One other thought about April Fool's day... If the SHites happen to see something weird posted and then look at the date and see April 1, the game is usually over.
I realize this is cheating, but it might be wise to throw them off a little by not posting the message on the 1st itself, but a few days earlier or a few days later. They let their guard way down when it isn't the official prank day.
I tested this theory myself out secretly a few months back... Some of you may recall a (now-deleted) thread about a mysterious Beatles/David Crosby recording? That was all my handiwork.
Instead of posting it directly at SHF, which would have been immediately flagged and Gorted, I planted it at Bootlegzone in a post promising "coming soon"
I did this because I know a large number of Bootlegzone leeches are also SHites, and I knew that word would spread. Which it did; it took about four hours for someone to start the thread at Hoofer's.
The David Crosby Tapes was even mentioned (derisively, I am glad to note) here at Stereo Central that day...
In retrospect, I regret making it so bogus-looking. If I had
really wanted to spend time on it, I could have made it a lot more convincing. Instead, I decided to make it as clearly phony as possible, just to see who would be dumb enough to fall for it. To my surprise and glee, a few did until somebody Tweeted it to David Crosby himself, who tweeted back a very confused reply in which he said "I didn't play most of those songs" and that it was "probably some bullshit". I was amused that he didn't seem sure enough to outright debunk it, but he came close enough that it was case closed for the SHites. To thicken the mystery a little, I also posted as an irate bootlegger who attacked the OP for advertising the Crosby tape because the other five discs in the series were of poor sound quality. That did throw them at both sites a little, but the obvious implausibility plus Crosby's addled semi-denial outweighed it. The begging degenerates at Bootlegzone held on to thin hope a little longer (a lot of them are not native English speakers), but even there, within a day or two they realized they had been punked.
There are still some who are not sure. Some non-English blogs have posted about it:
cybermedios.org/2017/12/05/inedito-grabacion-de-los-beatles-con-david-crosby-1967-real-o-falso/I even made a fake 45 from the session, but I never got around to planting it anywhere. It was supposed to back up the idea that at least some of the tape might be real. I purposely made it tiny so that nobody would realize I painted it on Windows Paint:
If any Bootlegzoners are here, I apologize for my mischief. Bootlegzone wasn't my
real target, SHF was. But I had to test my theory that pranks work best when they are planted elsewhere and then brought to SHF by some hapless poster.
What I learned: on a small scale, I learned "fake news" is easy to create and can spread fast, which is a timely message. I learned that if a rumor is believed by a dopier, less literate population, it is more likely to be accepted by a larger population of more savvy people. I learned that there is a big crossover of Bootlegzone/SHF users, and I learned that they will take what they find at Bootlegzone to the Big Board quickly.
So, in my head I have the makings of a very elaborate hoax for next time (which will not originate from Bootlegzone; now they are on guard), but it is
so elaborate, I might not bother with it. However, I offer this debriefing for anyone out there contemplating their own pranks...
And yes, I know it was a mean thing to do. I am ashamed. But I really had a daylong case of the giggles one day in December; I confess the temptation is there to really fuck with their heads next time. I'm sick and need help, I admit it...
Original thread:
www.bootlegzone.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36749