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Comment by Cidan | Hacker News Reader

I think a lot of people miss the point of this posting -- it doesn't matter if it's real or if it's fake, but rather it's an evolution of artistic expression. Someone is using Craigslist as an entirely new medium for writing a bit of poetry or short story. The potential for this type of work to reach people is huge, and that to me is the most exciting part of it all.

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Of course it matters. If it's real, it's a strange, perhaps touching story. If it's made-up, it's a trite and rather artless attempt to yank at your heartstrings. Being coy about whether something is a true account, fictionalized or outright fiction is a cheap way to avoid criticism of both one's reportage and art.

Jack Shafer wrote about this sort of thing regarding a David Sedaris flap a few years ago:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/20...

> If it's made-up, it's a trite and rather artless attempt to yank at your heartstrings.

Should we consider all fiction works in this way?

If it's a trite and artless attempt to yank at your heartstrings, sure. The difference is, fiction declares itself as fiction so you can judge it on its merits as such. This thing would not get a single repost nor an iota of internet attention if it announced itself as fiction. Comparisons to Murakami notwithstanding, it's terrible fiction.

Does it always "declare itself"? What about Wells' War Of The Worlds?

I enjoyed the Coen brothers tweaking of this convention with their fake "The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred" declaration.

But they caused the death of that Japanese woman that went looking for the money.

Perhaps it matters to YOU whether it's real or not. But people are different.

Presenting made up stories as authentic is by no means a new idea. To say it's an "evolution of artistic expression" is to give this piece and its author far too much credit. You're right, it does not matter if it is real or fake, but it absolutely matters if it is believable. You and I have read and believed many made up stories in our lifetime. Our instinct is to believe what we read. There could not have been a greater failure on the writer's part than to present us a piece that forces us to question its authenticity. The writer should give us no choice but to believe. Regardless of if the piece is true or not.

Your comment is exactly what Cidan is criticising. The authenticity of the story is not interesting but instead how an old platform was used in a novel way.

Do you actually believe that this is the first time that someone has posted a made up story to Missed Connections? I'm sure people have been posting made up stories since day 1. Made up stories on the internet are not novel. I'm sorry. Publishing fake stories has been around since publication. I guess you didn't actually read what I wrote. While the authenticity is not important, the believability of any piece of writing is paramount. Especially when that piece is trying to be passed as authentic. You would think that would go without saying.

A few months ago, Reddit's /r/tifu was crawling with creative writing students, shoveling their slop all over it under the guise of "true stories".

(Nowadays it's all ridiculous sex stories, which somehow ends up being an improvement.)

It ties in with the classic "For sale: baby shoes, never worn"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_sale:_baby_shoes,_never_wo...

But it isn't novel, either; using Craigslist for this is a well-known writing exercise. See for example http://www.thelmagazine.com/2010/10/ships-that-pass-craigsli...

Yes, real or fake, it's a great story, superbly told; I'd like to think it's real because it's more beautiful and more touching that way.

One sentence I find very profound is this: the prospect of suicide was suddenly less appealing than the prospect of discovering what had happened in that restaurant.

The other takeaway is this: do not go to the bathroom. Do not leave. Do not take your eyes off the object of your interest for one second, or she might leave and you'll never see her again.

> other takeaway is this: do not go to the bathroom. Do not leave. Do not take your eyes off the object of your interest for one second, or she might leave and you'll never see her again.

If the object of your interest wants to leave, I'm not sure imposing yourself on it is the best way to keep it around.

I've gotta say, whether taken literally or metaphorically this sounds a little creepy. On the literal level, clinging to someone constantly so they can't get away is likely to come across as somewhere between desperate and terrifying. And metaphorically, this level of focus can be fantastic in the short term, but taken too far it's a recipe for burnout and a hollow, fragile life.

Long-form graffiti :)

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