Spamspamspamspamspam

June 12, 2008 3:27 PM

This quiz demands a cell phone number for results. SPAAAAAAAAAAAM

Kind of a cool subject, and the thread is awesome, but that's pretty skeezy.

posted by effugas to etiquette/policy at 3:27 PM (34 comments total)

Weird, when I first did the quiz, it was fine. Retrying now, it wants info just to get the answer. That was not there before
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:30 PM on June 12, 2008

The hell? That wasn't there before. Ugh.
posted by Skot at 3:31 PM on June 12, 2008

It's got a tiny 'pass' button at the bottom, but still pretty sketchy.
posted by voidcontext at 3:32 PM on June 12, 2008

Oh, but on the last page you still have to check off agreeing to T&C before using the pass button.
posted by voidcontext at 3:33 PM on June 12, 2008

Yeah you can hit "pass" like five times but that's a pain in the ass, and the results are somewhat weak to merit all that bullshit.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 3:34 PM on June 12, 2008

I clicked pass maybe four times and didn't agree to anything, but with the 60 seconds I had, I'd be dead by then anyhow.
posted by jessamyn at 3:34 PM on June 12, 2008

It's a dating site...

In space, no one can hear you date.
posted by iamabot at 3:34 PM on June 12, 2008

Weird, when I did it earlier it didn't need one.
posted by Nattie at 3:34 PM on June 12, 2008

It also doesn't accept "You Suck" as a valid first/last name, nor 800-386-2277 (800-Dumb-Ass) as a valid phone number.

Now I'll never know how long I'd survive. :( :( :(
posted by mudpuppie at 3:35 PM on June 12, 2008 [2 favorites]

Shoddy programming. If you get to the form, and press the back button, it will show you your results, and a dialog pops up, with some yammering about a free gift.

However, since they changed the content once it was posted here indicates the link should probably be deleted with great prejudice.
posted by Dave Faris at 3:35 PM on June 12, 2008

This podcast demands a phone number for participation. SPAAAAAAAAAAAM
posted by dersins at 3:37 PM on June 12, 2008 [3 favorites]

It doesn't accept 800-Dumb-Ass because that's not a cell phone number it can charge $10 a month to.

Seriously, this is not a trustworthy link.
posted by effugas at 3:41 PM on June 12, 2008

In space, no one can hear your cell phone ring.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:41 PM on June 12, 2008

I believe this should be deleted with no prejudice against the poster. I'll also vouch that it didn't used to do that.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 4:01 PM on June 12, 2008

Nice trick.

Inject page with some coolness into blogosphere,
let it get popular,
invoke spam.
posted by caddis at 4:15 PM on June 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

It doesn't accept 800-Dumb-Ass because that's not a cell phone number it can charge $10 a month to.

Quick, anyone know Scalia's cellphone number?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:17 PM on June 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

It's a suprisingly short one... 666 is the number of the Beast.
posted by Dave Faris at 4:20 PM on June 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

Obligatory
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 4:51 PM on June 12, 2008

Eh, turns out that 800-Dumb-Ass is no longer in service.

However! 888-Dumb-Ass works just fine. Call up and you get a recording that says:

"If you need a home loan, a car loan, or a paycheck advance, please press 1. If you have dialed a toll-free vanity number that you'd like to use for your company, please press 2."

They're casting a pretty broad net for dumbasses, it seems.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:53 PM on June 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

I pass-pass-passed, got tired of the questions about Vuitton gift bags and hit command-W, at which point I got a dialog box asking if I REALLY wanted to navigate away, and simultaneously gave me the answer. So, try that.

Incidentally, one minute 29 seconds.
posted by loiseau at 5:04 PM on June 12, 2008

Hey, loiseau, you can have my stuff!
(For, like, 18 seconds. Don't spill on the carpets.)
posted by Floydd at 5:09 PM on June 12, 2008

Nice trick.

Inject page with some coolness into blogosphere,
let it get popular,
invoke spam.

I feel so used.
posted by lysistrata at 5:13 PM on June 12, 2008

I LIVE AT 123 FAKE STREET IN FAKEOPOLIS NEBRASKA ZIP CODE 90210 MY PHONE NUMBER IS 734-555-1212 AND MY NAME IS UPYOURBUTT DOTNET AND MY EMAIL IS [e-mail].

(Yes, it's a pain in the ass; yes, it should be deleted; yes, you should know to only give fake info on the web.)
posted by klangklangston at 5:19 PM on June 12, 2008

I saw this post when it first went up, and it did not ask for any info. But even then it was a very weak, viral-marketing type post, and I'm surprised that it wasn't deleted this morning. We've seen far better posts deleted.

The topic itself is interesting, and with a little research a decent "how long would someone survive in a vacuum" post could be made. I doubt the current link's calculations are based on good research; I suspect the calculations are made-up "yeah, that sounds plausible" numbers. I think the developers are more interested in traffic than anything else.

In other words, "WTF, mods?"
posted by D.C. at 5:52 PM on June 12, 2008

Yeah, delete it. Before it was an innocuous, mildly amusing widget that I did but didn't think merited a comment. (60 seconds btw). Now it's a grasping, pop-up-inducing cell-phone-number-demanding abomination.
posted by yhbc at 6:21 PM on June 12, 2008

dirtynumbangelboy writes "Quick, anyone know Scalia's cellphone number?"

You can reach the court at 202-479-3211. Not a fun as a direct line but amusing none the less. Personally though I'm a greater fan of [phone] (FBI Main line).
posted by Mitheral at 6:22 PM on June 12, 2008 [3 favorites]

In other words, "WTF, mods?"

Yeah, you promised us the recipe for your infamous walnut chicken salad! No takebacks!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:44 PM on June 12, 2008

With the crispy noodle side-dish!
Don't forget the crispy noodle side-dish!


Crispy.

Noodles...
posted by Dizzy at 6:54 PM on June 12, 2008

well, i got frustrated with the site so i tried it at home

the bag broke before i could get in, so i don't think i'd survive in a vacuum at all
posted by pyramid termite at 7:25 PM on June 12, 2008 [4 favorites]

Yeah, that kind of sucks. It was a cute little site, aside from the apparently late-breaking scum-sucking marketeering thing. Plonk.
posted by cortex at 7:45 PM on June 12, 2008

Well maybe someone will finally call me.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 8:35 PM on June 12, 2008

That's some chickenshit marketing strategy right there.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:52 PM on June 12, 2008

On a similar note, my spamysense is tingling.
posted by Tenuki at 3:44 AM on June 13, 2008

In space, no one can hear your cell phone ring.

This is why I always keep mine on vibrate. You never know when you are going to find yourself in a hard vacuum.
posted by quin at 8:31 AM on June 13, 2008