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Fake Egg is considered a Gaia Forums scam.
Overview[]
Scam explained[]
The fake egg scam was introduced by Gaians during Easter 2k4 when the scavenger hunt feature was implemented. During the Easter egg hunt, an egg could appear randomly in a thread, it is in threads where the act happens. It involves using the image of the official egg and placing it as a signature or within thread comments, and thus making it appear as if a legit egg has appeared, Gaians who click on it only to discover that is just an image.[1][2]
Another version of the fake egg scam involves attaching a link to the image and having it lead offsite or even a phishing site.[3] While some Gaians were attempting to be good humored about offsite links by linking to search engines, video sites, their own profile or a random Gaia thread.[4]
Consequences explained[]
Given that the phishing links stood to be too risky for the joke to continue without consequence, from 2004 and onward there is information about them in announcements and even a warning toward people who attempt to spread fake eggs. The act will lead to an account being banned.
Resolutions[]
Since 2004 there have been many attempts by Gaia staff to curb the fake egg issue. These involved:
- An official sticky thread headed by an Administrator or Moderator, where users could chat and possibly collect eggs as the thread grew.
- An 'Alert Bubble' created to inform Gaians that a legitimate egg can be found in a thread.
- Disabling signatures in the designated event forum.
- Official announcement threads about the event having a warning about fake eggs and the consequences of their usage.
- Encouraging Gaians to report postings and signatures that show fake egg usage.
- Eggs being collectable outside of threads. This means being able to find an egg around the site (e.g. forum interface, landing pages).
- Having the eggs be scrollable. This means once an egg appears on a page, scrolling 'down or up' causes the egg to travel with the scrolling action.
- Having the eggs appear in absurd places, this makes it impossible for Gaians (who only have access to simple forum coding) to duplicate the image's position.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Topic 32 min left until 9:00 pst!!! - Posted: HidekiSenpai; PhantomFang. Page2 Mon Apr 12, 2004 11:34 pm Retrieved 2014 November 12
- ↑ Topic I remember last easter... - Posted: Chibi Rave Page1 Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:37 am Retrieved 2014 November 12
- ↑ Topic PLEASE HELP theres a hacker going around fooling people - Posted: Ichigo Vizard Kurosaki. Page1 Mon Apr 05, 2010 3:21 am Retrieved 2014 November 12
- ↑ Topic reporting a fake egg - Posted: BlondikeBetty. Page1 Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:37 pm Retrieved on 2014 November 12