I met someone here on Lush and was completely convinced that I was speaking with a real person whose profile was truthful and honest. We had, I thought, a sincere friendship with a genuine intimacy. It took me nine (9!) solid months of almost daily conversations to discover that the person was a fake.
What's the longest you've been fooled by a faker here?
It doesn't happen to me here much, because I reverse-image search everyone's pics whom I friend (or potentially friend), so I know who's using fake pics and who isn't. If someone has no pics, or uses pics they got off the net, I don't invest much in the friendship. Everyone who's socially active online should learn how to reverse-image search using multiple image engines, and also learn how to look for other clues of deception so they don't get taken in so often. I've been the senior-admin on another social site for over 5 years, and we screen members carefully so there aren't many fakes on our site, but most social networks are looking for numbers, not authenticity. So fakes abound. To quote a line from 'Casablanca': "Vultures! Vultures everywhere!"
I dare say that very few people, much less than 10%, use their real picture or name on Lush. For most that could be disastrous for their jobs, careers and family. And really, you can know a person's real name and real face, but that doesn't stop them from being a 'fake'.
I am Jack's cold sweat.
I am Jack's erection.
I am Jack's lush account.
A false identity is common on the social media but cracks appear when words turn to shame. Unfortunately there are those who fool only themselves when their lies come home to roost.
Everyone still thinks i'm a human girl and not a cat. *snickers* mew.
You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
As someone already stated, most people here don't use their real pictures as their avatars and many that do, don't show you enough of themselves to be identified. Not sure why it is even a big deal. Of course people are going to want some sort of privacy, especially on a site like this. And yes, my avatar is not me and never will be me. I just picked it because I liked the guys clothing style. I may switch it out in the future to some other image that may represent something I like or trait in my personality.
However, just because my avatar is not me, that doesn't mean you cant get to know the real me. The real me is not a picture, it is my personality and interests. The things I say and express here, are the real me. In fact, if we become friends, you may get to know more about me than people who know me in person, because the anonymity allows me to be more open about my real thoughts and feelings. Not to say, I wouldn't ever consider sharing my real picture with an online friend if that was important to them. I have before and I would again, but I would have to feel a connection and certainly trust them, especially since I probably tell them more than some of my in person friends.
In our daily lives, where people see your real face, I am sure most of us wear some type of virtual mask, so to speak, at least to those who are not our family or friends. So seeing the real face, doesn't mean they know the real you either.
On Lush, my mask is my avatar. The rest is me.
In my in-person life, my face is real, but the rest is some sort of mask of various degrees. Many people get to know a little about me, but I am guarded to only let a select few to get to know a lot about the real me.
But to answer the original question, I was fooled once in talking to what I thought was a girl and it turned out to be a guy. Although I don't mind people using fake pictures, I do like to know your gender and personality is not fake.
*Note - This was slightly edited for a typo and one line slightly altered for clarity*
I was once deceived about a person's gender for 7 years.
this has happened to me. but not in the way stated by the OP. last year i was deceived by someone with multiple profiles. this depraved individual friended me as a male...but chatted me up in the rooms as a female. due to a series of mishaps, i was able to put the puzzle together. luckily, this was not someone that i had invested time in, so i didn't feel the hurt that you did.
there are ppl here who are playing a VERY dangerous game. they use the excuse that this is just a 'fantasy' in order to manipulate the hearts and minds of trusting individuals. i have NO problem with ppl using fake avatars, or not posting pictures of themselves. i TOTALLY understand that. what i DO have a problem with are ppl who create fake identities.
porgy87, i'm sorry that this happened to you. it hurts when you discover that someone you cared for is basically a figment of your imagination. it causes you to question every interaction that you've had and you become mistrusting of future encounters.
tread carefully friends.
Such is the nature of online friendships. I'm still not sure what the OP meant about being fooled. I just assume most people are not using their real names and identities at first. Later if things progress maybe we'll share information that is factual. Was there nothing real at all about the person? I'm assuming it wasn't a robot, just that the information they gave you was false. It's sad but it happens a lot. I know I am way too trusting at times. I do have actual photos of myself that I show on my profile. Sadly, I have removed some over time. Trusting someone in a strictly online relationship is always going to be fraught with difficulties. There are times that I thought it wasn't worth trying to make friends that way. I'm not a quitter though, so I kept at it and have found some real friends here. Sorry to say though that the path to getting there is littered with fake and sometimes mean and cruel people. In the meantime, I'll always be an optimist and hope that the good people outweigh the bad.
Sad to say people do not understand that while lush is a fantasy world it does maintain some reality and the reality being we are caring human beings behind the screen.
I guess I've been really lucky. I've now met 5 women from Lush and all have been the real thing. Most of them had almost no pics online but were essentially what and who they said they were.
No doubt I've probably been fooled by some I haven't met but I'll probably never know. Since I'm not 'looking for love' here there really isn't much chance of getting my feelings hurt.
My only pic on here is my avatar but it's really me. If you find the picture somewhere else they stole it from me not me from them. LOL
Great minds think alike but dirty minds work together.... ;)