[ebbv]

I had the exact same reaction. This story has all the telltale signs of typical internet fiction trying to pass as a real story. Lack of details (no names of the school, teacher, etc., no date) combined with an implausible "this doesn't happen to anyone" story line is the biggest giveaway.

It's unfortunate that people are so eager to believe a happy story that they will suppress their bullshit detectors. The truth is important even when the lie is pleasant.

Glad to see this comment is at the top, disappointed to see the story voted so highly in the first place, though.

[dmlorenzetti]

Admittedly in a few regards the story sounds not-quite-right. However I think if it was "typical internet fiction" then it wouldn't have ended with the revelation that the kids weren't deaf after all. Why deflate the punchline like that?

If pure glurge fiction, it would have ended with the narrator, or more likely the Apple store manager, receiving a note from the school, relating how the deaf kids had been treated poorly at every other store. Better yet, one of the deaf kids would have had a powerful father who went to the Apple store and lavished rewards on all the employees there. Father might even work for Microsoft. Let your imagination run wild.

[ebbv]

Without that bit the story would've been "Hey some deaf kids visited my store." It still would have been unusual but that last crazy detail is what makes it a remarkable story, and it's the part that makes the narrator a hero.

It's also the part that goes from pushing the boundaries of believability and bursts full on into being obvious fiction.

[sophacles]

I see nothing in this story that is implausible. Odd and unusual things happen all the time. In fact, the unusualness is what makes the story. I really don't get why people want to jump all over people's odd experiences an declare them "totally fake bra, you wouldn't dare be nice as a service employee", or maybe "in your job where you are dealing with hundreds of strangers a week, not one of them (or some of them) could have been an unusual case". It's like saying: I have a raid 6 at home. It's never lost data, and not one of the hard drives ever failed, Backblaze must be lying about the part where they have hard drives fail.

If you think teachers having kids role play the lives of other people is so crazy as to not have happened, I'm not sure what to tell you. I know that when I was a kid, one of the summer camps I went to did similar things. One year it was just live your day in a wheelchair. Another year it was role-play the lives of a very poor family, and have figure out how to handle a broken arm in one of the kids and still pay rent, eat, etc. These included going out into the world, not just staying in the camp.

I've heard other people who in school had to wear "pregnant suits" or carry "babies", or go around with blindfolds, and so on, to help them understand the situation other people may be in.

Perhaps it's the part where a mall worker runs into someone in another part of the mall later that day. I'm not sure how this even comes close to improbable. I've run into clerks who helped me in the food court before.

Overall, I'd rate this story as Extremely plausible. No single element of it is at all sketchy. Some of the coincidences are less likely to happen, but again, not even deserving of a rating rare, merely unlikely.

If the story teller had a 100 stories like this I would be more suspicious, but a single event that is unlikely is pretty believable.

[ebbv]

Your characterization of the skepticism in this comment thread is completely ridiculous, and shows your lack of intellectual seriousness.

Additionally, you insist that you don't understand our reasons for skepticism, and bring up total straw men when we have clearly explained our reasons.

I'm not going to sit here and try to convince you that it's bullshit. You clearly don't want to be convinced. You want to believe it. That's fine. Go ahead. But you do an incredibly poor job of being an advocate for the OP.

To me, it's as obvious that he's lying as it is the sky is blue.

[sophacles]

Ahh, so you accuse me of essentially magical thinking because I can't see anything unplausible in the story. Yet you refuse to explain, other than declaring "it's so obvious derp", and think you won't be accused of magical thinking?

As for your "clearly explained reasons", they are as I understand them:

1) the guy was nice oh no!

2) There were some events you've never experienced, therefore must strictly be false.

3) The guy talked about his experiences on his blog - obvious liar, not just telling about his life on a medium heavily used for that.

4) He doesn't remember every detail of something that happened some years ago. You know what. I am certain I don't remember every detail of every thing that happened to me too... sorry this is not even remotely useful criteria.

So, explain to me how the guy is obviously lying based on some pretty weak critera, and some really plausible events.

Right now you are just calling me stupid when I am trying to understand you - this is the type of bullshit that makes me wonder why I would even give credit to your claims. As soon as someone questions them, you claim "you are stupid" instead of explanation. Not a good way of being convincing or practical in an argument.

[jaequery]

fiction or non-fiction, this story sent chills down my spine ...

[obviouslygreen]

I don't think anyone who'd actually had this happen to them would've written it as a "happy story." This is inconsiderate bullshit. You would have to be a pretty awful teacher to put a class of immature children in the position of deceiving people as a social experiment.

If this person had actually been working retail during a massive launch and found out these kids had been messing with him on their teacher's orders, the reasonable reaction would have been -- at very least -- "you should be ashamed of yourselves." And being a retail employee during such a shitstorm would almost certainly have precluded that much tact.

True or false, this just is not something a decent person (the teacher) would choose to do, for any of several reasons.

[raverbashing]

I have news for you, the movies that are showing on the cinema are works of fiction (mostly)

This doesn't mean we should throw them out because they were invented.

It may be fiction, but it certainly has less BS than many true stories.

[ebbv]

The difference is those are presented as being fiction and this is being presented as a true story.

If this blog post were presented honestly, as a work of fiction, it would never have made it to the top of HN. Nobody would care. Because as fiction it's not interesting.

[raverbashing]

Sure, even though there are some works of fiction that begin "based on a true story" or something similar

For the record I do believe it's a true story, even if the details are fuzzy, or maybe some things have been forgotten by the person telling the story.

[nikster]

Who cares. I don't think the story is all that unlikely.

And to quote my late grandfather: There are no true or false stories, only good ones and bad ones.

[ebbv]

Your grandfather sounds like a liar.