I would like to suggest that we have a designated Forum section for posting joke threads. We all like a joke, but sometimes they are misunderstood like some of the posts in this one or this one indicate. Sometimes people get really upset and we are supposed to try to avoid creating or participating in drama. I do not think this would stop the problem altogether, but I do think it might help avoid some of it. How do you subtly allow people to feel they are participating in a joke rather than being the subject of the joke and still not outright give the joke away? Also, how long is too long to keep the joke going? Sometimes the thread keeps its momentum even once the joke is revealed. The OP of last year's April Fool's thread looks like it was heavily edited because of this. It can itself too: If someone gets mad and posts angrily or threatens to leave EMC it may be that it can't be undone. We've probably all seen someone get fooled by an article from a website like TheOnion.com or checked the veracity of an article or statement someone has made on the Snopes website. I often find myself reading a headline or starting to read an article and saying: "Hey! Wait a minute...", then I look at the URL to see where it originated and confirm my suspicion. There is a saying that, if you have to explain a joke, it is no longer a joke. A designated Forum section for joke threads would allow a joke thread to have it's, "Oh. Haha! You got me.", impact with fewer worries about drama and no need for further explanation other than to point out its location. Saturday(April 1st) I saw a joke Auction which gave me this idea. It was worded in a way that did not follow Auction rules. I assumed it was intended as an April Fool's joke but the way it was worded gave us no way to participate and still follow rules. Then I thought maybe it was intended as a riddle. Sort of a Reverse Reverse Auction. In Auctions we typically have to exchange DC quantities while the Rupee amount changes so I bid 5k Rupees thinking I had figured the joke out. The OP later insisted that we bid in Dirt though so, like the old curmudgeon I am, I Reported it and suggested the thread either be moved to the Controversial section or closed. I felt bad when it was closed. I was actually hoping it would be moved and allowed to continue, but... rules man. I don't necessarily think it should be mandatory that we use the proposed section, but I think it may help someone who is trying to be conscientious of how the fun might affect their fellow players. If the "Reverse Reverse Auction" had been posted in the Controversial Topics Forum or the Tricksy Hobbitses Forum, I could have both gotten the joke as well as bid a potato or whatever silly thing I wanted without feeling like I was breaking any rules. If the other two threads I linked above had been placed in a special location they might also have had shorter lived drama but still been able to successfully trick us for a short time.
If the Smp8 independence thread was posted in a designated joke section it wouldn't have had the same effect at all, since you'd know straight away it was a joke. That's not the point of April fools and other such jokes. Sorry, but -1
I checked the thread late but it had what appeared to be a couple of obscenity laden meltdown posts before it even made it off the first page. Normally people might be banned for that, but it looks like they were warned and their posts edited. If that person had done something extreme out of anger that got them banned or if they left EMC like some people threatened to do during last year's PVP joke, would it have been worth it? I'm not suggesting that it be mandatory to use a particular section and I am not suggesting something obvious like prefixing the Title with [April Fools]. We can already post these in the Controversial Topics anyway. Not everyone will notice a thread is located in the Controversial Topics Forum Section or understand the significance of it if they do. I think that is a flaw, but there may be a value to EMC in using this as a subtle way to shorten the time between @$%#^%!!! and Oh! Haha. for those of us who do notice these things as well as possibly limit damage.
I think we should base ourselves on the facts here and don't wander off into the regions of theories and "what if" kind of scenarios. I've had my run-ins with staff where I criticized some of their actions, I even took things a whole lot further by directly butting into certain issues (in private) and I can share one thing: when Krysyy says that "each case is different" then I believe her. I'm convinced that in general EMC staff tries their best to uphold the spirit, or intent, of the rules and not perse the rules by the letter. I'm not going to elaborate on that too much out of fear that such info could be abused (still, it's just an assumption on my part) but even so... Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm quite sure that staff approaches such threads with a little more leniency than others and that they won't lash out because of drama which they more or less incited themselves. I also know of a few players who played their own April fools jokes by threatening to leave and all while in fact they weren't. But most of all.... If April fools would be something only the Empire was doing then I might agree with this suggestion, but April fools is pretty much done all over the world. So I don't think that the Empire should treat this any different than the rest does. As always: some will enjoy and/or appreciate it, others don't. But isn't that something which will always happen no matter what it is?
These threads inherently poke fun at people who are trusting or who are not skeptical enough in a public way. Do a Forum Search for "drama" by Member: "Krysyy" and you will see that the general rule here is to avoid causing it and to try not to contribute to it. It's a rule anyway. Yet once a year Staff intentionally causes it and, the last two years at least, some of the more gullible among us have been publicly made "Fools". I am trying to think of a way to limit that and still have fun. Actually, I'm now thinking that putting a thread like the SMP8 Exit in the Controversial Topics section might have made it more convincing. The main thing I wanted to do by posting this Suggestion was to offer the idea as a way to mitigate the upset I see with some of these types of threads. So far the feedback suggests that I'm the only one seeing it as potentially damaging though.
TL;DR: I appreciate the idea, but if somebody does not already recognize the context of a situation without your suggestion, I believe they would fail to recognize the change you are suggesting. My cousin had a birthday party for her daughter recently, and at the party she had set out a plate of chocolate dipped Oreo cookies. I grabbed one and began to eat it, and only halfway through did I realize that it tasted kind of funny, and had a slightly mint flavor. Turns out, my cousin had replaced the cream filling with a mixture of baby toothpaste and flour. Now normally, a person would logically be upset by this. However, I had to keep two things in mind: My cousin is a known prankster, it is one of her favorite hobbies The birthday party was on April 1st (conveniently ) Thus, while I was kind of grossed out and slightly upset (I was looking forward to the Oreo cookie), I took the prank in good humor and laughed about it. Cause the important thing to keep in mind is the context of a situation. As Shel stated in his post, we as staff recognize that every case is unique, and different. While the actions a player takes may be the same, the context of the situation is always different. In that auction you linked to for example, under normal circumstances that thread would have not only been locked, but the host would have also gotten at least a warning PM from me, if not action taken against their account. But because I knew the context, that the thread was posted on April Fool's Day, I did not treat it like I normally would. I acknowledged the joke and closed it, and everyone had a good time with it while it was open. What you are requesting, essentially, is that we add a bit more context to these types of threads, to make it easier for people to recognize that it is, indeed, a joke thread. While I appreciate this suggestion, I don't believe that it would help the situation that much. On the idea of the April Fool's thread, everyone knows what day April 1st is, because it is something recognized world-wide, and many companies release fake products and services on those days. If a person does not recognize this context, I doubt they would notice that the thread was posted in a different forum section than normal. (Admittedly, EMC puts a lot of effort into our April Fool's pranks, but that is partially what makes them so enjoyable for majority of our players.) While we typically try to avoid drama on EMC, April Fool's day is one day out of the year that we tend to not take things quite so seriously. To have a little bit of fun. (Within reason, of course.) Thus, it is important for not only staff, but for everyone to recognize the context of a situation. Most good jokes and pranks depend heavily on context. That is why the funny part is at the end of a joke, the beginning part is setting up the context for it.
-1 just put joke threads ins miscelanius. and EMC april fools, ARE official EMC events so they are in the right place.
Yeah I can see where this could be beneficial, but the purpose of a joke thread is to be, well, a joke; reading "Discussion in Jokes" would kind of ruin the joke itself. +0?
