Tag Archive for: prank

Google’s Gmail April Fool prank backfires in spectacular style

Google’s April Fools’ Day prank for Gmail backfired in spectacular style today after users claimed that it caused them to inadvertently offend friends and family, or in some cases lose their job.

The now-removed “Gmail Mic Drop” function allowed users to “send and mic drop” an e-mail, which automatically attached a GIF of a minion—yes, those weird yellow ones from Despicable Me—dropping a mic, before muting the conversation and archiving it. The prank is mildly amusing, but it wasn’t so much the prank itself as the execution that caused problems.

Instead of functionality that users opted into, or was made distinct from Gmail’s regular functions, the “send and mic drop” button replaced the often-used “send and archive” button, which lets users close a conversation and file the thread away. Many users typing with muscle memory, not aware that the functionality had been changed, or even that just misclicked—the button does sit right next to the send button after all—took to Twitter saying they had accidentally sent the e-mail to bosses, clients, and others that wouldn’t have found the GIF particularly amusing.

Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Technology Lab – Ars Technica

April Fools’ texting prank claimed Australian high school burned down

If someone sends you a text message and awakens you at 2:30 a.m., then it had better be an emergency. But do you think well enough immediately upon waking to realize what the date is and to recognize an April Fools’ prank when you are staring at an emergency text message on your phone?
Ms. Smith’s blog