Penlind claimed to have a dying a child. The things she posted are actually really boring to me in the greater picture of what happened. They're interesting in that reading her posts it all seems so clear, and I think important to people who need the background, of course.

How the Bronzers reacted to the situation was just awesome. I believed her for a good long while, like most. But then for some reason, everything struck me as phony. I don't know why. Just looking at it from another angle. I'm no genius, is what I'm saying.

I posted, "Has anyone here ever actually met Penlind, or spoken to her on the phone?"

No posts. But my email box filled. Not just with friends but sworn enemies, yo. "I don't believe this is true" was pretty much the sentiment shared. HUH! See? I'm no genius. Tons of people caught on way before me.

Then came the invitation to a private board where a seekrit investigational team of about a dozen women were researching everything. She claimed her husband worked at Harvard and published papers on some oddly fascinating topic. One Bronzer called Harvard, got the department...and so on. Each piece was knocked down. She was traced back to a small community college, where she worked as a librarian before she was fired for stealing and selling computers. And the library told us some of the weird stories she was telling us that didn't add up. And that she had no children. Or a husband.

Once we had what we felt was enough evidence (i say "we" loosely, i contributed little) to convince all, we needed to decide who would break it to the board.

This was difficult. Most of us were in a controversial bitch cabal, seen as big meanies, hateful folk.

So we nominated the one of us who was neutral, kind.

We carefully laid the post out. Detailing the info that was false, with proof as to why it was false.

Once the info was out in the open, people felt the way you would think they would. Outrage, sorrow, embarassment, a stubborn need to believe despite the evidence. No one likes being duped, of course.

The methodical deconstruction, the being able to trace her back to a former workplace was just stunning to me. The BIT (Bronzer Investigational Team) disbanded soon after the uproar died down. They were so incredibly competent, and careful, always thinking, "what if she lied about this, but does have a sick child? we need to be sure, very sure."

People like her always seem to have enemies....

At online game boards, this is called the Little Brother Excuse. "My little brother got my password and logged into my account and did all that stuff, it wasn't me!"

Okay, I had forgotten half of this stuff. But I'm rereading the board and laughing because I think I was the tiny voilin.

The methodical deconstruction, the being able to trace her back to a former workplace was just stunning to me.

It's impressive what can be done, and the proof that can be laid out as actual proof.

I was on the receiving end of an attempt to identify the beta-group I was in as a group of anonymous and very nasty badfic mockers with their own webpage. They would take publicly posted stories and MST them, often very cruelly. Someone claimed to have proof that at least two members of my list were these unpleasant people, and posted so over and over again. Claimed she had IP addresses connecting them through email correspondence.

However, she never provided the proof publicly. Four years later, she's still wandering around making these allegations, but since nobody ever saw the evidence... ::shrugs::

They were so incredibly competent, and careful, always thinking, "what if she lied about this, but does have a sick child? we need to be sure, very sure."

This is the same concern in medical settings. Because people with Factitious disorder do get sick, just like the rest of us, and you don't want to ignore real illness just because they lied about it some other time.

Oh. I forgot all about the girl with the mom in a coma and taking care of her baby sister. Which is funny because I seem to have posted about it in the wake of Penlind. So clearly Penlind wasn't the first. Just the most notable.

ETA: Okay this is kinda fun. Thanks, tiggy!

Damn, I just find all this fascinating. I'm not sure why.

I want to read more.

My high-school girlfriend was pretty much a pathological liar. At one point she told me that she was dying of cancer, and that her parents didn't know about this, because she was seeing a doctor who was writing off her treatment as "research." She had all sorts of details to the story, like how nasty and painful the spinal taps she had to have were (this predates the movie Spinal Tap). Oh, and also, she used to be in a rock band.

I didn't believe her, but the times when I told her I doubted what she was saying she would totally freak out....

eta: Thanks, tiggy!

I'm with tommyrot in finding it morbidly fascinating -- and also awful. I got as far as tiggy's post expressing disappointment that people were becoming so jaded and cynical that they would doubt Penlind's existence, and I just got nauseated at the thought of tiggy and all the other Bronzers having their emotions jerked around (the moments of silence! Gah!) and sticking up for someone who was playing them (and okay, okay, I understand that Munchausen sufferers are suffering, and sick, and compelled, but it's just a depressingly manipulative, discouraging kind of sick).

I'm also fascinated by the scammer stories. And disgusted at the same time. Some people need a Jay and Silent Bob housecall to get the message that there are real people they're toying with.

Huh. I never knew there was a phrase for "Munchausen by Internet".

This has been both fascinating and appalling reading.