hoorayOG 2003

Ed Petrillo was eZabel's phantom — the guy everyone in the NJ crew knew in person but who kept slipping through the site under different names, never staying long enough to leave a proper footprint. His first act was softhands, created in mid-2002, where he dropped 22 comments and a journal about the specific injustice of people who call your house and then ask you who you are. He had opinions about Signs ("all the aliens... being so smart and everything went away cause of H2O???? couldnt they wear suits?"), defended the emotional complexity of M. Night Shyamalan's suspense, and established himself as a casual but sharp presence in the Macking and Sports forums. Then he vanished.

A year later, in September 2003, a new account called hooray appeared with a single opening salvo: "blah blah blah blah blah." ilikebirds spotted him immediately — "this guy... made up a name just to do what you did." skaorsk8 offered a knowing "look who it is," and jay79 demanded "who are you??????" Ed played coy, dropping sports takes about the Eagles and Redskins, claiming dominance in NHL video games, and casually noting "its french" when someone questioned a spelling. Around the same time, stuped emerged — same voice, same crowd, same sports-and-wisecracks energy. When someone on the site finally guessed his identity, Ed's final comment was the most telling: "i think its ed too..." — a winking confirmation delivered with the shrug of a man who'd been enjoying the game the whole time.

Across three accounts and 38 combined comments, Ed was less a poster and more a presence. He shared threads with 41 different members, read voraciously across Macking, Sports, and the journals, and clearly knew the community well enough to stir the pot from the moment he showed up. His crew — jay79, skaorsk8, ilikebirds, forrestina, tinser — recognized him every time, which was half the fun. He was the guy at every gathering who everyone had a story about but who never quite committed to the digital version of himself. His softhands journal about phone call etiquette — complete with dramatized scenarios and escalating outrage — remains one of the site's most relatable rants.

eZabel Personality Type: ESTP — "The Phantom Instigator." Ed arrived under three names, said almost nothing of substance under any of them, made everyone lose their minds trying to figure out who he was, and left just enough breadcrumbs to keep the game going — the rare member who turned 38 comments across three accounts into a genuine running joke. He never needed a profile to have a reputation.