# POLL: Honestly, did you believe Umkay's story before she was outed? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375 "2012-06-26T18:46:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/21 "2012-06-26T19:21:19Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > I wasn’t paying that much attention, but I didn’t question the “ask the” premise. Did it become extraordinary? > > I did raise an eyebrow at the whole back from the dead thing. > > And I feel bad for Frosty. That’s pretty much my take, but my eyebrow was raised enough at the death announcement to PM a mod with a cautionary message and question about verification. As far as **Frosty,** it’s either (1) Here We Go Again, or (2) An Unfortunate Person caught up in the Maelstrom. Time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/22 "2012-06-26T19:22:34Z")
I was suspicious almost immediately, but I have seen this kind of thing before. Fairly early on I Googled the details she provided and didn’t come up with anything. It didn’t prove anything, and my search was cursory, but it certainly didn’t help. I get that “I knew all along!” people crawl out of the wordwork after things like this happen, but I didn’t buy what she was selling from the get-go. I entertained myself by trying to figure out who else suspected and if they were asking questions to trap her. I’m kind of a cynical curmudgeon, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/23 "2012-06-26T19:23:13Z")
Didn’t see the thread before outing. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/24 "2012-06-26T19:30:06Z")
I was willing to take her at face value, and didn’t actively disbelieve her. I had a couple of minor reservations, however. First, she said she was asked to start the “Ask the…” thread. By whom, I wondered. She didn’t mention knowing anyone on the Dope, and as she had just joined it didn’t happen in the forums. It didn’t quite make sense, but I didn’t pursue it. Second, she gave a fair amount of info about the accident, including the state and the specific date. She also gave her somewhat rare occupation, and a solid hint as to her first name. Yet in googling I found nothing about her or the incident. That struck me as odd. Even at the time this didn’t cause me to actually suspect her. If I’d had a real-life reason to want to know, however, I would certainly have been suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/25 "2012-06-26T19:34:48Z")
I read all 19 pages and asked some questions too. I was suspicious of **NotOkay** ’s announcement, because ‘he’ mentioned no specifics and did not come back to the thread, but when \*\*Umkay \*\*came back I believed that she was legit, even when a lot of people started coming out saying they had thought it was fishy all along. Actually, I’m pretty :rolleyes: re: such assertions. Perhaps people caught it, but that is probably because they are so skeptical that most of their assessments are false negatives, which is too bad for them. Honestly, I don’t feel too bad about it. I still feel I might have learned something, I did not get upset or anything, and there was some nice internet drama in it too. I bet \*\*Umkay \*\*and \*\*Notokay \*\*are reading this - thanks, guys! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/26 "2012-06-26T19:35:51Z")
Wait - Umkay was fake? I haven’t been following this; that’s very disappointing. There were quite a few people on this board with disabilities of their own, or who know people who have disabilities, who seemed to really relate to her. That was sort of a shitty thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/27 "2012-06-26T19:38:08Z")
Hook, line, sinker, pole, reel, and boat. I think that what what really suckered me in was the “rich kids breaking the rules at ski resort reap tragic consequences” angle. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/28 "2012-06-26T19:39:29Z")
Yes, it never occurred to me to doubt it. I wasn’t very invested in her story, though. Just noticed the “Ask the…” thread. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/29 "2012-06-26T19:42:12Z")
Never read the wheelchair thread, but it seemed fishy. It’s always fishy when a new hot chick shows up and her intro thread balloons with attention and adoration. Now, as soon as I saw the death announcement, I pulled up a lawnchair and waited for Umkay to show up and all the balloons to start popping. I sure as hell wasn’t going to thread shit anything. Didn’t care enough. What happened with the guy whose family was all killed in a car crash? Hoax? Really unfortunate timing? Did we ever find out? ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/30 "2012-06-26T19:45:05Z")
I believed it at first (and found the threads interesting, at least in the first maybe 5 pages). By maybe page 10, I was starting to think she was a little too good to be true … not necessarily even in a Total Fake way, but more like I wondered if she was perhaps a quad or person with another disability who was, ah creatively exaggerating her wealth, attractiveness, dedication to being a charming ray of sunshine, whatever in order to seem more interesting or alluring, because it was just Too Much to take at face value. By the time it got to page 15, I was having flashbacks to DORRANCE #5X STAINLESS STEEL HOOKS. I confess I’m a little fascinated by what kind of person would spend so much time and mental energy on doing something like that. I think the most likely scenario is a sad one, a person who has become so obsessed with (imagined) physical disability that she can’t mentally or emotionally function with others in a normal way. ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/31 "2012-06-26T19:47:59Z")
Count me in the group who thought the thread sounded boring from the start, but there was a lull and I was bored and did start reading it eventually just to see what all the pages were about. By that time the dude (gezmo?) had been in and out asking rude questions and I did have the thought that he was the Op in sheep’s clothing trying to stir up some protection and support. Right after that she died and everyone started crying and I just felt embarrassed to read all of that emotional stuff. I did post in the original thread asking about how she types her posts so fast and so perfectly so I was suspicious, but by then it was all over but the jeering anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/32 "2012-06-26T19:53:19Z")
The devotee thread was pretty fishy. I reported it when it started. Pretty obvious troll, but no skin off my nose. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/33 "2012-06-26T19:54:20Z")
I was suspicious of the first thread. Joining up just to post a titilating thread always raises a red flag. I was not convinced of anything but decided it wasn’t worth my time to keep reading. I put “other” because I was suspicious enough to not continue reading the posts but didn’t make the effort to become convinced one way or the other. Didn’t surprise me though. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/34 "2012-06-26T19:59:09Z")
I read the first few pages of the Ask The… thread, I think I asked a question, then ignored the rest after she answered it. It dropped off my radar. Then just yesterday I saw a thread and now have the impression that there was a hoax; someone said she had died but she came back and claimed that reports of her demise were premature, then evidently a bunch of people were banned as a result. I still don’t really know what went down (if someone cared to summarize it, much obliged…). I guess I didn’t have a reason to doubt her, considering what little I followed of the whole story. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/35 "2012-06-26T20:03:38Z")
Yes. But I wasn’t really into it. Something about the thread about her death set alarm bells ringing. I’m still not positive what it was, maybe the frivolous user name used to report a solemn incident. It occurred to me that the death thread was her/him looking for more attention, but I didn’t care enough to think about it much. I really don’t have a reason to believe or disbelieve anybody’s posts. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/36 "2012-06-26T20:05:30Z")
Other. I didn’t read any of her threads, but was aware of them. I read the thread where she died and then followed the controversy after that. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/37 "2012-06-26T20:07:45Z")
Other. I wasn’t really paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/38 "2012-06-26T20:08:34Z")
There was no poll answer for: I had never read anything to do with umkay and missed all the excitement (on which I have not gotten around to forming an opinion). That would be my selection if it existed. Gotta keep up the old null hypothesis. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/39 "2012-06-26T20:09:54Z")
So now **Umkay** ’s definitely not real? I never read the quadriplegic thread, and didn’t notice she started the devotee thread until right now, so I had no idea who she was. I’ve been spending the last few days very confused. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375/40 "2012-06-26T20:11:39Z")
I never really thought about it. I dont analyze each poster [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-honestly-did-you-believe-umkays-story-before-she-was-outed/626375.md?page=3)