oh its a joke lol. with all thats going on i was like wtf is this XD you got me good lol. i hope no one seen my half arsed drawing XD its terrible.

donovan_dmc said:
They wouldn't be blacklistable or easily moderatable like posts are

Couldn't there be like a setting in your profile to toggle avatars in general? Then be a subsequent button to toggle custom avatars? I totally understand it would be impossible to truly moderate without unbiased peer review(impossible part)
But if we don't really get to opt out of avatars of Dick butt or shitting dick nipples or other vile things while searching for things we do want to see, I feel that could be a feature.

jakal179 said:
well there are plenty of reaction images, and many that aren't furry. So if those are commonplace as avatars, why couldn't we have the option to make a small one without having to throw it into the post section. It could still be flagged and taken down, records handed out accordingly for trolls. Upvoted if they are nice, and become posts if they are good. I understand your frustration with the low quality but the tools to make it were never intended to produce a nice looking picture. Ergo it's actually kind of funny how many people made semi decent art from the joke, and people like me who want to feel like an individual. It's not pretty but it's just meant to be a silly doodle.

This is just making a second set of posts for no good reason, along with a second set of: post votes, post deletions, post flags, new ticket type
Not to mention the need to moderate a whole new unfamiliar and definitely underused section of the site

At that point just make them posts with a new unlisted status, that idea has been tossed around for what feels like centuries at this point

I thought it was funny the moment I read the whole thing, personally. But I will admit I was spooked for a couple seconds.

I ended up doodling my character, I wonder if these would all be posted- it would be fun to see what everyone did!

I thought the site was hacked by AI shitheads for a moment. Don't like this joke one bit.

jakal179 said:
Couldn't there be like a setting in your profile to toggle avatars in general? Then be a subsequent button to toggle custom avatars? I totally understand it would be impossible to truly moderate without unbiased peer review(impossible part)
But if we don't really get to opt out of avatars of Dick butt or shitting dick nipples or other vile things while searching for things we do want to see, I feel that could be a feature.

Neither of these solve the problem, they're barely even a bandaid

BORN TO GOON
FORCED TO DRAW

Yeah, this joke is horrible:

1. I nearly closed the site because I thought it got hacked.
2. It's making a joke of something a lot of people are fearing right now, which makes it look tone-deaf. Like making a death joke at a funeral.

furry_birb said:
Yeah, this joke is horrible:

1. I nearly closed the site because I thought it got hacked.
2. It's making a joke of something a lot of people are fearing right now, which makes it look tone-deaf. Like making a death joke at a funeral.

I nearly closed the site out of the same worry.

This "joke" almost gave me a heart attack while I was thinking it was true...

donovan_dmc said:
This is just making a second set of posts for no good reason, along with a second set of: post votes, post deletions, post flags, new ticket type
Not to mention the need to moderate a whole new unfamiliar and definitely underused section of the site

At that point just make them posts with a new unlisted status, that idea has been tossed around for what feels like centuries at this point

I see well that makes sense. Why make it more complicated when you can just remove them from the general pool of posts and use the same mechanics for quality control for real posts. Keep the file size low as a requirement and tagging as a profile pic. Is there a particular obstacle keeping y'all from implementing a way of posting unlisted art meant for pfp or reaction images? I've always seen discourse over images being not_furry and the assertion of that which is funny gets to stay. i see lots of people post WIP, advertising material, and low quality memes that aren't taken down. But keeping them out of the normal post feed would keep the chaos down some I feel. Make it so you only see it if you go looking for it or click on someone's pfp and follow the tag down the rabbit hole of lulz and feelz

burtreynoldsmustache said:
Is scaring people on april fools not a thing anymore? I remember in my childhood one local newspaper had an article about meteors hitting the neighborhood including a staged picture where they put a huge ass rock inside a wrecked car and only cleared it up in the following issue the next day.

I had to double take, too but come now. The joke should be obvious after two seconds.

Sadly, many people just aren't in the mood anymore. This is the age where misinformation is king, and where real happenings are so absurd that they SOUND like misinformation. So pranks just... hit different these days.

While I understood the satire and thought it was funny myself, I definitely get why a lot of people would get hit too close to home.

strikerman said:
time zones

As of now, it's still March 31st in most time zones, including MST (Arizona) and UTC.
Based on when this thread was started, this prank began right around the time it became April 1st in China.
So clearly, e621 has moved to China, and this was all an attempt to communicate that discreetly.

abisalheart said:
This "joke" almost gave me a heart attack while I was thinking it was true...

Same, like legit heartpounding, worried something really bad had happened.

What's with all the pearl-clutching? Pranks are supposed to catch you off guard in ways you least expect it.

Besides, humor is a great way to tackle more sensitive subjects, so if anything, a lot of you need to loosen up a bit, it's not that bad.

azero said:
What's with all the pearl-clutching? Pranks are supposed to catch you off guard in ways you least expect it.

Besides, humor is a great way to tackle more sensitive subjects, so if anything, a lot of you need to loosen up a bit, it's not that bad.

'Pranks should be surprising' is not a good excuse for doing something that preys on people's worries.
A good prank is something everyone affected can laugh at, or else it's mean-spirited.

And scaring people with a 'You must ID yourself' prank when there's currently a bill aiming to do just that is nothing but mean-spirited.

azero said:
What's with all the pearl-clutching? Pranks are supposed to catch you off guard in ways you least expect it.

Besides, humor is a great way to tackle more sensitive subjects, so if anything, a lot of you need to loosen up a bit, it's not that bad.

counterpoint, being mean sucks.

we're all already worried about the world being ruined by forced identification and other freedoms being eroded. I don't think poking fun at those legitimate fears is really a fun time.

How do you know its not real? Perhaps it is Real.

eitherway it is LEGAL and the law can't stop the site now from the dumb censorship rules.

I was waiting for today to see what was in store for this year and I was not let down and embraced the joke. There's a reason king in the past had a court jester to at least have the ability to laugh at one's self, lest the jest gets hanged by vanity.

To be fair, the best April Fool's pranks are the ones that actually manage to fool you.

This did get me at first, then I realized it was just a bit of gallows humor. I don't have a dedicated sona, so I drew a shoddy crow.
I don't think it'd be accepted onto the site anyway because my art is garbage and I drew it with my phone stylus.

Normally when I post new art, I get a bunch of likes within a few minutes.

This prank has caused my newly posted art to get buried amongst all the prank art and get no attention.

Call me an attention seeker, but I do post here so people see me. This prank is directly affecting that.

I admit, you got me lol, i was watching the monitor for like 20 seconds in disbelief, this actually is pretty solid april prank, respect.

This is literally the 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast. With the overlooming dread of puritan overlords purging porn from the internet.

I think there should be a message after you submit or something about contacting your governor and representative to oppose the bill if you live in Arizona.

vulpes_artifex said:
I think there should be a message after you submit or something about contacting your governor and representative to oppose the bill if you live in Arizona.

I don't think it matters anymore. Since the ID check covers that already. It is fully Legal and there is Nothing the LAW can do about it.

Dumb Censorship Law - 0

E621 - 1

ezlo said:
This did get me at first, then I realized it was just a bit of gallows humor.

The more I think about it, the more I'm reminded of a treatise on dark humor I've heard once. The person argued that the difference between black comedy and edgelording is that the former makes jokes out of bad situations, while the latter laughs at bad situations — a razor's-edge difference, but a difference nevertheless. That effective black comedy invites those who hear it to agree "What this is joking about is horrible and should not be taken sitting down."
The point is. If we're going down, we're going down swinging.

I bet you're fun at parties

I just draw a stick figure wolf with boobs and it was enough. By the way, i just drunk an entire bottle of vodka and still i natocided that this is just an april fools, so don't panic eberyone

sheathluvr said:
Yep. I’m also autistic and so I tend to take things /very/ literally. April fools is like hell for me.

Same here. Took the whole thing seriously and now wishing I had generated my 'verification' and posted it like everyone else was doing.. Problem is, between still thinking it was legit, then realizing it wasn't, I posted on the forum legitimately asking about why ai can't be used as ones fursona even if only as an icon image(this way the image itself isn't being hosted); as I'd love to share the one I made with ai, but had concerns about artists taking liberty with it an using it without consent.

rainbow_shoebill said:
I bet you're fun at parties

good one.

tarrgon said:
We consider a bunch of people trying art out a massive win!

Clearly not well-planned out, thou. I'm very glad the peeps managed to turn this “gag” into a community effort on their own accord. Makes me happy, especially considering the times. 🙂
However, the influx of FurIDs has definitely overrun the front-page, as well as the artist tags. Quality guidelines should also take a back seat. I'll be watching with much curiosity how the staff decides to tackle this. 🔎

dba_afish said:
counterpoint, being mean sucks.

we're all already worried about the world being ruined by forced identification and other freedoms being eroded. I don't think poking fun at those legitimate fears is really a fun time.

Agreed. Whole-heartedly. Yes, it was 'funny' in after-thought, but failed to take into consideration that some people aren't capable of that kind of humor, and as LedriMujina posited: "The person argued that the difference between black comedy and edgelording is that the former makes jokes out of bad situations, while the latter laughs at bad situations — a razor's-edge difference, but a difference nevertheless." this 'joke' did seem in poor taste... especially for those of us who have zero artistic abilities who, as I did, legitimately worried about repercussions.

It took me a bit to realize it was a joke, but I still decided to humor the E621 devs and drew a poor rendition of a furry in an army outfit.

This was definitely a fun one, would have been even better if the drawing you made was your pfp for the day ;D

checkup said:
-

While we didn't anticipate a ton of people uploading them, we're perfectly fine with letting them exist on site for a few days. I did make some code to remove them from the post index, but we're also not too worried about them being on the front page. People are enjoying making art, and I, personally, am having fun going through all of it. We have some plans for when it's over, you'll just have to wait and see!

nordicwerewolf said:
This was definitely a fun one, would have been even better if the drawing you made was your pfp for the day ;D

Feel free to upload your piece and set it as your avatar for a couple days!

To me, it would only be mean-spirited if the site staff did this to give themselves a laugh at our misery. It doesn't feel that way to me. Sure, when I first saw it, my heart sank thinking the ID bill passed, until I read enough and realized this couldn't possibly satisfy such a bill, along with the fact that the staff have repeatedly said they'd never implement an ID system like that. Since the age verification would affect them as much as us, this comes across more as a mutual gag for us all to help process that fear, rather than something to boost their enjoyment at our expense.

I don't come here to be pranked. I did not enjoy this year's especially mean prank, and I resent that the admins chose to do that. I don't think I want any more of them. I want there to be an opt-in for these.

If people enjoy being pranked, let them be. Don't force it on those who hate it.

watsit said:
To me, it would only be mean-spirited if the site staff did this to give themselves a laugh at our misery.

I mean...

strikerman said:
laughing in misery is how i cope

It gave me a heart attack when I first saw it but it slowly clicked for me. Currently I’m upset I didn’t get to download my funny drawing. I pressed the button but it wouldn’t download

reginaldludwig said:
I mean...

in ≠ at

I think you take this site way too seriously if you had legit fears over this... It's hardly a bad joke and I'm really stoked at what everyone's drawing

reginaldludwig said:
I mean...

Laughing in misery is different from laughing at others' misery. The "is how I cope" says it; laughing in misery alongside others, to cope with an issue affecting all of us, is different from laughing purely at causing misery for others irrespective of how they take it. Like a trans person making a joke about anti-trans sentiments, drawing attention to the issue in a way that can also be a source of catharsis by those affected.

I thought it was topical. This is a real issue yes and that's the point. It's easy to forget that e621 exists under the jurisdiction of a specific place and that they might change.

It did not read as laughing at anyone to me, more like a "do you see this shit?"

Yet, something might be done about it. This is a way to bring light to the issue, by those would have to implement the real thing if it became real. It might be uncomfortable, but i'd say it's better than e621 staying completely quiet hoping it goes away.

It really depends on how e6 management will handle actual privacy threats (these can also come in other forms than laws, like from within the community). If they bow down to it, it would be painfully ironic that they joked about it. But if they manage to stay clear of major privacy concerns, then this April fools is pretty cool.

I agree with NordicWerewolf that it should be your pfp for a day.

watsit said:
To me, it would only be mean-spirited if the site staff did this to give themselves a laugh at our misery. It doesn't feel that way to me. Sure, when I first saw it, my heart sank thinking the ID bill passed, until I read enough and realized this couldn't possibly satisfy such a bill, along with the fact that the staff have repeatedly said they'd never implement an ID system like that. Since the age verification would affect them as much as us, this comes across more as a mutual gag for us all to help process that fear, rather than something to boost their enjoyment at our expense.

I dunno, mate... I guess I kinda understand that, and I am glad that there are people having fun with this, but for me it just made me feel sad.

like, I've already had to go through a similar loss of community before, and this prank just kinda prematurely kick-started the same feelings of grief I felt back then but for this site...

It made me do double-take considering it's still another 5 hours before April 1st for me.

This prank is creating so many new artists, check out the recent wiki changes

tarrgon said:
I did make some code to remove them from the post index

That's unfortunate, I was hoping the staff would find a means of archiving the submitted "ID's" so people can look back at it in the future but I can also definitely understand the reasoning behind it. Hoping for a compromise to be reached!

tarrgon said:
While we didn't anticipate a ton of people uploading them, we're perfectly fine with letting them exist on site for a few days. I did make some code to remove them from the post index, but we're also not too worried about them being on the front page. People are enjoying making art, and I, personally, am having fun going through all of it. We have some plans for when it's over, you'll just have to wait and see!

I'm curious to see what said plans are, but i can be patient!

dba_afish said:
like, I get the joke. but playing on people's legitimate fears about a loss of privacy seems really not fun to me.

like, I legitimately felt a pit in my stomach when I saw that pop-up, and realizing it was a joke didn't really make it feel any better.

Ngl it really confused me, more because I'm a new user and I really thought it was serious because I forgot time zones existed lol, but I just laugh hard after I realized it was just April fools joke lol

doubledonked said:
That's unfortunate, I was hoping the staff would find a means of archiving the submitted "ID's" so people can look back at it in the future but I can also definitely understand the reasoning behind it. Hoping for a compromise to be reached!

By that I meant making them hidden unless search for.

tarrgon said:
By that I meant making them hidden unless search for.

I think that's a fair solution to it tbh. Everyone gets to enjoy them but they won't be something you have to see, nor will they clutter your search. (At least, if i'm understanding correctly)

Shout outs to all the MS Paint vets!

dba_afish said:
like, I get the joke. but playing on people's legitimate fears about a loss of privacy seems really not fun to me.

like, I legitimately felt a pit in my stomach when I saw that pop-up, and realizing it was a joke didn't really make it feel any better.

I'm more pissed cause I feel like it's mocking my artstyle (i can't draw)

akaryo32 said:
I just draw a stick figure wolf with boobs and it was enough. By the way, i just drunk an entire bottle of vodka and still i natocided that this is just an april fools, so don't panic eberyone

I belive it's coded so that simply hitting the submit button without actually doing anything also works for getting to the archive itself.

tarrgon said:
By that I meant making them hidden unless search for.

That's a reasonable solution, Thank you for the clarification.

I had a few seconds of worry, then laughed out loud when I realised what it was. I think it fits perfectly with the more grim and snarky tone of moderation nowadays, and overall enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than uwu text or hotdog theme.

Missed opportunity to get e621 under the one-third adult content threshold so Arizona HB 2112 doesn't apply. : )

Especially as they skipped the actual check if it IS in fact April 1st BEFORE executing it, So for many Americans it started on March 31st instead.
not even too hard to implement as i outlined here:
https://e621.net/forum_topics/56290?page=2#forum_post_446435

namelessnanashi said:
Especially as they skipped the actual check if it IS in fact April 1st BEFORE executing it, So for many Americans it started on March 31st instead.
not even too hard to implement as i outlined here:
https://e621.net/forum_topics/56290?page=2#forum_post_446435

That would ruin the surprise. If people don't get to see the joke until it's April 1st for them, that means many Europeans would see it happening before Americans, and thus give a heads-up so people from the US, Canada, etc, will expect it. Similar for some Asian countries seeing it before some European ones. Regional releases/roll-outs for multi-regional communities don't really work well, things end up getting spoiled.

Will the arts be deleted after or will stay on E621 as grandfathered content? because there's some genuine well made arts that i want to keep on E6

watsit said:
That would ruin the surprise. If people don't get to see the joke until it's April 1st for them, that means many Europeans would see it happening before Americans, and thus give a heads-up so people from the US, Canada, etc, will expect it. Similar for some Asian countries seeing it before some European ones. Regional releases/roll-outs for multi-regional communities don't really work well, things end up getting spoiled.

I feel like if you're worried about that you should at least wait until 00 GMT so that at least half of the globe was actually on the day.

Amazing joke, the fact that so many people (for some reason) believed it was true is the sign that the prank was good.

Also i pray to god that everything on the furid (e621) stays. They are all precious to me and losing even one of them would be a loss to this website and civilisation

donovan_dmc said:
This is just making a second set of posts for no good reason, along with a second set of: post votes, post deletions, post flags, new ticket type
Not to mention the need to moderate a whole new unfamiliar and definitely underused section of the site

At that point just make them posts with a new unlisted status, that idea has been tossed around for what feels like centuries at this point

I have an idea, after the FurID thing is over you make an special page with all the arts that people drew! so it wouldn't be mixed up with the E621 arts and people could see them on the future

mozzastyx said:
This prank is creating so many new artists, check out the recent wiki changes

It's honestly kind of crazy. This prank somehow managed to push me out of the shadows and get me to actually post something.

fooled? yes. found it funny? not remotely.
i couldn't even draw a crude metal logo out of spite because the tools given were so bare bones, so unless you're a proper artist you can't even get the most out of this joke. 2/10 do better next year

mozzastyx said:
This prank is creating so many new artists, check out the recent wiki changes

I dunno wether to laugh at the idea so many people are getting artist tags or horrified that i could possibly be next for posting a raxdflipnote meme recreation...

That's the neat thing about pranks, the person being pranked doesn't have to find it funny. As long as a single person found it amusing, the prankster accomplished their mission

It was a fun lil distraction

dafloofycaptain said:
fooled? yes. found it funny? not remotely.
i couldn't even draw a crude metal logo out of spite because the tools given were so bare bones, so unless you're a proper artist you can't even get the most out of this joke. 2/10 do better next year

did you want them to port clip studio paint for a silly drawbox that only exists for a day

strikerman said:
laughing in misery is how i cope

This. Strikerman gets it. This is what we should do in the face of misery.

I was scared until I realized what day it was.

I drew a shitty rendition of my fursona, chuckled to myself, shared it with my friends and we all had a good laugh.

sheathluvr said:
Yep. I’m also autistic and so I tend to take things /very/ literally. April fools is like hell for me.

Agreed… Autism is a literal hell when it comes to jokes

thepsychodog said:
That's the neat thing about pranks, the person being pranked doesn't have to find it funny. As long as a single person found it amusing, the prankster accomplished their mission

It was a fun lil distraction

WRONG!
The person being pranked should absolutely be required to find it funny.
If the person being pranked does not find it funny, then it is not a prank. It's harassment or worse.

That's where all the "It's A pRaNk, BrO!" idiot-takes come from; Someone harasses or scares someone, then tries to claim 'It's a prank!' as defense for being an asshole. Don't be that person.

Now, e6 did not go so far as to be in that category, but it was, in my opinion, in poor taste.