Oberon, I'd be willing to bet that you are right, each of us, or most of us anyway have had some sort or friendship go south. I know that I have ( not scared anymore to admit it either). In any case though, this is, as we all know, the internet. Some of us, and I'd be willing to bet, very few, do try to keep our personalities intact. Anyone that knows me, and I mean REALLY knows me, knows that this is me. (There are even a couple around PERB that know this to be true). Even though personally I have nothing to hide (I could really care less who knew what about me), the friendships I have made here, however few are special. Do I expect to get burned? Possibly! I've been chatting on the internet far too long to know that SOME online friends aren't really friends at all. Do I expect to be burned by someone I've actually met on the internet and spent time with? No! Chances are pretty good that before you ever agree to meet though, they will burn you in a BIG WAY, someone you have a pretty good idea of what they are about too. SP's not excluded here. Yes, it works both ways!
To outright deceive someone from the onset is beyond my comprehension! What SG has done, in my view is just plain wrong. Yeh, I'm just a simple country hick that may not know better. Trust to me is a big thing. Perhaps the single most important factor in forming any type of friendship or relationship. To abuse someone’s trust is an unforgivable mistake to which I have first hand knowledge of. I stated in another thread that I once betrayed someone that meant a great deal to me. The difference here being that I didn’t fully understand the consequences of what could happen at the time. What I had said to someone else, in my view wasn't damning at all, (Obviously I was wrong). The things that went on here the way I understand were completely clear to everyone involved. VL answered an email form a supposed client stating her position on the matter. The “client” persisted. Had the balls even to befriend VL without her knowledge that he was the writer of the email. Never mind VL, let’s not forget Julia in all of this. He disguised himself as a genuine person that actually cared, ok, maybe not cared, but was interested in these ladies. That’s what gets me the most, why lie? If you’re searching for information for a book or whatever else, I’m sure there would be willing contributors out there somewhere. One doesn’t need to go after the ladies that are outgoing and willing to help us hobbyists further enjoy our experiences.