If she’s a troll, that doesn’t automatically follow that she did all that quadriplegic research from scratch. “She” may have had real-life contact with someone who was a quadriplegic. A girlfriend, perhaps.
nah. n/m
Hey, I freely admit I am a naive when it comes to these sorts of online hoaxs. I will admit; her ability to do sophisticated post-editing and mulit-quoting, etc., is rather curious. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong. I guess it’s just that I can’t imagine why anyone would do anything like this-if it’s all a hoax.
I apologize for the snark earlier, but the question is simple: Who posted the death notice?
Don’t say “a troll”, because why would a random troll target him or her specifically?
Welcome to the world of Munchausen by Internet
Kaycee Nicole is the most famous case, but far from the only one.
Some people are genuinely mental, some just like to be jackasses and yank peoples’ chains.
That’s a fair point. I personally think to keep up a story with such consistency, alongside a consistent tone that suggests no malevolence … well, it doesn’t put her in the clear, but it is a much more impressive theory to subscribe to than simply believing that a troll was responsible for a simple, two line post.
Well, there WERE a couple of people who got pissy in that thread (the guy who wanted her to be an advocate and the guy who wanted her to post naked pics).
ETA: And I wouldn’t say the troll was targeting her. The troll was targeting the entire SDMB community, or at least everyone reading that thread.
Exactly. I was the person who requested it, she started here with her devote thread. While her posting speed and accuracy is astounding even for an able-bodied person, she has given us enough reasons as to why. Editing a post in one minute? Maybe her carer just forgot a full stop at the end of the last sentence and quickly fixed it, who knows? As for knowledge about the board culture, it’s possible that she had been lurking for a while or that she just picks up little social cues very easily. (Besides, it’s not as if she keeps mentioning treadmills and death rays every other post.)
It is truly sad (yet also a little understandable) that people have become so jaded and cynical that they immediately disbelieve anybody who has an extraordinary story to tell. I have no reason at all to doubt her story, and even if she isn’t who she says she is, I’ll choose her over many sincere jerks and assholes any day.
Sorry to not be able to quote, but my mermaid comment meant more than just fishy.
Most of us can describe a mermaid, draw one, and maybe even say a bit about their habits, but not a single person can prove they are real.
As for people asking why others would think umkay is not who she claims to be, why would she be the one picked out of all the dopers to become the victim of a prank? The post for a month then have claims of a death scenario is played to all hell all over the internet.
Follow up with righteous indignation to play the victim card. Rinse. Repeat.
I am gobsmacked that so many intelligent people listen to their hearts instead of their heads.
And whoever said they Loved her in the one thread needs to get offline for a few days. That is creepy.
So you don’t think someone who makes up crap like this, including a fucking death hoax is an asshole?
I’m amazed at the naivety of some posters who are members of a board that purports to fight ignorance. Regardless of whether or not umkay is a troll (though I don’t think “troll” is the proper term anyway), this kind of deception happens all the time. People create online personas and hoaxes so elaborate that they span years. (So considering a two-month hoax- if that’s what it is- as elaborate long-con? Please.)
WIRED did a very informative article about Munchausen-by-internet. Google some of those names mentioned in the article.
Also see:
CourtneyT
James Puryear
Emily Dirr
msscribes
Fake LJ Deaths
Some of these are short hoaxes, while the construction of some often spanned years. The Emily Dirr/WarriorEli hoax was only recently uncovered, after almost eight years and over 70 fake Facebook accounts.
I have no idea if this umkay/NotOkay situation is fake. But people, wake up- this shit happens all the time, and has happened on these very boards.
The “Ask The…” thread was very popular and was being constantly bumped to the front page. That a lot of people were reading it is evidenced by the page-views. In recent days, but before the false death-notice, **umkay **had stopped posting for a few days, then came back describing repeated hospital visits due to some unknown cause of AD. Then there was a subsequent lapse in her posting to the thread again, which was noted with some concern by a few posters.
The troll saw and seized on this opportunity to troll a very popular thread. The answer to “why choose umkay?” doesn’t need an answer any more complicated than that - it was an easy target of opportunity.
I was wrapped up in the bizzaro world of NDD and b84 as this was going down, but having become aware of it just prior to notokay’s death post, this screams of a long-con type troll.
The adulation for umkay is cloyingly so at times, her circumstance seems targeted to the soft-hearted here, and the ratcheting drama seems too perfectly timed.
Besides all the other fishy things, I’d ratchet my interaction back a good deal until its clear whether umkay is for real, or otherwise exposed.
Besides, has she participated in any other threads than her own? :dubious:
This. Most of this affair has completely passed me by, but I have to admit to being stunned by the outpouring of grief that followed the “death” announcement - over a person that they’d never met and who’s very existence they’d been unaware of weeks previously.
I’ve been on these boards since 2003, I’m married to a Doper and I count several as friends IRL, and there ain’t a one of you, excluding the aforementioned real-life friends, who’s death would get more than an “aww, shame” from me.
I don’t know what the truth of this situation is - umokay could well be an actual paraplegic who invented her own death-reporting troll and then discredited them because hell, what else is she going to do, go for a run? - but based on the reactions to her “death”, some of you really need to get out into the sunshine and talk to the 3-dimensional people.
It’s so nice to know you care. Maybe you could get Halmark to make up an E card expressing those feelings.
Nah, I can’t be bothered.
Alright, let me clarify: in my opinion, NotOkay is a human being of the lowest order; fucking with people’s earnest emotions like that for lulz is about as despicable as it gets. However, for reasons already outlined, I strongly do not believe that umkay and that miserable shitstain are the same person. What I meant by my comment was that umkay is promoting a worthy cause, and doing so in a very entertaining and gripping fashion. The same is not true of many racists, truthers and more general assholes that are completely sincere in their posts. That said, creating a persona like that to attract sympathy and attention is also not a very honorable thing to do, but I really don’t see why we can’t give umkay the benefit of the doubt, especially since the accusation is fairly grave and she has not given us (IMHO) any reason to doubt her words.
She could also be cribbing from an AMA on Reddit or something.
Well, I mean, c’mon.
You have to admit, it’s a bit silly to expect grief or heavy, sorrowful emotions over the death of someone you’ve never met.
Other than those I’ve met or interacted with in a more personal way off these boards IRL, my emotions might range from shocked if it’s sudden or a more prolific poster to “aww, that’s too bad.” I might feel some amount of sadness, but in the more general sense upon news of any other death I’m made aware of of someone I don’t really know.
I certainly wouldn’t expect the boards to shut down for a day upon my inevitable demise, in a moment of honor and silence as you all can get a grip and come to acceptance on carrying on in your lives without me.
If, I am who I say I am! Dum dum duuuuum!
It wasn’t just the death thread, but umkay’s response to the death thread that made me stop and go uh huh. The entire tone of it felt like something I have seen a hundred times. And now umkay has not one but TWO threads of Dopers falling over themselves to tell her how much they love her. Jackpot!
Anyone care to rebut the excellent points made in this post?
Fakefakefakefakefake.
Bullshit. The Achilles heel for these trolls is they think that they are smarter than everyone else. They bank on people being credulous enough to buy into their bullshit. And looks like The Smartest Message Board Posters In The World are living down to her expectations.
But that’s exactly what long-con trolls count on: the benefit of the doubt.
As long as the story passes a certain amount of plausibility, a troll can keep it going for years, so long as they can keep their lies from contradicting.
And the more esoteric or idiosyncratic detail, inventions of just the right personality and events, and the right dose of drama or personal rise above circumstanse can deceive even the most incredulous; because people naturally want to root for somebody like that, who doesn’t? In fact, even if you suspected otherwise, it’d be beyond rude to question their veracity outright. What if they are, indeed, who they say they are? You might think, “I’d be seen as a cynical douchbag over something so trivial.” Also, even in the face of very doubtful evidence, you’re credulity is now documented indellibly on the internet, and no one wants to look like a fool. So on it goes.
And trolls know all this.