When You’re the April Fool

by Sanya Weathers

Happy April Fool’s Day! Or not, if you’re a moderator, or a social media manager, or anyone responsible for communicating clear and accurate information.

In honor of the occasion, I present to you my guide for April 1. (No, this is not a joke. I famously have no sense of humor about this day, being as I’m a combination of extremely gullible and responsible for rescuing other gullible people.) Before posting your brilliant and hilarious prank, check out this list:

– Will this be funny tomorrow? What about July? Of next year? The problem with internet hilarity is that it’s not stamped with the date and time. If your prank is even remotely plausible, you are going to be answering questions about this until you die from old age. Or, far more likely, die from the injuries sustained from stabbing yourself in the face rather than read about it one more time.

– Is it mean? Obvious meanness is easy to avoid. But is there something that’s really been frustrating your community? Is there an issue that is ripe for parody because everyone is really wildly overwrought about the topic? Don’t go there.

– What harm would be done if people truly believed your prank? A great prank today was the Army’s. It’s gentle, they made it clear that it’s a joke at the bottom of the article, and best of all, absolutely no one who believes it will be hurt. A few Stetson lovers might be disappointed.

If your prank clears all of those hurdles, here’s your April 2 checklist:

– Go back and label every joke post and every mock image with “APRIL FOOL.” Big red font. This is not the time for subtlety.

– Do not use satire, sarcasm, or irony for at least a week starting April 2. If you are a community manager, your value to your customers is only as high as their ability to trust what you say. Yeah, yeah, everyone knows that everyone is kidding on April Fool’s. On a subconscious level, trust has been damaged. Spend a week reassuring everyone by your actions that it really was just one day of madness and now you’re back to normal.

– If your pranks were forum based, lock the threads, or they’ll pop up again. See the comment on July.

– If any media outlets fell for your joke, send them a tangible apology. T-shirt, beta access, key chain, exclusives, whatever you’ve got. Reporters who have fallen for and reported your hilarious hijinks as news will get you back… in July, when you’re not expecting it… unless you take action right away.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m back to cowering in front of my screen, triple checking every link. And ordering one of these: LightsaberPopsicles.