What’s your system for knowing what is real and what is just fantasy on here?

@Ghostinthemachine Yes - you are quite good at playing yourself. 🌷

@helenS Thank you, M’lady

*bows graciously

@Ghostinthemachine Expression of thanks gratefully acknowledged.

@RebelFox hopefully real attracts real, but I know that isn’t always the case. Every now and then one of the phonies/loonies slip through

@Ghostinthemachine Definitely. I’ve been fooled more than I know 😆

@RebelFox I have too, and that’s just the ones I know about

@Ghostinthemachine That is a good point. The best answer would be to NOT get more involved until some basic assurances have been answered. Keep friendly caution.
With expressions though...if they were 100% effective we wouldnt have serial killers lol.

@ravenwind43 I agree, it’s a bit of a cautious dance getting to know someone online, and there haven’t been many where I felt assured enough to trust them away from here.

Serial killers aren’t good, so deceptive.

@Ghostinthemachine That they are lol. (I know it was an extreme example )

@Dainbramadge what’s really real anyways, right? It’s just our brain’s interpretation of what we are seeing, hearing and smelling

@lovelywarpedlemon all? But isn’t how the way I feel after reading what someone wrote, real?

@Ghostinthemachine yeah i just treat it like it could be anyone, i pretty much treat everyone as if i imagined them up in my own mind, lol. i know that everyone has their own eyes in any situation as well, so even a first account of something, someone trying to being real, is just a matter of perspective. but that's how i treat it so i don't get too attached to anyone/anything. like... i also know that anyone here could be in disguise, getting their laughs. and i'm pretty sure i've fallen for their joke once or twice. so i just don't PM or anything very much anymore, doesn't seem worth it to me anymore, sadly. though i met 2 ppl IRL from EP and 1 from SW, my hopes for meeting a real friend/partner here now have fully diminished.

@lovelywarpedlemon I suppose it depends on what our expectations are. I don’t really have any, other than honesty, and that is usually the first to be lost.
I’m wiser than I used to be, but I still have faith in people being real, or wanting to. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, there would be no point for me

@Jenny1234 would you say everything and everyone is as they seem? I have my doubts about a few

@SlippingAway I think 90% is a little high, but if it’s true, that’s depressing 😞

@Ghostinthemachine I think you'll find it to be accurate and I agree it's depressing

@SlippingAway right now I’m probably running at 60/40 for the realsies. But it’s early yet…

@ChasdeiAdonai If I needed an alt account to check up on someone, that would be a red flag right there

@SW-User I take my time knowing people here before I can open up to them, and even then it’s limited. Very rare are those I fully trust, but it’s happened

@Jessmari through conversation, don’t you find you get an impression of who someone is, their beliefs and opinions, which help to paint a picture of who they are, or is the irrelevant to you?

@Ghostinthemachine Sure, but it's not up to me to tell them how they should present themselves. As long as they aren't try to convince me to do something like give information or buy something then I don't care. I may even indulge in the fantasy they create from time to time.

@Jessmari sounds like you’ve got it figured out.
I can’t help but be invested in people once I get to know them, either here or offline. Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes it bites me

@TheOneyouwerewarnedabout if you can’t trust anyone, then what’s the point of being here? Shits and giggles?

exactly

@Ghostinthemachine of course that's why I said "Too" before the good

@Justmeraeagain “Too” good is often a sign something is bad
I’ll take a simple “good”

@Ghostinthemachine agree

@DunningKruger I used to all as well, but being misled a couple of times has made me more cautious

@SW-User can’t go wrong with turtles. They must be doing something right, living so long yet moving so slow

@Lilymoon ya have to be to survive on here

And what conclusions have you come to?

@Ghostinthemachine yes! [media=https://youtu.be/IwOfCgkyEj0]

@checkoutanytime a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Yes !@Ghostinthemachine

@sspec say no more, and feel free to wander the posts to find your smiles and reflections

@Ghostinthemachine tks. I knew you wud understand. Post more of the kinds.

@sspec when inspiration strikes, I will

@DDonde interesting. Once away from here, it becomes a reality check

@Ghostinthemachine There was someone I used to talk to everyday outside of here. I even video chatted with them. It's hard to say it's pretend when you're looking at her face in real time.

@DDonde that’s true. I think we edit and filter what we choose to believe on here, based on the evidence and our gut feelings

@empanadas you have photographic evidence, so I should believe it, like all photos here