Clearing something up.. Honesty is the best policy

[edisonsclone]

so hears the deal,
unbeknownst to me, months back a friend of mine was using my user name and posted a long story about getting some very rare machines for free. I am hear to say that it was all untrue, and up until recently I had no idea. I dont use the forum very much, and this came as a shock to me. sorry everyone

[Phonofreak]

Yes, I remember that. It sounded like a real heart warming story. It's too bad that someone did this as a sick joke.
Harvey Kravitz

[brianu]

so there's no mrs. socoro and you're not the "phonograph kid?"

garret, your skills of deduction hold true.

[phonogfp]

Well, that's a shame on two counts. It was a heartwarming story, and we all wanted to believe it. Some of us have had similar experiences, so we know it CAN happen. But unfortunately, this one didn't.

And this is not the first time someone has felt compelled to make up stories about what he has found and the conditions under which he found them. I recall a few years ago when someone online claimed to have bought several very nice machines at auction for unbelievably low prices. He even included photos - which was how I was able to identify two newly-acquired phonographs in the collections of friends! Had I been 30 years younger, I'd have exposed the guy for the fraud that he was. But these days, I think empathy is a better route - as long as no one is in a position to be hurt by the made-up stories.

Unfortunately, any hobby that is centered on relatively valuable artifacts will attract a small number of people who seek the attention or admiration from others that they lack in their real lives. For the most part, these folks aren't malicious - they're just insecure. The word "pathetic" has taken on a negative connotation, as when a young girl says to some other kid on the bus, "You're pathetic!" But its real meaning is "to evoke sorrow or sympathy." I feel sorry for these story-tellers, and I hope we can all feel sympathy for them rather than anger.

Clone, I hope your friend's life improves, and that this incident will eventually be only an embarrassing little hiccough in his past.

George P.

[Chuck]

Story-tellers and people who make stuff up
are doing it to make themselves sound more
important than they think they already are.

There are many varieties of this that I have
encountered:

Some of them blatantly make things up out
of thin air.

Others leave certain unsavory details out of
any given story, and only tell the part of it
that they think looks and sounds the best.

The best part of it all though, is... that the
truth always has a way of coming out eventually.

So, why not just start with the truth?
Then it will always match what is, or was said.

It's just so much easier that way.
Less work. Less stress. And more credibility
to boot! Honesty always wins.

Chuck