You can guess from the title above that I have very mixed feelings about April Fool’s foolishness. Okay, you don’t need to do any guessing at all — because I flat out said so. And I really am conflicted about it.
If I told you that the world’s best acne treatment had been revealed and that it involved smearing oatmeal mixed with green food dye on your face overnight three times a week — you’d immediately know that I was kidding around, or that I’d lost my mind. (You would know that was a joke, right? Right??)
But if I posted on a members-only forum at a software site raving about the newest upgrade, when no new upgrade had been released, you might not immediately “get it.” (Lame example, but it happened earlier today to several of us — yeah, they got me and at least three other people who posted to the forum.) Still, that ranks as irritating or distracting, not really harmful.
If, on the other hand, I created a computer virus that spread to millions of computers and carried the threat of a big outbreak to spread further on April 1, there would be NOTHING either lame or funny about that. In fact, if you use a computer and the Internet at all (and if you didn’t you wouldn’t be reading this, would you?) you know that is exactly what has happened with that ‘Conficker’ virus which has been in the news for weeks.
I guess my biggest beef with April Fool’s jokes is that really good ones walk the line between irritating and malicious, but too often cross the line and come off malicious. Sure, no harm no foul on many April Fool’s jokes. But I get distressed that so many people who mean well — and who are downright clever many times! — carry things too far and someone gets disrespected, humiliated, or even downright harmed.
Have fun out there today, boys and girls, but stay away from harmful, malicious stuff, whadda ya say? (Put down the oatmeal and walk away from the food coloring now.)