Cryptography community/forum?

[guitarscn]

Can anyone recommend a good cryptography forum? I need help decrypting this: http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/3633/crypt.jpg

I've done my best to transcribe the letters:

AGSMFHFMSGALTNOWAZYOMSP
PSMOYEZAWONTLAGSMAPBACE
AZBMCLBPLCMNOPRADCLTCBY
CLYHZPTEPSIQAIKMRADSNET
SYCYAMTMLFAEECSYETBBAY
EHESAELPPOTSOTSITNAWILLA
MICTENLTPKEAMUCHMROEFO
HLAZHBTOYMSUMSLEOFTOUSTZ
AHMEHSCAAPAOOBLOPSOLMO
MLTYEOOHVICLEHOPYBBOSDY
TEYILOYWHNYTEKMTHSMTYIYA
DKDGPONOCEYLOWEOULDOGSY
CDYOMCEOPGOHLSEHKLDELNOEW
HAHESLSNGNTLSETOTEONNE
HIMTASLLAGELWKSAYIOEAR
RE[R]WSDUKALNWOINBTTOUTLE [BACKWARDS R]
IRGREOBSHEHDOYUOZBBYOOK
HAHATEWTUKEHCCYWTZOTME
USOSUEDFYLIKKLZSOYMBT
HPTPESNUOPPCEHOASKOSWT
TEFETSDUMSDALNLCEEHDE
ORORFONWEHYAOUTIDOMLOL
RIPIYHYEEKSNHOEWSDESO

Unfortunately the person who wrote this is deceased so this is a personal matter to me and would like to solve this.

The frequencies of the letters 'o', 'e', 's', and 't' respectively seem to be the most common, so it might be likely that it's a transition cipher.

I have added smaller image, vermaden:

[vermaden]

Maybe its a Carsar cipher?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesar_cipher

[rocket357]

Line 6 is plaintext, written backwards. "All I want is to stop please he", which seems to run to the edge writing ("Help me he knows")? I dunno. Seems almost like a message buried in intentional jibberish...though lines 1 and 2 are semi-symmetrical around the "T"...almost as if the diff between the lines is the important part...

Line 1 is reversed, line 2 is not.

PSMOY   ZAWONTLAGSM FHFMSGA
PSMOY E ZAWONTLAGSM APBACE

Interesting. The backwards "R" is giving me a headache wondering if it was written that way to give a clue or just as a distraction. I don't know. I'll think about it some more.

[BSDfan666]

How very bizarre, it would be nice to have some context though.. can you tell us a little about this person?

[guitarscn]

I really would not prefer to divulge too much information, but...I guess she had some issues. Not just one of those 'depression' things, but for some reason she just became incredibly unhealthy mentally. I've considered this might be gibberish as well, but this is why I wanted other people's opinions first.

If you go to letter 6 from the left on the top line, if you read down it reads "HELPME," and also the 5 letter from the left on the 9th line from the top, it also says "HELPME" with the exception of the last letter's position "E." Also there is one more instance on the 7th line from the top, 7th letter from the right. It reads "HELPMEHEKNOWS" but the line isn't straight; it helps if you look at the picture for the way it is written.

Also, the very bottom line, 6th letter from the left. If you read every other letter starting with 'H' it becomes "HEKNOWS" as well, with the exception of the last letter 'S' which doesn't have a letter between it and 'W'.

It would be that there is a message in it or not, or maybe it is gibberish, but I'm sure people well-versed in this field would probably be able to tell if it is nothing or not (maybe not from a glance, but still?).

In any case, I read on a crypto page about the frequency of letters and that if certain types of messages have certain frequences, and this cipher seems consistent with less common letters used in the English language, etc. Especially the most common letters that are used more often as well, which seems to make sense that there is indeed a message written that is hidden. I read that if a cipher's most common letters are 'e' followed by 't' then it is more like transposition rather than substitution. This cipher has many 'o' and 's' because I think she put certain quotes like "HE KNOWS" in repeatedly which may have influenced that. But otherwise, it seems to follow that rule.

[marcolino]

Originally Posted by guitarscn

Also, the very bottom line, 6th letter from the left. If you read every other letter starting with 'H' it becomes "HEKNOWS" as well, with the exception of the last letter 'S' which doesn't have a letter between it and 'W'.

That same line, starting with the first 'H', if you take out the letters 'HE KNOWS', you have 'YES HE DESO'... perhaps the last word is meant to be 'DOES'?

So you have, 'HE KNOWS, YES HE DOES'.

[marcolino]

Line 7, right of center, I see the word 'MUCH'. Next 4 letters 'MROE' may be 'MORE'. Next 2, 'FO' perhaps 'OF'. Left of 'MUCH' is 'TPKEA'; remove the K, and you could have 'TAKE'. Left of that, I think I can make out 'I CAN[']T'? Does this line say, perhaps, 'I CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE OF'?

I know it's a stretch.

[marcolino]

Also on line 7, 7th letter from the right, 'H', if you read straight down, it says again 'HELP ME HE KNOWS'.

[marcolino]

Top line, 6th letter from the left, we have written down, 'HELP ME'.

[marcolino]

Odd that almost all of the 'E' letters are written like a semi-circle with a line in the middle except for two instances:

1) Line 2, 6th from left, in 'HE KNOWS' written down, has 90-deg. top and bottom line.
2) Line 13, 2nd from right, it looks more like a lower-case 'e'.

Not sure if this is significant, though.

[vermaden]

Similar with 'm' and 'M' letters.

[roarde]

Perhaps a variation on Vigenere cipher? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vigenere_cipher

Take "help me he knows" as the key. The backwards R and the odd q (4th line, only "q" in text) both look a lot like numeral 9. Perhaps a clue to either key length or number of tables?

To my untrained eye, this looks more and more like a cipher, and one she wished to be decoded.