Advice Columns

[laurenj]

Jul 16, 2017 13:37:30 GMT -4 smockery said:

Jul 14, 2017 20:29:04 GMT -4 eclair said:

The commentors at Captain Awkward considered that the husband wrote the letter, since the LW used such disparaging language towards herself. I also hope it isn't real.

Someone in the comments on Reddit also wondered at the self-loathing descriptions of the LW.

I had to click on it after reading these posts and I absolutely agree. IF that letter is real, it definitely came from the husband. No one would describe themselves in such unflattering terms, I don't care how low the self esteem. If you're writing anonymously and no one knows what you look like or what your life is like, no way would you paint a portrait as terrible as that.

And the crack about the mother "not letting her body go" and the husband still being "fit"? Yeah, that's him writing.

ETA: kept reading and it's a little too effusive about the mother, so I guess it could be her too. The letter was way over the top though. I have trouble understanding why anyone would bother making up fake shit to send to an advice columnist, but this one has major fake potential. At best, it's a real story with a whole lot of embellishment and bullshit sprinkled.

HOWEVER, the fact that Captain Awkward used a Murder She Wrote gif to start her reply absolutely made my day!

[Shalamar]

That's one of the nice things about Reddit Relationships thread--anytime I question my life choices and relationships, I can read a few entries there and feel entirely justified that my baggage is at least carry-on sized and completely manageable.

I always love it when someone posts in Reddit Relationships and is torn a new one. Example from the weekend: a male supervisor got very chummy with a female employee. Supervisor found out that Employee had a boyfriend and got kind of pissed off. Supervisor starts getting inappropriate with Employee - such as offering to drive her to an office party and being very obviously hurt and angry when she says she'd rather go with her boyfriend. Employee leaves party "early" (around midnight), and Supervisor is convinced that Boyfriend made her do it. Supervisor is "concerned that Employee is in an abusive relationship" and texts her after the party to "see if she's okay". Employee doesn't respond - because, obvs, Boyfriend is holding her hostage, or something. Employee tells Supervisor on Monday to keep their relationship professional. Supervisor gets even more pissed off, because what did he do wrong other than showing concern for a friend, right?

[Mutagen]

Jul 17, 2017 12:28:43 GMT -4 Shalamar said:

That's one of the nice things about Reddit Relationships thread--anytime I question my life choices and relationships, I can read a few entries there and feel entirely justified that my baggage is at least carry-on sized and completely manageable.

I always love it when someone posts in Reddit Relationships and is torn a new one. Example from the weekend: a male supervisor got very chummy with a female employee. Supervisor found out that Employee had a boyfriend and got kind of pissed off. Supervisor starts getting inappropriate with Employee - such as offering to drive her to an office party and being very obviously hurt and angry when she says she'd rather go with her boyfriend. Employee leaves party "early" (around midnight), and Supervisor is convinced that Boyfriend made her do it. Supervisor is "concerned that Employee is in an abusive relationship" and texts her after the party to "see if she's okay". Employee doesn't respond - because, obvs, Boyfriend is holding her hostage, or something. Employee tells Supervisor on Monday to keep their relationship professional. Supervisor gets even more pissed off, because what did he do wrong other than showing concern for a friend, right?

My favorite was the one where OP was a guy whose pushy jerk mother was demanding to be present when OP's wife gave birth to their child. OP was all, "how can I get my wife to understand my mom has a right to be there? Why is she getting so upset and threatening to leave me?" I suspect it might have been a troll, but it was still kind of amazing to watch that one go up to 600 comments and *every single one* unloaded on that guy.

[MrsOldManBalls]

Jul 17, 2017 12:37:36 GMT -4 Mutagen said:

Jul 17, 2017 12:28:43 GMT -4 Shalamar said:

I always love it when someone posts in Reddit Relationships and is torn a new one. Example from the weekend: a male supervisor got very chummy with a female employee. Supervisor found out that Employee had a boyfriend and got kind of pissed off. Supervisor starts getting inappropriate with Employee - such as offering to drive her to an office party and being very obviously hurt and angry when she says she'd rather go with her boyfriend. Employee leaves party "early" (around midnight), and Supervisor is convinced that Boyfriend made her do it. Supervisor is "concerned that Employee is in an abusive relationship" and texts her after the party to "see if she's okay". Employee doesn't respond - because, obvs, Boyfriend is holding her hostage, or something. Employee tells Supervisor on Monday to keep their relationship professional. Supervisor gets even more pissed off, because what did he do wrong other than showing concern for a friend, right?

My favorite was the one where OP was a guy whose pushy jerk mother was demanding to be present when OP's wife gave birth to their child. OP was all, "how can I get my wife to understand my mom has a right to be there? Why is she getting so upset and threatening to leave me?" I suspect it might have been a troll, but it was still kind of amazing to watch that one go up to 600 comments and *every single one* unloaded on that guy.

I remember reading that! I was hoping that someone from HR would weigh in and let the Supervisor know what he was in for from Corporate Legal should he continue to be "concerned" about the Employee against her wishes.

[eclair]

Back to Ask A manager, did-my-intern-frame-my-coworker-for-credit-card-theft? Because it sure looks like coworker, LW's friend, a nice person, and active in her church, unquestionably stole the intern's jacket with her wallet and credit cards and went on an Amazon spending spree. But could the intern have framed the coworker?

The commentariot are having fun with someone who is above the intern at work stealing at least a jacket from her, and from letter writer's defense of thieving coworker "she is active in her church". Over 1,000 comments already.

[Laira]

I think the LW was the jacket thief and is trying out a defense strategy.[/cynical old bitch]

[boxofrocks]

I've noticed that AAM's clickbait has gone down a notch in the past few months. The scandalous stories are like the stolen jacket letter--highly unusual for a work setting, but not duck club or "My coworker was shoved in front of a moving car by another coworker who saw a bird and retroactively claimed to be bird-phobic" madness.

[Deleted]

Dear Prudie had one last week from a LW who asked if she should let her pregnant 21-year-old mom-of-one and college student co-worker know that abortion is an option. I think she knows. I think Prudie told her something that got the commenters going (again) about how NuPru has never worked in a real office. Or that might have been the response to her answer to the lady with SAD.

[Gigiree]

NuPru lacks life experience to be a really great advice columnist. It's like going to a med student to ask about a suspicious mole.

[chonies]

Oct 12, 2017 23:36:24 GMT -4 Gigiree said:

NuPru lacks life experience to be a really great advice columnist. It's like going to a med student to ask about a suspicious mole.

I agree--I generally like Mallory's writing style, but she doesn't even seem to have the capital to think, "hmm...I'm punching above my weight on this question, maybe I should outsource." Ann and Abby did that, Dan Savage does that, etc. And seriously, a lot of the questions she gets are really tricky to navigate because they touch on legal stuff.