As a vampirologist, conducting research on the nature and origins of the vampire (because I am a vampire who happens to be a scientific rationalist and dammit, I can't deal with the irrational very well - I want to find a reason for why I am what I am, and get past all the hyperbolic myths and legends and also the wish fulfilling fantasies of the modern age) of course I want to question the vampires who say they are long lived. I want to bite back my outraged frustration (oh no, not another goddamn poseur trying to leech off the real vampire community) and ask questions. I want to know, I want to get answers, I want something I can actually use...
However, I personally will not get involved with those who say they are long lived. It hurts to let go an opportunity to interview someone whose situation might shed light on my own (and who might be able to give me some primary references for my historical research - my primary field of academic study is after all medieval and Renaissance literature, and my secondary field is the study of the Gothic movements of Western civilization; wouldn't it be wonderful to talk to someone who was alive and kicking during the 1790's?) The reason is fairly straightforward.
I believe that the phonies come up with "immortal" or "ancient" personas and then join groups of real vampires because they are desperate for attention. Vampires feed off of attention as well as blood, at least some varieties of vampire do - I know I do. I'm going into teaching because I love the rapt attention students give me when I lecture. The energy I put into my teaching is more than returned by the time my hour at the podium is over. Every time I've student-lectured as part of a class, I've come out of the experience as high as a kite. I love, and need, that energy I am given.
I feel that there are good ways and bad ways of attracting attention. I've never approved of calling attention to oneself by pretending to be an ancient being or something equally phony. It's feeding off of the gullible. Maybe the marks deserve to be led down the primrose path, but how are real vampires to compete with glamourous fakes? Hmm? Besides, honesty is generally a good thing. The worst sin in my book is falseness: falseness to oneself, falseness to others.
I choose not to give attention to the phonies who solicit it. If they are ignored by everybody, they eventually drift away in search of richer food sources. I realize that my refusing to deal with anybody who meets a certain description means that I may eventually pass by a chance to talk with a truly ancient entity, but that's a sacrifice I have chosen to make. For now, I no longer even want to attempt to debunk or disprove the claims of obvious phonies. It's not that I believe that they might actually be true (although I acknowledge that sometimes this might actually be the case). It's that arguing, debunking, etc gives the phonies attention, which they thrive on.
Sadly, I therefore will not get any more involved in this particular thread now that I have stated my thoughts on the matter.