# Idle Thoughts **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 1, 2015, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512 "2015-04-01T16:36:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/201 "2015-04-02T12:02:30Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Moderators are supposed to warn and ban people that play unannounced jokes or lie. No, they’re not. People lie here all the time. And how do you _announce_ a joke on a MB - post “My next post is going to be a real hum-dinger, folks!”?:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/202 "2015-04-02T12:24:45Z")
Am I the only one who mistakenly inserted a semi-colon while reading \*\*Idle Thoughts \*\*line, _“I know you and I don’t talk”_, misreading it as, _“I know you; and I don’t talk”_? Because it sounded to me like \*\*Idle \*\*knew me and we must have bumped uglies numerous times in the past. But, like _“whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”_, she was assuring me that she was not going to blab about whatever may have resulted from our sweaty beast with two backs encounters. That’s the only reason I’m upset with **Idle Thoughts** —I thought she was telling me she and I have a love child or two together and I was starting to dream about getting hitched and honeymooning in West Virginia. I liked **Idle Thoughts** prank and look forward to more from her in the future. The offenderati demanding apologies and piling on the poor lass should be ashamed and grow a pair. What exactly did she do to offend your sensitive constitutions? Try to inject a little humor into your lives? Get you to maybe laugh a little at your own vulnerabilities? Heck, I prank my young kids harder than that on a regular basis, and they’re growing up just fine, because they, you know, have a sense of humor. And, they can dish it out as well as they can take it. \ ***Idle** , I’d certainly enjoy receiving more nude photos from you. And, don’t be embarrassed about that dangly thing between your legs—1.5” is not too long for a girl’s lady bit. \* ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/203 "2015-04-02T13:03:56Z")
I’m not posting this to berate IT but rather to address this particular theme of cluelessness in this thread. > [@bucketybuck](#): > > Now I’m happily chortling at the level of butthurt on display. “Yeah, what’s the matter - can’t you losers take a joke?” That’s always been a winning line to take. > [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > What exactly did she do to offend your sensitive constitutions? Try to inject a little humor into your lives? Get you to maybe laugh a little at your own vulnerabilities? What did she do? Drew us into her (fictional) life and asked us to care about a stranger, to give some emotional commitment, telling us that something we wrote made her want to reach out to us…and then went “Naah, just messing with ya! I don’t care about you at all! Sucker!” How is that “injecting a little humor into our lives”? Into hers, sure, but ours? If I point to your shirt in a helpful manner to indicate you’ve got something on it and then I flick your nose when you look, am I “injecting humor into your life” or am I being a jerk? In the grand scheme of things this is a minor blip. Reacting to it by demanding that IT be removed as mod or that you’re never, ever, ever going to talk to her again ever is almost certainly overkill. But saying that it’s our fault that we don’t find a joke made at our expense funny? That’s just stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/204 "2015-04-02T13:09:43Z")
I’ve said this already, but thought I’d reiterate it in different words. I wasn’t offended by the topic of the PM, but I still maintain that the fact it was done it is effectively an announcement “If you want to hack our board, do it on April Fool’s Day - people will think it’s **another** joke and you’ll have more time before people realize what is going on” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/205 "2015-04-02T13:13:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > If I point to your shirt in a helpful manner to indicate you’ve got something on it and then I flick your nose when you look, am I “injecting humor into your life” or am I being a jerk? Assuming it’s a acquaintance or friend and not a total stranger? “Injecting humor”. That was easy. > [@](#): > > In the grand scheme of things this is a minor blip. Reacting to it by demanding that IT be removed as mod or that you’re never, ever, ever going to talk to her again ever is almost certainly overkill. But saying that it’s our fault that we don’t find a joke made at our expense funny? That’s just stupid. I don’t think most people found it ‘funny’. Most people found it vaguely amusing at best and I don’t see any complaints about people who thought it was more :rolleyes: than 😃 . Most of the mocking seems to be for the “Oh, I shall never trust again! You have BETRAYED me” or the “Everyone on the board needs a full, hand-written, apology on Idle’s flayed skin and using his own blood as ink” people. Or the ones who are claiming it’s EXACTLY LIKE!!! that one time when they were pantsed and pushed into the girl’s locker room. And I think you and I are in agreement from what you said, that they’re being excessive and over the top. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/206 "2015-04-02T13:29:19Z")
This thread reminds me of the 6 PM news when it’s a “no news” day. City council debates color of citywide recyclable containers. County workers caught picking up trash in parks. Lady finds mouse in trashcan. Bird craps on statue of Sherman. Film at 11. At least you didn’t get RickRolled. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/207 "2015-04-02T13:30:58Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “Yeah, what’s the matter - can’t you losers take a joke?” That’s always been a winning line to take. Its the only line to take with overwrought crap like this: > [@](#): > > What did she do? Drew us into her (fictional) life and asked us to care about a stranger, to give some emotional commitment, telling us that something we wrote made her want to reach out to us ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/208 "2015-04-02T13:39:13Z")
I was taken in, yes. To steal a phrase from **Fenris** the prank, at best, was vaguely amusing. At worst it tugged on kindness and sympathy. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/209 "2015-04-02T13:40:37Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Its the only line to take with overwrought crap like this: Was that not what she did? ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/210 "2015-04-02T13:45:34Z")
I was able to figure out pretty quickly that it was some sort of prank, and while I frankly find the whole April Fool’s routine tiresome and have no interest whatever in pranking anyone, I wasn’t particularly annoyed by this one. The message did throw me off briefly, though, for reasons that **Idle** probably could not have anticipated. On average, I’ve maybe gotten a PM about once every six months or so ever since I joined this board. Within the past two weeks, however, I’d already received two slightly odd messages from a poster I’d never corresponded with previously. Upon getting a third ( **Idle’s** prank), I did have a moment where I was starting to wonder why I was suddenly attracting a bunch of goofballs and eccentrics with an urge to overshare. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/211 "2015-04-02T14:05:36Z")
I figured it was a prank, but tried to be clever about it. He’s a mod, he must have gone to a Dopefest or two. So I start looking up dopefests and his name, and just come up with times he “forgot” or “couldn’t make it” or some other lame excuse for not going. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/212 "2015-04-02T14:16:02Z")
> [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > … > > I liked **Idle Thoughts** prank and look forward to more from **her** in the future… [/SIZE]\* emph mine. LOL, it was a joke, a joke I say. But I agree and hereby decree. From this point on, **Idle** must be referred to as a FEMALE in all board doings. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/213 "2015-04-02T14:33:26Z")
To me, the humorous aspect to IT’s prank wasn’t the content, or the “gotcha”, it was simply the absurdity of it. Even if I had forgotten it was April Fool’s day, after reading the IM, I would have asked myself, _is today April 1st or something?..oh yeah, it is._ I mean c’mon, someone on an anonymous internet forum just happens to pick you at random to tell a deep dark secret? He even said “I know you and I don’t talk.” Wouldn’t someone choose someone who they did talk to instead? It’s still anonymous, if that’s what you want to maintain, but at least you’ve got some connection there. The IM was about as believable as one of those Liberian Prince emails (and about that, I don’t wish to discuss further, my house is in foreclosure because of it). But, obviously, some of you fell for the story hook, line and sinker, so let’s talk about emotional investiture. Let’s say you got sucked into IT’s little confessional. How big of a crisis did you imagine IT being in? Even reading between the lines, did you conclude that IT was having a major problem with gender identification? Did he appear overly distraught? Did he indicate any suicidal ideation? If I did believe the IM was real, I would have read it simply as someone who got stuck in a lie years ago when “she” registered on this anonymous message board and knew that revealing the lie at this point could “possibly” get her banned. I remember years ago registering on some site as a dog, because I wanted to maintain a high level of anonymity. I wasn’t confused about being a dog, or debating about getting trans-species surgery or anything. But, if I remained on the site for years, I suppose I’d like to tell at least someone that I wasn’t really a dog. It would not be a crisis situation, just a little something I wanted to get off my chest. That is the same tone as IT’s IM. If any of you truly believed IT was going through a crisis, I would have expected you to start advising serious professional intervention or suicide prevention, etc. I didn’t read many of the replies, but the ones I did didn’t seem to go that far. So, #1, you’re silly for even falling for the prank and #2, if you did fall for the prank, you’re even sillier for getting too emotionally invested in it. Bottom line: some people enjoyed the prank and those that didn’t should not have been hurt by it in anyway. Not finding something funny is not being hurt, at worst it’s just a minor waste of your time. If you really want to learn about pranks and their positive impact of society, [please look at this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/214 "2015-04-02T14:44:16Z")
I didn’t reply to her message. What makes me angry as hell is that with the responsibilities of a moderator, one should behave responsibly, not like a “Hold my beer, watch this” Frat Rat. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/215 "2015-04-02T14:51:07Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I didn’t reply to her message. What makes me angry as hell is that with the responsibilities of a moderator, one should behave responsibly, not like a “Hold my beer, watch this” Frat Rat. You get what you pay for. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/216 "2015-04-02T15:00:49Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > You get what you pay for. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/217 "2015-04-02T15:39:17Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I didn’t reply to her message. What makes me angry as hell is that with the responsibilities of a moderator, one should behave responsibly, not like a “Hold my beer, watch this” Frat Rat. You keep characterizing this like he whipped his dick out and shoved it into your ear while high-fiving some canoes in cargo shorts and backwards Red Sox hats. Perhaps you have some deeper issues to deal with, notably in regard to frat culture, but they have nothing to do with Idle Thoughts, no matter how many times you say stuff like this. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/218 "2015-04-02T15:47:34Z")
Okay, late to the party, but I thought it was hilarious when I found out. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/219 "2015-04-02T15:55:28Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > You keep characterizing this like he whipped his dick out and shoved it into your ear while high-fiving some canoes in cargo shorts and backwards Red Sox hats. > > Perhaps you have some deeper issues to deal with, notably in regard to frat culture, but they have nothing to do with Idle Thoughts, no matter how many times you say stuff like this. You should speak to your Clergyman or Physician about these things, Lendervedder. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512/220 "2015-04-02T16:04:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You should speak to your Clergyman or Physician about these things, Lendervedder. > 🙂 I thought your reactions have been so over-the-top that they themselves were an April Fools joke, perhaps in league with **Idle Thoughts**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idle-thoughts/716512.md?page=12)