Pearls of Wisdom: Two sides to every story

In my time in Second Life I've been witness to countless dramas as a distant observer as well as a reluctant confidante. Usually I'm exposed one person's detailed account of the situation and left to collect the other side of the story through observation. As you may imagine it results in a slanted view of the story, and if I'm not careful, a prejudicial demeanor towards the other party.
It just happened again and I'm compelled to share some words of wisdom. I could not have stated it better myself.

Two Second Life residents on Plurk were going through some "issues." and one party offered to their readers to be contacted in-world to give the truth, not fabrications. Yes, I rolled my eyes as I thought to myself "whose truth?" Then, the most wondrous angels of reason descended upon the Plurk stream:

Tenshi: Everyone fabricates their own side.
Tenshi: Everyone sees history differently.
Tenshi: There's a huge difference between a lie and a different view.
Tenshi: I'm not saying that's what is going on - I don't have a damn clue - I'm just running my mouth.
Madame Maracas: tenshivielle do you mean the difference between a lie and the Rashoman effect?

[effect of the subjectivity of perception on recollection, by which observers of an event are able to produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of it. - Wikipedia]
NOTE: x-treme editing used to focus on the generality of the statements.

Amazing!! I was thankful to be instantly reminded there are at least two sides to every story. And the storyteller's account is almost always colored by their own perceptions. It can be very confusing. Be careful of judging other people based on information that is not received first hand. And be careful of great story tellers, they can cloud your vision.

Now, I know this, but it's good to be reminded. I prefer to listen and observe and come to my own conclusions. Often, it's not the underlying issue, but rather an evaluation as to how each party handled the matter. That in itself can be the biggest clue to a person's true character and the most determinative as to how I choose to conduct myself when relating to each party.