Don't blink, you might miss it.

March 18, 2007 8:54 AM

MeFi appears briefly on the video on the final page of this entry about this prank.
posted by dobbs to MetaFilter-Related at 8:54 AM (29 comments total)

This is the MeFi thread that is shown on the screen. I read the whole article and while I admire the large-scale awesome prankiness of it, the whole "wtf did it say?" (Wikipedia says: zug.com) coyness makes me not want to sit through another self-congratulatory "we hacked the superbowl" rehash.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 9:08 AM on March 18, 2007

It was the prank of a lifetime, and no one else could have done it.

Well, at least he's not overselling it.
posted by cortex (staff) at 9:12 AM on March 18, 2007

I remember loving the initial story that got on mefi (rob cockerman writes in a fun way, too), and it's good to know what it finally says (zug.com is pretty clear in some of the shots, but none of the ones they showed before), but after watching that video and how they stressed how they gamed security so well, it comes off smelling like an Al Queda training video -- like hey everyone! follow our tips and you can smuggle anything into any big event and fuck it up!

After this kind of gloating about the prank, I'd be surprised if the authorities involved don't flip out and try and charge them with something.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 9:57 AM on March 18, 2007

Wow: three in a row. That ever happen before?
posted by dash_slot- at 10:12 AM on March 18, 2007

dash_slot-: three what in a row? What are you talking about?

A lot of people are saying the prank itself was a hoax, it never happened.
posted by delmoi at 10:40 AM on March 18, 2007

Heh. Morning after St. Greenbier's Day seems like a good time to keep an eye on the site, I guess.
posted by cortex (staff) at 10:42 AM on March 18, 2007

three what in a row? What are you talking about?

Three mods answering in a row.
posted by iconomy at 10:46 AM on March 18, 2007

eh, upon following the old thread and such.... it was a good idea? the blue seems a bit ill-conceived. Would it have worked better with white? *shrugs* Meh.
posted by Phire at 10:48 AM on March 18, 2007

Zug.com- The World's ONLY comedy site. At least they're consistent.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:51 AM on March 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

MetaFilter: The World's ONLY comedy site.
posted by oaf at 10:55 AM on March 18, 2007

As far as media pranks go, I think this bike-theft prank is much funnier, and cheaper too.
posted by O9scar at 11:16 AM on March 18, 2007

three what in a row? What are you talking about?

Well, i went to the trouble of putting in links. Did you not click 'em before asking?
posted by dash_slot- at 11:21 AM on March 18, 2007

Three little mods from MeFi we.
posted by gleuschk at 11:52 AM on March 18, 2007

A prank that doesn't pay off is like a joke without a punchline. While I do appreciate the time and effort that went into the Prince light scheme, and I thought the idea and execution were clever, I'm really tired of John Hargrave trying to spin a five-figure failure into a success. The after-the-fact flailing about for an explanation, like the prank was commentary on Super Bowl security, or the statement that it was a "secret message", and all of the hyperbole ("greatest prank ever!") just make the failure that much more lame.

Success would have been having a bright, legible message show up on TV, resulting in huge coverage, not some vague dots of light in the crowd.
posted by MegoSteve at 12:05 PM on March 18, 2007

This made me laugh a lot. It gets at the same point I think zug.com was going for, if possibly retroactively.

You can't control every image that appears on television. People are unpredictable; that's what makes them worth watching in the first place.
posted by roll truck roll at 12:30 PM on March 18, 2007

Mod no. 2
posted by growabrain at 12:47 PM on March 18, 2007

The thing is, if camerapeople realized there was some unauthorized message in the crowd, they could easily cut away from it. Why expect they will broadcast images of it at all?

I love the spirit of a big prank, but I agree the "I am teh greetest!" self-coverage just makes me embarrassed for the guy. I think if he had low-balled his coverage a little more, and not made a big secret of what the message was supposed to be (a big secret whose reveal will inevitably be disappointing) the internets would love him more and spread the message for him.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:00 PM on March 18, 2007

I remember reading that artilce in its entirety when it was posted on the blue. It was an egaging read, and quite interesting, but there was just no payoff; in the end it was essentially a flop since you had to look at a contrast-enhanced image of the lights with a magnifying glass and even then you had no idea what it said.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:06 PM on March 18, 2007

I'm not going to do "Metafilter: At least they're consistent", because that would be flogging a dead horse..
posted by Chuckles at 4:00 PM on March 18, 2007

omg, all three in the same room!
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:43 PM on March 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Shit!
Don't you have a policy like the Royal Family - not to all travel on the same plane in case disaster struck?
What were you thinking?
posted by dash_slot- at 5:12 PM on March 18, 2007

How else were we going to teach cortex the secret handshake? youtube?!
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 6:28 PM on March 18, 2007

The secret handshake, the limited edition Metafilter baseball jersey, the keys to the washroom... he's got it all now. Bugger.
posted by dash_slot- at 6:43 PM on March 18, 2007

Wait, you guys have a BATHROOM??
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 7:56 PM on March 18, 2007

I knew it was a boyzone!!!!!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:08 PM on March 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Sometimes a mod just needs some alone time. Read the paper, that sort of thing.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:47 PM on March 18, 2007

I had totally visualized cortex as small and hypercaffeinated. Kind of 50's Madison Avenue cartoon businessman, maybe with a touch of Marvin the Martian thrown in.

My illusions, shattered. Again.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:11 PM on March 18, 2007

I always thought cortex would look like a futurama extra, with thick horn-rimmed glasses and possibly an extra set of hands. mortalem te esse memento, I suppose.
posted by phaedon at 8:59 AM on March 19, 2007

"zug.com is pretty clear in some of the shots"

That's because they're photoshopped. No one should have to "solve" a prank.

For $30K, he could've paid some dude to streak across the field with "zug.com" magic-markered on his ass cheeks, and had enough left over to buy a Kia.
posted by turducken at 11:53 AM on March 19, 2007