Renown is a funny thing Redux: New Bestest Friend Ever Syndrome

One of the odd side-effects of (a) being a regular contributor on certain SCA e-lists/forae and (b) having a website with information on it that people feel is useful or at least amusing is what I call the "You're My New Bestest Friend Ever!" Syndrome.

I don't mean the people who write to me with a question or a "Thanks, that was useful" or "I like what you wrote" comment. (Well, there was that one guy who wrote "Marry me!" because I explained to him how to attach a collar...) And I don't mean the few e-mail poetry writing tutorials I did with a couple of people. A fullblown case of YMNBFE Syndrome goes thusly.

Mary Newbie (and yes, so far it's definitely been women who succumb to The Syndrome) reads something I wrote and writes to me. I answer a question. Mary Newbie writes back. I answer her new question. Mary Newbie discovers I have Instant Messaging and "friends" me. Mary Newbie then proceeds to IM me every single night. I begin logging on to my IM invisibly because Mary Newbie leaves me IMs even if I'm NOT online in the hope of catching me. Eventually (elapsed time may vary) Mary Newbie falls off the face of the earth, no doubt having found a New Bestest Friend Ever.

Don't get me wrong, I've been lucky enough to "meet" some very cool people via the Internet. It's just a bit disconcerting to have "fans."