As the Blog Turns*

I was just saying that I had gotten into reading Plain Layne. Her site has been down and showing some weird Polish server error message for almost a week, so I googled to see if she mysteriously changed locales and took the in-crowd with her, leaving us casuals in the dust.

Turns out there's all sorts of speculation that she doesn't actually exist. That she is a fictional construct, possibly written by a male. And apparently lots of people have thought that, mainly based on her refusal to meet up with any other MN bloggers or even have any contact beyond email or the rare IM.

Anyway if you have nothing to do and would like to delve into a total blog soap opera, start with "The Perils of Plain Layne" and click around from there. There's even an orkut group. I'm sucked into the mystery even more than I was sucked into the drama of the blog. And it's got a local connection!

Joshua has the bulk of the speculating and sleuthing and creative googling where the juiciest data is finally revealed. David Grenier also has an in-depth analysis.

It seems the partial answer is that whoever is writing "Layne" also wrote a blog several years ago under the name "Acanit." The writing styles and life situations are way too similar to be a mere coincidence. "Acanit" was last known to be moving to St. Paul, and then suddenly she disappeared. Shortly after, "Layne" appeared on the scene. There is also a connection, though not solidly defined, between a web startup company "Layne" used to work for and said company providing webhosting for both "Layne" and "Acanit."

Or something like that. I haven't been reading long enough to have her personal history down pat.

All I can think about as I keep reading through it all is that this is So. Fucked. Up. To carry out this whole scheme. Although, to call it a scheme makes it sound more dastardly than it is. Nobody was really hurt or taken for anything. Other than lots of time spent reading and maybe some emotional investment on the part of a more than a few. To quote Smokey, "Quit playing with my emotions!" Whoever is behind this is an amazing writer and storyteller. And clearly pathological. I'm amazed by it all.

Stay tuned....