[WikiEN-l] Re: Friday's featured article

Wed Mar 30 17:45:20 UTC 2005

Viajero wrote:

> Andrew Lih wrote:
>
>> HOWEVER, I would beg folks not to make it "subtly marked" but rather
>> *obviously marked* at the end.
>>
>> An April Fools joke is only fun when you can blame the reader for
>> missing an obvious doozie that gives it away. Right now, it does not
>> have such a kicker or punchline to let people in on the secret. If we
>> do not, it would amount to devious and malicious intent, which would
>> do a disservice to Wikipedia's reputation.
>
> Wow, this is an amazingly cautious attitude. You are saying we should 
> take into account that on *April 1* some naive soul might read the 
> text, miss all the inconguities and jokes, arrive at the bottom, not 
> be explicitly told it is a joke, and blame Wikipedia for deceiving them?
>
> I'm ...ah... speechless.

Computer experts are very serious people.  They often can't tell the 
difference between a picture of a hat and of an elephant hidden under a 
blanket.  If you deviate from the literal Word of God to make a joke or 
to add a little irony you need to forewarn them so that they will know 
when it is appropriate to laugh. :-)

Ec