UPD!?!?? discuss

[caudy]

It stands for un-planned dismount doesn't it?
I've seen some people use it on this forum.

Where did it originate from?
Is it just americans that use it?
Does anyone else apart from me think that making absolutely everything a TLA (three letter acronym) is a little excessive?
Would it not just make more sense to say fall off?

discuss...

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by caudy

Where did it originate from?

I think it originated in rec.sport.unicycling, the Usenet newsgroup from which this forum gets its name. It could be older, dating back to the "unicycling mailing list" that existed before that. A little research of old threads might be able to determine who started the whole thing.

In the days before Web-based online forums, newsgroups were the way to go, but they were a little more geeky (less accessible) than what we have now. So there were even more scientists, computer geeks and other types of nerd then, than there are now. Many of these people are attracted to TLAs.

Does anyone else apart from me think that making absolutely everything a TLA (three letter acronym) is a little excessive?

Yes. And whereas I think MUni is a workable term for us to use amongst ourselves, it is not intended for the non-unicycling public. For them we should still be calling it mountain unicycling (or rough terrain unicycling). Same goes, even moreso, for guni, funi, etc.

Would it not just make more sense to say fall off?

Yup. But that's not nerdly enough.

[Dane M]

I saw somewhere that someone said they used to call Muni UMX, I like that haha!

[caudy]

Ahh, that explains a lot. Thanks.

I totally agree that Muni works well among unicyclists.

[MuniAddict]

Originally Posted by caudy

It stands for un-planned dismount doesn't it?

Also stands for Unicycle Police Division.

[caudy]

Originally Posted by Dane M

I saw somewhere that someone said they used to call Muni UMX, I like that haha!

UMX. Like it

Bicycle Motor X, Unicycle Motor X

Originally Posted by MuniAddict

Also stands for Unicycle Police Division.

Ha, Great stuff. Loved the video. Nice to see some variety, rather than just another trials line.

I need a keyboard just so I can demand random accompaniments like that.

[Dane M]

It could also be used as describing word. "I just got up'd" This could apply to someone who nutted it on a rail, or fell with their buttocks on a sharp stick, something of that nature.

[caudy]

like, pwned or owned or epic fail

[Dane M]

Originally Posted by caudy

like, pwned or owned or epic fail

That's actually what I thought you guys meant before I found out it's true meaning.

[kington99]

Originally Posted by caudy

Would it not just make more sense to say fall off?

discuss...

no, falling off is different. UPD is used to signify those incidents where you had to step off the uni unintentionally but you didn't actualy fall over. This is why we need the acronym, because it refers to something very sepcific that there isn't a word for in the english langauge.

[johnfoss]

Originally Posted by Dane M

I saw somewhere that someone said they used to call Muni UMX, I like that haha!

Before MUni there was U.M.X. I coined that term for an article about dirt riding in the Unicycling Society of America newsletter in 1981. Years later, when offroad racing events were added to unicycle competitions, those were called U.M.X. as well, because that was the known expression. But at the time, there wasn't really any organized offroad unicycling going on. U.M.X. was used as a tie-in to BMX, which was very popular at the time.

Problem with U.M.X. is that it wasn't what we were doing. In fact I've only ever heard of one example of a real motocross race on unicycles (at a winter event in Toronto a few years back). Moto races are short heats, that you generally do a lot of to narrow down to your top riders. We have usually always done medium to long races for time, and that was it.

The term "muni" came along in 1995 (on rec.sport.unicycling) and has become the common term for dirt unicycling.

Originally Posted by kington99

no, falling off is different.

I disagree. There is falling off the unicycle, and falling *down* off the unicycle. Both are UPDs. In fact, I don't think we have a TLA to describe a UPD where you specifically don't land on your feet. Though UPD generally means (unintentionally) falling off the unicycle without falling down, this is not certain. It's still a UPD if you fall off the unicycle and then stumble off a cliff.

[tholub]

Originally Posted by johnfoss

I disagree. There is falling off the unicycle, and falling *down* off the unicycle. Both are UPDs. In fact, I don't think we have a TLA to describe a UPD where you specifically don't land on your feet. Though UPD generally means (unintentionally) falling off the unicycle without falling down, this is not certain. It's still a UPD if you fall off the unicycle and then stumble off a cliff.

And if that fall was caused by a little tiny rock, it would be an LAD (Lame-Ass Dismount).

[BoojiBoy]

I find it funny when TLA's become verbs. Even if the TLA is describing an action, saying "I LOLed" or "I UPD'd" is a little silly, IMO.

[Bondo]

FYI in the USA it is SOP to TLA long words ETC...
According to ATT and AAA the USA improves our GDP by TLA during NWR. Saves lots of USD for our CFOs IMO. My CPU needs CPR now FWIW. I am reading this at the DMV for my BMW sorry if it's FUBAR.

EOM

[caudy]

Originally Posted by tholub

And if that fall was caused by a little tiny rock, it would be an LAD (Lame-Ass Dismount).

Falling off over a tiny rock would be lame but with the stumbling over cliff element added it will have been transformed from lame to the proportions of epic fail.