[1409] Happy Pranksgiving!

[Verdant Haven]

[TITLE] Happy Pranksgiving!

[DESCRIPTION] The wildly popular @@NAMEINITIALS@@BC television series "Prankyard Wars" has long shown a team of practical jokers attempting to out-do each other with harmless mischief. Following a recent dip in ratings however, their antics led to the accidental incineration of a public park, several houses, and most of the first due fire station's equipment.

[VALIDITY] Judicial System

[OPTION 1] "It was just a prank, @@LEADER@@!" wails @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "@@ANIMAL@@-Butt" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, spokesman of the prank team. "You can't hold us liable for it! We just thought 'FOOF' sounded like a funny chemical name… you know, like 'You got FOOFed!' How were we supposed to know it makes pretty much everything it touches burst into flames? People need to lighten up and consider our intentions before grabbing their pitchforks!"

[EFFECT 1] bank robbers yell "it's just a prank" as they flee with their loot


[OPTION 2] "Dioxygen difluoride is one of the most dangerous chemicals in existence! We cannot allow this kind of irresponsible behavior!" roars police chief @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "@@ANIMAL@@-Claw" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, as @@HE@@ wildly flails about with @@HIS@@ baton. "They can't possibly have acquired it without knowing exactly what it does! Let me bring them up on chemical weapons charges, and we'll see who's laughing when they get convicted as the terrorists they are! We must have zero tolerance for so-called 'pranksters!'"

[EFFECT 2] whoopee cushions are classified as weapons of mass destruction


[OPTION 3] [VALIDITY] No State Controlled Media
"I'm certain we can negotiate a settlement that will make all parties happy" is the smoothing sentiment of @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "Voice of the @@ANIMAL@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, esteemed news anchor and manager of @@NAMEINITIALS@@BC. "If you'll look the other way on any import laws that may have been broken, we'll pay to rebuild everything even better than before, and I'll toss in some positive coverage of your current legislative efforts! If anybody asks, just tell them it was all staged. You win, we win!"

[EFFECT 3] conspiracy theorists regularly claim "it wasn't staged!"


[OPTION 4] [VALIDITY] State Controlled Media
"This is a travesty!" growls @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "Voice of the @@ANIMAL@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, your state Minister for Information and Propaganda. "When we nationalized the media, it was supposed to instill a certain sense of propriety and decorum, but instead our own producers are smuggling dangerous chemicals to boost ratings! I guess we just need to eliminate all of this "entertainment" programming, and increase funding for our censorship office! From now on, nothing but official news broadcasts and patriotic music can be allowed."


[EFFECT 4] children are so bored of television that they've resorted to playing outside

3rd draft (Option 4 change only)

[OPTION 4] [VALIDITY] State Controlled Media
"This is a travesty!" growls @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "Voice of the @@ANIMAL@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, your state Minister for Information and Propaganda. "When we nationalized the media, it was supposed to instill a certain sense of propriety and decorum, but instead they're smuggling dangerous chemicals! I guess we just need to eliminate all of this "entertainment" programming, and increase funding for our censorship office! From now on, nothing but official news broadcasts and patriotic music can be allowed."


[EFFECT 4] children are so bored of television that they've resorted to playing outside

2nd draft:

[TITLE] Happy Pranksgiving!

[DESCRIPTION] The wildly popular @@NAMEINITIALS@@BC television series "Prankyard Wars" has long shown a team of practical jokers attempting to out-do each other with harmless mischief. Following a recent dip in ratings however, their antics led to the accidental incineration of a public park, several houses, and most of the first due fire station's equipment.

[VALIDITY] Judicial System, No state controlled media

[OPTION 1] "It was just a prank, @@LEADER@@!" wails @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "@@ANIMAL@@-Butt@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, spokesman of the pranking team. "You can't hold us liable for it! We just thought 'FOOF' sounded like a funny chemical name… you know, like 'You got FOOFed!' How were we supposed to know it makes pretty much everything it touches burst in to flames? People need to lighten up and consider our intentions before grabbing their pitchforks!"

[EFFECT 1] bank robbers yell "it's just a prank" as they flee with their loot


[OPTION 2] "Who do these idiots think they are?" roars police chief @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "@@ANIMAL@@-Claw@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, slamming @@HIS@@ baton on your desk. "Do they think arson, reckless endangerment, and destruction of public property is funny? Sounds like terrorism charges are in order! We'll see who's laughing when they're sitting behind bars. We must have zero tolerance for dangerous scumbags like these!"

[EFFECT 2] whoopee cushions are classified as weapons of mass destruction


[OPTION 3] "I'm certain we can negotiate a settlement that will make all parties happy" is the silky-smooth sentiment of @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "Voice of the @@ANIMAL@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, esteemed news anchor and manager of @@NAMEINITIALS@@BC. "With the ratings spike we're getting from this latest escapade, we can easily afford to rebuild things even better than before. Just tell anybody who asks that it was all staged, and I'll make sure we toss in some positive coverage of your current legislative efforts. You win, we win!"

[EFFECT 3] conspiracy theorists regularly claim "it wasn't staged!"

1st draft:

In the spirit of April Fools day, and noticing that there doesn't appear to be any issue dealing directly with pranking, I've whipped up this humble offering. The closest to an overlap I can find is #564, which revolves around Good Samaritan law. I don't feel like negative outcomes for well-intentioned actions to save a life are truly an overlap for this sort of thing though, where we're dealing with negative outcomes from people who are deliberately engaging in dangerous behavior for laughs.

[TITLE] Happy Pranksgiving?

[DESCRIPTION] The wildly popular @@NAMEINITIALS@@BC television series "Prankyard Wars" has long featured teams of practical jokers attempting to out-do each other with harmless mischief. Following a dip in ratings, however, a recent series of antics led to the accidental incineration of a public park, several houses, and most of the first due fire station's equipment.

[VALIDITY] Judicial System, No state controlled media

[OPTION 1] "It was just a prank, @@LEADER@@!" wails @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "@@ANIMAL@@-Butt@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, leader of the team responsible for the incident. "You can't let them hold us liable for it! I just thought 'FOOF' sounded like a funny chemical name… you know, like 'You got FOOFed!' How was I supposed to know it makes pretty much everything it touches burst in to flames? People need to lighten up and think about intentions before getting their pitchforks!"

[EFFECT 1] bank robbers yell "it's just a prank" as they flee with their loot


[OPTION 2] "Who do these idiots think they are?" roars police chief @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "@@ANIMAL@@-Claw@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, swinging @@HIS@@ baton wildly. "Do they think arson, reckless endangerment, and destruction of public property is funny? Let me bring them up on chemical weapons charges, and we'll see who's laughing when they get convicted as the terrorists they are! We must have zero tolerance for dangerous scumbags like these!

[EFFECT 2] whoopee cushions are classified as weapons of mass destruction


[OPTION 3] "I'm certain we can negotiate a settlement that will make all parties happy" is the silky-smooth sentiment of @@RANDOMFIRSTNAME@@ "Voice of the @@ANIMAL@@" @@RANDOMLASTNAME@@, esteemed news anchor and manager of @@NAMEINITIALS@@BC. "With the ratings spike we're getting from this latest escapade, we can easily afford to make things whole again. Just tell anybody who asks that it was all staged, and I'll make sure we toss in some positive coverage of your current legislative efforts. You win, we win!"

[EFFECT 3] conspiracy theorists regularly claim "it wasn't staged!"

[Verdant Haven]

I didn't actually mean this as a joke issue or anything - merely inspired by the day :-P

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[Verdant Haven]

This didn't get any traction last time around, so I've let it stew and have tweaked some wordings. I'd like to take another stab at this one, as it's a topic that I don't believe is covered by present issues, and is unfortunately a real part of modern life with desperate wanna-be "influencers" around every corner.

[East Priapistan]

I like it. Two things:

• -Butt@@ and -Claw@@ don't need the @@, probably
• Maybe elaborate a bit on FOOF - not many people will be able to recognize dioxygen difluoride, let alone what it is. You could perhaps add something like "[i]We just found this big barrel covered with cool warning stickers and labeled 'Dioxygen Difluoride (FOOF) in an abandoned chemical plant - we just thought 'FOOF' sounded funny!"

This might even happen with state controlled media; no one says that when the state controls the media, absolutely no stupid shit is being made... it doesn't smell like critique of the system or leader, so it might just work there too.

[SherpDaWerp]

Maybe elaborate a bit on FOOF - not many people will be able to recognize dioxygen difluoride, let alone what it is. You could perhaps add something like "[i]We just found this big barrel covered with cool warning stickers and labeled 'Dioxygen Difluoride (FOOF) in an abandoned chemical plant - we just thought 'FOOF' sounded funny!"

I had no idea it was a specific chemical, I just though it was some company brand name for a chemical that turned out to be flammable. Y'know, like "Windex". "FOOF, and the mould is gone!"- sort of like a brand name. Or, it might have been a play on the noise that most flammable liquids make when you burn them - "WHOOF" or "FOOF". Funnily, that turned out closer to the truth, once I googled it.

So this might not be 100% necessary. And it sounds more reasonable for it not to be labled "Dioxygen Difluoride" because that's a Chemical Name™ and so there's less chance of random people wanting to set it on fire than with a chemical that's just called FOOF.

[Australian rePublic]

Great issue! Idiot caused conbustion is a great issue topic!


If FOOF is so flammable, why is it avaliable to the public in the first place? And if they got from a place that sells it to licenced people, who licenced it for a TV show called "Prank Wars"? Those people should be held liable. And if they obtained it illegally, well...

[East Priapistan]

If FOOF is so flammable, why is it avaliable to the public in the first place? And if they got from a place that sells it to licenced people, who licenced it for a TV show called "Prank Wars"? Those people should be held liable. And if they obtained it illegally, well...

It doesn't have to be available to the public for people to get their hands on it - I think gun laws in literally every country in the world prove that... but that's also why I would frame it a bit; a forgotten barrel in a chemical plant is not too improbable.

And it sounds more reasonable for it not to be labled "Dioxygen Difluoride" because that's a Chemical Name™ and so there's less chance of random people wanting to set it on fire than with a chemical that's just called FOOF.

The idiots on which this issue is based, would want to do that anyway

[Australian rePublic]

If FOOF is so flammable, why is it avaliable to the public in the first place? And if they got from a place that sells it to licenced people, who licenced it for a TV show called "Prank Wars"? Those people should be held liable. And if they obtained it illegally, well...

It doesn't have to be available to the public for people to get their hands on it - I think gun laws in literally every country in the world prove that... but that's also why I would frame it a bit; a forgotten barrel in a chemical plant is not too improbable.

Please re-read what I said:

If FOOF is so flammable, why is it avaliable to the public in the first place? And if they got from a place that sells it to licenced people, who licenced it for a TV show called "Prank Wars"? Those people should be held liable. And if they obtained it illegally, well...

I'll finish the "well" here...
If they obtained it illegally, they can't complain that they didn't know that it was illegal, well, then nobody would take option 1 seriously. Surely people with a successful TV show wouldn't be stupid enough to try pulling that option 1 bullshit on an illegally acquired chemical. Would they? And in either case, they wouldn't have even the ones who acquired it theksemselves. This would have been some producer or something. The head of the studio who authorised the acquisition should be held liable. I very much that the hosts themselves would have acquired such a chemical without having to climb the chain of command. If someone executive approved the acquisition, you can't really blame the hosts, but the excutive, or rather, whoever adviced the excutive and told him that it would be okay. Unless the hosts went behind the studio's back and acquired it anyway. This is starting look more like a court issue than a leader issue.

Either case, I think you should specify how they acquired it.

[Australian rePublic]

I thiught that "FOOF" was a brand name too
It could "FOOF" written on the label, as well as the chemical name in smaller print. You should write the chemical name into the issue

[Verdant Haven]

Fantastic feedback, folks, thank you very much! I've made a major update here, and draft 3 is up. Changes include:

- Overhauled option 2 heavily, to address what FOOF actually is
- I've divided Option 3 into Option 3 and Option 4, to allow "State Controlled Media" and "No State Controlled media" versions
- Modified option 3/4, to address how the FOOF was acquired
- Removed superfluous @@ signs
- Corrected in to > into


Let me know what you think of the changes!

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Looks good.

[Authoritaria-Imperia]

I don't get option 4. We nationalised the media to install a sense of honour and regal-ness, and they're smuggling chemicals… what's the connection? Having crazy options is one thing, but this is so tangential I don't think it works, at least not without some elaboration so we can follow the speaker's train of thought.

As for the rest of the issue, nice job! :D I like it!

[East Priapistan]

I don't get option 4. We nationalised the media to install a sense of honour and regal-ness, and they're smuggling chemicals… what's the connection? Having crazy options is one thing, but this is so tangential I don't think it works, at least not without some elaboration so we can follow the speaker's train of thought.

I think the idea is that nationalizing the media was expected to result in only boring, state-approved stuff to be aired, but the producers somehow managed to get in trouble still by doing illegal stuff under the radar. I don't feel it's so tangential, personally.

Very nice issue!

[Verdant Haven]

I don't get option 4. We nationalised the media to install a sense of honour and regal-ness, and they're smuggling chemicals… what's the connection? Having crazy options is one thing, but this is so tangential I don't think it works, at least not without some elaboration so we can follow the speaker's train of thought.

I think the idea is that nationalizing the media was expected to result in only boring, state-approved stuff to be aired, but the producers somehow managed to get in trouble still by doing illegal stuff under the radar. I don't feel it's so tangential, personally.

East Priapistan has the idea here! Basically, nationalizing the media is typically meant to ensure that only "acceptable" content is aired, but in this case, even a state-approved show managed to do some very unacceptable things. In order to crack down even more, programming is now to be limited to only things which can't possibly lead to "fun" or other potentially-unacceptable behavior.

I'll tweak the wordings in option 4 to further clarify what is going on.

In the meantime, thank you for the feedback! Barring further major changes, I'll move this to last call in the near future.

[Authoritaria-Imperia]

When we nationalized the media, it was supposed to instill a certain sense of propriety and decorum, but instead our own producers are smuggling dangerous chemicals to boost ratings!

Nice! This is much better!

Good luck!

[Verdant Haven]

I'm pretty pleased with where this is presently - moving to Last Call for final input.

[Verdant Haven]

This issue has now been submitted. Thank you, all, for the feedback! I'm glad we were able to revive this one and get it in shape.

[Authoritaria-Imperia]

This issue has now been submitted. Thank you, all, for the feedback! I'm glad we were able to revive this one and get it in shape.

Best of luck!

[Australian rePublic]

Good Luck!

[TalAkMaChen]

Would be fun if it made it through the editorial and be published in a few weeks, i.e. April 1st.