"I find this AMAZING ... there are even heated debates about OTHER forums on this site.................."

It's like a feeding frenzy. The vultures just can't resist ripping open the carcass and pulling out the entrails. It doesn't even seem to matter if it's still warm, or months cold. Pure dysfunction!! I love it.................. -charley

I was not one of them, but maybe you should ask the "dysfunctional" lot who were publicly duped, humiliated, laughed at, etc etc, what they feel about it.

I believe you can post something, wait a little for the fish to catch the bait and then say "Gotcha, it was a joke". You may get away with no harm other than some mild comments and irritate some people who will forget about it...but,

It is another thing to post something as your own creation, watch the astonishment on peoples' comments, receive kudos, explain how you "did" it, mock the few disbelievers, and expect to get away without a single apology and returning some years leater with a "I was depressed" line.

And since people moved on and the carcass returned, it seems that it is not a carcass.
Go vultures, go!