yea i understand the sentiment behind SL’s answer but “take a walk” is reductive of the teenager’s dilemma. there’s often nowhere to go. it’s winter, public places are closed off, visiting others is discouraged, etc. you’re kind of captive there listening to whatever noises the parents are making. even in the best of…

I’m so lonely 

It’s fully plausible that he cheated on his wife, but suppose he did have an open marriage: that would prolong the discussion of the scandal in the news. A politician cheating on wife is an old story and not uncommon; a swinger running for the senate (or however it’d be presented) is much more exciting, and would keep…

He’s not having an emotional affair so Dan doesn’t have to call him out for having an emotional affair. If I put a post up on gonewild, or I start a cam channel, I’m being an exhibitionist and trying to get attention from as many people as I can, and I’m not forming inappropriately deep emotional connections. My…

I think maybe that would have been explored a bit more if, y’know, the guy wasn’t dead. I think Dan’s advice is good and much better in light of helping this woman grieve her husband.

When I read or hear “death was an accident” I normally think car wreck or horrendous work injury or something. Not like the overly pedantic examples in your comment.

He could have died in a car accident. Or he was a construction worker and died in a work accident. The point is that accidents happen and people die as a result. Not everything is a murder mystery.

It was very sudden.  I mean right there at the end, when he actually died, it was sudden.

It would be weirder if a letter said someone died “on purpose.”

In fact, I think I can confidently say that the only that times you’d say somebody died by accident is when you’re confessing to the police you killed him “but it was an accident”

That’s one reading.

He’s probably also the father of the kid. Like, how is EGLOE missing that?

Eh, I don’t know. Monogamish could mean the occasional threesome, but that doesn’t mean hooking up with your buddies one on one.

Maybe John Smith’s dates are weary because they think he’s a British pedophile who abducted a Native American girl. 

Right, but I don’t get why that’s really a problem. Surely it isn’t that hard to say “it’s so nice to make new friends” to establish your intent, right?

Well, and how hard is it to just get some clarification at the initial invitation? I work in a very male-dominated field, and I had gotten the “clarify if you’re talking about drinks with a group or just us” thing down before I finished my second summer internship. After a couple ambush dates, you’ve gotta learn to…

You’re forgetting 4. The Sunk Cost Fallacy

Dear Nobody,

I get it.

But a choice between “stay in a situation where I know I’m unhappy and my partner is exploiting/cheating on/emotionally abusing me or take a shot on finding something healthy” doesn’t leave an advice columnist a lot of wiggle room.

And I suspect, deep down, many of these people know it, too, which is why so…

That’s like 90% of these letters, though. People get content and you’ll kind of just deal with some shit so don’t have to breakup and change.