.

None of that is to mention the fact that there was some talk of a donation, which, while still generous, if done under false pretenses would make me very upset, and wanting my money back.

Understood, but I just want it clear that neither Gus nor his family requested a donation. It was brought up by Buffistas, an historically generous bunch. While I find a lot of the story fishy, I don't want any misconceptions that Gus and/or his family was out for money.

I'd like to read it (again), Allyson.

Allyson, insent incoming in two minutes.

The non-googleable thing is unusual, and maybe troubling, but not, I think, totally implausible.

The complete lack of Googlability for a PhD state university professor (even if he were emeritus, completely retired, or just quit) is a big red flag to me. If it wasn't his real name, then fine, but then why did kimi make that elegaic and insistent post about his name?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I personally am having trouble letting it go because I don't know what to do with those emotions that got stirred up on NYE. Person or persona, I loved Gus. If he has truly passed, I want to memorialize him, light a candle for him, give a ten-spot to his charity of choice, and hold my tears that night and the time I spent crooning to Matilda and told her everything I remembered about him in a place of pride in my heart.

If he hasn't truly passed, then I will feel, frankly, jerked around and pissed off. Even with (or partly because of) the joy of Matilda, it's been a stressful year chez Zmayhem, and NYE was the first time in a while that Hec and I had an evening at home with a relatively mellow baby, a bit of money in the bank, a bottle of prosecco in the fridge. I've spent a lot of time and emotional energy this year feeling sad and anxious for various Buffistas with job woes, unjust firings, struggles with family and friends and marriages, illnesses, and, in one case, the devastation of having to bury one's child. And I'm glad to know these people, glad to be emotionally open enough to have worried and vibed and sorrowed with them, and Paypal'd a bit to help them when I could. But those emotions ain't cheap, and the thought that I lost -- that many of us lost -- a night of comparatively peaceful remembrance and connection to a storm of grief, after a year of so many genuine sorrows, over something that may have been an outright lie pisses me off beyond measure.

True or not, the past details of his life don't matter to me as much as his wit and flirtiness and love of various rich fictional universes and their creators. But the red flags those past details raise make me totally unable to just believe and mourn and let go. I want to know. It may be a nasty mental place; I can't help it. I want to know, one way or the other.

Like I said, I'm not saying there's nothing odd. I am noting that we've racked up about 500 posts in two days on this and turned up precisely no new information (and very little even of the negative sort, barring Tom's call to the county clerk). What we knew at the time, or shortly thereafter, was:

- ungoogleable
- no death announcement on the web
- something hinky with the wiki

What we know now appears to be

- ungoogleable
- no death announcement on the web (or with the county)
- something hinky with the wiki

The amount of upset, research, feeling gullible and used, now even money between those two things is kind of bothering me.

I'm not saying drop it - I guess I'm saying* that maybe the press to find out everything now now now is creating more disturbance than needed. Has someone contacted the original poster to try to explore further, directly or indirectly? Or did we go straight to extremes?

I just want it clear that neither Gus nor his family requested a donation.

Understood. I perhaps should have included that fact in my post. But I would still be put out to find that a totally volunatry donation unsolicited by anybody other than Buffistas was done under false pretenses.

I've had several very close friends IRL die on me, and I take it seriously. If this Gus person has in fact died, despite the fact that he's fabricated some elements of his life*, I want to know so I can mourn.

If he's not dead, I have a bajillion better things to do with that emotional energy.

Well, bah. Sean said it much, much more precisely and concisely than I did. Well played, Sean K, well played!

Has someone contacted the original poster to try to explore further, directly or indirectly?

I believe so, with no response so far.

eta: The original poster's profile contains no info, no email addy, nothing else, so AFAIK the only way to contact him/her is via the addy used to register. Which I think someone has done, maybe?

Mark Rausch Funeral Services (of Cameron, WI) did not handle any funeral arrangements for a Guy Straley.

Has someone contacted the original poster to try to explore further, directly or indirectly? Or did we go straight to extremes?

I'm pretty sure that "kimi" doesn't have an e-mail address visible in her profile. One of the stompies would have to either (1) provide the e-mail to a non-stompy who would be willing to e-mail kimi; or (2) e-mail kimi themselves.

And really, #1 isn't an option, if we want to maintain any semblance of respecting people's privacy. The stompies can't go around handing out e-mails if there's none publically listed.

So is a stompy willing to e-mail kimi?

t edit To be clear, I'm not suggesting that a stompy *should* e-mail kimi. Frankly, I think even if you did, you wouldn't get a reply. I'm simply saying that the only people with kimi's e-mail address are stompies, so *if* anyone e-mailed her, it would have to be a stompy.

Stompy. Stompy. The word has lost all meaning.