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clorophilla
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I want to add my point of view. I give mother-to-mother support on a voluntary basis in a non-lucrative organization, and often we are contacted via mail or phone. Very rarely, we had some fake person with annoyed our volunteers with apparently very realistic situation but becoming more and more complicated etc etc.
It could be frustrating, yet my opinion is: for me, it's OK anyone that ask my support, real or fake. The fakes are a good way to take exercise about empathy, active listening, compassion, updating in the issues of our matter. Why not? Our energy, expecially if it's given with a good attitude, is never a waste of time. May be some year later we'll meet a REAL people who need the same kind of help, and we just will be ready, having had practice with the "fake" guy 
This could apply even to a "entertaining" site like this: offering empathy, giving help with a good mood and willingly, it's always a balm for our soul/spirit/mind, regardless of the genuineness of the request.
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Normal
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Interesting info. Thank goodness, ThinkDrawers are mostly exactly who they appear to be. We can enjoy each other's narky little quirks and share a gentle spirit of adventure as we navigate life's potholes and speedbumps.
Apparently I completely missed the kleinrock saga, but still think fondly of the sweetness of gremmy, who joined us for a while before she left the planet. I expect that when we encounter the occasional visitor with obviously loose screws, it helps to remember we can't fix them with words.
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chelydra
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This isn't really a topic that needs to get any discussion going. It's just that after hearing that program, and later taking a fresh look at kleinrock's contributions to the site, and the outpouring of real love he inspired, and then the sadness as he fell silent, it seemed better to say something on this subject than not.
In closing, I think it's worth noting the differences as well as the similarities between this syndrome (which has a name, something like Internet Munchausen's) and related deceptive and manipulative practices...
When an agent provocateur infilitrates a group that has some kind of radical or reformist agenda, and then latches onto nieve marginal young people in the group who often care so deeply about the cause (which may be anything from saving trees to hating Jews) they want to do something more dramatic about it, the result may be bombs that get people killed... When a paedophile uses internet chat to groom a target child in preparation for a meeting in person, this exploits that child's natural affection and adventurousness and trust -- and the resulting unspeakable acts may include murder... but this business of impersonating an adorable, interesting kid with a tragic terminal illness has an opposite effect... It gets its deceived victims in touch with their own best instincts, and even the grief at the passing of the invented child has a kind of gentle nobility that may do more good than harm, if it helps activate compassion that could then be transferred to real people (or animals or houseplants) in need of tender loving care... So unlike the other deceptions, this one seems relatively forgivable... and no one needs to feel ashamed or angry if you fell for it --- and I should note again that I don't really know whether kleinrock was real or invented.
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