Missing boyfriend in Maine

[Anonymous]

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/461803.page#6740578

Does that thread seem real, or is it likely the product of someone who had done this before? A lot of people are invested, hate to get fooled again.

THanks.

[Anonymous]

a lot of people are indeed invested, regardless of whether it's real or a hoax, so please consider carefully before deleting. if you have to do anything, I'd suggest locking the thread, but the OP continues to engage so I"m not sure she wants it locked.

[jsteele]

At first I thought that the thread was fake. So, I checked the earlier posts by the OP. She did post some time back about meeting her boyfriend online. So, that much is consistent and makes me thing she is probably being truthful.

[jsteele]

I'm starting to rethink my opinion about the legitimacy of that thread.

[Anonymous]

Can YOU call the uncle please?

[Anonymous]

Just curious, and maybe I’m naive, but why... WHY do you think people come on here just to “troll” around? Seriously, don’t you think there’s a shred of truth, or maybe a person is just lying to themselves, but either way, that their intention is not to deceive others but to figure out their own life? And, even if someone is a troll, what’s the harm? I mean, this behavior offers a great sociological perspective... even if the original post is fake isn’t there just so much to learn about human behavior from other people’s replies? And perhaps someone who actually does have a problem that mirrors the troll’s problem might benefit from some advice? So I ask, what is the harm? Really?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious, and maybe I’m naive, but why... WHY do you think people come on here just to “troll” around? Seriously, don’t you think there’s a shred of truth, or maybe a person is just lying to themselves, but either way, that their intention is not to deceive others but to figure out their own life? And, even if someone is a troll, what’s the harm? I mean, this behavior offers a great sociological perspective... even if the original post is fake isn’t there just so much to learn about human behavior from other people’s replies? And perhaps someone who actually does have a problem that mirrors the troll’s problem might benefit from some advice? So I ask, what is the harm? Really?

I struggle with those questions all the time. Sometimes the trolls are divisive and stir up a lot of negativity. The harm in that is obvious. But, threads like this have less obvious problems. The main one is that people get invested in them and then feel like their trust was abused. That may make them reluctant to respond to threads in the future which might be legitimate. Often posters are moved to make very personal responses that they probably wouldn't in other circumstances. They may well feel violated by the learning that they revealed something very personnel in response to a fake post. But, I agree that the threads can be interesting and possibly have positive aspects as well.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I'm starting to rethink my opinion about the legitimacy of that thread.

Why?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I'm starting to rethink my opinion about the legitimacy of that thread.

Regardless, time to lock this one I think:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/75/446821.page

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:I'm starting to rethink my opinion about the legitimacy of that thread.

Regardless, time to lock this one I think:
http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/75/446821.page

Yeah, good call. I just locked it.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:I'm starting to rethink my opinion about the legitimacy of that thread.

Why?

Because I found a thread from February in which she was complaining about the same boyfriend having lied to her. But, she owned up to and provided a reasonable explanation for that thread. So, now I'm back on the "possibly legitimate" bandwagon.

[Anonymous]

Is this the guy who left her "stranded" in the city ?

[Anonymous]

I totally remembered the thread about the online guy she met lying to her about working on the family farm. Can't believe she invested more of her time in that guy. Sad for her, but I think she's (sadly) legit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I totally remembered the thread about the online guy she met lying to her about working on the family farm. Can't believe she invested more of her time in that guy. Sad for her, but I think she's (sadly) legit.

I agree. Jeff, she said she doesn't care if you lock the thread (04/07/2015 22:59). Please do. She has more time on her hands than sense. She seems so sad and keeps more details about herself.

[Anonymous]

Jeff, I was all about this thread for a long time, but the information that the OP received from the cops strongly indicate that something tragic has happened. I think the thread should be locked because at this point, the boyfriend is officially a missing person and the various people crying TROLL TROLL TROLL are probably just making this woman feel worse.