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EC's 2012 April Fools Overview

Discussion in 'Empty Closets Help and Feedback' started by Martin, Apr 2, 2012.

  1. Martin

    Board Member Admin Team Full Member

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    [​IMG]

    Wassupski peeps!

    I imagine at this point many of you are breathing a sigh of relief that April Fools has passed for yet another year! Unfortunately, I'm about to give you the traditional overview of the EC events that led to the delightful controversy that has become quite symbolic of EC's April Fools tradition, so sit back and have fun reading the mayhem that EC's Staff caused. :grin:

    1) The Plastics vs Janis Ian
    Admittedly a slightly unexpected April Fools, but after the success of Gretchen Weiners last year it was only inevitable that the characters from Mean Girls would take over the site for one day. What started out as Gretchen Weiners re-appearing for a second year eventually turned into a war between Gretchen, Regina George and Janis Ian. You can see some of the classical Mean Girls style screenshots in the spoiler belowww.
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    Note: Read from the bottom-up of each image below.

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    We can also exclusively reveal that the following members were the account holders of each account:

    Gretchen Weiners - Martin.
    Regina George - Owen.
    Janis Ian - Nazo.

    2) Snail

    If somebody had told me that the globalisation of EC would result in us reaching out to non-humans then I'd have called them an idiot, and yet April Fools saw the arrival of an unusual and happy-go-lucky snail.
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    It's not everyday that EC has the honour to welcome a snail to its membership base, especially one who is seeking "a fellow shelled gastropod for life... and the tastiest leaf litter there is", but we were honoured to have the little snail in our presence regardless! You can see the welcome thread for snail here: http://emptyclosets.com/forum/introductions-welcomes-congratulations/59978-hello-everyone.html

    Below are also some screenshots of the short adventure snail had when using EC:
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    Where any of you able to figure out who Snail was? I'll give you a hintttt!

    Their username begins with 'R' and ends with 'osina' :wink:

    3) MisssterCreeper
    For those of you, like myself, who know nothing about MineCraft, here's the definition of a Creeper:
    If I had realised at the time the danger the Creeper actually held to the safety of the site then I'd have probably called in the bomb squad, but somebody implying that they really want to blow their load isn't something that causes me to bat an eyelid anymore on here, so I sorta dropped the ball on that one. Anyways... you can see the Creepers time on EC belowww!
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    A special thanks to Maddy who assumed the identity of the Creeper! :grin:

    However, I can't ignore the fact that MineCraft's wiki page doesn't portray the Creeper in a very good light. Just have a look at his MineCraft Wiki picture:
    [​IMG]

    I guess the fact that it clearly looks like cock and balls explains why quite a few EC'ers know what the creeper is? Possibly? Maybe? Probablyyy? :wink:

    4) The linksss!
    The Arcade found itself being rebranded with a whole new type of game. Sadly it wasn't a first-person shooter on who could kill Justin Bieber (or replace this name with any bastard you dislike, even me if you so desire!) the fastest. It did, however, link you to his oh-so-fabulous songgg. Members who clicked what they thought was an Arcade link soon found themselves transported to another word where the following song is considered music: Justin Bieber - Baby ft. Ludacris - YouTube

    A fake sub-forum was also placed in Help & Feedback titled 'What are these changes?'. Unfortunately it didn't offer any explanation and just sent members to this uber bizarre video that lostinthought9 provided: Don't Mess with my My Toot Toot - Rockin' Sidney (Live) - YouTube

    I apologise for any ear injuries caused by this prank.

    5) OMG WTF THIS IS NOT CHIT CHAT!?!
    Our more observant members soon noticed that despite the illusion that nothing in the Chit Chat section had changed, the forum order had infact been changed and each forum renamed in order to maintain this illusionnn. Some caught on rather quickly to what happened, whilst others were convinced I had individually clicked every single thread in each forum and moved them to another forum.

    The forum changes were as follows:
    Chit Chat became Entertainment and Media.
    Fun and Games became Technology, Gaming, Soft-& Hardware.
    Entertainment and Media became LGBT News, Rights, Issues and Equality.
    Technology, Gaming, Soft-& Hardware became Introductions, Welcomes and Congratulations.
    LGBT News, Rights, Issues and Equality became Chit Chat.
    Introductions, welcome and congratulations became Fun and Games.

    6) MT Closest
    Ooh, controversyyy.

    Some would argue that it's mean to lie to members about redesigning the site so that it has a painful layout, and altering EC's brand so that it's no longer 'Coming out resources and a safe place to chat'. Instead April Fools saw the arrival of MT Closest - a overly purple design with the aim of providing "A safe online community for people to share their meanings of life".

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    The results? Very divided. On the one hand, many people unsurprisingly went into frothing mode and lashed out at the new design for burning their retina's, whilst more alarmingly others seemingly embraced it and decided that it livened the place up a bit. I honestly don't know what scares me more: The fact that the design we used was actually legitimately published as a vBulletin skin (Yes, not a design that was made as a prank), or that some people actually enjoyed it being thereee.

    Besides it cutting off access to the anon forum, the arcade, the chat room, the member tabs, blogs, the calender, the sexual orientation and gender labels and other features, I personally think it was implemented with minimal damage. :eusa_danc

    Besides, at least we didn't use this one...
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    It is, however, on stand-by for anybody who annoys us over the next year. :evil:

    7) The word-changing featureeee!
    My personal favorite was the feature that changed specific trigger words into something completely different, often with swish results. :lol:

    To see a list of the trigger words, and what they were programmed to change to, click the spoiler belowww:
    Wurfturds > applenuts
    barfwagon > skittles
    democrat > republican
    republican > democrat
    top > bottom
    bottom > top
    April Fools > Such a Fabulous
    April Fool's > Such a Fabulous
    Glee > Jersey Shore
    The Hunger Games > Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
    Lady Gaga > Rick Santorum
    oral > Go down for a whomp
    anal > Get some mud for the duck
    condom > Close Combat Sock
    slut > piece of stray
    whore > piece of stray
    cum > jizz juice
    dick > Johnny One Eye the Bald Headed Champ
    cock > Johnny One Eye the Bald Headed Champ
    penis > Johnny One Eye the Bald Headed Champ
    Harry Potter > Pink Cushion
    Game > Time Waster
    games > Time Wasters
    Minecraft > CineMraft
    Skyrim > Rkysim
    3DS > 4CX
    PS Vita > PS Shoe
    Pokemon > Digimon
    Pokémon > Digimon
    Music > Sound-Niceness
    song > Tuuuuune!
    songs > Tuuuuunes!|
    Internet > Web Thing
    Google > That-Search-Engine-That-Is-Not-Bing
    Computer > Compountermahbob
    Film > Magic-Moving-Picture
    movie > Magic-Moving-Pictures
    Films > Magic-Moving-Picture
    movies > Magic-Moving-Pictures
    staff team > All-Powerful-EC-Overlords
    staff > All-Powerful-EC-Overlords
    admin > All-Powerful-EC-Overlords
    mods > All-Powerful-EC-Overlords
    admin team > Such a Fabulous
    apirl fools > orgasmic
    disgusting > celebration
    method > silly spam
    topics > better
    normally > nothing at all
    april 1st > Apple crumble day
    fools > paper airplane
    April Fools' Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia > RickRoll'D - YouTube

    Here's some of our favorite screenshots of the feature in action :wink:
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    And that's it for another yearrr!

    A special thankies to the staff who organised the pranks, to the members who embraced the fools and joined in with the frollocks and bollocks, and also an apology to those of you it drove away for the day. :wink: You're safe for yet another year.:badgrin:

    Hopefully most, if not all, enjoyed the antics. We're always available to offer support 24/7 365 days per year, but tis nice to also have a laugh and joke with you all and (at least attempt) to bring a little joke into your forum usageee. After all, none of the fools are planned with the intent to laugh at you, merely for us all to laugh along with each other. :grin:

    Anyways, that's me done with the overview until next year. Enjoy EC being back to its normal state. :wink:

    From EC Staff.

    Ps. I haven't proofread this (it's gigantic!) so I apologise if there are any spelling or grammar mistakesss. Tis too late for me to be fussed. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
  2. Ethan

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    Yay! I guessed that Rosina was Snail, but I couldn't figure out who anybody else was.

    I'm so sad that like half of the word changes weren't used, or at least not that I saw. i mostly saw "Such a Fabulous" being thrown around. :grin:
     
    #2 Ethan, Apr 2, 2012
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2012
  3. Chip

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    What a delightful and comprehensive write-up, Martin!

    I must point out that "wurfturds" and "barfwagon" were on the word replacement list because those were the "test words" I used to test it while the forum was live and before the replacement wordset was put in. I chose those specifically because I was reasonably sure no one would be using "wurfturds" and "barfwagon" in normal, everyday conversation :slight_smile:
     
  4. Colton

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    I love the All-Powerful-EC-Overlords :slight_smile:

    This was great!
     
  5. Maddy

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    Although I didn't have too much time to actually play the creeper due to having massive amounts of work to do and only having thought of taking on this identity after I'd used up all available procrastination time, it was still very enjoyable xD And yes, Martin, they are frequently referred to as explosive dicks.
     
  6. BradThePug

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    I like how I am in three of the word changed posts... Also I love the red background... I totally want it.
     
  7. Gallatin

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    Great job, guys! Really funny. :slight_smile:
     
  8. Beertruck

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    This was great, thanks y'all. XD

    Who was it that changed my username? I didn't think anyone would actually do it!
     
  9. Browncoat

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    I wish everyone would take AFD to this extreme..So fun!! :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:


    I also kinda like the red background. Well, I guess by "like" I mean "tolerate in comparison to that god-awful pink-purple garbage."

    Still, it's actually somewhat interesting in a "who the hell thought of that pattern" way XD.
     
  10. BradThePug

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    I guess that somebody that LOVES purple....

    Also, I had a ton of fun messing around on here april 1st. It was really funny.
     
  11. Chip

    Board Member Admin Team Advisor Full Member

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    For those of you who want our beautiful purple design, or even our exciting red one, they're available for your perusal (but don't work perfectly, as they aren't customized to the tweaks we have.)

    You can experiment with them by going to the very bottom of the page and clicking on the drop-down box on the left-hand side. EyeShock is the red one, M7 Purple is the lovely elfin one.
     
  12. RedKnight

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    I like the red layout... share?
     
  13. Rosina

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    Oh damn you Martin, you didn't have to give away my alter-ego for the time of the year :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: I'm glad (nearly) everyone enjoyed it, it's certainly a day when we get to let our hair down a little bit and have a laugh together ^_^

    It was a Staff decision to, we saw it and only a small murmer of agreement was made before we switched it for you :wink:
     
  14. DarkClarity

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    Next year I'll be better prepared. I didn't know about the word-changing thing. I hope none of my post were messed up.
     
  15. Eric

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    [​IMG]

    We seem to find a way to top the previous year's April Fool's pranks every year, and I don't expect next year to be any different. :badgrin:

    Consider yourself warned. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     

    Attached Files:

  16. FJ Cruiser

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    I enjoyed the word switches the most, and it indeed was a funny prank, but I can't help but wonder about the people who discovered the site that day never to come back because of the forum's creepiness and unnavigability. I know if I had discovered this site that day, I wouldn't have stayed more than a few seconds for the color scheme alone, and then I wouldn't have had the some of the support I needed to come out.

    P.S. I don't know if I just made up a word, but "unnavigability" is probably now one of my favorite words in the English language.
     
    #16 FJ Cruiser, Apr 3, 2012
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2012
  17. kwyjibo

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    Maybe you could do something with Greasemonkey...
     
  18. Beertruck

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    HA! Well thanks, we were having a lot of fun in chat with it!

    Really glad it didn't stick after the change back, though. I was a bit worried about that. :grin:
     
  19. ArcaneVerse

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    ^this. The theme change was a step to far imo.
     
  20. Bolin

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    I agree. The flip flopping of the sections kinda put me off, too, and the whole anonymous forum thing being disabled was ick.