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At What Point Does A Prank Go Too Far?


Randoman
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Which Of These Prank Types Are Okay?  

31 members have voted

  1. 1. Are Surprise Pranks with no threats, physical damage, or jump scares okay?

  2. 2. Are Pranks That Damage Property or Annoy People To Significant Amounts okay?

  3. 3. Are Horror Pranks okay?

  4. 4. Are Pranks Involving People Thinking They'll Be Killed okay?

  5. 5. Are Terrorist Pranks okay?



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Lately, I've been watching quite a lot of prank videos on youtube, and although I find some to be essentially harmless and in good fun, there are some that I feel are crossing a line, and others where I find them blatantly wrong and cruel.

I'm curious as to what pranks you guys think are okay and which ones aren't, in regards to if it's too cruel and if people pulling these pranks should stop or not.

-I mean, surprise pranks with no threats or physical damage like the Bronze Cowboy pranks and Invisible Drive Thru pranks, for example, I think most can agree that it's harmless and fun and that they shouldn't get in trouble with police over it.

-Then there's pranks where property sometimes get damaged and people get annoyed/bothered to significant amounts, like Remi Gaillard pranks. Some of his pranks I find completely okay (like the butcher shop funeral), while others I think are questionable (like when he damages property). Keep in mind, I do enjoy Remi Gaillard overall.

-Horror type pranks, like the Ghost Girl Elevator pranks and the Evil Mansion Doll prank, I feel like a line might be crossed at that point, but I'm not sure. I mean, the things in those horror pranks wouldn't necessarily kill people, but such scares could give people trauma/heart attacks and kill them.

-When we get into pranks involving the threat of death like the Killer Clown pranks, I can't help but feel that they're going too far in regards to making their prank victims feel like they're going to get killed.

-And then there's things like the Islamic terrorist pranks, which I feel are wrong on so many levels (in regards to racism, stereotypes, the prank victims feeling they're going to die, and people getting hurt from crowds running away).

I'm not trying to judge these people pulling these pranks. I mean, I know most of these people pulling pranks just want to entertain a lot of people, which isn't a bad thing in itself. And I will admit that I enjoy some of the pranks that I put links to on this page. In certain prank videos, though, I can't help but feel really bad for the prank victims, which is why I wanted to ask you guys what you think. I just want to know what you guys think in regards to which of these pranks are okay and which ones are too cruel and out of line.

Edited by Randoman
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1. Surprise pranks are for me okay but only if this is something that the victims had been looking at for a moment, like a statue that is actually a person. But jumpscare in the middle of nowhere is not nice tho.

2. Not really... it's very unpleasant and not fun at all.

3. If you are in something like a haunted mansion in an amusement parc or something, then yes it's okay. Otherwise no, I've even seen some people KICK the girl because they were scared.

4. Never was funny, never will be.

5. It's even worse than the killer clowns because you also ruin even more a group of people in the process.

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Personally, I think any prank where the victim doesn't also enjoy it is going too far.

If you and a buddy prank each other back and forth, and you both are having fun, fine.  When someone pranks someone who clearly doesn't like it just so they can make a video or something, that prankster is basically saying that getting a little chuckle is more important than the feelings of those being pranked, which is kind of messed up.

Also, I'd just like to point out that stuff like the Killer Clowns and terrorist pranks could be potentially dangerous to the pranksters, as well.  Most states in the US, at least, allow lethal self-defense in the event of "reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury", so if the person you put in fear of their life happens to be carrying concealed...

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1. These type of pranks are fine. No damage is sustained by anyone, and at the end allows for a good laugh.

2. No. Pranks should not damage property. If anyone damages something of mine, and then pushes it off as a prank or a joke, they are a fucking asshole. Plain and simple. The annoy people to significant amount is a bit vague though. I am not entirely sure what you mean by that, but it is a pretty meh statement, because a relatively harmless pranks (i.e. "ha! made you look" type) could annoy someone to a significant amount... Does it make it unnacceptable though? Not really. Although it would be an asshole (and not okay) move to continue pranking someone who does not want to be pranked.

3. It depends here. First of all, does it have the possibility of harming someone (i.e. someone at risk for heart attack)? If no, then yeah go for it. If yes, no it is not ok. Also, doing this to small children would be rather terrifying for them (although maybe that is just me. I was a rather timid child and such pranks would make me very uneasy to be any place with moderate to no light). Also, if one of the pranksters ends up getting punched or kicked, that is their fault. So do these pranks at your own risk.

4. & 5. ... These aren't pranks... What the fuck. These are serious topics and can lead to mass panic. Plus it can easily turn into a really bad situation. If the victim has a means of defense,  they might be very willing to use them, leading to a very hurt, or potentially dead 'prankster'.

 

Edited by SlayerX
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2, 4 and 5 are instant no for me, those are just in poor taste (2 maybe more assholish than poor taste, but details).

As for the other two, I put them as "it depends" because as far as I'm concerned, pranks need to be fun for the person being pranked for them to be ok, and that's really subjective. Also horror stuff really isn't everyone's cup of tea so extra subjective on that one (horror pranks aimed at young kids are an instant no).

Technically I could have gone "no" on everything because my sense of humor tends to plummet fast when I get pranked (and I can't stand horror), but I tried to view this from a more objective viewpoint. Plus I do enjoy seeing a prank enjoyed by everyone involved.

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1. Generally, yeah. Of course I'm thinking of instances like the gnome pranks my parents had going on with friends of theirs when we were growing up. 

2. Hard no for me.

3. I voted no although I can see it being okay for some. Ultimately though I think you need people's absolute permission for a horror prank. 

4. & 5. Hard no. 

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I'm not a fan of pranks in general.  

Ehh, I guess the harmless ones that can only end in laughter are okay... All of the others, I'd say no.  I think if a prank makes someone feel annoyed, anxious, hurt, or even just uncomfortable, it's not cool.  :unsure:

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1. Sure. Those are harmless, and reactions to drive thru pranks have become less jump scare-ish, and more Neil DeGrasse Tyson reactions.

2. As long as it's the prankster's property, unless it's being used in a victim framing prank. Otherwise, leave JackAss style pranks on the TV.

3. At your own risk. Several times on Scare Tactics, a prank victim was close to harming one of the actors. 

4. I have a coulrophobic sister. Anything involving clowns in a prank is enough to disgust me. Adding that level of threat would have me on the prankster like white on rice.

5. Probably as bad as if not worse than SWATing, plus the bias associated with it. Anyone who likes this humor deserves to be shot.

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I think light-hearted pranks that don't cause emotional harm or any physical harm can be OK, as long as you gauge it properly. I'm rather fond of more jovial pranks, but anything where anyone thinks they're in danger or get seriously upset are a definite no-no. It's all about knowing your audience, it's pretty cruel to do something that you know would be unpleasant to someone. The first two are pretty OK, although it's a little unpleasant to jump-scare total strangers. However, when a prank makes something believe they're in a legitimate terrifying situation, it goes past the point of being funny.

In short, if it makes someone upset instead of having them laugh afterwards, you've probably harassed them instead of pranked them!

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I hate pranks, or "social experiments". There is no reasoning behind the mentality of it. Before I make a joke or pull of a shenanigan to anyone I make sure: "Oh is this going to hurt him/her on an emotional scale or is it something we can all laugh at?", "Will I trigger a bad thought?", "How bad will I look when I pull this off?" etc. Now I'm not saying that you should have moral conflicts within yourself before you make fun of someone, just be considerate and aware of what you are exactly making fun of.

Pranksters go off the concept:

"I'm going to fake-punch someone in the face and see how they react!"

*proceeds with plan and gets punched by a person*

"DUDE CHILL, CHILL IT'S JUS A PRANK, LOOK! LOOK! LOOK AT THE CAMERA!"

There are some great pranks that are staged really well but there's a fine line between jokes and harassment.

 

 

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On 3/28/2017 at 0:36 PM, Randoman said:

Lately, I've been watching quite a lot of prank videos on youtube, and although I find some to be essentially harmless and in good fun, there are some that I feel are crossing a line, and others where I find them blatantly wrong and cruel.

Your first mistake is watching prank videos.

Like any joke, it shouldn't have to be explained to be funny, and EVERYONE should find it funny afterwards.  Violate this rule, and it's a bad prank.  Having to say "it's a prank" means that not only is it a bad prank, but whoever did it needs to re-examine their approach to such things - both their motive and execution.

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Not gonna lie, I love watching pranks and find them hilarious. Even terrible ones like the killer clown ones =/

Anyway, for me it goes:

1. Yes

2. No. Don't damage someone else's property.

3. Yes.

4. Depends. I find ones close to busy roads extremely dangerous, but if there's no risk, then I'm okay with them.

5. No, mostly because of the racist/islamophobic/xenophobic/whatever implications.

I mean, I can totally understand why someone who is a victim of a prank would be furious about them, would want to sue whoever did them (which they should totally do if they feel like doing it) and why many people dislike them, but I find the really funny and entertaining, since i have the sense of humor of a 13 year old, so I can't help but like them.

Edited by Nobody
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