An obit would be nice. I think I'd be happy with any kind of proof he existed.

I'm not immediately skeptical, but Cindy, David, Steph, bon, et al, have now given me enough doubt to want.... something.

Okay, so what type of proof is needed?

That this person (Gus/Guy) existed? That this person passed away recently? That certain part(s) of his story is true? All the major parts are true? (Not being facetious - I don't know what we'd need either.)

I can contribute several more things to the "this sounds fishy" theory, if people want. But nothing that proves anything, except that Gus either accidentally gave me his phone number instead of an associate of his, or that he lied to me about the phone #.

Ugh, I feel shitty even now thinking about any kind of doubt, because I liked the man.

But I've now read waaaay too many Internet kerfuffles about fake people and fake deaths, and I have great concern about this causing strife between any of us, most of whom involved in this discussion I know personally as being real, and good people.

So don't chip in.

IMO, that's not fair, Trudy. The members of this community have been accused time and time again of having *huge* hearts and a desire to help out their fellow buffista at the drop of a hat. It's one of the things that many of us love about this community. Some members have also been duped by incidences similar to this one and are wary.

For me, even though I have not been duped in the past, I am strapped like whoa for cash. Still, I would want to make a donation in Gus's memory. He was a member here and a number of us have many memories of him and the time he spent here. However, if I donated under false pretenses, that would seriously A) hurt my feelings and B) piss me off. I doubt I'm the only one that feels that way.

Wanting some sort of proof is a reasonable request. It didn't occur to me, until Cindy posted, to question the announcement posted by Kimi, but I am grateful to Cindy for her post. And now wanting some sort of proof should not automatically mean that I don't want to be a part of a group donation in Gus's memory.

OK, frankly, would we BE buffistas if we weren't cynical and skeptical and the-opposite-of-internet-newbies? I know if someone came on and told y'all I was dead, I'd hope for some cynicism.

What Nicole said, Trudes.

I have huge love for Gus, and would like to wake him and donate in his memory. Finding out later that it was all a sham would piss me off and make me feel as though I'd been made a fool of, even if the charity was a worthy cause.

My newfound doubts about all this does not change my love for him. If he turns out to have been real, and really dead, then I'm all for this.

If it's a sham, well.... I'd rather not think about that just yet, but I want to know if it's a sham, and we've been played for heels.

I didn't even know the stuff Cindy posted about the book. His scanner didn't work and he couldn't share the art? Uh...I get my book cover art via email as a jpeg. His book won't come out now? Man. That's such the classic pseud dynamic.

"I did this great thing! Praise me!"

"Oh I wish I could show you the cover art."

"Huh, now I'm having a fight with the publisher and it won't come out. Oh well, I got to keep the money."

I can contribute several more things to the "this sounds fishy" theory, if people want.

Please share. Patterns count.

Has anybody had contact with Gus except by email?

That's what I want to hear. Not that phone necessarily proves anything, but Not!Phone is kind of indicative.

I know that nobody has met him.

I didn't mean it to be unfair. We're all adults here. We all know how the world and the internet work. We can make our decisions and act on them. Sometimes we can chip in and sometimes we can't for whatever reason.

I think we should err on the side of caution toward not hurting vulnerable people. I think we can act with discretion to that end. I can't believe we can't wait more than a day before we start picking stories apart. I know people have been burned internet-wise plenty, but I think the potential harm to their feelings is far less grave than the potential harm to his family's.

Gus certainly existed. Brenda's company worked with him.

I'm not having this conversation anymore. Well, I'm going to try.

What Nicole said.

I for one would like to know what is or isn't true about Gus, and I would like the discussion to be held here, rather than backchannel, since I think it impacts the whole board. Maybe having that info public would help people in drawing their own conclusions.

Ugh, I feel shitty even now thinking about any kind of doubt, because I liked the man.

But I've now read waaaay too many Internet kerfuffles about fake people and fake deaths, and I have great concern about this causing strife between any of us, most of whom involved in this discussion I know personally as being real, and good people.

I'm with Sean, especially because in recent months, I discovered pretty hard proof that someone in another online community of mine was lying about a great many things, including horrible accidents and diseases and deaths.

And I didn't want to say anything because I assumed people here knew more about Gus than I did and that people knew kimi, that she had not just appeared. The lack of Google-ability is troubling. Regardless of what turns up, Gus's posts and the work he did for this board were important to many of us. But some sort of...proof-type things would make me feel better.