I skimmed through the majority of the replies, and they all seem to reflect what I'd say.
I'd like to add an observation.
I've been using computers for a long time. I learned early on to be skeptical, and I think this is a good thing. I've played many games over various different periods. I dedicated* 2 years of my life to a Tribes team. I've done many online FPS games. I played Counter-Strike since beta 7 and DOD since way back before recoil was installed. I played them all the way until Source was released (then source blows for all net code so I quit). I've played various flight sims, including Star Wars ones.
Let's just say I have had a wide array of experiences with gaming communities and game types.
Aces High is the first one with what I think of as (for lack of a better term) the Voss-Types. I don't know iceman. I don't know if that outlandish story really happened. It sounds fishy, on the surface, but hey life is strange. This game has had a very high concentration of folks that feel the need to spread lies about themselves for whatever mental reasons. I've seen a FEW rare cases of it, scattered over a period of 5+ years, in a SW gaming club. But again, compared to the number of folks involved it was a low %. However in AH you get folks doing it left and right. Not to mention the ones that fake their own death.
The jaded little boy inside of me thinks they're all a small pool of folks just creating endless reincarnations of themselves as a way to bypass massive psychiatric bills and avoiding the many drugs they need to balance themselves. However the gumpy adult in me says "No, there's really that many freaks around here" and just ignores their attempts** to gain notoriety.
Trusting? Yes, you are. Too much trust? Yes it can be a bad thing. Too much trust is why we have millions of folks spreading chain mail e-mails on the internet about fake virus warnings. Too much trust is why royal people in Nigeria need our bank info to save their dead ancestral earnings. Too much trust is why these AH community "attention potatos" (again, for lack of better words) do what they do. The thing is to find a good balance between skepticism and trust. I trust folks, but I don't buy into everything I'm told, just because I'm told it. I suggest you find a good balance of skepticism, Betty. Other than that, no harm on your part. I blame the folks that START it more than the folks that perpetuate it.
* I do not use this word lightly.
** mostly
