How One Man Faked His Own Internet Death

[DKO]

Death is scary. Suicide is scary. And when you’re a valued member of a long-standing community who supports and helps one another, you don’t fake awful stories about either to sadden and embarrass your friends. You don’t ruin years of relationships to pull a stupid gag that demeans true tragedies. You don’t make all of those people who love and care about you think you killed yourself for the lulz.

They don’t do what Marc, aka holdkris99 on Metafilter, did.

Marc faked his own suicide and tricked a whole community into feeling sorry for him. He’s still alive in real life, but he killed himself on the internet. For what?

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2012/05/how-one-man-faked-his-own-internet-death/

Is this the biggest and longest trolling case ever?

[Keel M.]

I have been lied to about many things online, but not about death. It's sad and disturbing that someone would do this, yet at the same time, not entirely surprising because there is so much anonymity.

[+OverSword]

I have been lied to about death on the internet. I was contacted by someone that told me a longtime friend of mine, who I hadn't seen in years, was killed in a drunken accident. The person that told me was not someone I knew, and was doing it for a joke on the guy he said was dead. Real funny, right?

Edited May 23, 2012 by OverSword

[Keel M.]

I'm sorry that happened to you OverSword. It's sick that people would do something like that. Have you re-established contact with this friend and informed him of what happened?

[conspiracybeliever]

Oversword hasn't answered. I bet he was lying.

[Gunn]

Yeah I love a good practical joke every once in a while, that's in good taste, but the bad thing about that type of practical joke is that it could lead into a "the boy who cried wolf" scenario. Something may actually happen to the jokster, as in a real death, the second time around. But everybody who knew him/her may curse that individual and ignore it, saying he/she is just screwing with us again. Then what happens? The people that knew him or her, finds out sometime later that he/she really is dead, putting them through a emotional rollercoaster and making them feel worse off then what they would have normally felt with just simple grief. I just don't think it would be fair to do that to people I knew and left behind.

Bottom line is: That's just one of those jokes that is in bad taste and you don't pull on people, it's too damn likely to happen for real.

[Princess Tumbleweed]

Oversword hasn't answered. I bet he was lying.

omg! Thats so not funny but I'm cracking up! just because I know Oversword is a joker on the lie thread in fun and games! Doesn't sound like his MO though because it has no evil clowns chasing people with tubs of butter and throwing ice cubes in the shape of eyeballs made with cherry cool-aid at a midget with 3 legs.