How much do I love the word factitious? Hugely. Factitious ... fictitious...factitious.
Zoe: Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing? Book: Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps.
'War Stories'
The Minearverse 3: The Network Is a Harsh Mistress
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls and The Inside), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
§ ita § - Aug 30, 2004 8:41:03 am PDT #1828 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Frankenbuddha - Aug 30, 2004 8:43:23 am PDT #1829 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
So would you say your love for the word is....gianormous?
Allyson - Aug 30, 2004 8:44:19 am PDT #1830 of 10001
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica
I'm not really going that deep into what it is, I'm just talking about what happened. But thank you!
Nutty - Aug 30, 2004 8:49:50 am PDT #1831 of 10001
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
The nice thing about Munchausen by Internet is that nobody actually gets hurt, physically. (Plenty of feelings hurt, but no injury.)
On the internet, nobody knows you're not a cancer patient. (Until such time as you tell a really huge whopper, and get caught.)
Rick - Aug 30, 2004 9:03:29 am PDT #1832 of 10001
I'm not really going that deep into what it is
Yeah, I'm just being a psychology geek. The relationship to the traditional diagnosis is interesting because, as Nutty says, faking illness or misfortune to gain attention and sympathy on the internet is much less likely to result in harm to the individual than faking illness to gain attention and sympathy from the medical community. Your invisible internet friends almost never do an exploratory surgery on you or prescribe drugs that interact badly with the drugs you are already taking or put you in the hospital so often that you lose your job. So if "Munchausen by internet" gives people the attention and support that they used to get from medical professionals, without the bad "side effects" of medical care, then people are better off with the new disorder.
Wolfram - Aug 30, 2004 9:41:58 am PDT #1833 of 10001
Visilurking
Except to the extent that people spend monies on gifts/cards/flowers etc. for a cause that turns out to be a scam. And that it lessens the trust one has in his/her fellow fan.
Matt the Bruins fan - Aug 30, 2004 10:22:07 am PDT #1834 of 10001
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
I don't recall anything of exactly that sort happening in this community (at least not since I joined in 2001), but I've had it happen with an online "friend" whose [alleged] brother supposedly died. After a long lapse in contact he seemed to forget that he'd told me that and started referring to the brother in present tense again.
Betsy HP - Aug 30, 2004 11:05:27 am PDT #1835 of 10001
If I only had a brain...
Did anybody else read Matt's posting, shiver, and say "We're due?"
I mean, none of you actually know, first-hand knowledge, that I was hospitalized in Feb. The only people who can prove it are me, the hubster, and the medical bills. (I was. See above re: medical bills.)
Polter-Cow - Aug 30, 2004 11:10:43 am PDT #1836 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Did anybody else read Matt's posting, shiver, and say "We're due?"
See, I find this community far more personal, intimate, and yet vibrant than others I've seen. I think it fosters an inherent trust, and a respect of that trust, within its members that disallows the possibility. In addition, it seems like a large percentage know or have met at least one other member, which dilutes the online-only nature of a community in which a Munchausen by Internet situation would arise.
Topic!Cindy - Aug 30, 2004 11:12:33 am PDT #1837 of 10001
What is even happening?
When I was telling my mother about Nilly and erika's trips, she wanted to know how we knew we weren't being taken, when we engage in group gifts. I said that in these particular cases, there was no way to be taken, as they were just love-based gifts, we were giving, and partly selfish at that, so that we could see our friends.