How lenient should we be to lies?

[temporal1]

I've seen old MaxPC posts and recent JohnL posts, they type and act so differently it has to be different people. Maybe it's the same person but they are putting on such a convincing act it might as well be a different person

Wife: A few of the jokes are actually the exact same ones. That said, he has a lot of things of value to share and starts interesting topics at times. It’s a bit distracting because of the deception, although I don’t know that it’s for nefarious purposes.

I’m about 70% sure that Max PC and John L are the same person. I have no idea what the purpose would be of all the fiction, but I agree with you that it seems kind of harmless other than the fact that it makes anything they have written pretty much non-serious. Why someone would waste their time like this, I have no idea.

Involving a dire contact from a “grandson” to report a death in the family is beyond harmless (in my view).
Robert was sincerely bothered by the reported loss. i’m sad about that.

i trust mods to see and oversee.
i have memories from MD before Robert set so many filters, mods+members “had ways” of recognizing trouble and dealing with it.
i didn’t. i enjoyed reading as it unfolded. i think i thought of them as forum sleuths.

i admit noticing a coincidence about max’s death followed by JL. esp in Robert’s fav thread, “i think it is funny”.
with such a similar comedic theme. coincidences happen.

i wouldn’t have questioned further. esp because Robert insisted “no questioning!” it’s so sad.

[JohnL]

score one for consistency
69 in 2025
70 in 2026
looks like my math was pretty close to accurate.

You have good math skills.

I’m about 70% sure that Max PC and John L are the same person. I have no idea what the purpose would be of all the fiction, but I agree with you that it seems kind of harmless other than the fact that it makes anything they have written pretty much non-serious. Why someone would waste their time like this, I have no idea.

Is this still part of that Mennonite game? I’m not getting the joke or whatever. Is this y’all’s way of welcoming someone who isn’t Mennonite? We’ll kid around with new folks but we usually let them know we’re just kidding.

[Anthony]

score one for consistency
69 in 2025
70 in 2026
looks like my math was pretty close to accurate.

You have good math skills.

I’m about 70% sure that Max PC and John L are the same person. I have no idea what the purpose would be of all the fiction, but I agree with you that it seems kind of harmless other than the fact that it makes anything they have written pretty much non-serious. Why someone would waste their time like this, I have no idea.

Is this still part of that Mennonite game? I’m not getting the joke or whatever. Is this y’all’s way of welcoming someone who isn’t Mennonite? We’ll kid around with new folks but we usually let them know we’re just kidding.

I will admit this is a slightly suspicious response

[mike]

score one for consistency
69 in 2025
70 in 2026
looks like my math was pretty close to accurate.

You have good math skills.

I’m about 70% sure that Max PC and John L are the same person. I have no idea what the purpose would be of all the fiction, but I agree with you that it seems kind of harmless other than the fact that it makes anything they have written pretty much non-serious. Why someone would waste their time like this, I have no idea.

Is this still part of that Mennonite game? I’m not getting the joke or whatever. Is this y’all’s way of welcoming someone who isn’t Mennonite? We’ll kid around with new folks but we usually let them know we’re just kidding.

No, it has nothing to do with the "Mennonite game." In fact it is quite the opposite - the Mennonite game is typically thought of as the chatter where known persons discuss their connections to each other in the Mennonite culture. Nothing mysterious or weird about it. In contrast, this discussion represents numerous forum members questioning whether MaxPC actually was who he said he was, whether he actually passed away, and similarly questioning whether your persona corresponds to reality as well. And of course whether you could be the same person behind the MaxPC username.

If you don't like the speculation, you are free to set the matter straight in whatever way you choose. Otherwise the low-key drama will likely remain a recurring theme on the forum.

[JohnH]

If you don't like the speculation, you are free to set the matter straight in whatever way you choose. Otherwise the low-key drama will likely remain a recurring theme on the forum.

I do find the whole l'affaire Maxwell le rebaptisé to be one of the more amusing things I have witnessed on an Internt forum, particularly the dedication to the schtick; it's been going on for at least 12 years. I can't remember when the original MaxPC registered on MD, but it was sometime before I started actively using the forum in 2013 (and long after the old Xanga group.)

[Bootstrap]

One of the striking things about both of MaxPC and JohnL is that they spin out stories about themselves in the first place. I don't see any threads here where people talk about daily life in their Mennonite communities or in the various ministries and services that people do here.

One talked about Plain Catholics, another talks about small town Western Carolina, in both cases the stories don't seem to add up. And in both cases, these stories function largely to portray a particular image of MaxPC or JohnL. They don't read like events from their everyday lives, they don't struggle with any foibles in these stories, they come across as the people who know better, the people people come to for advice. The people who can tell you who in their communities have what flaws.

Plain Catholics supposedly shared a lot with Mennonites. I'm not sure what similarities small town Western Carolina has with Mennonites. I do find Facebook posts from friends in the area more interesting. Or reading old Foxfire books. Or listening to oral histories. Or talking to the residents of my mother's senior living center, from all over Kentucky. These stories are real. And they are not mostly about people working to convey a certain impression of themselves.

[mike]

If you don't like the speculation, you are free to set the matter straight in whatever way you choose. Otherwise the low-key drama will likely remain a recurring theme on the forum.

I do find the whole l'affaire Maxwell le rebaptisé to be one of the more amusing things I have witnessed on an Internt forum, particularly the dedication to the schtick; it's been going on for at least 12 years. I can't remember when the original MaxPC registered on MD, but it was sometime before I started actively using the forum in 2013 (and long after the old Xanga group.)

It's kinda like the actual bot that is a member here. A little funny, pretty much harmless, all that. I browsed the forum rules real quick last night and we don't have a rule about members not being allowed to present a false personality. You can present as a Van-Dwelling Reformed Catholic Amish Presbyterian Ecumenical Bishop and as long as you don't violate the forum rules, probably nothing will happen.

[eccentric_rambler]

It's kinda like the actual bot that is a member here. A little funny, pretty much harmless, all that. I browsed the forum rules real quick last night and we don't have a rule about members not being allowed to present a false personality. You can present as a Van-Dwelling Reformed Catholic Amish Presbyterian Ecumenical Bishop and as long as you don't violate the forum rules, probably nothing will happen.

Didn't Donny get kicked?

Don't tempt me with a good time. Now I'm seriously considering presenting as a Van-Dwelling Reformed Catholic Amish Presbyterian Ecumenical Bishop just to see what happens. Nah, never mind. I know I'd get bored.

[barnhart]

I don't know how bots work but do they get angry and insult people who disagree with them? That incident with Maxpc felt like a person to me.

[R7ehr]

While i find it plausible that JohnL and MaxPC could be the same person, I find it equally plausible that out of a million senior Appalacian men, two of them could quite simply be drawn to Mennonet.
And if we did take two religious senior men from rural Appalacia, who share a curiosity about conservative Anabaptists, and forums, it might follow that they are both sometimes forgetful, and share other characteristics and interests as well.
And the fact that MaxPC wanted to foster the illusion of a community of Plain Catholics, isn’t evidence that the next elderly person is MaxPC.

All that to say, I am not convinced either way. Either way.
I did take MaxPC more or less at face value on most of his stuff, and even though I didn’t and don’t believe the illusion that he wanted to propagate about Plain Catholics being a widespread phenomenon, he may have simply been exaggerating.