The American word "prank" is translated as a prank or prank. Today, prank is called telephone (and not only) hooliganism, which is rather entertainment in nature. Such rallies are posted on social networks, more often on video hosting sites, and are very popular with the corresponding audience.
Prank value
The American word is translated into Russian as a prank, a trick, a trick. If you look at the meaning of the word as a verb, then the meaning remains almost the same: to play pranks, fool around, joke around. Accordingly, the pranker is the one who comes up with and conducts the rally.
Initially, pranksters were called telephone hooligans who played a prank on the interlocutor by calling him. Often such calls are ironic in nature, they cannot be called kind and pleasant for the person being played.
Today the pranksters put their phones aside and took to the streets, cafes and restaurants. They personally meet with the victim and play it out. However, this often turns into an irritated reaction from an expectant person and can lead to a fight. Phone pranks are still safe, harmless and, of course, unpunished.
Types of prankers
As long as there were telephone sets, there are telephone pranksters as well. They not only enjoy their actions, but also demonstrate their antics to others. Today this is made possible by posting video and audio clips on social networks.
Prankers often call popular politicians, TV presenters, actors, and other public figures. Also jokers play the same people on the street.
Prankers can be roughly divided into types:
- Pranking popular people for money. Pranks are used most often to discredit a popular character or in political struggle.
- Prankers who enjoy their activity do these things for the sake of fun. They also enjoy grabbing the attention of others and entertaining the crowd.
- Prankers are truth-lovers who see as their goal the exposure of politicians or other people who have illegally seized privileges or dishonestly made a fortune. These pranks are associated with the release of classified information and observing the reaction to it of the character himself.
Telephone pranks
- Hard-prank, like the rock direction of the same name, is able to bring the interlocutor to hysteria and frenzy. For this, the punker swears obscenely, behaves defiantly and harshly. More often than not, hooligans achieve their goal and infuriate the person being played.
- Light prank - to cause laughter or at least a smile from the interlocutor.
- A prank on the radio is a live call perfect. The goal is to hear a secret phrase or just to make the audience laugh.
- A prank mix is a mixture of all kinds of pranking. It is only available to experienced pranksters or people with a lot of imagination. A lot of effort should be made, in some cases, recording and playing someone else's voice, song or conversation in order to play a joke on the interlocutor.
Pranks in real life
Street pranks have no classification. They act spontaneously to scare and laugh. Pranks look like a comic robbery, as an incident on the street, perhaps as a kidnapping or an incident on the roadway.
What are these pranks for?
Initially - just for the sake of joke. Comedians do it because they enjoy it. At the same time, in their closed community it is considered bad form to perform pranks to order. It is quite rare for prankers to receive such paid applications, because this may turn out to be not in favor of the customer (a pranker is jokingly capable of posting a recorded conversation with a potential client for public discussion).
Today pranking has grown into a full-fledged movement in the media - it is used in various TV shows, investigative programs and humorous programs, practically becoming another journalistic genre.
Where pranksters get numbers for their pranks
The question is legally delicate, since pranksters do not always get contacts by legal means. And hence there is another way to deal with pranksters - to file a complaint indicating the caller's number and the topic of the conversation to Roskomnadzor, which can fine the troublemaker and block his number.
Prankers can pretend to be fans, they can hide behind a journalistic press card, or simply find a phone on the Internet - all these are their methods of obtaining the coveted phones. Often, the victim herself provides a phone to a person, filling out a questionnaire in a store, coffee shop, restaurant, or leaving contacts as a participant in a street survey.
In other countries, comedians find the numbers they need much easier - they turn to printed or online directories, in which, as a rule, all phone numbers are legally published.
There are also licensed private detective agencies, which for a fee quite officially obtain the necessary information and contacts.
In general, professional pranksters have only two main sources of obtaining victims' phones. The first is the prank community itself, with their forums, chat messengers and closed portals where they exchange information about a potential test subject. The second way is contacts and acquaintances, including new ones, in the right circles.
What technique do prankers use?
To conduct a rally, and even record it, my pranker needs modern technical tools.
Back at the end of the 20th century, prankers played subscribers with the help of street telephones, today such devices are a rarity. It is almost impossible to trace a call from a pay phone, which makes the joker almost inaccessible for attracting an answer.
With the advent of identifiers, the life of prankers has become more difficult. Of course, you can activate the "Hidden Number" service, but it costs a certain fee.
With the spread of the Internet and IP telephony, prankers have become more and more invulnerable and elusive. And yet, if a rude and even dangerous joker is brought to punishment, the internal affairs bodies can figure out the person and bring him to justice. If caught, you can try to apply Article 20 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation to a pranker - to prosecute for "petty hooliganism". But it will be very difficult to find corpus delicti in the actions of a humorist, because in fact he does not violate public order.
According to lawyers, the circumstances of the rally are sometimes so insignificant that people rarely complain to the police. The only quick response to a prankster is violent influence, but in order to avoid this, pranksters try to go into the shadows and not give out their identity.
How to behave during such rallies
Unexpected attacks from strangers, even over the phone, can really be annoying and annoying. But the best way to disarm a prankster is not to succumb to provocation.
If this is a call from an unknown person and it caused a negative reaction, simply disconnect the subscriber from the connection and block the phone number. If this happened on the street or in the office, remain calm. Prankers just need to - cause your anger, resentment, laughter or panic. The important thing is to stay calm and not fall for anyone's attacks.
Another way is to be silent or answer very quietly (especially when playing pranks on the phone), this will ensure a loss of interest in your personality and in your possible inadequate reaction. And in the case when the joke goes beyond all boundaries, you can just call the police.
Code of honor
Prankers are not hard-core ruffians. In fairness, we can mention that they have their own internal code of honor. For example, they are not pranking very elderly people or victims with health problems.
Well, if the victim suddenly stopped showing aggression and even joined in a joke, then this can turn into a funny laugh both for the pranker himself and his audience, and a portion of positive for the victim.
