not sure how you can assert (b). he could have different username completely unrelated to the words "atomic" and "front".
He had a publicly listed email account in his profile. I went thru the list of sites (places its virtually impossible for someone to have not registered at multiple of if they're on line with any regularity: ebay, match.com [he specifically said he had used this], amazon, yahoo, itunes, facebook, twitter, reddit, etc) and clicked on their "Forgot My Password" link. I put in his email in them. If you've ever done this before, you know it'll display a variation on one of two messages: an email to reset your password has been sent to your account, or, there is no account associated with this email address. Every single one said no account. A google search for his email reveals nothing. A paid spokeo reverse email search reveals nothing.
Again, is it possible he started a secondary email account for the sole purpose of registering for this site? Sure. Or is it possible a guy who posted thousands of times on here had virtually no other internet activity whatsoever? Also possible. But both of those are such unlikely possibilities it should raise some red flags.
wait what?
talk about dedication to your craft...
mind you, i'm likely to turn down anonymous paypal gifts too, let alone one that i knew came from someone i was arguing with online.
Fair enough. I sent it from a throwaway. As was the case above, paypal told me he had no paypal account but would be informed. 3 months later, he still hadn't accepted the money.