UPDATE:

I have asked Newsvine staff to restore my article, only to my column, so that what has happened here might stand. I take full responsibility for what follows, regardless of who wrote it.

It has become quite clear that what went on here upset many people. I speak only here for what happened here. I do apologize to the people who believed that what is posted below was true, and who offered me kind words of support and shared their own stories with me. In particular, I am sorry to Red Ruby, who took the time to email me privately to offer her always kind words.

I have much more to say about the prank and the ramifications of it, though I don't have time to go into it now. I will return this evening with my thoughts, for those who wish to hear them.

I haven't been on Newsvine very much lately. Money has been a little tight, and I've been working four jobs to make ends meet. But that's not what this article is about.

I have a house guest. A young man is staying with me while he irons out some personal issues, and has been for the last few days. The thing is, I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Without saying too much because I don't want to reveal who he is, he's really sweet. He's tall, intelligent and handsome, and very funny, and I think I might be falling for him.

I find myself thinking about him while I'm at work, and hurrying home when I get off. He's so much fun to talk to, even my kids like him, and they don't like anybody.

Remember when I said he was young? He's really young. Really, really young.

So what am I to do? Am I robbing the cradle, and is that bad? There's no one I can really talk to about this, other than my friends here at Newsvine. So what do you think? Am I a dirty old lady? Should I go for it? Both?

________________________

Thank You For Your Participation: This Prank Brought To You From The Drollhouse.

Some of you have commented, here and there, that Newsvine felt a bit like the Twilight Zone today. A significant number of our users seem to have taken unusual positions on a variety of topics. There has been drama, there has been sympathy, there has been disappointment. And there has been a reason for all this.

Today's prank shall be remembered in infamy forever more as the day The Drollhouse brought you "Schizovine".

A group of Drollhouse members agreed to take over each other's columns for the day and do their worst. Articles which were created in the spirit of this effort are:

• Am I A Dirty Old Lady? by "Vikibabbles"
• Not A Day For Angels and Trivia for February 28th 2008 by "rwarner"
• How I Found God by "winsomecowboy"
• Hope, Terror, and the Cult of Obama: A Revision by "celestina"
• I am still Walt D.: The All-important 2 year Retro(intro)spective and Why I am Leaving Newsvine by "Walt D."
• Newsvine, We Have A Problem by "Noah Bradley"
• A Genuine Artist's Rant, and...A Group Announcement by "Dennis P. McCann"
• Along with every Rainbow A Little Rain Must Fall, Blind Bunnies are beaut! by "Djehuty"
• I Lost My Left Testicle by "Brad Leclerc"
• The Dark and Foreboding World of My New Career by "Ansab"
• Hillary Clinton For President by "Yuriy Bilokonsky"
• Mykola Bilokonsky's article about "coming out", which wound up causing so many problems it was taken down.

The question you are undoubtedly asking yourself now is Why would we screw with you like this?

The first part of the answer is "Because we're the Drollhouse...that's what we do."

But really, there is more to it than that. Even here on Newsvine, we must never lose the propensity for critical reading and thinking. No matter how much you may have agreed with an author in the past, that doesn't mean that you always will. We are all just human here, we all make mistakes. We all sometimes step over the line into what is inappropriate, idiotic, or just plain wrong. For that matter, the same goes for any media outlet. All those stories are just written by people, too. People with opinions, agendas, and human fallibility. It doesn't matter where you get your news, sometimes it is just wrong. It doesn't matter how much you like or respect someone, sometimes they are just wrong.

So before you get angry, before you feel used and abused, stop and review your reaction to the articles listed above. No matter how you responded to any or all of them, it's ok. If you find that sometimes you let your own fondness cause you to overlook glaring inconsistencies in character, or nod in agreement with something you know is crazy, you are in good company. We all do it. It's just important that we all know it can happen.

Again, thank you for your participation.