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It's not just that they're not cool, it's just that when you have billions of users, even if only 0.00001% takes the joke seriously it can lead to personal trag

It's not just that they're not cool, it's just that when you have billions of users, even if only 0.00001% takes the joke seriously it can lead to personal tragedy such as people losing their jobs. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/04/01/gmails-mic-drop-april-fool-backfires-costing-people-their-jobs/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/04/01/gmails-mic...

grawprog 7y ago
To be fair, that's a horrible idea for an April fool's prank. Ideally, they shouldn't do any actual real harm. Like actually having that button work as they described was just stupid. Maybe if it didn't actually let you press the button or did something different but still sent your email...but to actually make it do that...someone should have realized something bad was going to happen.
FriendlyNormie 7y ago
Please don’t link directly to sites with unskippable paywalls. https://archive.is/3TPqE https://archive.is/3TPqE
- 45ure 7y ago
  Weird flex with 'unskippable paywall' then link it with something dodgy. The archive link produces a Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead message in Firefox. Edit: it would be nice to know why everyone is so upset with such an innocuous comment? It has to be something else, that has pissed you off, isn't it? ;-P
  - DuskStar 7y ago
    I'm pretty sure archive.is is safe... Yes, there's been some weirdness between them and Cloudflare, but nothing security related.
    - 45ure 7y ago
      Thank you for the explanation. The original article is certainly not paywalled in my jurisdiction, hence the consternation, at using an alternative source.
  - jtvjan 7y ago
    Do you use Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS? (Firefox does so by default if you live in the US, see network settings at the bottom of about:preferences) It can't resolve archive.is because 1.1.1.1 doesn't support ECS.
    - 45ure 7y ago
      Yes, I do. I was not aware of the implications. I appreciate the heads-up. I have now educated myself. Thank you. https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/ev0lit/archivetoday_and_dns_over_https/ https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/ev0lit/archivetoda...
  - albedoa 7y ago
    What makes you think anyone is upset?
    - 45ure 7y ago
      I have specifically asked @dang to remove my account. I don't feel it is right for me to comment any more.
- patneedham 7y ago
  The paywall on that site is skippable by disabling Javascript and refreshing the page
- snek 7y ago
  archive.org doesn't block you based on which dns resolver you use: https://web.archive.org/web/20190914012706/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/04/01/gmails-mic-drop-april-fool-backfires-costing-people-their-jobs/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190914012706/https://www.teleg...
  - judge2020 7y ago
    For reference: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19493240 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19493240
    - iratewizard 7y ago
      The user says it's bizarre, but it's probably related to cloudflare engaging in censorship on the web.
      - Polylactic_acid 7y ago
        Cloudflare has made a statement, archive.is has not refuted it or left any comment as far as I know. I'm going to side with cloudflare here.
      - Thorrez 7y ago
        archive.is specifically blocks requests that come from Cloudflare's datacenters. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21155056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21155056
phaser 7y ago
That's the most unfunny over-elaborate April fools idea I've heard. The fact that nobody thought it could backfire and the passive aggressive nature of the idea speaks loudly of how out of touch with reality Google engineers are.

grawprog 7y ago

To be fair, that's a horrible idea for an April fool's prank. Ideally, they shouldn't do any actual real harm. Like actually having that button work as they described was just stupid. Maybe if it didn't actually let you press the button or did something different but still sent your email...but to actually make it do that...someone should have realized something bad was going to happen.

FriendlyNormie 7y ago

Please don’t link directly to sites with unskippable paywalls. https://archive.is/3TPqE https://archive.is/3TPqE

45ure 7y ago
Weird flex with 'unskippable paywall' then link it with something dodgy. The archive link produces a Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead message in Firefox. Edit: it would be nice to know why everyone is so upset with such an innocuous comment? It has to be something else, that has pissed you off, isn't it? ;-P
- DuskStar 7y ago
  I'm pretty sure archive.is is safe... Yes, there's been some weirdness between them and Cloudflare, but nothing security related.
  - 45ure 7y ago
    Thank you for the explanation. The original article is certainly not paywalled in my jurisdiction, hence the consternation, at using an alternative source.
- jtvjan 7y ago
  Do you use Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 DNS? (Firefox does so by default if you live in the US, see network settings at the bottom of about:preferences) It can't resolve archive.is because 1.1.1.1 doesn't support ECS.
  - 45ure 7y ago
    Yes, I do. I was not aware of the implications. I appreciate the heads-up. I have now educated myself. Thank you. https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/ev0lit/archivetoday_and_dns_over_https/ https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/ev0lit/archivetoda...
- albedoa 7y ago
  What makes you think anyone is upset?
  - 45ure 7y ago
    I have specifically asked @dang to remove my account. I don't feel it is right for me to comment any more.
patneedham 7y ago
The paywall on that site is skippable by disabling Javascript and refreshing the page
snek 7y ago
archive.org doesn't block you based on which dns resolver you use: https://web.archive.org/web/20190914012706/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/04/01/gmails-mic-drop-april-fool-backfires-costing-people-their-jobs/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190914012706/https://www.teleg...
- judge2020 7y ago
  For reference: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19493240 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19493240
  - iratewizard 7y ago
    The user says it's bizarre, but it's probably related to cloudflare engaging in censorship on the web.
    - Polylactic_acid 7y ago
      Cloudflare has made a statement, archive.is has not refuted it or left any comment as far as I know. I'm going to side with cloudflare here.
    - Thorrez 7y ago
      archive.is specifically blocks requests that come from Cloudflare's datacenters. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21155056 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21155056

phaser 7y ago

That's the most unfunny over-elaborate April fools idea I've heard. The fact that nobody thought it could backfire and the passive aggressive nature of the idea speaks loudly of how out of touch with reality Google engineers are.