The art of reading between the lines

[robnplunder]

When someone posts a thread about a conflict, confrontation, he-said-she-said tales, do you trust everything the member wrote and come to his/her aid, read between the lines and look at things from opposite side, or become skeptical and questions his/her claim?

If you read between the lines, what kind of things do you notice? What are things you look for to validate his/her story? What do you typically "see" between the lines?

 

[timo2]

I'm trying to figure out what you really mean in your post

 

[marko]

Depends on the poster. Most of the regulars seem to have a pretty straight forward approach to their questions and are at least consistent in their positions.

I have seen a few less regular posters that sometimes require suspension of disbelief (I'm 27 years old, have $7 million that I've earned myself etc....yes, I know there are people like that but....)

A red light goes off when the words and music don't go together like when folks claim to have very large portfolios but ask quite naive investing questions. (If you're so rich, how come you're not smart? ...and where is your financial advisor?)

Or (this might be the New England elitist in me...forgive me!) when the sentence structure/grammar doesn't suggest the mental wherewithal to support the "$7 million I made on my own" claim.

I could be wrong...DW reminds me that I'm wrong every few hours, but I was brought up to be skeptical and have developed a fairly accurate bu##s@*t meter.

 

[2B]

Depends on the poster. Most of the regulars seem to have a pretty straight forward approach to their questions and are at least consistent in their positions.

I have seen a few less regular posters that sometimes require suspension of disbelief (I'm 27 years old, have $7 million that I've earned myself etc....yes, I know there are people like that but....)

A red light goes off when the words and music don't go together like when folks claim to have very large portfolios but ask quite naive investing questions. (If you're so rich, how come you're not smart? ...and where is your financial advisor?)

Or (this might be the New England elitist in me...forgive me!) when the sentence structure/grammar doesn't suggest the mental wherewithal to support the "$7 million I made on my own" claim.

I could be wrong...DW reminds me that I'm wrong every few hours, but I was brought up to be skeptical and have developed a fairly accurate bu##s@*t meter.

My first go on any post it to take it at face value but I agree with you that we periodically get new posters that clearly strain any credibility I might typically give them.

Outrageous amounts of assets, income and expenses immediately make me suspicious especially when coupled with profound ignorance of most any subject involved with amassing obscene levels of assets and not being able to demonstrate any of the necessary skills to obtain the horrendous income.

 

[marko]

Outrageous amounts of assets, income and expenses immediately make me suspicious especially when coupled with profound ignorance of most any subject involved with amassing obscene levels of assets and not being able to demonstrate any of the necessary skills to obtain the horrendous income.

Sheesh! You said what I said, but soooo much more eloquently!

 

[W2R]

My first go on any post it to take it at face value but I agree with you that we periodically get new posters that clearly strain any credibility I might typically give them.

Outrageous amounts of assets, income and expenses immediately make me suspicious especially when coupled with profound ignorance of most any subject involved with amassing obscene levels of assets and not being able to demonstrate any of the necessary skills to obtain the horrendous income.

Well, I just figure that they are either trust fund babies or major drug dealers....

I get a little skeptical about the ones who say that "a friend" is having a marital, parenting, home repair, or financial problem. So, I then wonder if it is the person posting who has that problem, and maybe he/she doesn't want to say that. A scenario goes through my mind, where the friend has asked the person posting what to do. The person posting then says, "Wait a minute, and I'll ask all my wise friends on this forum that you never read". Doesn't make sense to me but maybe that is what is happening.

 

[marko]

Well, I just figure that they are either trust fund babies or major drug dealers....

Trust funders usually don't have to ask for investment advice; at least on forums.

Drug dealers...maybe more so, but the "retired early" might mean something more sinister.

 

[haha]

My friend is so attractive that women keep throwing themselves at him. He asked me if I could tell him how to handle this. I told him that I have no experience of this sort (pity!) but my wise friends on a message board have experience with everything and always know how to handle tricky situations.

Suggestions for him?

Ha

 

[audreyh1]

I'm trying to figure out what you really mean in your post

LOL

 

[robnplunder]

I'm trying to figure out what you really mean in your post

You need to click on the "skeptical" line. Trust me.

 

[Bestwifeever]

It's way too much work first, to misrepresent yourself and then, to remember the misrepresentation.

 

[braumeister]

Most of the regulars seem to have a pretty straight forward approach to their questions and are at least consistent in their positions.

I have seen a few less regular posters that sometimes require suspension of disbelief.

Even some of the regulars are pretty suspect IMHO.

For example, I am a completely fictitious persona that was created as a project in social engineering by a group of college students at an undisclosed location.

Year after year, each new class has taken "me" on as their project (the handoff from the previous class happens just after graduation each summer), and one of the objects is to see how well the fiction can be maintained without the rest of the forum catching on that they are actually dealing with a committee.

"I" am a regular member of a great many online forums, under various usernames, and so far we have managed fairly well. Oh, there is the occasional slip-up, but in general you folks have been gracious enough to pretend not to notice.

Just thought you should know.

 

[robnplunder]

Even some of the regulars are pretty suspect IMHO.

For example, I am a completely fictitious persona that was created as a project in social engineering by a group of college students at an undisclosed location.

Year after year, each new class has taken "me" on as their project (the handoff from the previous class happens just after graduation each summer), and one of the objects is to see how well the fiction can be maintained without the rest of the forum catching on that they are actually dealing with a committee.

"I" am a regular member of a great many online forums, under various usernames, and so far we have managed fairly well. Oh, there is the occasional slip-up, but in general you folks have been gracious enough to pretend not to notice.

Just thought you should know.

I read this as "You shouldn't drink too much of the stuff you make. "

 

[freebird5825]

My friend is so attractive that women keep throwing themselves at him. He asked me if I could tell him how to handle this. I told him that I have no experience of this sort (pity!) but my wise friends on a message board have experience with everything and always know how to handle tricky situations.

Suggestions for him?

Ha

A Teflon suit ?

 

[easysurfer]

I try to take folks at face value, so I put down tend to trust the poster. Note the words "try" and "tend"

 

[Walt34]

It's way too much work first, to misrepresent yourself and then, to remember the misrepresentation.

Exactly, or as my mother put it "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive".

Since I'm not smart enough to keep all my lies straight it all eventually falls apart so I don't try anymore.

 

[Maenad]

I read this as "You shouldn't drink too much of the stuff you make. "

Or he's escalated from brewing to distilling.

 

[Gumby]

I don't really care if people here are telling the truth or not. Even if we sometimes end up responding to an entirely fictitious scenario, we can still learn from each other's responses. I also have observed people who ask a question but already know the answer they want and seem merely to be seeking validation. I don't view it as a waste of time to answer, for even if the OP doesn't want to hear it, others might legitimately have that same question but have not yet gotten to the point of asking.

And, Ha, I think your friend should share the wealth.

 

[marko]

I don't really care if people here are telling the truth or not. Even if we sometimes end up responding to an entirely fictitious scenario, we can still learn from each other's responses. I also have observed people who ask a question but already know the answer they want and seem merely to be seeking validation. I don't view it as a waste of time to answer, for even if the OP doesn't want to hear it, others might legitimately have that same question but have not yet gotten to the point of asking.

This is a very good point. I've learned a lot from this site, often from answers to what could've been a fictitious posting/question.

 

[steelyman]

And, Ha, I think your friend should share the wealth.

James Garner had a good line for this in the film Murphy's Romance (probably good for New Year's Eve, too):

"Next time someone asks, just say 'yes'".

 

[ls99]

My friend is so attractive that women keep throwing themselves at him. He asked me if I could tell him how to handle this. I told him that I have no experience of this sort (pity!) but my wise friends on a message board have experience with everything and always know how to handle tricky situations.

Suggestions for him?

Ha

Lots of Viagra and a studio apartment.

 

[W2R]

My friend is so attractive that women keep throwing themselves at him. He asked me if I could tell him how to handle this. I told him that I have no experience of this sort (pity!) but my wise friends on a message board have experience with everything and always know how to handle tricky situations.

Suggestions for him?

Ha

Perhaps he should see a shaman and have his dreams analyzed? (That was the response given to a similar question asked in an magazine's advice column, decades ago.)

 

[Sarah in SC]

And perhaps try some ayahuasca when he visits the shaman. Just to improve the dreams a bit.



Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Amethyst]

Sometimes there is a rant about someone's comically awful family members. I take those with a grain of salt. Rants about dreadful neighbors or tenants, I tend to believe. Maybe because I have had more of the latter than the former?

Amethyst

 

[Car-Guy]

Depends on the poster.

I have seen a few less regular posters that sometimes require suspension of disbelief (I'm 27 years old, have $7 million that I've earned myself etc....yes, I know there are people like that but....)

A red light goes off when the words and music don't go together like when folks claim to have very large portfolios but ask quite naive investing questions. (If you're so rich, how come you're not smart? ...and where is your financial advisor?)

Or (this might be the New England elitist in me...forgive me!) when the sentence structure/grammar doesn't suggest the mental wherewithal to support the "$7 million I made on my own" claim.

I could be wrong...DW reminds me that I'm wrong every few hours, but I was brought up to be skeptical and have developed a fairly accurate bu##s@*t meter.

I think you summed it up pretty well. For me the part of your response that I have highlighted and underlined really hits the spot.