's narrative, if you gave him a letter to give to you two years prior, you will never actually know if (you '98) received or not. The reason being, as John arrives in 1998, is begins a new world-line. A line you will have no knowledge of. Expecting to hear back from a (you) two years ago would not be possible without access to your own time machine. (Possibly not even then)
2. Tipsy Titor - Who here never being drunkenly creepy cast the first stone? Anyone? Didn't think so.
3. Butterfingers - Who doesn't make mistakes (period).
4. Did John break rule #1 - This one is a tough one. He is guilty by his own admission, this is true. This is not a coerced confession. He said he was breaking it.
However, like any fancy trial lawyer, I would beg the question... why?
Why would he break his own rules. Let alone his # 1 rule.
The question why would he... Instead, the question should be what would he have gained by people believing him. Did he have a flower shop that could use the publicity? Was he selling scented candles that would smell great on any world-line (anytime)?
The answer to those questions is no, and nothing.
No he wasn't selling anyone anything, and never did. (that I know) If he had he could have made a small fortune on 20 + years of intrigue alone. Never did.
So, nothing is what he was selling people and nothing is what he had to gain.
I know he had already said that himself, but when it comes to people, they are usually full of it. Not this time though. This time someone was finally not going to try to sell you something when they absolutely could have.
Also, by giving stock tips would only break his own rule on another world-line (see ref.1) So, breaking would have no effect on his own line, or this one. No harm, no foul.
in a sea of endless worlds and endless variants, that would account for the world-line that exists where John finds an exception to break his #1 rule.
Your honor, the people rest.
(Standing O)
U ! S ! A !
U ! S ! A !