I know I'm kind of resurrecting a dead thread, but rather than start a new one I'm wondering whether this is a good place to either have a debate or see if people might be up for one in a new thread.
So: I am generally the sort of person who will believe anyone who might want to share a story about a terrible situation, and advise if I can. I have been in some terrible places in my life, before there was an internet, and so it obviously has the potential for doing some real good for people who otherwise might have nowhere to turn.
Lately (and this may just be me being a bit 'meh' at the moment), I just KEEP seeing threads where I find myself doubting their veracity. I don't like this. I don't want to feel this way.
I know the argument is that it doesn't matter, as good advice is good advice, and it may still help someone. I know, also, that some of the threads I start feeling this about are bound to be quite true. I don't need to be told that bad things happen- bad things that most people will never encounter in their lives. I have things like that in my own past.
The thought that someone out there, no doubt with serious mental issues of some sort, is starting series of threads out of a desire for people's attention, and drawing all sorts of very personal confessions out of them is a really upsetting one for me. It makes me start to doubt everyone, and also makes me less likely to offer support. Yes, I could stay off those threads and hide them. I just can't help disliking the feeling that someone out there is thriving in a sick way on this sort of attention while people open up old wounds in trying to help someone who doesn't exist.
Should I try to be more cynical, or less?
:(