I'll fess up. I pushed the button.
April 2, 2015 8:45 PM Subscribe
Can you resist? Step right up and sample the latest Internet inanity. Someone over on Reddit has created a button that you can either click or not click, according to your own personal inclinations. As I was, before learning of the button, not clicking it, I chose to click it, so that I could experience the full breadth of the system.
I deleted my account a little while ago, but from my not-logged-in vantage point, it seems that:
1. You can only press the button if you have a Reddit account.
2. You can only press the button once per Reddit account.
3. The "goal" is apparently to press the button when the timer is at zero, or perhaps just to let the timer hit zero.
4. If you press the button when the timer is not zero, it resets the timer.
It appears not to be known yet what happens when the timer reaches zero.
There is a Reddit blog post which basically says what I just said but I didn't find it till I finished typing all that up and hell if I was just going to throw it away.
posted by valrus at 9:03 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
1. You can only press the button if you have a Reddit account.
2. You can only press the button once per Reddit account.
3. The "goal" is apparently to press the button when the timer is at zero, or perhaps just to let the timer hit zero.
4. If you press the button when the timer is not zero, it resets the timer.
It appears not to be known yet what happens when the timer reaches zero.
There is a Reddit blog post which basically says what I just said but I didn't find it till I finished typing all that up and hell if I was just going to throw it away.
posted by valrus at 9:03 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
Deleting your Reddit account is the new deleting your Facebook account.
posted by mecran01 at 9:04 PM on April 2, 2015 [24 favorites]
posted by mecran01 at 9:04 PM on April 2, 2015 [24 favorites]
I kept clicking the button last night but nothing happened.
This morning, Amazon delivered 20 cases of Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Care Toilet Paper.
posted by prinado at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015 [71 favorites]
This morning, Amazon delivered 20 cases of Cottonelle Ultra Comfort Care Toilet Paper.
posted by prinado at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015 [71 favorites]
Even if you registered now, you wouldn't be able to click. Only accounts made before yesterday can click.
There's a timer that counts down from 60 seconds. If anyone clicks the button, the timer goes back up to 60s.
Also, there's a little icon next to your username when you post in that subreddit that shows what the timer was at when you clicked, with implicit cred for clicking when the timer was low (very few people have gotten <50s at this point, because there are so many people discovering and clicking all the time, but this will get easier as time goes on and accounts that haven't clicked the button get more rare).
posted by calebegg at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015
There's a timer that counts down from 60 seconds. If anyone clicks the button, the timer goes back up to 60s.
Also, there's a little icon next to your username when you post in that subreddit that shows what the timer was at when you clicked, with implicit cred for clicking when the timer was low (very few people have gotten <50s at this point, because there are so many people discovering and clicking all the time, but this will get easier as time goes on and accounts that haven't clicked the button get more rare).
posted by calebegg at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015
I'm fine not knowing what happens when I don't press the button, or whatever.
posted by Huck500 at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Huck500 at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
Not really, because that's basically all there is (so far). The admins themselves created this button. It's on a 60-second countdown timer that resets whenever anyone pushes the button. You can only click it once, and your account is permanently labeled with what the time was when you clicked it (or that you haven't, if that's the case). Reddit users are speculating (or mostly joking with memes) about what it does, and factionalizing into those who clicked versus those who haven't.
posted by traveler_ at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015
posted by traveler_ at 9:05 PM on April 2, 2015
mecran01, I'm also selling my TV on Craigslist. Get at me.
posted by valrus at 9:06 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by valrus at 9:06 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
the button and what you know
(alternate link)
My favorite second-person short story.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 9:07 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
(alternate link)
My favorite second-person short story.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 9:07 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
This reminds me of an old RPG session where the characters find themselves trapped in a room with alarms sounding and a counter slowly ticking from 100 towards zero with a button next to the counter. It is important that the game master really sell the tension as the counter goes down and escalate alarms and warnings as the counter goes to zero. As the numbers approach zero, the players will feel out of options and in desperation press the button(if not sooner). This puts the counter back at 100. Then there will be silence for a few minutes. The players will remain trapped in the room, and fail various escape options. At random, though seemingly connected to one players attempt to escape the system restarts. Count down,alarms, panic, button press, reset, random quiet period, restart countdown. The diabolical part of this scenario is that should the counter reach zero all that happens is the door opens.
posted by humanfont at 9:10 PM on April 2, 2015 [56 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 9:10 PM on April 2, 2015 [56 favorites]
Don't Push The Button! The Beautiful, Shiny Button! The Jolly, Candy-Colored Button!
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:11 PM on April 2, 2015 [31 favorites]
posted by oneswellfoop at 9:11 PM on April 2, 2015 [31 favorites]
Did anyone try typing in 4 8 15 16 23 42 first?
posted by aaronetc at 9:12 PM on April 2, 2015 [20 favorites]
posted by aaronetc at 9:12 PM on April 2, 2015 [20 favorites]
It's the latest world-changing revolutionary game from Peter Molyneux!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:12 PM on April 2, 2015 [31 favorites]
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:12 PM on April 2, 2015 [31 favorites]
I have not pushed the button, but as I thought about it, I thought about the game and I lost.
posted by humanfont at 9:22 PM on April 2, 2015 [19 favorites]
posted by humanfont at 9:22 PM on April 2, 2015 [19 favorites]
Official Survey of the Button's Religions
posted by neckro23 at 9:24 PM on April 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by neckro23 at 9:24 PM on April 2, 2015 [4 favorites]
Quick, hurry up and favorite this comment. I will soon be releasing a GreaseMonkey plug-in that labels your username with your position in the list of people who favorite it, and the lower your number is, the more MetaCred you have. Don't Be Left Out!
posted by benito.strauss at 9:26 PM on April 2, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by benito.strauss at 9:26 PM on April 2, 2015 [11 favorites]
I downloaded the page and then cut my connection to let it count down all the way, nothing happens.
I'm combing through the .js files and so far I've found nothing either.
I did find a file called "of_defenstration.png" but it's a pixel, probably for analytics.
posted by hellojed at 9:27 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
I'm combing through the .js files and so far I've found nothing either.
I did find a file called "of_defenstration.png" but it's a pixel, probably for analytics.
posted by hellojed at 9:27 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
The person who presses the button gets to have the Head of Vecna attached to their body.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:29 PM on April 2, 2015 [12 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 9:29 PM on April 2, 2015 [12 favorites]
I'm content not knowing.
posted by arcticseal at 9:29 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by arcticseal at 9:29 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
I pushed it on the first day without reading anything or thinking about it so I'm just a lousy 60, but weirdly the button became re-pressable on refresh for me so I got to click it TWICE.
AMA.
posted by SharkParty at 9:30 PM on April 2, 2015 [12 favorites]
AMA.
posted by SharkParty at 9:30 PM on April 2, 2015 [12 favorites]
How does it feel to lose twice?
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 9:31 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by save alive nothing that breatheth at 9:31 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
I chose to click it, so that I could experience the full breadth of the system
People like YOU, I swear to christ...
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:34 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
People like YOU, I swear to christ...
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:34 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Kind of like a modern "monkeys with a typewriter" thing.
posted by pearlybob at 9:35 PM on April 2, 2015
posted by pearlybob at 9:35 PM on April 2, 2015
You did it, didn't you? You thought "Yeah, it's probably bogus, but why not?" and then you did it. Because you didn't think Twitter would ever become anything, and now it's worth $4 billion. Contribution, effort, and reward are pretty disconnected these days, so maybe this obviously worthless MetaCred ranking will somehow actually end up being something, who the hell knows?
Don't worry, I feel just as dirty for receiving the favorite as you do for having given it. The question is, do you go back and remove it, or do you leave it, because, well, like we said, who the hell knows. Probably you're hesitating — heck, I'm hesitating and I invented it, so I know how worthless it it. Socially constructed value is a bitch, isn't it?
posted by benito.strauss at 9:41 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
Don't worry, I feel just as dirty for receiving the favorite as you do for having given it. The question is, do you go back and remove it, or do you leave it, because, well, like we said, who the hell knows. Probably you're hesitating — heck, I'm hesitating and I invented it, so I know how worthless it it. Socially constructed value is a bitch, isn't it?
posted by benito.strauss at 9:41 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
How does it feel to lose twice
You know how it feels when you staple through the webbing between your thumb and index finger on accident?
This has nothing to do with your question, I'm just asking for a friend.
posted by SharkParty at 9:49 PM on April 2, 2015 [13 favorites]
You know how it feels when you staple through the webbing between your thumb and index finger on accident?
This has nothing to do with your question, I'm just asking for a friend.
posted by SharkParty at 9:49 PM on April 2, 2015 [13 favorites]
xyzzy
posted by clvrmnky at 9:53 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by clvrmnky at 9:53 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
How many reddit accounts are there that the stupid thing seems to get clicked at least every five seconds?
posted by The Hamms Bear at 10:05 PM on April 2, 2015
posted by The Hamms Bear at 10:05 PM on April 2, 2015
Arthur: What happens if I press this button?
Ford: I wouldn't-
Arthur: Oh.
Ford: What happened?
Arthur: A sign lit up, saying 'Please do not press this button again.'
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:22 PM on April 2, 2015 [22 favorites]
Ford: I wouldn't-
Arthur: Oh.
Ford: What happened?
Arthur: A sign lit up, saying 'Please do not press this button again.'
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:22 PM on April 2, 2015 [22 favorites]
I honestly can't tell if the goal is to press the button or not press the button. Maybe just display the comments chronologically like a normal website instead of hiding some and promoting some others like you're a crazy idiot?
posted by dogwalker at 10:24 PM on April 2, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by dogwalker at 10:24 PM on April 2, 2015 [6 favorites]
Dammit! I came to metafilter to get away from reddit for a few minutes. Thanks a lot.
posted by Brodiggitty at 10:29 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Brodiggitty at 10:29 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
My guess is this is powerlanguage's idea. He had a very similar project when he was a student at Oregon. I really enjoyed this piece (piece? do you call that a piece?) that he did as well. He went off to work for reddit.
Cool dude.
posted by yeahwhatever at 10:34 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
Cool dude.
posted by yeahwhatever at 10:34 PM on April 2, 2015 [7 favorites]
I logged on, unlocked the button, and now I won't click it. Cool. Seems like a bad metaphor for my love life.
posted by naju at 10:41 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by naju at 10:41 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
That button religion link upthread is amazing. Now this feels like a crazy deep ARG.
posted by naju at 10:47 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by naju at 10:47 PM on April 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Perfect Gem Activated
posted by Reyturner at 10:47 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Reyturner at 10:47 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
*looks at button*
*ponders*
*decides to come back in a few weeks when everyone has forgotten about it and decide if she wants to push it*
And suddenly I am reminded that I have a game of Swarm Simulator sitting around that I'd forgotten about. Wow. Those sure are some large numbers of fictional bugs.
posted by egypturnash at 10:49 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
*ponders*
*decides to come back in a few weeks when everyone has forgotten about it and decide if she wants to push it*
And suddenly I am reminded that I have a game of Swarm Simulator sitting around that I'd forgotten about. Wow. Those sure are some large numbers of fictional bugs.
posted by egypturnash at 10:49 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
Pushed button, walked away. Didn't think of it again until now.
I think I won.
posted by vbfg at 11:08 PM on April 2, 2015
I think I won.
posted by vbfg at 11:08 PM on April 2, 2015
Every time you press the button, a Gamergator gets his wings.
posted by benzenedream at 11:09 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 11:09 PM on April 2, 2015 [3 favorites]
The button is there as a representation of Reddit's Admins frustration with needy users "these users couldn't go 60 seconds without pressing a button", this is the test, so far they are correct.
posted by Cosine at 11:44 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Cosine at 11:44 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
naju: That button religion link upthread is amazing. Now this feels like a crazy deep ARG.
There's no entry for those of us whose internal dialog was: “cool, a button… what does it do? *click* *reads the instructions* …oh. Oh well.” The chattering masses perhaps?
Unless that's everyone, but some have just chosen to rationalize their actions to themselves post-hoc in order to preserve their illusion of choice and self-determination. Just like religion amirite?
posted by traveler_ at 11:56 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
There's no entry for those of us whose internal dialog was: “cool, a button… what does it do? *click* *reads the instructions* …oh. Oh well.” The chattering masses perhaps?
Unless that's everyone, but some have just chosen to rationalize their actions to themselves post-hoc in order to preserve their illusion of choice and self-determination. Just like religion amirite?
posted by traveler_ at 11:56 PM on April 2, 2015 [2 favorites]
yeahwhatever: the subreddit's sidebar says "created by powerlanguage", so it looks like you're right.
posted by teraflop at 12:52 AM on April 3, 2015
posted by teraflop at 12:52 AM on April 3, 2015
I really enjoyed this piece (piece? do you call that a piece?) that he did as well.
The project's description ruins it, though, since it makes it clear that he doesn't understand the difference between sampling with and without replacement and doesn't understand that the word "shuffle" implies the latter, not the former (as should be obvious to anyone who's ever played a card game), yet chooses to frame it as "other people are stupid".
posted by effbot at 1:39 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
The project's description ruins it, though, since it makes it clear that he doesn't understand the difference between sampling with and without replacement and doesn't understand that the word "shuffle" implies the latter, not the former (as should be obvious to anyone who's ever played a card game), yet chooses to frame it as "other people are stupid".
posted by effbot at 1:39 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is going to turn out to be hooked up to a euthanasia machine, isn't it?
posted by Ravneson at 2:16 AM on April 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Ravneson at 2:16 AM on April 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
In a nutshell:
Clicking The Button resets The Timer to 60 seconds.
Only users with accounts created before April 1, 2015 can click The Button.
Users can click The Button only once.
Thus, there are a finite number of clicks available.
When the last available click is used, if not before, The Timer will run out in 60 seconds.
I suppose, then, that one's clicking The Button hinges upon whether it is good for the The Timer to run out.
For those who want The Timer to run out, and for those who don't, the strategy is oddly similar: Watch The Button! It is available to get a Chrome extension that alerts you when The Timer drops below 10 seconds.
When The Timer approaches zero, those who want The Timer to expire should not click The Button, and those who do not want the The Timer to expire should click The Button. However, since there is a finite number of clicks, clicking The Button draws us inevitably closer to the point where The Timer expires. Consequently, not clicking The Button can be a way to postpone the point where The Timer reaches zero.
posted by rankfreudlite at 2:38 AM on April 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
Clicking The Button resets The Timer to 60 seconds.
Only users with accounts created before April 1, 2015 can click The Button.
Users can click The Button only once.
Thus, there are a finite number of clicks available.
When the last available click is used, if not before, The Timer will run out in 60 seconds.
I suppose, then, that one's clicking The Button hinges upon whether it is good for the The Timer to run out.
For those who want The Timer to run out, and for those who don't, the strategy is oddly similar: Watch The Button! It is available to get a Chrome extension that alerts you when The Timer drops below 10 seconds.
When The Timer approaches zero, those who want The Timer to expire should not click The Button, and those who do not want the The Timer to expire should click The Button. However, since there is a finite number of clicks, clicking The Button draws us inevitably closer to the point where The Timer expires. Consequently, not clicking The Button can be a way to postpone the point where The Timer reaches zero.
posted by rankfreudlite at 2:38 AM on April 3, 2015 [5 favorites]
I'm just going to carry on not clicking.
(Though now I've got that Sugarbabes song in my head. Thanks.)
posted by Braeburn at 3:54 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Though now I've got that Sugarbabes song in my head. Thanks.)
posted by Braeburn at 3:54 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
vbfg, damn it, i just lost the game because of you
posted by pyramid termite at 4:00 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by pyramid termite at 4:00 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Totally gonna press!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:02 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:02 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was able to resist pressing the button, but then again, I was raised Catholic, so I'm pretty good at this kind of thing.
posted by missmobtown at 4:36 AM on April 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by missmobtown at 4:36 AM on April 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
Oh, neat. I don't see the flair, though, so maybe it's not fully wired up yet.
posted by effbot at 4:54 AM on April 3, 2015
posted by effbot at 4:54 AM on April 3, 2015
Is this Amazon's new button service?! 'Cause right now I'm really on candy, while pressing this fix that?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:57 AM on April 3, 2015
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:57 AM on April 3, 2015
PUSH THE BUTTON FRANK
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:01 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:01 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
They are trying to create a myriad of alternate realities! Each time the button is/is not pushed, an alternate reality where the button is not/is pushed comes into being. No doubt the button records when it is pushed, so They know the exact moment that a new reality comes into being.
Then, using their vast fleet of Versetrawlers (fueled by internet rage and moob tears), the secret cabal can raid the alternate realities before they collapse upon themselves due to choice inconsequentialness. Those alternates only exist for a few minutes at most as the divergent event of pushing/not pushing an internet button doesn't mean much, but since They know the exact moment of their creation, it's not too hard to go back, plunder as much as possible in 3 minutes, and then get out before collapse.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:22 AM on April 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
Then, using their vast fleet of Versetrawlers (fueled by internet rage and moob tears), the secret cabal can raid the alternate realities before they collapse upon themselves due to choice inconsequentialness. Those alternates only exist for a few minutes at most as the divergent event of pushing/not pushing an internet button doesn't mean much, but since They know the exact moment of their creation, it's not too hard to go back, plunder as much as possible in 3 minutes, and then get out before collapse.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:22 AM on April 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
Make your choice, adventurous stranger:
Strike the bell and bide the danger.
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.
— C.S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:01 AM on April 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
Strike the bell and bide the danger.
Or wonder, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.
— C.S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 6:01 AM on April 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
I was a big April Fool's Grinch this year but this project is pretty cool. It's a clever little idea, it reminds me a bit of Twitch Plays Pokemon in being a collaborative game.
If you want to see a better view on how it's going, this statistics post has lots of info. This spreadsheet has a lot of data and graphs. It'd be easy enough to build a tool to game this further. Some sort of auto-presser a bunch of Redditors could install, or maybe just a simple monitor of the web socket or whatever that's pushing the button events. I don't think anyone's gone through that much trouble.
I'm doing my best to hold out pressing the button, but I'm anxious that it might end before I do press the button. And then no one will know; did I play the game just a little too patiently or did I live in ignorance and indifference?
posted by Nelson at 7:02 AM on April 3, 2015
If you want to see a better view on how it's going, this statistics post has lots of info. This spreadsheet has a lot of data and graphs. It'd be easy enough to build a tool to game this further. Some sort of auto-presser a bunch of Redditors could install, or maybe just a simple monitor of the web socket or whatever that's pushing the button events. I don't think anyone's gone through that much trouble.
I'm doing my best to hold out pressing the button, but I'm anxious that it might end before I do press the button. And then no one will know; did I play the game just a little too patiently or did I live in ignorance and indifference?
posted by Nelson at 7:02 AM on April 3, 2015
Someone you do not know will die every time the button is pressed.
posted by Renoroc at 7:03 AM on April 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Renoroc at 7:03 AM on April 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Well yeah, but that's just a coincidence.
posted by ODiV at 7:19 AM on April 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by ODiV at 7:19 AM on April 3, 2015 [6 favorites]
I can't get past the fact that this was release on April 1st. Is there any proof that the button is really doing what the admins say the button is doing?
How do we know this is actually measuring button pushes by other users? The only thing I see is that the counter resets from time to time -- I don't know what really reset it. Could be Frank in New York City finally deciding to push the button, or it could be a random number generator running somewhere on a Reddit server.
If, in the end, this turns out to be a giant hoax, I will not be the least bit surprised.
posted by Frayed Knot at 7:53 AM on April 3, 2015
How do we know this is actually measuring button pushes by other users? The only thing I see is that the counter resets from time to time -- I don't know what really reset it. Could be Frank in New York City finally deciding to push the button, or it could be a random number generator running somewhere on a Reddit server.
If, in the end, this turns out to be a giant hoax, I will not be the least bit surprised.
posted by Frayed Knot at 7:53 AM on April 3, 2015
Once upon a time in graduate school....
There was a longitudinal study on pornography that many had heard about.
I made a little cartoon icon of a female and labeled it "Sex Study Materials; Do Not Open" and left it on the desktop of computers in the dorm computer lab.
If clicked to open, it ran a fake program that pretended to wipe the computer (with a progress bar) and said it was deleting all user accounts. It was just a little window on the desktop that stopped after about 30 seconds.
I'd often hear screams from the lab, go in to find multiple machines unplugged, etc.
posted by CrowGoat at 7:59 AM on April 3, 2015 [13 favorites]
There was a longitudinal study on pornography that many had heard about.
I made a little cartoon icon of a female and labeled it "Sex Study Materials; Do Not Open" and left it on the desktop of computers in the dorm computer lab.
If clicked to open, it ran a fake program that pretended to wipe the computer (with a progress bar) and said it was deleting all user accounts. It was just a little window on the desktop that stopped after about 30 seconds.
I'd often hear screams from the lab, go in to find multiple machines unplugged, etc.
posted by CrowGoat at 7:59 AM on April 3, 2015 [13 favorites]
The chrome extension is a start, but it really needs a backend to queue up users and only have one press per minute. Otherwise, everyone with the extension will press as soon as the clock gets low.
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 8:11 AM on April 3, 2015
posted by Lazlo Hollyfeld at 8:11 AM on April 3, 2015
"And a look of horror came over her face, and she was like, 'THE NUMBER OF TIMES IS NOT THE CENTRAL QUESTION OF THE STORY'"
Yeah, jeez, I can see why she was upset. The central question of the story is how the button works. Is it a radio transceiver? Magic? I don't know and I can't stop thinking about it.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 8:30 AM on April 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
Yeah, jeez, I can see why she was upset. The central question of the story is how the button works. Is it a radio transceiver? Magic? I don't know and I can't stop thinking about it.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 8:30 AM on April 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
The social dynamic of the fad; the crowd of idiots having fun wrecking everything with their numbers, creating the illusion of value and status if you can just get ahold of the thing they're trying to wreck. Be a special one. Some people lurking at the wings hoping to snatch some status, trying to be just a little smarter and faster, geeking out on the best way to do it, chasing some meta-status of best status-grabber. Or status-grabber-analyzer. Or status-grabber-analyzer-irony-spotter.
At some point it will be easier, because the crowd is dispersing. But that just means the value is going down. By the time it's is possible to get a 1s tag no one will care, there will be no status to be gained. The swirling mass of idiocy will have moved on. Fully gamed out and over.
Maybe it will be just the dedicated group of weirdos remaining after the party's over and tbh I always liked those people best. Let's hang out in the ruins.
posted by nom de poop at 8:32 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
At some point it will be easier, because the crowd is dispersing. But that just means the value is going down. By the time it's is possible to get a 1s tag no one will care, there will be no status to be gained. The swirling mass of idiocy will have moved on. Fully gamed out and over.
Maybe it will be just the dedicated group of weirdos remaining after the party's over and tbh I always liked those people best. Let's hang out in the ruins.
posted by nom de poop at 8:32 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
I blocked the subreddit in RES, it got too annoying very quickly, like last year's April fool's thing did.
posted by Catblack at 8:46 AM on April 3, 2015
posted by Catblack at 8:46 AM on April 3, 2015
If, in the end, this turns out to be a giant hoax, I will not be the least bit surprised.
While it's possible that someone just likes watching the world burn, this is one of those things where it isn't any harder to do what says on the tin than to fake things -- I doubt the update rate ever got that high (observed traffic never went over 20 "bops") and keeping the counters updated is more a matter of juggling many websockets than anything else. I guess "how would you implement the button" might end up in interviews, though.
posted by effbot at 9:04 AM on April 3, 2015
While it's possible that someone just likes watching the world burn, this is one of those things where it isn't any harder to do what says on the tin than to fake things -- I doubt the update rate ever got that high (observed traffic never went over 20 "bops") and keeping the counters updated is more a matter of juggling many websockets than anything else. I guess "how would you implement the button" might end up in interviews, though.
posted by effbot at 9:04 AM on April 3, 2015
Each time the button is/is not pushed, an alternate reality where the button is not/is pushed comes into being.
Sure it does, Abed.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:09 AM on April 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
Sure it does, Abed.
posted by saturday_morning at 9:09 AM on April 3, 2015 [8 favorites]
humanfont: "This reminds me of an old RPG session where the characters find themselves trapped in a room with alarms sounding and a counter slowly ticking from 100 towards zero with a button next to the counter. It is important that the game master really sell the tension as the counter goes down and escalate alarms and warnings as the counter goes to zero. As the numbers approach zero, the players will feel out of options and in desperation press the button(if not sooner). This puts the counter back at 100. Then there will be silence for a few minutes. The players will remain trapped in the room, and fail various escape options. At random, though seemingly connected to one players attempt to escape the system restarts. Count down,alarms, panic, button press, reset, random quiet period, restart countdown. The diabolical part of this scenario is that should the counter reach zero all that happens is the door opens."
Isn't this the plot to Lost?
posted by Splunge at 9:25 AM on April 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Isn't this the plot to Lost?
posted by Splunge at 9:25 AM on April 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Psh. I was clicking buttons on the internet before it was cool.
posted by The Man from Lardfork at 9:54 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by The Man from Lardfork at 9:54 AM on April 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
It actually doesn't matter what the button does! What matters is this strange experiment that's running, what matters is all of the weird stuff nom de poop was talking about above. As Nelson says, this is Twitch Plays Pokemon but really distilled to its essence: the internet is full of weirdos of all different types with all sorts of different dumb motivations, and what happens when they have one group project? Eventually it will tick down as people stop caring, and at that point, whatever happens won't be as interesting as what's happening right now.
posted by RubixsQube at 11:00 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by RubixsQube at 11:00 AM on April 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
Lord, I love Metafilter, but the occasional sneering cynicism in threads like these is really offputting. It's a funny little online social experiment and some people on a website are having a lot of fun with it.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:11 PM on April 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 3:11 PM on April 3, 2015 [7 favorites]
Forget pushing buttons, I remember when the internet was all about Pick Up The Phone Booth And Die. PUTPBAD was where it was at, yo.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:05 PM on April 3, 2015
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:05 PM on April 3, 2015
Frayed Knot: "I can't get past the fact that this was release on April 1st. Is there any proof that the button is really doing what the admins say the button is doing? How do we know this is actually measuring button pushes by other users? The only thing I see is that the counter resets from time to time -- I don't know what really reset it. Could be Frank in New York City finally deciding to push the button, or it could be a random number generator running somewhere on a Reddit server."
Reminds me of the doomsday counter in rrrrthats5rs.com's "Get A Life" game.
posted by Rhaomi at 10:21 PM on April 3, 2015
Reminds me of the doomsday counter in rrrrthats5rs.com's "Get A Life" game.
posted by Rhaomi at 10:21 PM on April 3, 2015
Some people lurking
at the wings
hoping
to snatch
some status,
trying
to be just a little
smarter and faster,
geeking
out on the best
way to do it,
chasing
some meta-status of
best status-grabber. Or
status-grabber
-analyzer. Or
status-grabber
-analyzer
-irony-spotter.
--posted by sylvanshine at 3:19 AM on April 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Button Presses in Real Time (via Boingboing which also has some great button macro images.)
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:32 PM on April 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 2:32 PM on April 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I clicked and got a score that was personally satisfying. There are some interesting elements to the game that seem to be playing out.
The best time seems stuck at 35s. Green is still rare at only about 6% of all presses. Clicks >50s are still the most frequent. There are some interesting game dynamics in play.
The player is presented with limited chances to score. The number of chances are unknown. The frequency of a tie of the existing high score or a new high score is less than once every 24 hours and this interval is increasing. If the game ends when the counter reaches zero; then the total number of chances to press is limited.
Networks and human reflexes have a number of quirks that result in misplays. For example a misplay occurs when player does not get their expected score because the network flaked out and the timer shows the wrong time.
If we thought of this as a marketplace where the player trades labor for scoring opportunities then we might conclude that the current score of 35s is near the upper limit of affordability given the current number of players and time required.
Also as the number waiting to press dwindles, the lowest score likely to be attained will rise. Suppose there are 10 players left. They might be asleep for the final countdown. Or if the high score is 28 and one is watching they could hit at 27 fearing they will not get another opportunity. Then it resets and goes to zero ending the game. A final score of 1s becomes less likely as time goes on.
posted by humanfont at 4:09 PM on April 7, 2015
The best time seems stuck at 35s. Green is still rare at only about 6% of all presses. Clicks >50s are still the most frequent. There are some interesting game dynamics in play.
The player is presented with limited chances to score. The number of chances are unknown. The frequency of a tie of the existing high score or a new high score is less than once every 24 hours and this interval is increasing. If the game ends when the counter reaches zero; then the total number of chances to press is limited.
Networks and human reflexes have a number of quirks that result in misplays. For example a misplay occurs when player does not get their expected score because the network flaked out and the timer shows the wrong time.
If we thought of this as a marketplace where the player trades labor for scoring opportunities then we might conclude that the current score of 35s is near the upper limit of affordability given the current number of players and time required.
Also as the number waiting to press dwindles, the lowest score likely to be attained will rise. Suppose there are 10 players left. They might be asleep for the final countdown. Or if the high score is 28 and one is watching they could hit at 27 fearing they will not get another opportunity. Then it resets and goes to zero ending the game. A final score of 1s becomes less likely as time goes on.
posted by humanfont at 4:09 PM on April 7, 2015
I know MetaFilter enjoys crapping on Reddit, but this button thing has really turned into something interesting. I personally dismissed it as Yet Another Silly April Fools Thing, but it's a lot more than that. One aspect that makes it interesting is the flair colors. With the lower numbers being rarer and harder to get, there's a natural human inclination for those colors to be more desirable (and two of the colors haven't even been "unlocked" yet.) There's this whole social dynamic that's emerged about greys vs. purples vs. greens and so forth. Over a hundred subreddits have been created, which variously call themselves factions, councils, and religions. (And that's not counting the subreddit for the Official Guild of the Scholars, which maintains that list.) Here's a summary of some of the more popular factions, with names such as The Followers of The Shade, Knights of the Button, and The Pressiah. Some groups are stridently against pushing the button, reveling in their temperance and self-control, and yet sometimes people in those camps fall victim to seeing an opportunity to grab a particularly rare flair and fall off the wagon, with accompanying self-hatred. And of course there's fan art. And GoT-themed fan art. More fan art. More fan art. More fan art. More fan art. A fan song. A fan video. More.
It's also amazing how long this thing will go on. Programs have been written to analyze the data and extrapolate an endpoint, and its estimates are currently anywhere from another couple weeks to perhaps six months (previous runs of the analysis had the upper end at nearly a year.) This all is pretty impressive given the inherent limitations, i.e. the total number of button pushes is a limited resource, and that all it would take to end the game is for 60 seconds elapse without anyone pushing the button. There are thousands of people monitoring the status of the button at any given time. Some are hoping for a rare flair, some just want to be there when it reaches zero, others want to ensure that it goes on as long as possible. The number of accounts still eligible to press is a knowable number (but I don't know if exact figures have been disclosed), but nobody knows how many of those are controlled by people that don't use Reddit anymore, or lost their password, or whatever. So that adds another layer of intrigue.
Lots of people have said that this has consumed their lives for the last week or so, all all the talk about religions and guilds and such is really only half-joking. It's the most remarkable social experiment I've seen in a long time. The /r/thebutton wiki is by far the best place to get more information about all the crazy.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:32 PM on April 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
It's also amazing how long this thing will go on. Programs have been written to analyze the data and extrapolate an endpoint, and its estimates are currently anywhere from another couple weeks to perhaps six months (previous runs of the analysis had the upper end at nearly a year.) This all is pretty impressive given the inherent limitations, i.e. the total number of button pushes is a limited resource, and that all it would take to end the game is for 60 seconds elapse without anyone pushing the button. There are thousands of people monitoring the status of the button at any given time. Some are hoping for a rare flair, some just want to be there when it reaches zero, others want to ensure that it goes on as long as possible. The number of accounts still eligible to press is a knowable number (but I don't know if exact figures have been disclosed), but nobody knows how many of those are controlled by people that don't use Reddit anymore, or lost their password, or whatever. So that adds another layer of intrigue.
Lots of people have said that this has consumed their lives for the last week or so, all all the talk about religions and guilds and such is really only half-joking. It's the most remarkable social experiment I've seen in a long time. The /r/thebutton wiki is by far the best place to get more information about all the crazy.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:32 PM on April 13, 2015 [6 favorites]
all it would take to end the game is for 60 seconds elapse without anyone pushing the button
Is that for sure a fact about what happens when the clock gets to zero, or just speculation?
posted by dogwalker at 4:29 PM on April 13, 2015
Is that for sure a fact about what happens when the clock gets to zero, or just speculation?
posted by dogwalker at 4:29 PM on April 13, 2015
Dismal speculation, at that. Consider the beliefs of the negativists. "The counter will not end when it reaches zero, but continue into negative numbers! The Positive Age will end and the Negative Age will begin. Negativists await the arrival of the Negative Age with faith in our hearts."
posted by Nelson at 5:20 PM on April 13, 2015
posted by Nelson at 5:20 PM on April 13, 2015
My favorite was when somebody made a nifty Chrome extension to color the button display using the corresponding time's flair... then edited the extension to auto-click the button without warning. People were pissed.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:45 AM on April 14, 2015
posted by Rhaomi at 12:45 AM on April 14, 2015
Yeah, there was talk of support groups and such after that one.
I'm really getting a kick out of the latest gambit — a whole lot of people have banded together to gaslight the naive into believing that a confirmation dialog was added, which would ostensibly make it a lot safer to obtain your desired rare flair. People that believe these threads (and they have thousands of commenters in on the troll making it seem legitimate by playing along and commenting and upvoting) push the button to test the feature only to find out no such feature exists, and their precious press is wasted. There's just so many levels of gamesmanship and mindfuckery going on.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:32 AM on April 14, 2015
I'm really getting a kick out of the latest gambit — a whole lot of people have banded together to gaslight the naive into believing that a confirmation dialog was added, which would ostensibly make it a lot safer to obtain your desired rare flair. People that believe these threads (and they have thousands of commenters in on the troll making it seem legitimate by playing along and commenting and upvoting) push the button to test the feature only to find out no such feature exists, and their precious press is wasted. There's just so many levels of gamesmanship and mindfuckery going on.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:32 AM on April 14, 2015
So this is how Reddit ends. We couldn't have asked for a better Lord of the Flies scenario!
posted by naju at 10:44 AM on April 14, 2015
posted by naju at 10:44 AM on April 14, 2015
People are now selling Reddit accounts on ebay. The vast majority of them seem to be for ones that haven't used up their press, but I did see at least one for a yellow flair account. I have no idea if anybody is actually buying them, but there are a couple dozen sellers. The dude that set a buy-it-now price of $2,000 is definitely delusional.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:02 AM on April 15, 2015
posted by Rhomboid at 5:02 AM on April 15, 2015
Seriously, I was never into Reddit, but my MeFi activity is way down because my free time has been consumed by watching the frigging button for the past 3 weeks. What is wrong with me?
posted by Literaryhero at 1:32 AM on April 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Literaryhero at 1:32 AM on April 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
One month and 865,000 clicks later, and the timer's still live, though regularly dipping into the sub-10 second range. (There was also apparently some controversy regarding some site downtime and whether the timer actually ran down to zero or just glitched.)
Still haven't pressed, btw. ;)
posted by Rhaomi at 12:16 AM on May 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
Still haven't pressed, btw. ;)
posted by Rhaomi at 12:16 AM on May 2, 2015 [1 favorite]
« Older Eight Os | Fake Holidays Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:58 PM on April 2, 2015 [5 favorites]