Re: Duped.

The only way I pay for goods online is using my credit card.

In my opinion, credit cards are one of the greatest ideas we've had. Provided we are sensible and refuse to buy anything we cannot afford, the possession and use of a credit card will cost nothing, and yet we are provided with financial protection should we not receive the goods we pay for.

Re: Duped.

Pumicestone
If you go to Scotland be aware that the men wear skirts (called kilts) . The only sport in Scotland is trying to find out if they were pants underneath or not without getting a punch to the head.
Doing that for a day and you will soon get bored and want to visit a civilised country instead ,England. here we eat proper food not strange things called haggis.
You can't beat a good roast beef and Yorkshire pudding downed wth a pint of beer, none of this whisky stuff.

They talk funny as well, not like wot we does

Re: Duped.

The fact that this is the internet and people are anonymous does not mean that people 'not being themselves' or 'not being genuine' is exclusive to this medium. On the contrary I have met people in real life who are false.

A man called Andreas ******** turned up in the village in which I lived with my husband in the 70's. He was supposedly looking to buy a property and meanwhile rented a cottage.
He was very much 'the country gentlemen' well spoken,well dressed and good company. He was we were told related to the Norwegian royal family .
He ran up bills all over the place, the pub/shops/wine merchant and after a few months disappeared without paying any of his debts . I guess he spent his life that way.

As a 'listener' I came across a number of callers who proved not to have 'genuine stories' . One person had a small daughter supposedly been killed on the road outside their house and she went into great deatail about the death which was very harrowing and gave me many sleepless nights . Alarm bells rang when harrowing events continued the next one being finding a neighbour dead in horrific gory circumstances . And on it went, a visit was arranged by one of our 'leaders' and help found for the person.

Those who invent stories can be con men like Andreas who don't deserve our help or people like the woman I mentioned who have some kind of problem from personality disorders to experiencing the effects of PTSD.

It doesn't take long for people who post on a website to reveal who they really are from their posts, it is not possible to keep up a pretence indefinitely .
Until that time comes (or they disappear) we should be fair and extend the same courtesy of accepting them as was extended to us when we joined the site.

Re: Duped.

I disagree that you can soon get to know the real personality of someone you have only met on-line. I had been acquainted with some posters for a few years before I eventually met them in real life. To say I was shocked was an understatement, they were totally different to the nice people they had appeared to be, ghastly in fact! Never trust anyone until you have got to know them well in person, is my advice.

Re: Duped.

My second wasband, I met in real life, he was very kind, generous and caring.
He turned out to be a compulsive liar with no sense of responsibility or conscience.
Everyone who knew him socially thought he was lovely, those who worked with him and family saw his other side.
I don't think you can judge anyone unless you what goes on in their heads, which is impossible!

Re: Duped.

Perhaps you are unable to do this Tarantula I believe some of us can get a glimps of the real person from their posts , that doesn't mean we know them fully.

Re: Duped.

Tessa unfortunately in 'real life' where men are concerned we can sometimes be blinded by our hormones and 'see what we want to see'
I think you never really know a person until you live with them then it is only 90%, some part of them remains hidden to all including the man himself .

Re: Duped.

I agree with Tara that you really don't know someone until you meet them. Hell, as you say, you can even live with someone for years and not really know what makes them tick.

But you can get a pretty good idea of their basic personality traits online from the way they post; their sense of humour (or lack of), their kindness, their friendliness, socialbility, stubbornness, sense of fun etc.

That's not quite the same thing though.

Re: Duped.

Ruthio I was editing my post while you were posting, see also my reply to Tessa (post 27).

Re: Duped.

I know you were, I looked back and saw!
That's why I edited my post too, to include "as you say"