This is cruelty, not humor. Look at this from the perspective of a different profession: Why is it a problem if I'm a doctor and I put a non-lethal poison into

This is cruelty, not humor. Look at this from the perspective of a different profession: Why is it a problem if I'm a doctor and I put a non-lethal poison into every few flu shuts on April 1st? Because April Fools. This is how people who don't program view this sort of thing. You can say that you feel sorry for them, but, in reality, you lose, because they'll never trust you again. And they shouldn't.