MetaChat - Ask Mecha: Should I foil this prank?

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13 April 2006

Ask Mecha: Should I foil this prank? →[More:]A newish friend of mine told me about a prank he's cooking up: He's going to have his hunting buddy served with a fake paternity suit at his workplace. His attorney friend has drawn up some legit-looking documents, and they're going to have a real process server deliver them to the office. Not only that, but they're going to have a kid call him at work claiming to be his son AND the old flame who's supposedly produced this spawn is going to call him, too, and threaten all manner of mayhem.

The victim got married about two months ago, and his new wife is, so I've heard, pretty neurotic. The plan is to make this guy sweat for about two weeks, then come clean.

I don't know this guy, but I do know his first name and where he works. Should I call him and tip him off? Or just stay the hell out of it? I appreciate a good prank, but this one's going wayyyy too far, I think. Any advice appreciated.

post by: go dog go at: 11:36 | 35 comments

You know what's better than a good prank? Subverting it so it turns back on the prankster. Hey, with his love of pranks, he will surely be delighted; it's like doing him a favor.

posted by Wolfdog 13 April | 11:40

I would not want to get involved but I would send an anonymous tip anyway. This is just cruel.

posted by arse_hat 13 April | 11:42

I think pranking the guy isn't *too* bad, but getting the neurotic wife involved is just cruel.

I think it's ok, as long as he's clued in before he tells/the wife finds out.

posted by porpoise 13 April | 11:45

I'm with Wolfdog. If there's a way to turn this back on the prankster, by all means do so. It's too bad you don't know the guy, or you could work together on it. Failing that, if you can't talk Funny McFunster out of it (or at least into revealing the prank a lot sooner), a tip might be in order. Not only is this cruel, but it sounds like it could cause serious damage to his marriage and his reputation at work.

posted by elizard 13 April | 11:46

I've gotta go with wolfdog on this one. Get the victim and his wife in on it. Maybe they "break-up" over this, maybe he gets "fired".

Maybe he gets really really excited about the chance to connect with the son he never knew he had, buys a lot of really expensive toys, unrefundable plane tickets, etc.

posted by Capn 13 April | 11:48

Wolfdog and Capn, I was thinking about helping this guy do a counter-number on said friend, if he's into it. I just called his workplace but he's off today. Will call him tomorrow and see what we can plot.

posted by go dog go 13 April | 11:53

Agreed with the above -- tip him off and suggest a counter-prank.

posted by me3dia 13 April | 11:54

Yes, turn it back on the prankster. If the victim doesn't know about it, it could cause untold harm. Once trust is lost, no matter how much proof he provides to his wife that it was all a joke, that trust will never be back 100%.

posted by essexjan 13 April | 11:55

All the above plus: time for a new friend. Anyone who thinks this level of prank is acceptable isn't someone I'd be friends with.

posted by tommasz 13 April | 11:58

This prank is even milder than the one he was GOING to pull. He was going to have some high-maintenance blonde with big tits come into the store (victim is a high-end jeweler) and suggest a poontang-for-platinum "trade." Of course the guy would say no, then the blonde would throw a fit to the owner and claim that this guy suggested the trade. I was like, "Are you CRAZY??"

posted by go dog go 13 April | 12:00

To turn it around would be ideal... but regardless, I wouldn't be able to let it go foreward in any case.

Though, considering the complexity of the proposed joke and his willingness to share it with you, you might want to make completely sure it isn't you who is getting OwNzErD.

posted by taz 13 April | 12:01

Way way way over the line.

You don't need to stoop to his level and get him back. I'd tell the hunting buddy and cut this newish friend off. Totally.

posted by flopsy 13 April | 12:03

This is fucked up. Like, seriously fucked up.

posted by cmonkey 13 April | 12:06

This is way over the line. This person has a strange sense of humor and weak ethics.

posted by matildaben 13 April | 12:07

Though, considering the complexity of the proposed joke and his willingness to share it with you, you might want to make completely sure it isn't you who is getting OwNzErD.

Whoa. That's MetaMeta.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 13 April | 12:07

What cmonkey said. Don't let the poor guy's life get fucked over. This is not a prank, it's fucking psycho.

posted by tr33hggr 13 April | 12:12

If you decide to get rid of this friend, send him my way - I like this guy.

I would only tip off the intended victim if you were absolutely sure you could pull off a counter-prank that was just as good. If you were more familiar with the victim and could tip-off the wife without ruining the prank, that would be fine (but not if it the risk ruining the prank was too great).

I think this is awesome. Of course, I'm an ex-frat boy and none of you should ever be my friend.

posted by mullacc 13 April | 12:16

...make completely sure it isn't you who is getting OwNzErD.

Ow, my head.

posted by go dog go 13 April | 12:16

Maybe they "break-up" over this, maybe he gets "fired".

Yes, totally. This is wrong and fucked up, and he should get his just desserts.

posted by Specklet 13 April | 12:24

How could the victim be fired over this? What if He were served a legit paternity, how could they fire him for that?

posted by mullacc 13 April | 12:29

Heh, the capitalized "He" was a result of poor editing - I don't think the victim is a deity of any sort.

posted by mullacc 13 April | 12:30

I adore practical jokes, but this one isn't funny. Turn it or just betray it, but don't let it happen.

posted by LarryC 13 April | 12:41

mullacc, I may be wrong, I think the quotes were meant to indicate that as the meta-prank, they could pretend that he got "fired".

posted by elizard 13 April | 12:42

You might also start wondering about what this newish friend is going to pull on you.

posted by cmonkey 13 April | 12:42

elizard: Oh, duh. I guess it pays to read the original comment and not just the second-hand quote.

posted by mullacc 13 April | 12:46

How could the victim be fired over this? What if He were served a legit paternity, how could they fire him for that?

"This is a family business, and your employment is at will. Your distasteful personal life has come into the workplace and we have no choice but to dismiss you."

I'm sure there's plenty of places where this is an entirely possible scenario.

posted by PinkStainlessTail 13 April | 12:48

If you help to reverse the prank on this guy then you could well be the next victim. You might want to think twice about that.

posted by dodgygeezer 13 April | 12:48

I can think of two counters off the top of my head, one easy and not so funny, the other funny but hard to pull off well.

The first is just to get the guy and his wife in on it and have them "break up" over it. Have guy move into other pranksters place for "a while" and just be a complete slob. I guess it could get kind of funny with the move in.

The second is to have the proposed victim get in touch with his ex- and have her help him to treat it like real news. Get his wife to go along. Set up a room in the house for the kid to move into, really go overboard with joy and welcoming for the non-existent kid. It's harder to pull of because the pranker knows the limits of the prank he's proposing and there would have to be some strong acting by the victim in order to make the pranker think he was crazy.

posted by omiewise 13 April | 12:58

Employment-at-will gives a lot of leeway, I realize, but that doesn't mean there is no such thing as wrongful termination. Anyway, I'm obviously not a lawyer and I didn't even interpret the original quote correctly, so nevermind.

posted by mullacc 13 April | 13:00

dodgy, I considered that, but he doesn't know where I live, which classes I'm taking, or any of my friends. He's seen my car once (which is identical to like 500 others in this town); he knows where I like to have coffee (there's a possibility for a future prank venue), my cell phone number, and that's it, so I'm pretty much safe, I think. Plus, now I know what he's capable of, so the mindfuck radar is plugged in. Oh, he has my e-mail address.

I think I'm just going to tip off the victim and leave it at that. If he wants to pursue further gamesmanship, I'll stay out of it.

Thanks for the insights, peeps.

posted by go dog go 13 April | 13:15

Tip him off. Even if the victim is a total jerk, prank is no harm done funny ha ha style, no one deserves to be at the mercy of someone else's whims when those whims involve messing with people's lives just for a yuck. That's about, say, sixteen year old behavior.

posted by rebirtha 13 April | 13:16

Here's a prank. Find out the attorney's name and report him (or her, but for some reason I feel sure that this particular attorney is male) to the state bar association.

posted by box 13 April | 14:25

Yikes. Not funny or cool.

BTW it's possible to be fired for no reason at all and not be able to hold the company responsible. That's how it works in North CackyLacky.

posted by chewatadistance 13 April | 15:08

Box got it. This is clearly a case of tortious "false light" defamation. If anybody takes andy adverse or harmful action towards the victim of this "prank" -- heads will roll. You're doing everybody involved a favor by putting a stop to this.

posted by warbaby 13 April | 15:12

Tell the prankster you have tipped the mark off. See how he likes that prank.

posted by Skrik 14 April | 06:58

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