Further Update:
No, he’s not. Appears we got a little ahead of ourselves.
There is no mystery John Emmery is my cousin. I do websites. John Emmery wanted a website and liked the one I did for Borderline and wanted something like it. I’m the editor and writer of Borderline. I am not anonymous as there as been an article in the Border Mail and I have appeared several times in Prime news as the author of Borderline. – Paul Green
I’ve left the original article (plus updates) over the fold.
UPDATE: A whois search for Borderlinealburywodonga.com reveals that the domain is officially owned by Paul Green of 330 David St Albury. Another scenerio is that instead of Emmery being responsible for the Borderline website, Paul Green actually did the ACRM website for Emmery. I wonder if the name “Paul Green” will appear on the ACRM ticket in the upcoming council elections? end update.
John Emmery, Albury Citizens and Ratepayers Movement candidate
But I believe the author of Borderline has a strongly vested interest in discrediting Albury’s sitting councillors. When you look at the evidence, it seems bleeding obvious.
Background:
I’ve been designing websites of doubtful quality for over six years now. I’ve done everything from straight HTML to content management systems to blogs. The thing about HTML design, like any design, is that the author’s idiosyncrasies often shine through in multiple works.
The Evidence:
Consider this menu bar from the anonymously published BORDERLINE:
The Borderline menu uses simple HTML and a couple of images to create a rounded button that when you hover over it, highlights. The button is actually two images, when you hover the mouse over it, the second image is displayed.
You can right click on any page and select “view source” to see the HTML used to generate it. A menu created in this fashion is just a huge series of div tags. Each one has an ID and instructions on which image to display. The top button has the ID Oobj600, the next one is Oobj578, and so on.
These sorts of regular automatically generated ID’s are usually the result of using a script or program to generate your menus.
Now consider this menu from the Albury Citizen’s and Rate Payers Movement, an organisation headed by John Emmery. a website we know is designed by John Emmery. It’s for a political party in the upcoming city council elections, and John Emmery is of course a candidate.
This menu was created with simple HTML, a series of div tags in fact. Again two images are used, again they display in contrasting colours. Again all the div tags have unique ID’s.
The ID for the “mission” button is Oobj88, the next button is Oobj27.
The things we use to design a website leave little regularities all over the place. And when the same person designed two different web pages, you can compare all these little regularities across the two pages. To my eye they stand out as plain and certain as a fingerprint.
You don’t even need to go down to code level to see it. Compare the two websites, note the similar design solutions, the way they both organise pages in the same way, and the similar way individual story pages are organised. How many fingerprints can you spot on Borderline?
P.S: I do hope the “anonymous person” behind Borderline keeps publishing, it’s certainly been interesting.
P.P.S: I’ve saved a copy of the source code for each website, just in case one should mysteriously pop off-line.
Albury Wodonga Online 
Hehe, whilst saving the source code I spotted this blatantly obvious fingerprint:
(For the uninitiated, metacode are details about a website intended for search engines)
This is the metatag code on Borderline (link to screenshot).
As you will note, the third highlighted line shows that the generator used to generate that code was Virtual Mechanics Web Engine V2 200j.
This is the metatag code on ACRM (link to screenshot).
As you will note, the third highlighted line shows that the generator used to generate that code was Virtual Mechanics Web Engine V2 200j.
Merely circumstantial? You be the judge.
Great detective work Kieran!
Both websites certainly appear to be from the keyboard of the same author … or at the very least composed in the same html editor.
1. All internal links on both sites use the same naming protocol e.g. page4.html
2. All images links on both sites use the same naming protocol e.g. obj316geo510pg1p14.jpg
3. They have not been constructed by a commercial website writer as neither have copyright notices usually associated with such work,
I have written enough htlm code in my time to have to agree with your conclusions.
I reckon John Emmery should be invited along to the North East Bloggers get together next Saturday.
I’m not disputing your expertise guys (I’m an amateur at that stuff) but wasn’t it reported in the Border Mail that Borderline is authored by someone called Paul Greene?
I must say I don’t often read the Border Morning fish rag.
The domain registration information states that the address is owned by Paul Green, 330 David St Albury, and is administered by a company in fortitude valley in Queensland.
Hmmm, maybe someone called Paul Green prepared the ACRM website for John Emmery… (goes to correct article in order to not be sued!)
But I don’t put much stock in whois. The fact is that you can put any details you want in a whois registration. I once registered a domain to Homer Simpson of 742 Evergreen Terrace, Springfield. Then I put the phone number of a local government office in a US town that is actually called Springfield.
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Well there was a photo of Paul Green in the BM and he was quoted. The story was in reference to Amanda and her missing bra.
PS: The thrust was that Amanda was getting ‘legal advice’. I’m not sure whether the advice was over libel or the theft of her bra.
Theft of her bra? What on earth…
Well that was the story wasn’t it? It ended up in another (male) councillor’s pocket according to Borderline. I guess it didn’t fall in there.
you know when I was researching the Uiver pig-in-a-poke I noticed there were striking similarities in layout, and the overall aesthetic between the two websites.
I don’t think there’s much doubt that at the very least Greene and Emmery are working closely in cahoots, I’d say there’s a fairly close link between Greene and Paul Wareham (Albury councillor) as well, he’s the only person on Albury council Greene hasn’t had a bad word to say about.
Without fear or favour indeed, perhaps he should be done for false advertising.
There is no mystery John Emmery is my cousin. I do websites. John Emmery wanted a website and liked the one I did for Borderline and wanted something like it. I’m the editor and writer of Borderline. I am not anonymous as there as been an article in the Border Mail and I have appeared several times in Prime news as the author of Borderline.
Paul Greene
That explains it. Kieran & Jack can put their cyber analytical skills aside then?
Btw, did she sue, or did she just get her bra back?
As you can see, I’ve corrected the post. Ray, do you use any instant message program?
A what? No, I just use this interthing-a-me-bob.
doesn’t knocking up a website for your cousin count as a “favour” Paul, kind of contrary to your bold assertion to be “without fear or…”
More favour. No declaration of your own interest in the topic.
Then again, none of us is perfect, are we Jack. 😛
well I don’t claim to be anything I’m not.
It’s pretty widely known I use a nome de plume, I don’t pretend otherwise.
Still on for tomorrow Jack? Don’t worry, you can call yourself whatever you like.
PS: I’m taking my camera, so maybe you should wear a disguise! (wink)
that is true that paul green IS borderline and true to its name it stirs up the facaes of albury council works. but greeny is more about people taking control of bad situations ,as this town is in a crisis – violence on the streets-and uncontrolled youth ets –lets take back this town!