Markovian Parallax Denigrate
{{short description|Mysterious Usenet posts}}
Markovian Parallax Denigrate is the name given to an internet mystery involving a series{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/05/02/five-of-the-internets-eeriest-unsolved-mysteries/|title=Five of the Internet's eeriest, unsolved mysteries|last=Dewey|first=Caitlin|date=2 May 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=6 May 2021|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108103402/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/05/02/five-of-the-internets-eeriest-unsolved-mysteries/|url-status=live}} of hundreds of messages{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.de/collection/life/sieben-ungeloeste-raetsel-des-internets |title=Sieben ungelöste Rätsel des Internets |last=Förtsch |first=Michael |date=November 25, 2016 |work=Wired.de |access-date=6 May 2021 |language=de |trans-title=Seven Unsolved Internet Mysteries |archive-date=15 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915002157/https://www.wired.de/collection/life/sieben-ungeloeste-raetsel-des-internets |url-status=live }} posted to Usenet in 1996.{{cite web |last1=Grundhauser |first1=Eric |title=The Gibberish That Sparked One of the Internet's Oldest Unsolved Mysteries |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/markovian-parallax-denigrate-mystery-internet |website=Atlas Obscura |date=10 November 2017 |accessdate=23 September 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029055656/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/markovian-parallax-denigrate-mystery-internet |url-status=live }} The messages, appear to be gibberish; just a sequence of random words.
The posts are often mentioned in conjunction with other bizarre and/or unsolved internet mysteries, such as Sad Satan, Cicada 3301, the Publius Enigma, and Unfavorable Semicircle. In 2012, Kevin Morris of The Daily Dot referred to the messages as "the Internet’s oldest and weirdest mystery".{{cite web |last=Morris |first=Kevin |date=November 2, 2012 |title=The Markovian Parallax Denigrate: Unraveling the Internet's oldest and weirdest mystery |url=https://www.dailydot.com/society/markovian-parallax-denigrate-spam-mystery/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911024316/https://www.dailydot.com/society/markovian-parallax-denigrate-spam-mystery/ |archive-date=11 September 2017 |accessdate=10 September 2017 |work=The Daily Dot}} It has also been described by Popmech.ru as "one of the first great mysteries of the Internet".{{cite web |last=Privalov |first=Alexander |date=August 24, 2017 |title=Краткий курс истории спама |url=https://www.popmech.ru/technologies/383842-kratkiy-kurs-istorii-spama/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911024704/https://www.popmech.ru/technologies/383842-kratkiy-kurs-istorii-spama/ |archive-date=11 September 2017 |accessdate=10 September 2017 |work=Popmech.ru}}
Contents
It is reported that all the posts had the subject line "Markovian parallax denigrate". However, this is disputed; the counter claim being that each message had a different subject line.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxCIYB3VXso |title=The Real Story of the Oldest Internet Mystery |date=2025-06-07 |last=Chill Fuel |access-date=2025-06-08 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |last=nickpelling |date=2018-09-16 |title=The Usenet "Markovian Parallax Denigrate" mystery... |url=https://ciphermysteries.com/2018/09/16/the-usenet-markovian-parallax-denigrate-mystery |access-date=2025-06-08 |website=Cipher Mysteries |language=en-GB}}
= Examples =
These seemingly nonsensical messages were posted 5th August 1996 to the alt.religion.christian.boston-church newsgroup.{{cite web |author=Chris Brokerage |date=5 August 1996 |title=Markovian parallax denigrate |url=https://groups.google.com/g/alt.religion.christian.boston-church/c/K2mfr6-0pkg?pli=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208000939/https://groups.google.com/g/alt.religion.christian.boston-church/c/K2mfr6-0pkg?pli=1 |archive-date=8 December 2021 |access-date=5 May 2021 |website=alt.religion.christian.boston-church |via=Google Groups}}{{Cite web |title=Wierd Vertical SPAM of alt.religion.christian.boston-church |url=https://groups.google.com/g/alt.religion.christian.boston-church/c/K5iiEPhbe8I/m/Dh58Bit5LZcJ |access-date=2025-06-08 |website=groups.google.com}}
From: Susan_Lindauer AT WORF.UWSP.EDU (Chris Brokerage)
Subject: Markovian parallax denigrate
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chairperson Dwight Hertzog different pinpoint dunk McKinley pendant
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From: Rob.Hotchkiss AT galactica.it (Myron Sterile)
Subject: Sistine detestation shotgun
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Proposed solutions
Since 2004, it had been suggest Susan Lindauer, antiwar activist, may have a connection to the mystery. This was due to one of the messages' email addresses containing her name.{{Citation |title=Markovian Parallax Denigrate |date=2004-11-04 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Markovian_Parallax_Denigrate&oldid=7090034 |access-date=2025-06-08 |language=en}}
In 2012, Kevin Morris of The Daily Dot wrote an article looking at some possible solutions. He contacted Lindauer, who denied being the author of, or having any connection to, the messages. The article states the e-mail account belonging to a University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point student coincidentally named Susan Lindauer was spoofed to cover the identity of the poster.
Other proposed explanations for the texts include an early experimental chatbot or text generator, an internet troll or prankster posting forum spam, a programmer experimenting with Markov chains, or a programmer testing spam filters.
In 2020, an article on the subject published by The A.V. Club proposes the event only became a mystery due to later media coverage, having not been widely reported prior to the 2012 Daily Dot article.{{cite web |last1=Paul |first1=Andrew |title=Need a distraction? Help solve the Internet's oldest mystery, Markovian Parallax Denigrate |url=https://www.avclub.com/need-a-distraction-help-solve-the-internets-oldest-mys-1842292578 |website=AV Club |date=12 March 2020 |access-date=23 September 2020 |archive-date=25 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025230242/https://news.avclub.com/need-a-distraction-help-solve-the-internets-oldest-mys-1842292578 |url-status=live }} The same article notes that YouTuber Barely Sociable made a contemporary video about this topic, opining that the messages were most likely simple spam with no hidden message.