# Munchausen by Internet **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802 "2012-11-22T03:42:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/21 "2012-11-22T20:54:52Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > No, you’re only _mostly_ dead. If you were all dead, there’s only one thing we could do… He got better! This was a really disturbing article to read. I knew people did this of course, thanks to a few of the nutcases we’ve had here, but I really didn’t realize just how prevalent it is. Or how damaging. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/22 "2012-11-22T22:12:39Z")
Very interesting article. I find stuff like this fascinating. This reminds me of the Anthony Godby Johnson case. > **[Anthony Godby Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Godby_Johnson)** > > Anthony Godby Johnson is the subject and supposed author of the 1993 memoir A Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story. Subsequent investigations suggest that Johnson may have been the literary creation of Vicki Johnson, who purported to be Johnson's adoptive mother. > The book initially appeared as an autobiography, describing Johnson's survival of an abusive childhood at the hands of his parents and their friends, his adoption by a new family, and his subsequent contraction of HIV/AID... The book/movie “The Night Listener” is based on this story. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/23 "2012-11-23T03:21:04Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > No, he’s saying that people who do this are 'mkay. Or that they are umkay. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/24 "2012-11-23T03:22:24Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I’m ashamed to admit but I suffer from Munchausen syndrome. I feign having Munchausen syndrome in order to elicit sympathy from people on the internet. By “suffer”, you mean the ploy isn’t working, right? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/25 "2012-11-23T05:50:20Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > I’m ashamed to admit but I suffer from Munchausen syndrome. I feign having Munchausen syndrome in order to elicit sympathy from people on the internet. Munchausen’s by Proxy Server? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/26 "2012-11-23T12:14:43Z")
> [@picker](#): > > I’m dead right now. I’m deader than you !! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![kirk1168](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kirk1168](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk1168)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/27 "2012-11-23T14:44:45Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Or that they are umkay. I’ve been waiting for that one.😉 ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/28 "2012-11-23T16:01:05Z")
The Chive just got trolled by a kid who said he was in a wheelchair and dying. “Dave on Wheels”. The story “broke” after he supposedly died. ---
**Author:** ![Neverending\_Elbow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e274bd/32.png) [@Neverending\_Elbow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverending_Elbow)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/29 "2012-11-23T17:53:56Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > The story “broke” after he supposedly died. That seems to happen in most of these cases. The phony is said to have died/ended up in hospital in critical condition, and people want to send condolences/flowers/get-well-soon cards, and it turns out there is no such person. What do these people think will happen? Do they even plan ahead? Or is it just that we don’t hear about the smarter ones? Either way, creepy and horrifying. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802/30 "2012-11-23T17:57:05Z")
Thank you for sharing this. I mostly think of these things as trivial (like the **umkay** incident.) I never considered the real harm it can do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/munchausen-by-internet/641802.md?page=1)