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In relation to Best E-reader for a touring bike? its fairly obvious this is an april1 joke.
In 2020 the commercial april fool's jokes seem to be thin on the ground.

Its not impossible someone could treat this as a real question. So do we need a tag or prefix in the headline question, to show that it is not a serious question? Or should it be on the site at all?

There are conflicting examples:

What's the consensus?

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  • And another point - is there a difference between the short term and the longer term? We're all a bit off-base because of the C19 lockdowns and various restrictions around the world.
    – Criggie Mod
    Apr 1, 2020 at 23:06

3 Answers 3

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I'm not happy with this joke question.

Even being fully aware that it is an April Fool's question and not to be taken seriously, when reading the questions and answers, they mostly look completely serious, and there were almost no indications that I could see that the post was intended as a joke.

It should also be considered that April Fool's Day is not really understood worldwide; it's a more western cultural phenomenon, and not even universal among western cultures. I fear most people won't understand right away that it's a joke, especially if they read it on a day other than 1 April.

If the question is going to remain at all, it should carry a prominent indication that it is not a serious question and the answers should not be taken seriously. Without such an indication, for the safety of everyone, it ought to just be deleted. I don't think the tag is appropriate; it's too generic and could indicate having fun cycling, rather than a fun question. I'd be much happier with some kind of highlighted notice at the top of the post.

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I enjoyed the question (obviously) and a lot of what I enjoyed was Daniel's careful wording to make it totally clear that something was afoot, I laughed out loud (or lol'd) when I cottoned on and realised it was not serious.

The joke is that you would have to be an idiot to use an e-reader when you're cycling. However (!) I am a firm believer in idiot-proofing wherever possible, and there are enough idiots around.

I therefore propose that April Fool posts should be closed the next day as off topic... because other... April fool, perhaps by a moderator if necessary for speed. The close reason will remain on the post and should have wording to state that none of the advice should be followed.

I will place a close vote and see if it takes with the community.

Update... actually I'm not sure the tailored close reason gets put into the permanent, prominent blue box in a closed question. That would undermine my suggestion, but perhaps it could be coded in?

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In the short term I have added a tag for this kind of thing. If you're aware of other older questions that would benefit, do feel free to retag them.

https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/april-fools

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    The tag will be helpful to review what jokes have been made before, to avoid repeating (if April Fools are allowed to continue)
    – Swifty
    Apr 4, 2020 at 10:39

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