Life gets odder every day. It appears that Kaycee and her story were a big-ass hoax. I've spent the day feeling more than a bit stunned, to say the least. Still, if I'm going to be taken in, better it's something like this that inspired me to compassion than the latest get-rich-quick scheme. And I think this post has a good point. Whether or not Kaycee existed, there are plenty of people who are in the kind of position that was described in her weblog, and perhaps our compassionate efforts could be more usefully directed toward them.

It's kind of been a best-of-times, worst-of times scenario in that respect. On the one hand, it's one more Internet hoax that erodes the always-precarious web of trust that underlies online interactions. On the other, the outpouring of support for this girl was real, and I always find such signs ultimately encouraging about human nature, as illustrative of gullibility as they sometimes end up being. I'd rather err on the side of compassion if possible.

More info here and here, if you're interested. Also the original MetaFilter detective thread.