# Looks like umkay is back, so we may as well get this thread started... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 15, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570 "2013-07-15T16:39:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/381 "2013-07-16T16:48:35Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve no idea, Is there something special about this precise variety of misplaced question? Maybe you should read up on the Umkay thing. It would certainly help. It’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/382 "2013-07-16T16:48:52Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’ve met him. The wheelchair is real. But how do I know you’re real? :steeples fingers: ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/383 "2013-07-16T16:49:00Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > Not that it matters at this point, but being 18 at this time of year, you ain’t going to be in 6th form. > > The final exams finished in June, so any 18 year olds would have left a month or so ago. Are students there sometimes held back a year, or asked to attend remedial summer classes, if they’re a bit thick? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/384 "2013-07-16T16:50:02Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > But how do I know you’re real? :steeples fingers: In your imagination, I can be whatever you want me to be, babe. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/385 "2013-07-16T16:51:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I guess what I’m trying to take away here, is whether I was too gullible, or if everyone else was too cynical, but just happened to be right this time. I think it was a combination of things. I was reading somewhat quickly, but I got the impression you were focusing on folks’ suggestion that this was the same person as umkay - as opposed to just another troll. Just got the impression that your disagreement with that issue may have caused you to lean towards giving the poster more credit overall than they deserved. I also think there was some kind of “reinforcement” or “hive” phenomena going on here. Sorta like the “wisdom of the masses.” (I’m sure someone will be able to provide a better term.) Once one or 2 folk took strong positions, the “troll” side snowballed - whereas you were kinda standing on your own. Then add in other things - on-line and especially in the Pit, it is sexier to out a troll than to suggest someone is on the up-and-up. That helped the snowball roll. On your side, there is the whole “defense of my position - especially when I am the isolated voice of reason and am under attack” mindset. So no biggie. It was fun - and you looking mildly gullible added to the overall enjoyment - so thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/386 "2013-07-16T16:51:59Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > I was blinded by the Hi-Viz upholstery. I was wondering if that would be part of the phony background story: " Well", the devotee-dogger wannabee lied, “I was was driving south from Scotland to Leeds by way of Manchester along the N- _grumble-cough-mumble_ when I was suddenly blinded by this F-cking Awful Yellow Interior.” "My car seemed to eject from the roadway as if all of Midlands had collectively thrown up. I awoke on the ground, thrown a few feet from the car, without use of my legs. I saw the bright yellow of the car and I tried my best to crawl away from it, all the time praying fervently, _“Please Lord, Don’t Let Me Die a Chav…!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/387 "2013-07-16T16:53:18Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I’ve no idea, Is there something special about this precise variety of misplaced question? Think about it this way: why do you even know it’s a thing? Because someone used it as a way to get attention, which they did because it’s a very unusual and kind of lurid. If you have an unusual problem and you want to ask the Internet about it, wouldn’t you go someplace where other people would probably have heard of that problem instead of someplace where there was almost no chance anybody would know anything about it? You’d sure get attention that second way, though. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/388 "2013-07-16T16:55:47Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’ve met him. The wheelchair is real. Though he is an admitted troll, at least of other boards. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/389 "2013-07-16T17:04:25Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > OK, but how was it bullshit? Maybe if I’d been more involved in the umkay incident, I’d have the same gut feeling that others did. Maybe, but I wouldn’t say I was involved in the umkay incident, and this one wasn’t hard to spot. **jaymac** didn’t even get to the point of making claims like being an avid quadriplegic skydiver. Here you have someone repeating a similar set of details as an opener to their board experience, along with oddities, like writing in “Scottish”, getting terms wrong (“form” instead of “year”), offering personal details rather than responding like a typical person would, adding details along the way (e.g. ‘the bus didn’t come’, ‘the _first_ bus didn’t come and the next bus wasn’t wheelchair accessible’)… Frankly I’m a bit of a loss as to how many strikes of the clock past the thirteenth it would take you to start wondering about the legitimacy of the other 12. > [@](#): > > And if you don’t retain an open mind, you can jump to the wrong conclusion. Of course, nobody wants to be fooled twice, but until you know it’s an attempt at fooling you again, what do you do? Certainly there just has to be a claim to which your initial response is to be doubtful? Right? If so, why are you doubtful? And what do you do? You most likely say something like, “Hmmm. Can you provide evidence for your claim?” Seems to me that’s pretty much what happened here. > [@](#): > > Of course not. This is not a particularly useful analogy for me. In the world, there are zero Nigerian princes trying to give away money. The number of disabled people with some kind of relationship quandary is very probably not zero. It’s not a relationship quandary. It’s a pretty involved kind of fetish. It is one that apparently has never been brought up on these boards by someone who is honestly involved in such circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/390 "2013-07-16T17:06:20Z")
Man, what I wouldn’t give for the return of DORRANCE #5X STAINLESS STEEL HOOKS girl. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/391 "2013-07-16T17:14:49Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I think it was a combination of things. I was reading somewhat quickly, but I got the impression you were focusing on folks’ suggestion that this was the same person as umkay - as opposed to just another troll. Just got the impression that your disagreement with that issue may have caused you to lean towards giving the poster more credit overall than they deserved. No, it wasn’t that what it was, was this: Imagine for a moment that **Cinnamon Imp** ’s 2PM meeting with jaymac had actually happened, and had verified that this was a real person - and the story was substantially genuine. We’d then have been in a position where a moderately vulnerable person came here for help and was met with terrible hostility, scorn and mocking. That was pretty much the whole of my concern. Now, obviously, it didn’t play out that way - and although what people correctly identified as inconsistencies in the story now seem obvious in hindsight, I’m still not sure that a genuine case couldn’t also appear that way completely by accident. All it would take would be a little confusion on the part of the visitor, made worse by a pile-on. And that’s my concern, going forward - actually, it’s two concerns: 1. How do I ensure I don’t get taken in by trolls in future? 2. How could we, as a board, avoid mistakenly identifying someone as a troll, on the basis of inference from what might perhaps be quite innocently-made errors? > [@](#): > > I also think there was some kind of “reinforcement” or “hive” phenomena going on here. Sorta like the “wisdom of the masses.” (I’m sure someone will be able to provide a better term.) Once one or 2 folk took strong positions, the “troll” side snowballed - whereas you were kinda standing on your own. I definitely agree with this. I could feel the whole thing snowballing and escalating, even when there was no fresh evidence for it to do so. > [@](#): > > On your side, there is the whole “defense of my position - especially when I am the isolated voice of reason and am under attack” mindset. I didn’t ever feel personally under attack - I was very concerned about the ongoing feeding frenzy though, if it had turned out to be unwarranted. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/392 "2013-07-16T17:17:30Z")
I don’t know how you guys figure these things out, but I’m glad there are sharper people than I on the case. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/393 "2013-07-16T17:17:50Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > I had to crtl-shift-tab about a dozen times, but here it is: > > [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](http://i.imgur.com/8XrVzWH.jpg) Thank you, Thank you, Thank you - I thought I’d missed this part of the unfolding story That pic made my day, I can go back to putting down flooring with a happy heart ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/394 "2013-07-16T17:25:48Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > No, it wasn’t that what it was, was this: > > Imagine for a moment that **Cinnamon Imp** ’s 2PM meeting with jaymac had actually happened, and had verified that this was a real person - and the story was substantially genuine. > > We’d then have been in a position where a moderately vulnerable person came here for help and was met with terrible hostility, scorn and mocking. That’s possible, and I was concerned that could happen (in general, not with the meeting). But then again maybe a real person would have understood why posters were skeptical. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a6a055/32.png) [@Tequila\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/395 "2013-07-16T17:26:17Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > 1. How could we, as a board, avoid mistakenly identifying someone as a troll, on the basis of inference from what might perhaps be quite innocently-made errors?. You do realize that, for the most part, if a new person gets called a troll who is not, the world won’t end. They’ll just go to some other message board and post their question there. The only way that would even remotely be important is if it was life or death. If it’s not, it’s just truly no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/396 "2013-07-16T17:30:35Z")
As someone who was partially involved in umkay-gate (and someone who fell for the hoax and tried to defend her in the pile-on, much like **Mangetout** ) I’m glad to say I didn’t for a second believe that our new friend was real. The situations just felt too eerily similar. Except this time, I chose to take a back seat and watch the thing unfold. I was on the fence about making a post in the original “What should I do about this crazy devotee” thread, but decided, even if I didn’t believe her, not to be a part of the pitchfork crew. As we have seen, there is little you can keep from the resident criminal specialists. 🙂 And yes, thanks for the link to the “SDMB” picture, that was fun! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/397 "2013-07-16T17:32:34Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > If, hypothetically, a genuinely disabled person came here and asked for advice about a genuine concern they had about devotees, would that person just be written off as a troll now? Well, it might be a bit humiliating for them now because Umkay 1 and Umkay 2 have ruined it for them, but a picture of them with a sign that says SDMB would clear it up in about 2 minutes as opposed to us arguing for two days across 3 threads only to have the person banned and a bunch of closed threads. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/398 "2013-07-16T17:39:47Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > **Cinnamon Imp** , I am in love with you! > > (I hope you wonnae find my horrible disfigurement a turn-off!) No, I’ve dated gingers before! > [@kayaker](#): > > You rock! > > {^straight line} Why thank you 🙂 > [@chappachula](#): > > He did it! He did it!!! He did it!!! > > (snip) > > In the name of all Dopers, big and small, new and old…thanks a lot! I appreciate the sentiments and the song, but I’m very much female! > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > I wanna live > with a Cinnamon Imp > I could be happy > the rest of my life > With a Cinnamon Imp Missing the reference/tune here, sorry! > [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > 😃 Kind of no point posting my proof that I was there now! Hmmph. > [@Snickers](#): > > \*\*Hermitian \*\*has a point. This does not preclude the awesomeness that is **Cinnamon Imp**. All hail **Cinnamon Imp**! Go forth an use your powers for awesome. I promise I’ll do the same the next time a troll from \*Rutherglen \*(of all godforsake places) shows up 😉 > [@Monty](#): > > Hark! When the fool is trolling > Cinnamon Imp is prowling > Loudly and proudly prowling, at the Tesco. > There where no troll is showing > Now feel the blood a-leaping, > High as the spirits of the old Highland men. > > Chorus > (Towering in gallant fame, > Tesco my shopping hame, > High may your proud standards gloriously wave, > Store of my high endeavour, > Store of the discount p(uh)-rice, > Store of my heart for ever, Tesco I crave.) > > Over in the Costa coffee shop, > Out by the too cheap jewelry,\* > Brave Cinnamon Imp when she’s on the prowl. > Scared are the trolls to meet you, > Staunch are the friends that watch you, > Sure as can be that you will find the real truth. > > Chorus > > Way over by Glasgow Town > Sad are the Internet trolls > Yearning to yank chains of the Teeming Millions > Whose hero is prowling > Admiration we give while > Hoping, hoping you’ll catch the troll in a lie. > > Chorus > > * * * > > \*Sorry. I’ve never in my life been to the building in question so I have no idea of the layout. Plus, I’m just too lazy a tthe moment to check online for a shopper’s map of the place. > > ETA: Take a wild guess the tune this one’s set to. Took me a few reads, but I got it. \*\*RealOmegaMan \*\*take note, this is how to serenade your woman 😉 > [@ScareyFaerie](#): > > Very true. I am, however, quite willing to meet up with **Cinnamon Imp** although I am not planning on a trip to the Glasgow area until early December. That’ll give me plenty of time to plan the bus route though, since I doubt I’ll be taking my car! Time for ScotDopeFest2…? > [@Scougs](#): > > But the real kicker for me is the full name you have chosen to share. I cannot find one instance of that surname existing. That was throwing me too. > [@Giraffe](#): > > You’d have to be a _pretty big loser_ to waste your time making a telephone call like that. Or to waste time hanging out in a coffee shop posting to the Dope, about someone who doesn’t exist and won’t show? 😉 > [@jaymac1](#): > > I do know Greater Glasgow very well indeed though. You really don’t. Or didn’t. Whatever 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/399 "2013-07-16T17:41:49Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yup. I bet you sure do feel dumb for the moments you spent on the phone, **Gary Kumquat**. As compared to the hours **jaymac1** tried to spend convincing people he was a cute teenager in a wheelchair. “Hi, I’m interested in the citroen on your website. Is it still for sale? Thanks, I’ll try to come round” Fuck do I feel that dumb for taking 30 seconds out of my busy day. I’m curious about the similarities in the claimed character though. I wonder if there’s a troll forum out there where people swap tales? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570/400 "2013-07-16T17:43:34Z")
[QUOTE=Cinnamon Imp] Time for ScotDopeFest2…? [/QUOTE] I’m up for that. Probably best to avoid Waxy’s this time. That wasn’t the best idea I ever had. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-umkay-is-back-so-we-may-as-well-get-this-thread-started/663570.md?page=21)