Razing Ruth's niece adopted by same sex couple

[spragger]

I don't think you are off track at all.

I wouldn't really mind if Ruth were just "embellishing." It would satisfy me if she were the daughter of an ATI family who had been kicked out under somewhat dramatic circumstances and was now estranged from them, who also was in dire need of financial assistance. What would disturb me is if she were just some "regular" person who was making all this stuff up, and was not from an ATI family at all. Of course, I am not financially or emotionally invested at all, so I'm sure there are followers out there who would be hurt even if she had made up some of the more heart-wrenching details of her story.

I see nothing wrong with asking people for money if you actually need it, for whatever reason, so if she really is poor, I guess that's why I would say it doesn't matter if the details and drama are true. However, if I were donating, I would want to know how much money she was getting. At what point would she say, thank you so much, I have totally gotten enough money to cover my bills this month, or whatever. She does acknowledge that people have made donations, but she never says, "Wow, I got over $600 this month!"

[LucySnowe]

Ruth's latest blog post responds to this thread:

http://razingruth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/here-we-go-again.html

[apple1]

Ruth's latest blog post responds to this thread:

http://razingruth.blogspot.co.uk/2012/0 ... again.html

:roll:

[Daenerys]

:roll:

+1

It's not unreasonable for people to speculate and ask questions about a blogger who chooses to withhold their identity.

[spragger]

+1

It's not unreasonable for people to speculate and ask questions about a blogger who chooses to withhold their identity.

cosign! I also think the people on this thread are doing a fair job on keeping any hateful comments or trolls at bay. There's nothing wrong with having an intelligent discussion or amicable debate. Why do people fear logic or other people's opinions?

[deelaem]

+1

It's not unreasonable for people to speculate and ask questions about a blogger who chooses to withhold their identity.

I don't think she was saying it was unreasonable. That post was mostly just re-asserting her position of anonymity. I think the small amount of frustration in her words is to be expected; anyone whose credibility is being questioned would feel that way. And she's right, you can take or leave her blog, donate or not donate. I'm not necessarily saying her blog is "fact" - there's no way to tell that. I just think she's being reasonable in her response.

[keeperrox]

+1

It's not unreasonable for people to speculate and ask questions about a blogger who chooses to withhold their identity.

Um, that's exactly what she's saying. She understands that people are going to be skeptical and question things, she's just sick of being called a liar outright. Which I totally get.

As for the "perfectly timed" comments above, I'm not sure I can agree with that. If you believe her, then she started the blog at the suggestion of her therapist. It's not her daily journal, but a way for her to get out her feelings about ATI. It also explains how she can post only something like 11 times in one year. It's not like there is a new epic saga every week.

All the said, it doesn't matter to me if people believe her or not, as long as she continues to write. For those of you who are hurt because she didn't thank you for a donation, don't donate to strangers next time. Even though I do mostly believe her, I certainly wouldn't give her any money, especially if I were expecting something in return.

[valsa]

All the said, it doesn't matter to me if people believe her or not, as long as she continues to write. For those of you who are hurt because she didn't thank you for a donation, don't donate to strangers next time. Even though I do mostly believe her, I certainly wouldn't give her any money, especially if I were expecting something in return.

I definitely wouldn't donate to a stranger over the internet if I expected something in return. Hell, I don't even think those of us who donated to the Heifer charity thing on FJ this Christmas ever even found out what the donations went towards. Plank out of thine own eye, and all that jazz.

[Alecto]

I definitely wouldn't donate to a stranger over the internet if I expected something in return. Hell, I don't even think those of us who donated to the Heifer charity thing on FJ this Christmas ever even found out what the donations went towards. Plank out of thine own eye, and all that jazz.

They were to Heifer? We set some goals along the lines of their costs for various programs, but in the end it all went to poverty relief.

[valsa]

They were to Heifer? We set some goals along the lines of their costs for various programs, but in the end it all went to poverty relief.

Yes, I realize that. However, there was a lot of talk in the donation thread about what the money was going to be applied to (specifically, what animals it was going to buy and whether it was going to be used for one of the multi-animal bundles (such as the Joy To The World package or one of their "baskets")) and we never got an answer to that. If FJ, a board run by mature, intelligent adults, cannot give a satisfactory response to donations, I'm not holding my breath that a young woman who was raised in ATI and runs a simple personal blog can satisfy everyone either.

[Guest Anonymous]

I noticed that her blog address ends in "UK". Does that mean that Ruth is somewhere in the United Kingdom, or is she simply using a United Kingdom-based hoster for her blog?

[Deleted03]

I noticed that her blog address ends in "UK". Does that mean that Ruth is somewhere in the United Kingdom, or is she simply using a United Kingdom-based hoster for her blog?

maybe I'm wrong but I think the poster has accessed her blog through blogspot uk because I don't have the extension on my browser....

[Sola]

I noticed that her blog address ends in "UK". Does that mean that Ruth is somewhere in the United Kingdom, or is she simply using a United Kingdom-based hoster for her blog?

No, blogger automatically changes it for us. Even Zsu Zsu's blog ends in a .UK for me.

[alysee]

No, blogger automatically changes it for us. Even Zsu Zsu's blog ends in a .UK for me.

And in Canada they change it to .ca for us.

[Austin]

Ruth can be sick of being "called a liar" all day long, but it's the trade-off she has to make to be anonymous. No one forced her to share all of this stuff publically. I don't really care that much one way or another if Ruth is "real", and I don't really know why it bothers people so much, I guess. If you want to believe her, believe her. If you want to donate, donate. Just don't come crying if you found out later than an anonymous person on the internet took you for a ride. When I donate to someone anonymous (and I have), I don't expect anything in return.

I find this post kind of annoying, to be honest. It's like a ploy for more sympathy ("look how some people still don't BELIEVE me") and if anything, I think it makes her less credible, not more. But whatevs. . .

[BelieveinScience]

Ruth can be sick of being "called a liar" all day long, but it's the trade-off she has to make to be anonymous. No one forced her to share all of this stuff publically. I don't really care that much one way or another if Ruth is "real", and I don't really know why it bothers people so much, I guess. If you want to believe her, believe her. If you want to donate, donate. Just don't come crying if you found out later than an anonymous person on the internet took you for a ride. When I donate to someone anonymous (and I have), I don't expect anything in return.

I find this post kind of annoying, to be honest. It's like a ploy for more sympathy ("look how some people still don't BELIEVE me") and if anything, I think it makes her less credible, not more. But whatevs. . .

Agree. I don't know many people who go out of their way to try to prove or whine about how no one believes them if they're telling the truth.

[keeperrox]

Ruth can be sick of being "called a liar" all day long, but it's the trade-off she has to make to be anonymous. No one forced her to share all of this stuff publically. I don't really care that much one way or another if Ruth is "real", and I don't really know why it bothers people so much, I guess. If you want to believe her, believe her. If you want to donate, donate. Just don't come crying if you found out later than an anonymous person on the internet took you for a ride. When I donate to someone anonymous (and I have), I don't expect anything in return.

To a large extent, this is exactly how I feel. I don't care if other people believe Ruth. However, there is a large jump from people saying, "Be careful of what you read on the internet," to "RUTH IS A LYING LIAR WHO LIES!!!!!!1!!111!! and if you believe her then you're an idiot," (no, no one has actually said this, but that's certainly the impression I've been getting lately). I've not seen one iota of proof that what she's said is untrue other than people's "feelings" (which I largely don't agree with). In that same vein, she hasn't offered any proof that she's real other than "first hand" knowledge of how ATI works, which she could have gleaned off of readings and research into the subject. Either way, it makes for a good story, and if she's real, then I wish her (and Rachel and all her other siblings living at home) the best. If she's fake, then at least I've been entertained along the way.

[spragger]

I don't care if other people believe Ruth. However, there is a large jump from people saying, "Be careful of what you read on the internet," to "RUTH IS A LYING LIAR WHO LIES!!!!!!1!!111!! and if you believe her then you're an idiot," (no, no one has actually said this, but that's certainly the impression I've been getting lately).

Exactly. There are so few people who have even said anything close to that. There have been a few trolls on her blog. Everybody else is just expressing a normal amount of skepticism, or saying they don't believe her and shrugging it off. But the people commenting on her blog make personal attacks and sound about as smart as all the fundies who start attacking people who disagree with them. It's not as if Ruth is going to fall over and die if people on the internet say maybe she isn't real.

[keeperrox]

It's not as if Ruth is going to fall over and die if people on the internet say maybe she isn't real.

[ceg045]

Exactly. There are so few people who have even said anything close to that. There have been a few trolls on her blog. Everybody else is just expressing a normal amount of skepticism, or saying they don't believe her and shrugging it off. But the people commenting on her blog make personal attacks and sound about as smart as all the fundies who start attacking people who disagree with them. It's not as if Ruth is going to fall over and die if people on the internet say maybe she isn't real.

+1

[spragger]

:whistle: :whistle:

[spragger]

The mention of Kaycee Nicole got me thinking of that whole business again and all the similaries. Just reading this thread, it's crazy how similar the comments are.

metafilter.com/comments.mefi/7819

That thread is actually just entertaining to read simply because it's outdated.

One poster's description of trolling (before they called it trolling):

ETA: Somebody further down the thread does talk about "trolling." Maybe "alts" weren't so rampant then?

[sassyNoz47]

wow thats what she took from this post? She was a liar, most comments were positive in her favor maybe she needs to read the entire thing instead of twisting words around.

I agree posting it on her blog is like a cry for attention if she wanted to talk about this, she's a member here she should of posted here.

I don't know if she's real or not I had thought so but maybe not . Regardless her "story" is entertaining. One thing that I always wondered about was her dad commenting. Why would he be on-line I didn't think they had a computer /internet? Would he take the time to respond to posts wouldn't he rather ignore them? Some times I wonder if she posts them herself to raise the drama level.

[Deleted04]

wasn't it about last year when someone in her family "outed" her? They created a blog that was only up for a day or two, then it was taken down. Several people from FJ said they had seen the blog, but refused to tell who she was. Ruth said people had emailed her about the blog. Now I'm starting to doubt whether any of this actually happened, because I tried searching all the internet archives and what not, and couldn't find anything.

[Maul the Koala]

wasn't it about last year when someone in her family "outed" her? They created a blog that was only up for a day or two, then it was taken down. Several people from FJ said they had seen the blog, but refused to tell who she was. Ruth said people had emailed her about the blog. Now I'm starting to doubt whether any of this actually happened, because I tried searching all the internet archives and what not, and couldn't find anything.

Apparently if you had Google Alerts enabled you got Ruth's name. A couple people on here mentioned it.