Quit Freaking Lying Already

[JuniorMintz]

Seriously.

If I want to read a work of pure fiction, I'll pick up a book.

And if you read this and feel like it applies to you, then it probably does.

Love,

JAM

[Ree]

I know exactly what you mean.

Unfortunately, that's the curse of the internet. People will post just about anything, even if it isn't true, because they get to be practically anonymous, and even if they aren't anonymous because they have shared a picture or a blog that identifies them, they figure there's no way anyone can prove they aren't telling the truth or that they are making it all up.

My nephew, who is a police officer, sent me a message a while ago. There was a post on here involving an issue with the police, so I sent him the link and asked for his opinion on how his department would handle it, because the members went wild and got pretty hostile. (I believe, in the end, shenanigans was called, because the person only made one post and never came back.)

After reading for a bit, in his reply to me my nephew said, "I think people need to relax and realize that the internet is a place where losers can make up stories without worrying that they will ever be proven wrong."

He's a pretty smart guy, my nephew.

[protege]

We had a similar situation on one of the other boards I help moderate. One of our members considered himself to be the Messiah of the model car industry. Nearly every post this fool sent was worded in such a way that some of the manufacturers would have gone out of business if it wasn't for him. Nevermind that he was *not* listed in most of the company histories, and if he was...he always got practically *no* credit--nearly all of it went to the designers and engineers who made the kit molds.

Needless to say, after several months of reading that drivel, he eventually got banned. This time, he started posting photos of his models...most of which (sorry) looked like shit. So much for being an "expert" :rolleyes:

Sorry folks, but if you claim to be an "expert" you'd better be able to back that claim up. Even though I've been building models for nearly 25 years, I'm by no means an expert. Most of my builds look pretty good...but some of my paint jobs just suck! As such, there are very few people that can claim to be an "expert." One guy builds Ferraris...and they're simply mind-blowing. They look like you could get into one...and drive away!

[marasbaras]

I really wish I was lying when I post stories about the past. I do. Sure would've been nicer if some of those things had never happened.

[Pedersen]

I really wish I was lying when I post stories about the past. I do. Sure would've been nicer if some of those things had never happened.

Ditto. My big saga here was regarding Dyslexic Schizophrenics. Ye flipping gods do I wish I had been making that shit up. I also wish I could understand how they're still in business.

[myswtghst]

I try to take everything I read on here with a grain of salt, and I try to re-read all my posts to make sure I'm not exaggerating before I post them. I know that when my memory is a bit fuzzy on something, I may lean it towards what I think should have happened, but I try not to get too outta control.

Thankfully, not that much happens to me, so I don't have any reason to be anything less than truthful, and I try to preface anything I don't know for sure by mentioning that it's an opinion/observation/I might be wrong. :o

[marasbaras]

Ditto. My big saga here was regarding Dyslexic Schizophrenics. Ye flipping gods do I wish I had been making that shit up. I also wish I could understand how they're still in business.

Oh my, that opens up entire new vistas of suck.

Worst we ever really got was:

Caller: My team is using your product and we've run into a snag. I've talked with the other guys and we decided to call you.

Me: What's your product registration code?

Caller: XXX-XXXXXX-XXXX

Me: I see that your company (I won't name names, but it was at least half of the Fortune 500) has only one copy of our software registered. You realize that we require one copy of the software per person using it, right?

Caller: Uh ....

Me: How many people are on your team?

Caller: Just me.

Me: :pissed:

And people wonder why I just don't care if some movie company is getting pirated ... karma's a bitch, eh?

[Lace Neil Singer]

I never post anything that didn't happen on here; altho, given some of the weirdos I encounter, I wish it was made up. -.-

On a regular basis on a forum I supermod on, I have to deal with idiots posing as celebrities along with fantasists posting wild arse stories for attention. :rolleyes: Oh yeah, and this girl who was given a permanent ban once stole baby photos from someone's site and posted them on the board telling everyone the baby was her sister. O.o

[Plaidman]

Nope. Swear I'm male. Not lying there!
Or am I?
That is for me to know XD!
SHIT! I said the quiet part loud and the loud part quiet
Or Did I?
I hope not....
Not only would that be really really bad of me...
Not onlyl would it prove that i'm a liar...but
Once a liar always a liar.
CRAP!
Everyone knows I'm a liar now... Well...
Not my family.
That be bad if they did -_-.

[Ree]

Oh yeah, and this girl who was given a permanent ban once stole baby photos from someone's site and posted them on the board telling everyone the baby was her sister.
Now that's scary. :eek:

[Boozy]

We had a similar situation on one of the other boards I help moderate. One of our members considered himself to be the Messiah of the model car industry. Nearly every post this fool sent was worded in such a way that some of the manufacturers would have gone out of business if it wasn't for him.

Typical SC behaviour. "I'm the only reason you people stay in business! Kneel down before me!" :rolleyes:

You'd think a forum set up for people to bitch about sucky customers wouldn't attract so many SCs, but it does. Thankfully, they don't last too long around here. Our membership does not take kindly to entitlement bullshit.

[Slytovhand]

This statement is a lie :D

I hear ya, Jam (though not to the "And if you read this and feel like it applies to you, then it probably does." bit... )

But then... there's your side, my side, and the truth..(yeah - go on..someone point out it's from B5... even though I've been saying it much longer..)

But, one I have been saying for many many years... trust can never be proven, only disproven.

(but then - I'm cynical :p)

[protege]

Typical SC behaviour. "I'm the only reason you people stay in business! Kneel down before me!" :rolleyes:

What was annoying, is that he *wasn't* a customer, but supposedly an *employee* of one of those companies. Nearly every time he'd post, I could literally feel my eyeballs glazing over--he usually would go on about the "impossible deadlines" and how it was up to him to get the kit done in time. Every freaking time :rolleyes:

[Saydrah]

You encounter a three-headed CS poster. One head always tells the truth, one always lies, one alternates...


:roll:

[Lace Neil Singer]

Now that's scary. :eek:

I know. O.o These pictures were stolen right off a site and also direct linked. When the mother contacted me with proof that it was her baby, I immediately deleted the girl's sig and banned her. Sadly, any photos you put up online can be stolen in this way; the only way to keep them safe is to either put a watermark accross them or keep them in a passworded album. Disabling right click won't stop a person taking a screenshot. Copyright will only help you once you find out who's stolen your artwork, it won't stop someone stealing it in the first place. The internet is a scary place. O.o

[Saydrah]

That happened on a horse forum I was on- someone was claiming to own horses and have won competitions that another member had won, on the other member's horses!

[Slytovhand]

You encounter a three-headed CS poster. One head always tells the truth, one always lies, one alternates...


:roll:

And you can't tell which is which :p

[Rattslinger]

There's another forum I'm on, where I basically got another member to admit he was a ginormous liar. I apologize for the language in the story, if it offends anyone, I'm double-sorry.

The story he told boiled down to this: He hated Christians, because everyone, including the teachers at his Christian school called him a Fag, Faggot, Homo, etc. to his face, on camera, in front of other people constantly. So, he was called into his Principals office for being a "Gay" and the principal told him to stop being a "Gay," etc. So then the guy said he balled up his fist and punched the guy, knocked him over, busted his lip open, etc. He then left, and narry a thing happened after he assaulted the guy.

So I started asking him questions about the situation.

Question: Why didn't his parents sue the school for harrassment?
Answer: My parents don't like the gays.

Question: When did you get arrested by the police, because this man who obviously hates gay people would call them on you?
Answer: He didn't want to look embarrassed because a gay had beat him up.

Question: Why weren't you expelled for assaulting this guy, when the guy obviously could get him expelled for any reason, because everyone obviously hates gay people there?
Answer: Because I told him before I left, while he was on the floor, after I hit him, that if he told anyone, I would say that he tried to molest me.

So on, and so forth, after about ten more questions, I got him to admit that he had made the whole thing up to get our sympathy, because all of his RL friends had dropped him for being such a drama queen.

[iviles]

Why lie life is weird enough without making it up.

[FuzzyKitten99]

I'm actually curious as to who Jam is talking about.

Because I'm just nosy like that, though I do try hard not to be.

[blas]

I wouldn't be surprised if she were talking about me. But I invite anyone who thinks I'm full of shit to spend a week or two with me, come to work with me, go shopping and running errands with me, and then proceed to still call me a liar or drama queen.

It's pretty sad when all the things you say happen to you do happen to you.

Am I the only person on this board who is still eagerly awaiting a response from the person who told the story Ree was referring to?

[Rahmota]

Hey my life sometimes sounds like a bad tv series or a roleplaying game (Wellll they do say the gods play games throug the mortals...) but while I may change a few details to protect the guilty and obfuscate a few thigns for privacy reasons I have not outright lied or exagerated. In many ways I downplay and wind up understating how messed up thigns get sometimes.

Why lie life is weird enough without making it up.
Aint that the truth.

[myswtghst]

Am I the only person on this board who is still eagerly awaiting a response from the person who told the story Ree was referring to?

Not at all. I found that thread quite interesting, partly just because of the debate it spawned and the surprising opinions of some. But I'm assuming the complete lack of response pretty much verifies how untrue it was.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Am I the only person on this board who is still eagerly awaiting a response from the person who told the story Ree was referring to?

Eagerly waiting. Still. Damn, I gotta be some sorta masochist. It's KILLING ME (not really) and I'm LOVING it. Double damn.

Come back, Dead Pizza Boy, come back.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm actually curious as to who Jam is talking about.

Because I'm just nosy like that, though I do try hard not to be.

Yeah. You and me, both.

As for the thread Ree mentioned, I don't care if the poster was a troll or if it legitimately happened. In fact, for the most part, the veracity of the first post is irrelevant except in that it sparked the discussion that went on afterwards. I just wish that people hadn't focused so much on the seagull nature of the OP and maybe focused a little more on the ensuing discussion of propriety and possible legal repurcussions.

^-.-^

[JuniorMintz]

Actually, there are three posters I *really* had in mind, and none of them have responded to this thread. I'm pretty sure that they won't.

[the_std]

Yeah, it sucks when someone feels they have to lie to make their life interesting for the consumption of others.

However, after working for the government, I don't think I'll ever feel that way again.

[Becks]

I wonder if I know one of the posters being referenced.

It's none of my business, however, on who.

Even though I am curious.

[MMATM]

Call me naïve, but I tend to trust a lot of what is said on here. Allowing for a tolerance of forgetfulness and/or skew, of course. I know that when I was new here I skewed my posts to favor my point of view :( (though they were in essence factually true). I tend not to do that these days because (1) I'm too busy reading the other horror stories to post my own and (2) I'm currently unemployed until the start of the summer, except for my volunteer "job" which is usually low-SC stuff.

I'm also away for long periods of time, and have only been here a year-ish (and am not a pre-hack returner), so haven't encountered said interesting thread to my knowledge. If someone could point me in that direction...? Through PM maybe? :confused:

[FormerCallingCardRep]

Right now my life since last August is stranger then fiction anyway so why would I want to add to it.

[Norton]

There's one particular member who has posted some pretty outrageous stories. I highly doubt the veracity of those stories, yet I still eageraly read that person's posts whenever they show up. Whether the stories are true or not, the person tells a damn good story, and it makes for an interesting read.

I have no way of knowing whether anything posted on CS is true, so as long as I enjoy the posts, does it really matter if they're true or not?

[the_std]

I have no way of knowing whether anything posted on CS is true, so as long as I enjoy the posts, does it really matter if they're true or not?

I heartily agree.

[MMATM]

While I agree partially, I feel like this site is more about venting and support than making up or reading the most outrageous tale.

I do enjoy some posts that seem unbelievable, but I find that what really draws me to the site is the fact that most of the stories are drawn from real experiences and not simply made up. Anyone could invent an incredible story about some terrible customer, but I feel like that's not what this site was created for.

Making up stories about terrible customers just waters down the reality of crappy customers making life hell for people everywhere, and it gets to the point where people who really do have unbelievable (but true) experiences, and who need to vent the most, end up getting discredited as just another bullshitter.

[the_std]

You do have a point, MMATM and I agree. But, personally, I've only run across a few posts that I think might apply to this thread, so I'm not sure we're in danger of watering down everyone else's experiences.

[MystyGlyttyr]

I do make up stories, but I host them at fanfiction.net. :lol:

I could tell you stories from my youth that would turn your hair white, but I can't do them here because of the violence involved. High school was a hell of a rough gig, which is pathetic when you consider how much worse it's gotten for kids these days, and I'm not even a decade removed from my graduation.

The world is plenty weird enough that I have absolutely no problems believing the low, low standards and practices of the vast majority of the human race...so unless something is a really, really obvious blatant lie, like, involving moon men or something, shit, it's probably real as far as I'm concerned. Nothing people do shocks me anymore.

[Peppergirl]

I know people probably exaggerate, but the person Lace was talking about with the stolen pics claiming they were her sister? :wtf:

That's some scary shit, ya'll

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

What would I need to lie for? I'm not clever enough to come up with this stuff on my own, you know.

[crazylegs]

Actually, there are three posters I *really* had in mind,<snip>

Now thats just teasing! :lol:

:popcorn: I'm very patient! :D

[MMATM]

...personally, I've only run across a few posts that I think might apply to this thread, so I'm not sure we're in danger of watering down everyone else's experiences.

You're right. I don't think many posts on here apply to this thread either. Those that do, well, most of the time nobody will ever know they're not true, but at the same time we can't assume something isn't true unless we know for sure (as in the case of the stolen "sister" pictures).

I guess just the fact that people (including myself, even) are becoming jaded of fictional posts worries me that those legitimate ones will start being taken less seriously.

Other notes:
I have to agree with Peppergirl. That is some seriously f*cked up goings-on there.
And blas, trust me, as entertaining as it would be to follow you around for a week, I don't think my faith in humanity (or what's left of it) can repel firepower of that magnitude.
...Listening in on GK's phone calls for a week, though, that might be fun - and I could probably sell the transcripts for use in a documentary on the decline of mankind. Why he hasn't yet is beyond me.

[The Gatekeeper]

Thanks JM for voicing something I know quite a few of us have discussed off site. You're right, I don't see any of the people I have suspected in the past of making stuff up (or at the very least exaggerating greatly) replying to this thread.

I know that it's happened before, and some people who have been actually caught (yes some people will actually go to great lengths to prove/disprove something). I believe some of them have also been banned.

I really pity those people who feel the need to make things up. Are your lives must be so empty and sad that you can only try to garner sympathy on the internet by trying to come across as the biggest loser? Being treated like crap is not a competition. Really how pathetic do you have to be to try win at that?

I do love to sit back and watch, when it does happen, and watch the sharks circle trying to trip them up.

To those of you, who didn't realize this happens. Remember that not only are most of us in the service industry, but we are all customers. Sucky customers not only whine, but they lie. So really it shouldn't be a surprise that we get a few here.

[Sheldonrs]

How DARE you accuse me of lying??!!!
Just for that, I'm getting into my Lamborghini, driving to my Malibu beach house and I'm gonna fuck Matt Damon again until he screams like the last time!
So there!!!




:p

[FormerCallingCardRep]

I belong to a group for Mom's who have lost children under the age of a year. We have had two frauds in the eight years that I have been on the list. The first was a young girl looking for attention. The second was just plain mental. She went as far as taking pictures from a web site and claimed they were her own babies that were lost. When she was found out there was a big uproar. There for a while we thought that our little group was lost forever.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

How DARE you accuse me of lying??!!!
Just for that, I'm getting into my Lamborghini, driving to my Malibu beach house and I'm gonna fuck Matt Damon again until he screams like the last time!
So there!!!



Use protection please. :D

[MMATM]

Use protection please. :D
And an empty grocery sack does not count as protection!

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

And an empty grocery sack does not count as protection!

At least not a paper one.

[Aethian]

Well coming in a bit late, have only been able to look in for short amounts of time the past few days.

Okay what were these stories? Who are these people?

As for the pictures I know there was one program out there that would set them as part of a background but haven't seen how to put in a water mark.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Okay what were these stories? Who are these people?


The one that got referenced before was a pizza guy who claimed to take revenge on a girl who prank-called his pizza place. I could probably locate the thread if it hasn't been deleted, but it's pretty well buried.

I too sometimes get the feeling people are sometimes lying or at least exaggerating their stories, but I don't think it does any good to name names without definitive proof. That would probably lead to a pretty good flame war, which is not something this board looks kindly upon.

[MMATM]

I think I do remember that thread. I just don't remember much of it. It probably won't be too difficult to find, even if it's buried, just with the info you've given already. Unless of course it's been deleted. Then, well, we're SOL.

And you're right, an empty paper grocery sack is certainly inadequate protection.

[Rapscallion]

We probably deleted it. It looked to be a post and run.

Rapscallion

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I found it. PM me if you want to see the thread.

I'm hesitant to post the link here because I don't want to re-open the debate that post caused.

[Emrld]

Junior Mint: I can give you some good titles . . .oh wait that isn't what you ment was it?

[Eben56]

One reason I've enjoyed visiting this site is that it always seemed to have a greater degree of veracity than most forums. I even post here from time to time knowing that trolls are not going to jump all over every post like their God given duty on Earth is to put down everything and everybody they run into.

"You can't be from Maine, nobody from Maine would have a picture of a cat and a teddy bear attached to their post.. besides, I'm from Maine and I never have seen you. You are some faker faggot"

As long as any site's only real contact with a person is an Email address, you always are going to have some be less than truthful.. looking for a little attention.

There have been posts here that I read and kind of said WTF? No Way. But then I remember what people are capable of and I give the benefit of the doubt, especially if it was an interesting read.

Fortunately, I think this site would pick up real quick on too many overblown stories. You would think that GK couln't possibly have that sucky a job, but if you read the posts carefully, they are often just his reactions to what are probably pretty common occurances. If you get 100 calls on night shift, you are going to have a couple drunks, a stoner, 2 wrong numbers, and a couple of people who are just numb. GK can take someone who forgot their zip code and make it hilarious with the comments. I beleive the whole thing.

Now if every day someone posts another incredible story."THe guy put his cigarette out in the gas can and blew the whole block up, fortunately I was on break in the back and didn't get hurt".

Nuff said, people are people.

[CaroPhoenix]

I don't have many stories to tell on this site. :o The customers at the gaming store are all really cool! (At least they are to me, a girl who is a gamer and is married to a gamer). I just now have a problem with an Ass Man, and I swear, if he follows me around on Saturday, I'm screeching, "Why can't you just leave me alone!? Can't you take no for an answer?" Or something just as obnoxious/scandalous. :p

[Lace Neil Singer]

Well coming in a bit late, have only been able to look in for short amounts of time the past few days.

Okay what were these stories? Who are these people?

As for the pictures I know there was one program out there that would set them as part of a background but haven't seen how to put in a water mark.

Try iaza.com

There are probably more, but that's the only one I know; I expect PSP or Photoshop might be able to do it but I've never used those programmes.

[Ree]

It may all seem like harmless stories on a forum.

It may seem OK to have the attitude that, as long as they're enjoyable, what's it hurting?
The only problem is, not all of the made up stuff is customer related.
Some of the tall tales stretch into personal areas.

We have a really decent group of people here, and when they read a post by someone that they have come to like, and that person is talking about a major and life-changing event in their life and they get all kinds of support and sympathy from people who haven't bothered to read between the lines to see that there really isn't any way these things could be happening, then that makes me mad.

We have had people come on here and gain trust, and develop friendships, and they have shared a lot of stuff in an attempt to gain sympathy, and most of it turned out to be just stories they made up for attention.

Without using names, I recall one member from a couple of board incarnations back, who started out by posting that she had a couple of friends who happened to be police officers. Fair enough.
She posted an interesting and funny story that they had shared with her.

All of a sudden, we were hearing that she was actually working as a narcotics officer with a pretty elite agency. I believe one quote from the chatroom was, "I'm the little girl who brings the scumbag drug dealers down and kicks their ass."

All the while, she was posting stories about working in a gas station from where she was wrongfully dismissed and sued the guy, and had gone to court and received a settlement within 2 months, then claimed she was working at a kiosk at a mall as a favour to a friend, where they did piercings and sold body jewellery.

Alone, the stories were fine, but if a person actually started to put them together, there was no way in hell that they made sense.

We had another guy who posted about taking down some mugger with some mean self defense moves. Everyone patted him on the back and said "Way to go."

About a week later, after he had posted something that raised suspicion due to being oddly similar to the story of a person who had been banned several times, and he knew people were on to him, he posted that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. He said something about karma getting him back.
Now, one of the symptoms of that illness is extreme weakness and fatigue, so I really had to ask how on earth he had the strength to take down a mugger one week and be so sick only days later.

We had another guy who posted and did something to get banned. Then he came back as someone else, claiming to be a friend of the banned guy, and posted about the horrible death of that other former member in a car accident.

People were so willing to believe the best about people that there were all these shows of support for these frauds and liars.

I was hurt in the past by someone who was a "story teller".
I became very good friends with this person. It was great while it lasted, and I had a lot of laughs. We chatted on MSN, and she began to share a lot of intimate details of her life with me.

Some of the stories were pretty horrible, and one night, I even sat through her retelling of an incident of rape she had experienced. As I remember it, someone in chat made an off the cuff remark about rape while we were in there, and it had triggered her, or she was upset by the comment, so she shared her experience with me. (As a survivor of abuse, it was really horrible for me to read that stuff coming across my screen, but I figured she needed a shoulder and if I could be there for her, I would.)
Sadly, the stories that were being told became more and more bizarre, and she would catch herself up in her lies at times.

In one case, she claimed to have had an injury to her leg from an incident that really should have been front page news in the paper, but when I checked online to see if there were any details in the paper for her area, there were about 5 other pretty minor incidents that got media coverage, but nothing of her incident.
She played up the leg injury in chat and had people feeling sorry for her, but there were some who were now beginning to call BS.
On MSN, she apparently felt enough time had passed that I would forget, but within a couple of weeks, she was telling me about going to a dance class and exercising, etc., when in a normal situation, the type of injury she had would not even have begun to heal enough for strenuous use.
I never said anything, but I would come away from our conversation a little confused and feeling guilty that I was beginning to think she was full of crap.

She told me that she was very sick and it was pretty serious. At the time, I had a family member diagnosed with the same illness, and she passed away within 2 months. This person was still going pretty strong the last I knew.

I ended up having to ban this person because she told me that another member had attacked her in chat. What she didn't realize was, although I hadn't been in chat and so had no chat logs, other mods did monitor chat and two of them wer able to give me logs for that time period.
The logs were identical. The member had lied.

She has crept back in a couple of times, but I am always able to identify her pretty quickly, even when she uses a new pseudonym. She just has a particular brand of BS that I smell a mile away.

So, yeah, it may seem like just harmless stories that are fun to read for a laugh, but it doesn't always stay that way.
When they post about being assaulted or harrassed or sued by customers or even total strangers, or when they post about car accidents that never happened, or financial problems, or medical issues that couldn't possibly happen, then they cross a line.

Then they start messing with trust.

[iviles]

I agree with you Ree problem is that you meet these people in real life as well as online. Meeting someone like that can make a person jaded and bitter but it can also make them stronger. I learned the hard way to take everything at face value and that actions speak truth more then what comes out of someones mouth. Sadly thats why my inner circle is as small as it is (that and I can come off as an asshole till you get to know me :D) But in the end you kind of are left feeling sorry for these people. They dont have an inner circle and this is the only way they can feel as if they matter.

[MMATM]

That's pretty heavy, Ree.

As a salve of sorts, I will throw out there that not everyone talking about an injury or medical condition or horrible accident is lying. I say this partly in my own defense, since I've mentioned before my unusual medical story and strange family history, which sound like something out of a soap opera or Seinfeld. Usually a very abbreviated mention with a "PM for details" attached, but a mention nonetheless.

The other part is because I know a lot of people are sensitive about their various conditions/histories/et cetera, and having people not believe you when you say you have cancer for the 3rd time (or some other such terrible event) is extremely depressing. (For the record, I've never had cancer, that was just an example.)

So to those who are jaded of all the embellishments, don't sweat the small stuff. The large stuff ("sister" pics, fake appeals for sympathy, et cetera) should elicit some response, but for minor embellishments ("this guy was at least eight feet tall and jacked" type stuff) don't bite.

In the long run, how people react should be defined by what each individual thinks of the situation. Few things change people's views on a post more than someone calling "shenanigans" in so many words. While you can and should do so if that's what you think, don't get aggressive about it unless it's truly deserving of your ire.

[Lil Bunny]

<points at other forum that got mentioned here where I stuck up for said person and got taken like a sucker>

Thank goodness for get togethers. That's all I have to say.

[MMATM]

Unfortunately, I appear to be one of only three CS'ers in Massachusetts according to the map. Thus, get togethers are generally out of my area. :(

Unless there are more of us and people just haven't mapped themselves up yet.

[Hello Kitty]

CyberMunch, or Muchausen by Internet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchausen_by_Internet
Personally I think the term 'CyberMunch' is hilarious. Sounds dirty!

[Eben56]

I hope I didn't seem flippant when I said I give them the benefit of the doubt and move on. I tend to least believe the accounts of people who go deeply into their personal lives.

My wife has MS and I have a disabled daughter (fibromialga). This is true, but I have not mentioned it before and I will not again because it has nothing to do with CS,

For the most part, I feel sorry for those that have to make up for some internal lacking. When they take it to the next level and work on your feelings, goddamn, they better be telling the truth.

Any one who posts on this forum and does not have the afflictions they pretend to should be hoisted on their own petard,

I have been criticized by my peers for being too gullible, Guilty!!!.

I recently had a good friend at work laid off, When I went to run his division until we could find a replacement, I found a lot of evidence that he had been stealing, I am still sick over it, I trusted him and believed in him.

But if ultimately you let the people that fuck you over decide your attitude then they won.

I will not let that happen. People are good. Some are not. But if I rule my life by exception then civilization suffers. More important, I suffer.

Sorry to preach.. Most site forums wouldn't give a damn and try to figure out why my race or political party was the REAL reason I feel this way

[crazylegs]

Unfortunately you can only ever be betrayed by the people you trust, it sucks but eventually its going to happen. Sometimes you can take the hit and roll with it, others it knocks you for six.

I really don't understand how peoples lives can be that empty that they need to get the sympathy of complete strangers.

It completely baffles me.

[the_std]

Crazylegs, when you feel that no one else is with you (whether or not this is true becomes irrelevant), even the kind words of people you will never meet has an appeal. I had some tough times when I was thirteen, and I spent most of my time on the internet, because people there couldn't judge me on how I did my hair or the way my voice sounded. They assigned me merit based on my communication skills, my vocabulary and the way I expressed the feelings I had. It felt so good to be reassured that, underneath everything else that was wrong with me, I was still worth something.

That's one explanation of looking for validation in strangers.

[crazylegs]

That's one explanation of looking for validation in strangers.

My apologies, I meant insofar as to creat falsehoods and deceptions rather than genuine topics and discussions

[Slayergrrl]

Unfortunately, I appear to be one of only three CS'ers in Massachusetts according to the map. Thus, get togethers are generally out of my area. :(

Unless there are more of us and people just haven't mapped themselves up yet.

I'm in the Boston area. Haven't seen the map.. I'm more of a lurker though. :wave:

[InsanityInc]

*Sigh* I wish I could say I was lying when I post something about my idiot ex-husband, or my even more moronic/psychotic ex-boyfriend, or my sick kitty cat. :( I will admit though, I do use these boards occasionally for a little bit of impromptu therapy. I've had enough crap happen in the last decade that I hate dumping on my friends anymore. They're kinda the same way though, in that their last few years have sucked also.

I have skipped my more serious WTF stories, and will never post them here. I worked for CPS for a while, and some of the things I saw and heard……. Makes you go home and hug your kid.

[crazylegs]

And while I'm not questioning the mods' decision about originally posting and continuing to post about an apparent issue in this particular thread. I'm not quite sure why this matter couldn't be handled between the person(s) you're referencing and a mod privately?

I think its more of a general issue as there is no definitive proof of deceit, ie

I've just had me leg chewed off by a shark
followed by
Here are the pictures of me having my legs waxed for charity

Hence the reason for the post.

[Spiffy McMoron]

It completely baffles me.

I'd like to say that it baffles me, but I can see how and why it would happen. Attention, of any kind, can be sought by those who receive none.

Remember back when you were a kid and you liked someone. You'd bug the hell out of them (or get bugged by them). Why? Because it's attention from a source that is desired.

Now that you're grown up and matured, you still need love and attention--it's one of the base needs of a human, along with food, water, and shelter. In theory, a person would get all of the love and attention from those around them--family, friends, spouses, neighbours, co-workers, etc. However, what are you to do if you don't have these social networks? What if you don't have a significant other, or you have one that doesn't pay enough attention to you? What if you don't have any or many friends? What if your co-workers are all dicks, or you work from home, or are unemployed?

You try to survive.

Let's say you've had a bad day at work, you're depressed about your job, and you randomly type "Customers Suck" into Google. Don't laugh, that's how more than one person has made there way here. You see www.customerssuck.com (http://www.customerssuck.com), and, intrigued, you stumble on here. You register, post a funny story, and a little while later, someone replies. You got a responce! Holy crap! This feels good! So you tell another story. This one might not be as good, or it might be a little older. You get another responce. This one feels even better! You get another! F*ck yeah, people are starting to love you!

Not unlike someone who does drugs to escape from the harsh reality of life, they become desperate for more. They crave more. They need more. They'll die if they don't get more. But unlike a drug addict, they won't rob a bank or panhandle--they'll do something easier. They'll start to embellish. What was a quiet sigh on the part of the customer becomes a "FUCK YOU ALL, SHITBAGS!!!". What was a minority using a Canadian quarter becomes a racial tirade that would make Martin Luther King spin in his grave. They'll make up stories related to work; they'll invent medical problems; they'll fight crimes and right wrongs.

All for some words on a screen.

[aniwahya]

Sadly enough all the most interesting things never happen when there's a camera ready.

What truly sucks the most, in my opinion, is that people deceiving others leads to those others becoming much more suspicious. Then when someone who has an unlikely, albeit true, experience to relate everyone reacts in a much more suspicious way because they are afraid of being burned again.

[JuniorMintz]

I have no way of knowing whether anything posted on CS is true, so as long as I enjoy the posts, does it really matter if they're true or not?

I'm not knocking you for reading and enjoying stories that were obviously posted for entertainment. Hell, sometimes I read stuff and I find myself laughing my ass off despite my bullshit detector going through the roof.

I mean really. We ALL have insane stories from work. Hell I NEVER thought I'd see a man claw his own cornea out and not even be *fazed* by it... that is just plain nuts!

People who post obviously made up stuff as work stories, it's terrifically lame but they rarely ever hurt anything. No, my biggest issue is with those who post insane sob stories about their personal lives with the expectation that the CS community will fall all over themselves to offer sympathy. (Which we never fail to do, really.)

Don't get me wrong, I am NOT trying to insult the community as a whole. Quite the opposite, actually. You guys amaze me-there are some people who NEVER fail to post a kind word and a hug for those who are struggling and need it. (I've been on the receiving end of this kind of love myself.)

What upsets *me* is to see you guys being taken advantage of by jerk offs who tell lie after lie after freaking lie to the CS community. They spin bullshit like it were silk, and they never take a break. And for what? Shits and giggles?!? Please.

These people may think that what they say doesn't hurt anyone, but they are wrong. People come online to share stories (the good and the bad) and make friends. Frankly, I wouldn't lie to my friends in real life or on the internet. I'm speaking up now because I'm sick of seeing good people, (people I do care deeply about) being played for fools by demented, inconsiderate fucktards who just can't seem to find something, ANYTHING better to do with their miserable lives.

Rant over. For now, anyway. I'm didn't get to respond to every post that I wanted to, but I think this about sums it up.

And for those who just can't shut the fuck up with their lies already... consider masturbation. Even THAT would be a better use of your time. :rolleyes:

Love,

JAM

[Lace Neil Singer]

If I were going to post made up stories, they'd be a hell of a lot more guns n ammo than the ones I post. :lol: I'd post about the CIA storming the supermarket and dragging off an SC, rather than that SC throwing a childish temper tantrum over coffee. XD

[friendofjimmyk]

How DARE you accuse me of lying??!!!
Just for that, I'm getting into my Lamborghini, driving to my Malibu beach house and I'm gonna fuck Matt Damon again until he screams like the last time!
So there!!!




:p

:lol::roll: Now, that's funny. Can I join? I'll hop on my private jet flown by John Travolta.

[CaroPhoenix]

friendofjimmyk - you have a private jet flown by John Travolta? I have an original 1940's plane flown by the ghost of Howard Hughes. And I own the Monkee Mobile and Peter Tork personally serenades me on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Shemar Moore (of Criminal Minds and used to be on Young & the Restless) cooks for me and is my "pool boy". :D

[friendofjimmyk]

I like this board for the fact that they nip trolling in the bud. I even got in trouble once for a post I made that I thought was funny and in jest - but I didn't indicate that in the actual post. Well enough, I made an error and I apologize. I was worried because I did not want to get banned because this community is friendly.

Now, I rarely read anything outside of the "Sucky Customers" forum. Only just recently have I begun to step outside that forum more often and read posts on other parts of this site. In the SC forum, I don't mind a bit of exaggeration or "story telling" it makes for a good read. Now, that dead pizza delivery dude, that was just wrong on so many levels. There are some other posters in that section that have some stories I don't believe - but as long as they are within the lines of what I feel is good taste, then whatever.

I haven't read too many posts outside that forum about people's personal lives. I chimed in on one where the poster was experiencing problems with a friend who had just OD'd. I can't help myself on those issues being a recovering addict. I think I've chimed in on a few other issues as well...but I am leary. I try not to get too invested in Internet life. Its too easy for people to lie.

Another thing I dislike - the folks who believe anything if its on the Internet. I used to have a friend that would debate you with information she stated as fact and it all came from some .com. I tried to tell her that anyone can put a site on the Internet and call themselves and "expert". She never believed me. Just recently, I was in my Advanced Group Skills class (for group therapy - I'm in school to be a Chemical Dependency Counselor) and the classmate facilitating a group brought in some information she found on the Internet about a group called "Rational Recovery". This group is of the opinion that 12-step fellowships like A.A. are dangerous cults and they only hurt you rather than help you. She presented this to the class as if it were fact and stated it must be true because "it's all over the Internet". :mad:

friendofjimmyk - you have a private jet flown by John Travolta? I have an original 1940's plane flown by the ghost of Howard Hughes. And I own the Monkee Mobile and Peter Tork personally serenades me on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Shemar Moore (of Criminal Minds and used to be on Young & the Restless) cooks for me and is my "pool boy". :D

NO WAY! Hey, if you ever want, I can send my pool boy, Antonio Banderas, over for you. He does a great job!

OH! Next week, Brad, Angelina and the kids are coming over for dinner and then we're going to go to the skating rink for a kiddie outing. It should be fun!

[CaroPhoenix]

fojk - I might have to skip the skating rink plan 'cos my bestest friend in the world, Jennifer Aniston, is coming over and we're going to do an all-day spa treatment. :D

And sure! Antonio Banderas can come over anytime. ;) I'll let you have my acting coach, Mandy Patankin, on the days Antonio is over. ;)

[sms001]

But then... there's your side, my side, and the truth..(yeah - go on..someone point out it's from B5... even though I've been saying it much longer..)


I read and shrugged off the "Dead Pizza Dude" thread last month (but just finished rereading all of it - it grew!) because, well, "shenanigans" popped into my head and I took the course that most of us seem to advocate regarding that situation - I ignored it and moved on.

From that thread and this, I guess that an assumption of mine - that there is a "liar" at most places of work - is false. I honestly thought that this was a fairly common thing that we were all used to, if not inured to. I've mentioned in another thread that I even have a name for these folk, after the granddaddy of them all. Is this NOT so? Has it just been my sad luck to have one of these people in almost every grouping I've ever encountered?

In any case, I find it difficult to deal with these people in person. Not that I can't get along with them professionally, but because I don't know whether to humor them or call them out. On the one hand I dislike the assumption on their part that I am stupid or gullible. On the other, these stories and games of "one-up" or "mine's worse" (which is how most of their lies seem to develop) are so obviously a desperate cry for attention that it seems to border on mental illness and I'm unsure of how to handle that.

Besides specific individuals, I've also noticed a trend in society as a whole. It's especially pertinent here at CS because it is a basic foundation of an EW. The reason I used Slytovhand's quote as my introduction in this thread is because it is one way of stating this flaw. I used to have a long winded explanation for it explaining that people were now often confusing objective and subjective. Recently however, I found that there is a rhetorical rule that covers the subject nicely: Fallacy of Gray. Basically it says that the middle ground between two people's beliefs isn't necessarily the truth. We have become so "respectful" of people's "rights" as individuals that we are losing sight of the fact that there really are concrete rights and wrongs. Despite how democratic we want to be (Little League games with no winners or losers springs to mind) the truth of the matter is that there ARE differences in ability and intelligence in humans and one person's opinion is often NOT as good as another's.

Knowing that few in management are going to say "You are wrong." directly to their face is what gives EWs the nerve to ask for a return on an item used for two years. "MY needs are as important as that of the other customers and as important as the store being financially successful." Or if one of us objects to a SC - "MY wants in this trivial matter are as important as your livelihood; I'll see you fired."

These examples are absurd to us, but we really shouldn't wonder that because the message being drilled into people is that they are as good as everyone else in a general sense that some people are going to selfishly take that extra step to where they are MORE important than everyone else.

tl;dr: Society worrying about not hurting anyone's self-esteem lets some people take advantage by telling lies they won't get called on for prestige, sympathy, financial gain.

[Becks]

And I own the Monkee Mobile and Peter Tork personally serenades me on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Oh, that is so not true.

Seriously.

I own the Monkeemobile.

And how the hell does Peter escape from my basement?!?!?!?

Mike Nesmith damn well better still be there.

[friendofjimmyk]

fojk - I might have to skip the skating rink plan 'cos my bestest friend in the world, Jennifer Aniston, is coming over and we're going to do an all-day spa treatment. :D

:eek: You know, Angie told me she's been sending Brad nude photos of herself via email. You need to tell her to give it up already!



And how the hell does Peter escape from my basement?!?!?!?

Mike Nesmith damn well better still be there.

You have to be careful...some celebrities have been trained to chew through their restraints. :lol:

[Plaidman]

Hey everyone! It was incredible. I bought Marvel and DC for 50 bucks! I've decided that Batman and Spiderman had a kid together. Robin Stacy. :( Too bad it was killed by Green Joker.

[digilight]

Thats what I love about this site. The highly trained group of elite special forces moderators (yup gotta ego stroke 'em LOL) do a damn fine job keeping us in line usually.

I believe that we are expected to act a certain way on this site. If we fail to walk the line then there will be consiquences. Well I slipped the other day and got a slap on the wrist from Ree to politely let me know what I had said wasn't to appropriate. I hadn't even thought about it at the time, and didn't mean anything by it. After reading Ree's comments I reread what I said and agree'ed with her.

Their method of moderating keeps the boards nice/friendly/safe/and enjoyable. You don't have to worry about getting trashed like you would on say GBS over at SA, or in the PIT over at the SD boards.

Yup some stores may be embeleshed, and to an extent thats ok. But when we start to embelesh to the point of needing hip boots to make our way thru the bullshit then theres a problem.

And I really hope that I'm not one of the three that JAMs refering too. Cause I'm innocent I tell ya. If I am let me know though, I can take it.

[CaroPhoenix]

Plaid, BeckS, and Fojk -

Thank goodness I wasn't drinking anything 'cos Rule #1 would have been broken all over my laptop! :roll:

And Becky for the record, I know for a fact you have an android Peter Tork, Mike is real though. Mickey & Davy are at my sister's house, helping with her daughter and Elvis is actually my sandwich maker. :D

Fojk - I'll have to remember to talk to Jennifer about her e-mailing Brad. I seriously think it's a bad thing, as Jennifer is too good for Brad. :p

Plaid - Can I get a job writing comics for your new comic book empire? :p

[Misanthropical]

I am always honest on here, why should I lie? What good would come of that? I am with the others who said life is weird enough without making stuff up.

If I'm kidding I will put that in the post. Hell, I have lived through a lot, and I know some people thought I was making it up.

I recently found out a person I was close to thought I was lying about something horrible that had happened. It hurt me that this person who grew up with me would think for one second I would make that up, but that person had hero worship for the other person, so it had to be that I was the one lying.

The person I grew up with has never once apologized for running me down, even after the other person admitted what they did.

I am honest in life and on here. I don't post links because I'm a private person and those links would tell everyone who reads this board where I am. I trust most of the members of CS, but there are others who read these boards.

[Argabarga]

I know. O.o These pictures were stolen right off a site and also direct linked. When the mother contacted me with proof that it was her baby, I immediately deleted the girl's sig and banned her. Sadly, any photos you put up online can be stolen in this way; the only way to keep them safe is to either put a watermark accross them or keep them in a passworded album. Disabling right click won't stop a person taking a screenshot. Copyright will only help you once you find out who's stolen your artwork, it won't stop someone stealing it in the first place. The internet is a scary place. O.o

Every now and then my roomate and I will track the stats on our hosted pictures and try to find someone passing them off as thiers on another forum and bragging about how cool "thier" stuff is, and then change the source image on them :)

[friendofjimmyk]

Okay. Okay. I'll come clean. I'm not really from Nebulan in the Fifth Quadrant and I'm not really Captain Save-a-ho. I apologize to those who are from Nebulan and the real Captain. :(

[edit] At first, I didn't really want anyone to know my location - so that's why I said Nebulan. However, I was outed by the others who are in my location - even in the same call center (YOU BASTARDS!) and Captain Save-a-Ho is the nickname my sponsor has given me when I think that I have all the answers and can fix any problem. [done edit]

Every now and then my roomate and I will track the stats on our hosted pictures and try to find someone passing them off as thiers on another forum and bragging about how cool "thier" stuff is, and then change the source image on them :)

:lol: That's funny! Especially knowing the things you can change it to!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Let's say you've had a bad day at work, you're depressed about your job, and you randomly type "Customers Suck" into Google. Don't laugh, that's how more than one person has made there way here.

You know, thinking about it, I think that's how I found you guys. :p

My memory's not good enough to tell believable lies. I wouldn't be able to remember the details. :-D

[friendofjimmyk]

When I was married, my husband was a verbally abusive man. Every time we fought - and I do mean EVERYTIME - which was frequent. ...he would threaten to divorce me. Well, one morning after an evening where he threw the threat out again - I jumped on our computer to search for something. When I typed my search in, as usual, the previous searches showed in a drop box and he had been searching under "I want a divorce". So, I can see how someone could stumble upon us with the mere thought that customers suck.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Let's say you've had a bad day at work, you're depressed about your job, and you randomly type "Customers Suck" into Google. Don't laugh, that's how more than one person has made there way here. You see www.customerssuck.com (http://www.customerssuck.com), and, intrigued, you stumble on here.



That is exactly how I ended up here, after a particularly bad week.

I agree with most of the rest of the people on this thread, I don't need to make crap up, my job is bizarre enough already.

[Geek King]

Sometimes I wonder if folks think I'm just blowing hot air. I mean, I've had a roller coaster job history, so I have some experiences that seem really odd. My dad has a degree in Physics, but sells carpet. I went, literally, from the factory floor for three years to a position of providing tech support and doing my best to admin 10-15 balky servers. Try explaining a 3-4 year gap in relevant work history to a HR rep sometime. I've served Tom Hanks baseballs at a carnival game in an amusement park. I just about walk into a nearly (damn you ties!) perfect IT job for me this year. I've seen someone with a compound fracture of the femur 14 miles into a wilderness backpacking trip, and had to go for help

Hell, if someone was telling me that they'd experienced what I have, I might wonder about it.


A little OT, but I did meet technical.angel, and her AAFH (now forcibly moved on), in real life. AAFH was everything described, and worse. BTW: TA Doesn't really describe the sense of impending doom that lingered around around AAFH, like she's about to explode in some horrible human fission. She (AAFH) kinda looked like Woody Allen in drag. :lol:

[Becks]

Thank goodness I wasn't drinking anything 'cos Rule #1 would have been broken all over my laptop! :roll:

:angel:

And Becky for the record, I know for a fact you have an android Peter Tork

Well, an android Peter Tork is a lot better than some things I have around the house. :rolleyes:

[Princess-Snake]

That is exactly how I ended up here, after a particularly bad week.

That's how I found this site, too. Amazing what we have in common, isn't it?:D

[Lace Neil Singer]

Every now and then my roomate and I will track the stats on our hosted pictures and try to find someone passing them off as thiers on another forum and bragging about how cool "thier" stuff is, and then change the source image on them :)

Heh, one of my netfriends did that when someone stole a bunch of her smilies and direct linked them. She changed the image to a huge red and green flashing screen stretching image with I AM AN IMAGE THIEF! accross it. :lol: Someone else I know had a really disgusting porno pic that he used to for direct linked images. O.o

[Andara Bledin]

The "disgusting porn pic" is always a popular favorite for bandwidth hogging image thieves.

The "I am a bandwidth thief" is a popular second, with bonus points for it being the most obnoxious flashing scrolling fugliest you can make it.

^-.-^

[Kiwi]

I remember a couple of years ago, a member played with people emotions until some people where really taken in by her antics.
It got absolutely absurd, she had people willing to send her money, willing to come and save her, it was really bad for the board.

In the end Ree called her on it and she "disappeard" but not before relationships were destroyed and people banned over it. All for attention from strangers on the net....the whole situation was very sad.

I hope that Im seen as open and honest, I know a couple of the mods trust me, this commiunity means far to much to me to ever do anything stupid enough to get me banned. Nor would I want to decieve anyone, my life isnt boring enough to elaborate on (oh how I wish it was in the case of my current thorn in my side!)

This site and more importantly the people on it, some of whom I have known for years now, have helped me through tough situations, crappy jobs and made me feel like I belong. I have seen members come and go, I still remember talking to Madbassist in the chat room (he told me about the boards) and madmike welcoming me.

This site like much in life, gives you back what you put in. Put in crap, get crapola right back. If you use the site genuienly, it can give you so much. I have made friends, I have found support and have 10 times the christmas cards I ever thought I could!

[powerboy]

I always take into consideration that maybe the poster is telling the truth. How would I know otherwise.

[Plaidman]

I remember a couple of years ago, a member played with people emotions until some people where really taken in by her antics.
It got absolutely absurd, she had people willing to send her money, willing to come and save her, it was really bad for the board.


Wasn't that SincerlySarcastic? I heard of a bad end for her :(.

Anyway. I'll admit that I'm an attention hog. I also admit that I'm certified nuts, so that doesn't count. Had I an insane life, I'd be jealous of myself. Stupid Plaidman, greatest life ever mumble mumble.

[Lace Neil Singer]

The "disgusting porn pic" is always a popular favorite for bandwidth hogging image thieves.

The "I am a bandwidth thief" is a popular second, with bonus points for it being the most obnoxious flashing scrolling fugliest you can make it.

^-.-^

The one my friend used was awful; would almost give a person a seizure. O.o

[Plaidman]

The one my friend used was awful; would almost give a person a seizure. O.o

Do post. I must see.

[Evil Queen]

<snippet> a pizza guy who claimed to take revenge on a girl who prank-called his pizza place.<snippet>
I remember that thread. That was some lame shit to lie about. I mean, the idea of pranking the girl back? Genius. Was it well executed? Hell no.


Anyway. I'll admit that I'm an attention hog. I also admit that I'm certified nuts, so that doesn't count. Had I an insane life, I'd be jealous of myself. Stupid Plaidman, greatest life ever mumble mumble.

*Gasp!* You? Never! :rolleyes:

I do my best to tell only the truth or the truth as far as I know it to be. Like another poster said, however. I take these posts with a grain of salt. Not to be mean or anything but there are a lot of trolls out there.

[Andara Bledin]

The one my friend used was awful; would almost give a person a seizure. O.o

I want to check that puppy out.

....

A guy at a convention once had a siezure from watching two people play Bloody Roar: Primal Fury.

He said, afterwards, that he knew something was wrong when he was suddenly flat on his back and there were paramedics hovering over him.

^-.-^

[Ree]

Not to be mean or anything but there are a lot of trolls out there. Like Pizza Moron above.To be fair, even though that person has never actually come back to the site, he is still a member, and we don't attack other members by calling them names.

Since we can't prove the story didn't happen, it's entirely possible that the reason this person never returned was because of the reaction to the post, rather than the fact that the post was fake.

"Shenanigans" was called almost immediately, and he did take a lot of heat, so that might have driven him away. :shrug:

I've certainly read a lot worse posts on here that had me shaking my head and googling furiously in an attempt to prove their merit.

[blas]

I had a feeling that's probably why the OP for that story never returned as well. I stumbled on that post a little late, it was posted while I was either at work or asleep, and there were already several pages, but I do believe shenanigans were called even in the first few responses.

[Evil Queen]

To be fair, even though that person has never actually come back to the site, he is still a member, and we don't attack other members by calling them names.
I'm sorry Ree. Thank you for catching it. I guess my brain to hands filter stopped working. I'll delete the comment.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Since we can't prove the story didn't happen, it's entirely possible that the reason this person never returned was because of the reaction to the post, rather than the fact that the post was fake.

I really did not want to start this debate again. I really didn't.

Whether the incident actually happened or is made up is of little consequence to me. What matters is that the incident is, at least to me, a very shitty thing to do to a person.

It is shitty to impersonate a police officer, for one thing, and also illegal.
It is doubly shitty to, while impersonating a police officer, tell somebody that their daughter set in motion a chain of events that led to the death of an innocent person.
Also shitty because that didn't happen; it was revenge for a prank call placed earlier in the evening.

So either the poster did the above or he didn't. Either way I have a strong opinion about it.

And frankly, I resent the insinuation that I and the other posters who reacted strongly negatively to the post somehow did a bad thing and "drove him away." I know you are trying to be fair to a current member but this really rubbed me the wrong way.

Tell you what, next time a poster takes similar revenge against an SC (which this site does not condone, or so I've heard), I'll slap him/her on the back and say "Nice job, you really PWNED that moron!" Deal?

Awaiting whatever consequences arise from this post, but I really needed to get this off my chest

[Misanthropical]

Okay, I admit it! I'm just a figment of Ree's imagination! Happy now? :cry: :lol:

[Evil Queen]

*Gasp!* I knew it!

Wait, does this mean I'm dreaming?

[Spiffy McMoron]

And frankly, I resent the insinuation that I and the other posters who reacted strongly negatively to the post somehow did a bad thing and "drove him away." I know you are trying to be fair to a current member but this really rubbed me the wrong way.

In this case, I don't think that Ree was insinuating that the membership somehow hounded this poster, and that you are all bad people for doing so. She was just pointing out that that particular poster posted in that thread, and never posted again. What Ree was mentioning was that--whether you think his story was real, fake, or you don't know who the hell we're talking about--he's still a member, and we don't call other members names.

What he did (or claimed to do) was illegal, immoral, and mind-bendingly cruel. But what this thread is concerned with was people blindingly accepting other's words as solid gold truth.

[Ree]

Thanks, Spiffy.

You described my intent perfectly.

Sadly, just as people will believe every word they read on the internet, some will misread the intent behind words and take offense when none is meant at all.

It was only the dude's first post and he never came back. All I was pointing out was that the fact he didn't return was not proof the story was a lie. It may well have been the reaction he received from the story that caused him to stay away.
He probably expected a pat on the back for the story and that's not what happened.
He may have been embarrassed.

That's all I was saying.
I was NOT implying that anyone was in the wrong for their reaction.
I was NOT impying his story was true in any way.
I was NOT implying his alleged actions in the story were correct in any way.

Quite frankly I resent the insinuation that I accused anyone of driving him away and your reaction rubbed me the wrong way.

[sportsmom]

Without using names, I recall one member from a couple of board incarnations back, who started out by posting that she had a couple of friends who happened to be police officers. Fair enough.
She posted an interesting and funny story that they had shared with her.

All of a sudden, we were hearing that she was actually working as a narcotics officer with a pretty elite agency. I believe one quote from the chatroom was, "I'm the little girl who brings the scumbag drug dealers down and kicks their ass."

All the while, she was posting stories about working in a gas station from where she was wrongfully dismissed and sued the guy, and had gone to court and received a settlement within 2 months, then claimed she was working at a kiosk at a mall as a favour to a friend, where they did piercings and sold body jewellery.

Alone, the stories were fine, but if a person actually started to put them together, there was no way in hell that they made sense.



I remember that girl. Can't remember her name for the life of me, but I remember the stories.

I don't get why some people feel the need to lie to try and get over with others. Just be yourself and tell the truth, and people are more likely to actually like you.

[PuckishOne]

I resent the insinuation that I and the other posters who reacted strongly negatively to the post somehow did a bad thing and "drove him away."

For my part, I would love to see more of this happening. It frustrates me greatly when I see a post chock-full of incredible, roller-coaster drama, amazing coincidences and the inevitable heroic ending and every single reply is "Dude, you rock!" or similar.

Think about it for a minute: How many jobs have you had where you got away with any of the things some people here have posted? How many times have so many amazing things happened to you, one after the next, in a single day (or week or year for that matter)? When someone tells you a dodgy story yet has an answer for every single weak point you find, doesn't that make you wonder?

It's easy to say, "Gee, I don't know but it sounds like it could happen," and that's exactly what some people want you to do. They want to use your ignorance to their benefit, even if that benefit is just to get attention and sympathy. Seems harmless enough, right? Life is pretty boring for most of us on a regular basis, and it's normal to want something with a bit more pop, even if it's vicariously through reading posts from other people. But that doesn't make it real. Once you're willing to believe a little lie, you're primed to believe a big one - like someone who first looks for sympathy and then starts looking for suckers.

The reason the mods have been trying to hammer this home lately is to prevent a repeat of the situation Ree described. (I'm fairly certain there have been others like it that we've never heard about, too.) Asking questions when you see holes in a story is fine - I'll go so far as to say it's encouraged - and no one here is going to tell anyone to stop it. That's not free rein to tell people they're full of shit in a thread, however, but if a post ever comes along that reeks of baloney, and you feel you can't but respond that way, let a mod know and we can help.

[Ree]

Okay, I admit it! I'm just a figment of Ree's imagination! Happy now? You seemed taller in my dream. :p

[Lace Neil Singer]

Do post. I must see.

I don't have the actual pic with the lettering; but it was like this one, cept with green and red flashing and "I am an image thief" instead of "You deserve a seizure for your posts."

Warning; if you do suffer from seizures, DON'T CLICK THIS.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/AntiCriss/Funny%20Pix/spam5.gif

I haven't as yet had anyone try to steal my smilies/artwork, but I have this picture ready in case anyone does: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v154/AntiCriss/Funny%20Pix/steviegay.jpg

[Misanthropical]

You seemed taller in my dream. :p

Sorry, it's the shoes. :D

[Gravekeeper]

You need to add a "Call Shenanigans" button at the bottom of posts. =p

As for the post in question that spawned this. Maybe he/she/it never returned because they're in jail. ^^

[Ree]

As for the post in question that spawned this.
Well, it wasn't actually that particular post that spawned this thread.
It just came up as one more example of why the members need to use their own common sense when reading and take a lot of what they may read with a grain of salt.

[Evil Queen]

Warning; if you do suffer from seizures, DON'T CLICK THIS. [/url]

*used to suffer from seizures and clicks anyways*

Meh, I've seen worse in video games. This is a soft one considering it doesn't flash very fast. It's funny though, I like the message! :D

[Evil Queen]

I third the Shenanigans button!

[blas]

I would like to apologize for being the one who kept the debate of the Pizza Man alive.

It wasn't until I said "I wonder if I'm the only person who is still awaiting a response" or whatever, and then people kept going on with it. I should have left it alone. I didn't mean to cause a raucus...but I really do wonder if he'll ever be back.

[Spiffy McMoron]

I second the "call shenanigans" button. Alternatively, we could just report the post and say "I call shenanigans, here's why."

Speaking as a mod, doing something like that would be preferred.

I would like to apologize for being the one who kept the debate of the Pizza Man alive.

It wasn't until I said "I wonder if I'm the only person who is still awaiting a response" or whatever, and then people kept going on with it. I should have left it alone. I didn't mean to cause a raucus...but I really do wonder if he'll ever be back.

I find it highly suspitious when something like that happens. Not that members keep a thread going--that's just par for the course. What I'm talking about is when a thread dies for a period of time--let's say a week--and then a member bumps it and asks, "Any updates?". Voila! With 24 hours, an update appears, as if by magic.