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ABC Online Vote About Boston ATHF event!

abcnews.go.com — voice your opinion! ABC News is running a poll!

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taswitzer 1 year 251 days ago, made popular 1 year 251 days ago

941 diggs
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taswitzer, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8citizens of both internets, the frightened officials of Boston (and foX newS) need adjustment. set the dial and pull the lever to register how much adjustment is required.
- brokekneck, on 10/12/2007, -4/+26 I think the city of Boston needs to make public apology. Fully reimburse them for the wages they lost while jailed AND pay the lawyer bill. City governments need to learn its not ok to jail whom ever they please. And its gonna cost them if they do so.
- aikahanyou, on 10/12/2007, -0/+56What about blaming the media for their terrorist frenzy these past years? Terrorists aren't around every corner, so the news should stop saying they are. It's creating so much paranoia.
- rockforever, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8The Mooninites were right, they are hundreds of years beyond earth. We're so scared of terrorism in this country that we let a LightBright make national news. Its really a travesty that the city spent so much time and wasted so much money on this thing, but its their own fault. It would be a cold day in hell before they said "Looks like we screwed up. We are truly sorry." There is absolutly no one to blame but themselves.
- crillbilly, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I cant even believe that that many idiots (21%) said that it was Turners fault.... Turner is the one that planted the "IED's", oh and he also dropped a virus into the Boston water supply that makes you very susceptible to media scare tactics, a complete ***** moron, and lets not forget anal leakage.
taswitzer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+91PS -
don't fall for the 'blame Turner Broadcasting' option. It's purpose is to distract you from putting the blame DIRECTLY on who deserves it... the AUTHORITIES and OFFICIALS who, when they looked at a blinking cartoon sign, DECIDED to escalate the situation to it's current status. GROSS NEGLIGENCE OF CITY RESOURCES!
- jcaino, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13***** yes.
  
  i would digg you many, many more times if possible.
- f3l1x, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15There is no right option. They force you to label it a prank at best. So as you can see, you will never win with the media.
- pensivewombat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8The authorities are clearly at fault here, but the news media reporting on the non-event also bear some of the blame
- mooninite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I would, but I can't even vote in this poll. Are they discriminating against mooninites?
  
  Seriously, I can't. All I see are the results.
- Greatmatt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Amen to that! These were placed in a number of other cities as well. None of those cities overreacted. Just Boston.
  
  Wait, do you see that? There is a light that is changing colors at that busy intersection! OMG! CALL THE BOMB SQUAD!
  
  lol
Mikejoneswho5, on 10/12/2007, -14/+0The marketing firm, Interference Inc. Their tactics led to this mess.
666

ZOMG EVIL POLL!
SilenceBroken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I don't even understand what they are trying to burn Turning Broadcasting and their marketing people at the stake for this one. They didn't do anything wrong. They did not foresee that all Boston would have one, big mooing cow over their little Martian Christmas decorations. They didn't do anything wrong. It's not like they intentionally tried to make it look like a bomb. If it wasn't intentional, it wasn't a hoax. The authorities in Boston just freaked out over a well-intentioned marketing gimmick.
- GawtMilk, on 10/12/2007, -24/+7If it was "well-intentioned", why did they use WIRES and BATTERIES?
  
  Those two components are BOMB MAKING COMPONENTS.
  
  Get a clue before you post such filth.
- flamingmb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14@ GawtMilk
  
  yeah why did they use wires and batteries? I meen really those things are found ONLY on bombs and such. Its not like they are found in household electronics, or circuit boards, or mp3 players, or computers, or street lamps, or cell phones, or fluorescent lights........
  
  /sarcasm
- blahtastic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Ok...It's sad I have to point this out. But Gawtmilk was being sarcastic too (it wasn't a good attempt, but still). -_- Ugh.. We need a sarcasm font alteration..like italics...but slanted left perhaps.
- pensivewombat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@blahtastic Actually I prefer to leave sarcasm unmodified. It serves as a tool to weed out those without good reading skills. Of course, that depends on good writing skills, which aren't exactly in abundance on message boards.
  
  You know what? Forget it, maybe you're right.
- ohgilla, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0If the marketing campaign was well intentioned, wouldn't those in charge take the necessary steps to prevent any confusion? Who knew about the construction and intended location of these art pieces? I work close by the city of Chicago, but I never heard one bit of information regarding this campaign or hear anyone discussing the art pieces themselves. A clever campaign--yes, but poorly executed, in my opinion. It's a different type of media with the use of wires and batteries. What authority wouldn't take precaution? Especially when placed on bridges. But perhaps this was the intention after all, because it's all over the news. There's no such thing as bad publicity, right?
- diggumjonez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@SilenceBroken -
  
  Thank you. This has been driving me crazy. It wasn't a hoax, obviously. But it also wasn't a PRANK. No one was getting pranked or fooled or cajoled. A marketing company recognized an under-the-radar trend of making public "graffiti" out of LEDs, and used this idea to promote a tv show; mostly to the people who already watched the show. It's not like anyone who hadn't watched lots of ATHF would see that, know it was a bit character from the show they didn't watch, and begin watching.
  
  The ABC poll is bunk and biased because option number one refers to people overreacting to a prank. It wasn't at all such. It's more along the lines of a city on full freak mode because a billboard alongside the road read "STARBURST EXPLODE WITH FLAVOR!" and took the word "explode" as a direct terrorist threat.
  
  It's *****. The city government of Boston should be ashamed of themselves. The media in Boston should be ashamed of themselves. And frankly, the two dudes who were arrested should be ashamed of themselves for not rehearsing their press conference schtick a bit more as it ended up as mostly incoherent rambling when it could have been comedy gold.
BillGoans, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2It doesnt matter if ABC put 'your dog' on the poll. As long as people go to the site, thats what they care about.

On another note, I can't think of a more bias survey.
- gravylookout, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I couldn't agree more, who writes these questions?
  
  "Local, state and federal authorities. They overreacted to a prank"
  - It was clearly a marketing campaign and not a "prank"
  
  "Turner Broadcasting. They sponsored the marketing campaign and should have alerted authorities"
  - Why would Turner Broadcasting alert the athourities about a marketing campaign that they sponsored, it seemed to be going fine in other cities.
  
  Why can't people make a poll anymore without commentary, the list should read like this
  -Local, State, and Federal Authorities
  -Turner Broadcasting
  -The Marketing Firm
  -The Artists
heilig, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12interesting how the correct option 'Local, state and federal authorities. They overreacted to a prank.' insinuates that this was intended as a prank. in fact, it was intended as promotion.

i wouldnt take part of the poll
- 4NDr01D, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7polls are usually skewed
  
  but yes i voted for overreaction
  
  as did 2734 other people, its the top ranked choice in the results
heysuburbia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Who are the 176 douchebags who said it's the artists fault?
- rockforever, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8The police who were involved, the media talking heads that were duped, the citizens who were already out buying gas masks, gallons of water, and dehydrated food.
buttman20, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Not us, but at least it's a very insignificant group of people. We just need to keep this up, keep the pressure on.

heilig > I really agree, those little details make a difference. I voted still, but because it's a statistic that counts, as far as "fighting the power" can be done
H3g3m0n, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6You can vote on the 2 polls here:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/BeSeenBeHeard/popup?id=2840922

http://abcnews.go.com/US/BeSeenBeHeard/popup?id=2841597
BillGoans, on 10/12/2007, -17/+0Here is another great poll you can vote on:

www.*****.com

Oh, and:
www.abcdoesn'*****.com

one more I found, kinda obscure but:
www.Really?Really?Youguysareserious?Nono,yourejoking.right/ohyourenot?/howisthatnovelcoming?/youknowthatbookyouweregonnawrite?/ohyoustopped/oh...
- cmscott, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8you forgot the http://
zerocomm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I personally blame the media. They are the ones who hyped it to death and scared the ***** out of everyone.
AlphAssassin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Where's the "I blame myself" option for voting for Bush?
- darthdurden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2its been my experience that no one actually voted for bush (or at least won't admit to it), so that point would be moot
- MikeFromAmerica, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I did.
merdiesel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2These two guys are so entertaining.
Rsulliv1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Amazing, I can't believe so many people have voted 'yes'. I am, of course, a 'no'. (and ATHF is on right now)

@ 2:30 am cst

No. It was just a joke, and I think that's the point they were making in their news conference.
2,870

Yes. Terrorism is not funny and people were legitimately scared in Boston.
2,010

Total Vote: 4,880
- tehnico, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1More to the point of this poll. It's not a matter of terrorism being funny. It's a matter of how the state and officials treat reality. They are far to cavalier with it and give it no consideration.
LACHRYMIST, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5"Local, state and federal authorities. They overreacted to a prank."
Prank?
This wasn't exactly a prank.
Apparently ABCnews needs to read the ... news.
Chive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20Numbers of Americans killed in America over the last 5 years:

By auto accidents - 200,000
By handguns - 150,000
By falling - 65,000
By drowning - 60,000
By fire - 20,000
By terrorist attack - 0

Sometimes I think that the average person is stupid beyond all comprehension. Millions of people now live with a day to day fear of the terrorist bogeyman. But even the slightest knowledge of the realities of the world should make it clear that this should be the very least of the average person's worries
- kayel, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1What killed my dad on 9/11
- xelloss, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2But if terrorist get there hands on a nuke = Hundreds of thousands or more dead.
- AlphAssassin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Eh forget it.
  
  GO BEARS!
- iTorrey, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@xelloss
  
  OMG! WHAT IF THEY GOT THEIR HANDS ON FOUR MILLION NUKES!!?!?!?!? OH NOOOOSSSE!
  
  Dude, turn off 24, read up on the constitution and the history of government sponsored terrorism. Read up on how governments scare their population into submission using the threat of an outside force.
  
  Or as Henry Kissinger said:
  "Today Americans would be outraged if UN troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing that every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being granted to them by their world government." At their 1992 meeting, in Evian France May 21, the Bilderburg group discussed the possibility of "conditioning the public to accept the idea of a UN army that could, by force, impose its will on the internal affairs of any nation"
- kazuhima, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4@kayel
  
  im sorry to hear that.... but he wrote last 5 years.
- H3g3m0n, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3"But if terrorist get there hands on a nuke = Hundreds of thousands or more dead."
  
  America will be ok, they have Jack Bauer.
smackhero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11wtf? where's the option for: "News Media who continue to sensationalize the story and unconscionably call the thing a 'terror hoax' when ALL THE ***** EVIDENCE POINTS TO THE CONTRARY."
- whisk3rs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Exactly my thought. I am 90 miles away from Boston ATM, but I bet all the news channels went like this: "Breaking news! Dozens of roads and bridges closed due to suspicious devices found under bridges and tunnels. Bomb squads are working around the clock. Is this yet another terrorist attack? Is your life in danger? Are you going to die a horrible death tonight? Find out at 10!"
  
  God damn sensationalist media.
jodokast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8In other news "Digg users hijack the internet."
Ogopogo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This marketing stunt was done in 9 cities. The citizens and cops in 8 passed the IQ test just fine. Boston is the winner for having the dumbest cops. Boston's 'lawsuit' should be laughed out of court.
- relayer2112, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You should know all the facts *****. Not all of the devices were placed under bridges in those cities. What the ***** did you expect the Boston police to do, tell the caller to go back and confirm it's bomb or else piss off? ***** like you view the world through your own ass with 20/20 hindsight.
  
  I'd bet you're a natural fit for a pair Richard Reid sneakers Cinderella...
gincarnated, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Why the hell are they still calling it a prank/hoax...
FlungIntoSpace, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Does anyone else think it interesting that from all this, [adult swim] is getting WAY more advertising for their low-budget cartoon movie? What was probably going to be a hit only with the people who watch the show, now has the possibility of becomming a bigger hit from people who heard about "that movie CNN was talking about."
As we keep seeing every time the media blows something out of proportion, ANY publicity is good publicity.
mseneschal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Here’s where everyone is missing the point. The issue is NOT with the actual cartoon devices; the issue is that the people arrested CALLED THE BOSTON POLICE AND REPORTED A BOMB THREAT. At that point it doesn’t matter what the ‘device’ is. I personally think it’s a viral marketing campaign thought up by the Turner suits.
- floorman56, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Yea I heard this too. The thought is that the LED's were up for 2 weeks and not getting a response. THEN all of a sudden 911 gets calls about a dozen of these things. I guess when they check where the 911 calls come from the true story will be told.
jstem1994, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't see a way to vote. Just results. Guess it's over?
PureGamer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Why are two polls about this topic dugg? Granted from two different news sites, but still. It's not like voting is going to change the matter anyways. The prosecutors aren't going to say "Well you know, we WERE going to prosecute them, but some people on the internet voted that we shouldn't...so I guess we won't". It's like internet petitions, and we all know how well those work out.

Buried as lame.
mitchconnerr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I've seen a few poles on this and ABC is one of the BAD MISLEADING poles.

The only choice to blame overreaction on also says it was a prank????
ABC do you have a bunch of MORONS working there??? You must because I bet you dont call YOUR marketing campaigns pranks..THIS WAS NOT A PRANK IDIOTS!!!

How bout this choice...
Local, state and federal authorities. They overreacted to being scared little bitches and ignorant narrow-minded paranoid brainwashed morons who dont understand what freedom
RADED, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3It wasn't a hoax or prank it was advertising GET IT RIGHT MEDIA.
thelordofcheese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I'd hate to be in Boston at Christmas.

Oh, no! Blinking LIGHTS! BOMBS EVERYWHERE! The entire city is WIRED to EXPLOOOOOOOOOOODE!
joebob, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1New poll added in relation to this story. It really seems like they are trying in every way possible to spin this in the direction of justifying the Mayor's office/Bomb Squad/ whatever terror monger pushed the panic button.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/BeSeenBeHeard/popup?id=2841597&POLL275=40000000000000000000000000000000000000
Nytemare, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Where's the option to blame the media?
JasonHammer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Exactly. I find it funny how there are four answers, Four! And none of them are truly correct. The correct answer for the win is the media for cultivating fear day after day. I do like how they are framing the argument to be a prank with the intent to skew the poll to anything BUT the local and state government and yet that is still the overwhelming majority answer.
cprincipe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The city of Boston needs to be very careful about how extensively they prosecute this case. The defense will bring witnesses from the other nine cities where this went on who will say on the stand "Yeah, we found them, we didn't think they were bombs, we took them down, we didn't shut our city down."
yourfault1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I agree with Raded and others... There's no way that Turner and ATHF were meeting with their Marketing team and thought "hey guys, let's put up some mooninites made out of lite-brights, distribute them to a bunch of cities, and hope that it creates a panic about BOMBS!" That doesn't even make sense! Have Bostonians simply never heard of advertising and marketing?? There's a bar down the street from me that has the exact same image of a mooninite flipping the bird in neon lights, I've seen it a hundred times there. I never thought that I was in danger.
RilDaddy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1welcome to the 21st century. people are making way to much out of this incident, it was a simple misunderstanding. there is nothing wrong with the authorities in boston doing what they did because they're simply being cautious. as far as whoever may be responsible for the lite brights it doesnt matter, because they're lite brights.
jrefenes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I'm still undecided on whether it was just a bad idea, an overreaction, or something else. Personally, I think it was kind of creative and amusing. However, I don't necessarily blame people for panicking. There are some morons out there who can't recognize LED's or the shape of cartoon characters. However, what if these WERE some kind of IED and the police ignored them? Can you imagine the kind of outrage the city would face? So I can't necessarily blame the police for that either.

Overall, I think the 2 guys being interviews by the media are complete morons and not doing themselves any favors. Only answering questions about hair, etc. Come on guys, get over yourselves. People got scared, and while yeah, maybe they got scared over somethign stupid, at least humble yourself and say "well it might have been the best idea and we're sorry" instead of acting like a couple of complete jerks.

I love the show, but Im tempted to stop watching just because of the way these 2 guys are handling themselves with the media.
- thelordofcheese, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And I thought the media overreacted.
burk3, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1oh snap you guys. Some guy in class right now left his backpack while he "is going to the bathroom". I bet there's a bomb in it. Time to call the vigilant and always just campus "police"

/sarcasm
ownwonnow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Is this an overreaction by Boston officials? Definitely. Did they have reason to be cautious and pissed off once they figured everything out? I think so. Was this promotional idea a poor decision on the part of the advertising frim? You bet your ass. Should people go to jail for this? Absolutely not.

Fine them, send the ad firm the bill for services rendered, and give the guys you arrested a few hundred hours of community service, but for God's sake don't waste any more time and money on these jokers. Their answer to this whole mess is to house, feed and clothe them for two to five years? Give me a break! Fines against them and their firm are enough to get those two unceremoniously dismissed, most businesses will avoid this firm like the plague and now you'll have a couple extra folks to help pick up trash in the public parts.
- ownwonnow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I forgot to mention that I'm sure Boston and Massachusets have real criminals to put in jail, yet another reason why they don't need these two cheeba monkeys behind bars.
coyo7e, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Awesome, this poll is being OWNT!
szembek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1The thing is, it wasn't even a prank! It wasn't supposed to be a bomb! It would be a prank if they were trying to trick people into thinking it was a bomb!!!!
tablatronix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"terrorist bogeyman"

Thats a good one.
ohgilla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This was not a prank, simply a marketing tactic, which I believe, was not thought out that well. The locations of the led lights were placed in areas that were hard to reach simply to not be tampered with or taken down. However, a simple notification to the city describing the "art piece" would have prevented any confusion by local authorities. I do give props to Interference Inc. for thinking outside the box with this marketing campaign, because it's not an advertisement or a commercial, but because of the contents of this art piece (batteries, wires) I can see how they can be portrayed as "dangerous" to those who have no idea what the figure/character symbolizes. Plus, it's giving the finger, so it can also be saying "F*ck you!" followed by an explosion. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.
rjforbes, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Kinda funny I'm getting the promo banner for this ad under the poll results.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/BeSeenBeHeard/

(if you don't see it on the poll page reload it, and be afraid!!!)
VeyronSengh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How about MSNBC's poll?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16923848/
webheaded, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I love the loaded wording on the responses and how they conveniently left out any blame for the media who blew this WAY out of proportion.
Koosebane, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Jeebus. AHF and BOSTON are not worth fifty ***** submissions.

You kids take your damn Prozac, get your OCD under control and stop posting all of these dumb ass polls that don't mean *****.
teethman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Not a ***** prank, ABC. Why is the media so irresponsible?
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ABC Online Vote About Boston ATHF event!

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