You are going to get BS stories, claims, in pretty much any hobby, this one is no different. Most of us go out on many hunts, and return with little to brag about. Those spectacular finds don't come every day, like we hope and dream. We read the marketing hype on new equipment, have high expectations, lay down the cash, and well... You know if you hunt the same places, you usually find about the same, as with your old machine. Still get the fun and excitement of playing with a new toy, maybe you do a little better, because you are putting a little more effort into the new toy, but it really isn't living up to the hype. No one likes disappointment.
Telling fishing stories, with family and friends, you can all have a good laugh, because you know each other, and need to keep a good relationship. On the internet, it's anonymous, plus there is media (photos, videos), and a way out, if it goes badly. Nothing to keep it real, and maybe some forget that the internet is full of BS. You've got to filter through it yourself, all the time.
Some of the story-tellers can get annoying, they feed on the drama, good or bad, it still puts them at the center of attention. Most, I simply ignore, two members have earn a permanent place on my ignore list, as they have proven their only interest, is to start problems. Really wish the Ignore List feature would include quotes as well. Both know they are on my list, and continue to try and bait me into an argument.
I don't agree with the calling out part, been a lot of new members getting that call. Shouldn't be that quick to judge. Maybe praise the 'story', not the finds, be a little more subtle, instead of confrontational. I have no expectations, that everything on the internet has to be true or accurate. It would be nice, but it's just never going to happen. Just a waste of time, trying to make it so, or getting upset over it. The people telling the BS stories, need the attention, they don't get what they need, they'll take it to a new audience, some place else. Not all of them are bad people, some will just realize we aren't buying what they are selling, and settle into reality, save the stories for another place, other people.