  Recent analyses of Gaia data have resulted in the identification of new
stellar structures, including a new class of extended stellar filaments called
stellar "strings", first proposed by Kounkel and Covey 2019. We explore the
spatial, kinematic, and chemical composition of strings to demonstrate that
these newfound structures are largely inconsistent with being physical objects
whose members share a common origin. Examining the 3D spatial distribution of
string members, we find that the spatial dispersion around the claimed string
spine does not improve in the latest Gaia DR3 data release -- despite tangible
gains in the signal-to-noise of the parallax measurements -- counter to
expectations of a bona fide structure. Using the radial velocity dispersion of
the strings (averaging $\rm\sigma_{V_r} = 16\;km\;s^{-1}$) to estimate their
virial masses, we find that all strings are gravitationally unbound. Given the
finding that the strings are dispersing, the reported stellar ages of the
strings are typically $120\times$ larger than their measured dispersal times.
Finally, we validate prior work that stellar strings are more chemically
homogeneous than their local field stars, but show it is possible to obtain the
same signatures of chemical homogeneity by drawing random samples of stars from
spatially, temporally, and kinematically unrelated open clusters. Our results
show that while some strings may be composed of real sub-structures, there is
no consistent evidence for larger string-like connections over the sample.
These results underline the need for caution in over-interpreting the
significance of these strings and their role in understanding the star
formation history of the Milky Way.
