Wave Hoax Tricks Gullible iPhone Users Into Microwaving Their Phones

[Wisq]

I think we're all focusing on the wrong thing to hate here. Instead of going on at the victims of the scam, shouldn't your anger be directed to the people that think it's perfectly fine to do this sort of thing in the first place to trick people? Regardless of whether people fall for it or not, it takes one pathetic person to think making this was a great idea.

That's the thing, though. It only ever takes one person to do this, which makes it hard or impossible to prevent. That's why the key is educating the would-be victims, not trying to stop the perpetrators.

There are a ton of entities out there (commercial or otherwise) that prey on people who can't distinguish between reality and wishful thinking, or who don't bother to research the things they buy. People who buy those expensive bracelets that supposedly focus your spirit energy. People who drink special water that is electrically balanced or whatnot. People who buy (or worse, preorder) video games without reading a single review. And yes, people who microwave their phone because a webpage said they should.

The truth is, all these lies (scams/hoaxes/shady practices/etc.) exist because those people exist. And it only takes one person to create a lie, but it takes many vulnerable people for a lie to be worth creating, and to spread.

In essence: Lies are like viruses, and knowledge and common sense are like the vaccine. When you have a vaccine, you work to vaccinate people. You don't just shake your fist at the sky and curse the viruses. (Although you might curse the anti-vaccination movement. In this analogy, those would be the people who are willfully ignorant, and proud of that, and mistrust "intellectuals".)

And the analogy continues, because you know what? Sometimes catching a virus early, when it's not as harmful, is the best way to develop an immunity to it. I can only hope that most of the people who actually microwaved their phones are going to a) appreciate the potential danger of microwaves a lot more, and b) think more carefully about things they see on the internet.

So in a way, I'm actually grateful for hoaxes like this -- the victim immediately understands they got fooled, and the cost was relatively low. That's a lot more than can be said for some of the big scams and cons, the ones that can take away people's livelihoods or even their lives.

---

Finally -- and this is more about the thread in general -- it's worth noting that it's possible to laugh at someone microwaving their phone and feel sorry for them. It's also possible to condemn the author of a hoax while also admonishing the people who fall for it.

We seem to have created a society where everything must be polar opposites, black and white, two ends of a spectrum, two "camps" -- probably because it's usually the most vocal people on either side who stick around and argue it out. I say, screw that -- things are much more frequently in the vast middle ground than way over at either end.

 

[Strazdas]

I don't generally think of adults as being spiteful, but I guess that's because offline most people aren't.

They are. Just offline they often hide it because hur dur "mean people be punished".

A normal oven is an appliance that causes heat, and all the trays I put in mine are metal. Having said that, so is the grill tray that came with my microwave.

Microwave is not an oven. even a toddler does not mix those up.

Grill tray is taken out when you use microwave unless you use it in grill mode which works differently than regular heating mode. actually, all metal is kinda safe in grill mode, hence the grill tray is safe.

Dammit people there was a youtube series about this

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/iU76rDdn2WA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>

do

[ youtube=iU76rDdn2WA]

to embed youtube videos. without the space between [ and youtube.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/consoles/xbox-one-owners-warned-over-console-bricking-backwards-compatibility-scam-1205744 This?

No, although that's just as terrible. I can't quite remember what it was, but it had something to do with waterproofing one's cell phone, or something like that, and then everyone who tried only crushed their phones in the wash or shorted it out from the water.

that was for Iphone 7 - the last generation of Iphones.

Whenever people say stuff like this I wonder if they really mean it, because while stupidity and naivete may not be admirable traits, I doubt anyone could consider them some sort of crime worthy of being harshly punished.

its not like they are being jailed for this or anything. they destroyed their own property by thier stupidity. If you are stupid enough to not even skim instruction manual of devices you use and thus destroy your own device in the process of misusage you deserve the right to loose said device due to destruction. There is a difference between a moron frying his own phone and bullying somone becuase hes stupid. and i would support only first one.

I'm pretty sure Darwinism only takes affect if the action prevents them from surviving or reproducing, despite what Apple might want you to believe, I don't think people will die from not having an iPhone 6.

reproduction is much more complex nowadays. somone who is stupid enough to fry his phone and then post about it online will gain scorn from people (see: this thread). thus, lowering his chance of meeting a mate to have offsprings with. Its not the loss of iphone, its the display of stupidity thats causing the darwinism effect.

Well those are the only options. But at least android comes in multiple platforms, not restricted to a single cheap piece of junk built in a Chinese sweatshop that shatters if you look at it cross eyed. Seriously, not counting display models in the Apple store, have you ever actually seen an iPhone that WASN'T busted up? I sure haven't.

actually windows phone is pretty good contended nowadays too. it actually works fine.

now that you mention, i havent seen a iphone that wasnt shattered, wow, this needs further investigation.

 

[Olas]

Whenever people say stuff like this I wonder if they really mean it, because while stupidity and naivete may not be admirable traits, I doubt anyone could consider them some sort of crime worthy of being harshly punished.

its not like they are being jailed for this or anything. they destroyed their own property by thier stupidity. If you are stupid enough to not even skim instruction manual of devices you use and thus destroy your own device in the process of misusage you deserve the right to loose said device due to destruction.

So basically all you're saying is that you do think stupidity a crime worthy of a significant punishment via destruction to one's property.

I can't say I understand this point of view. People don't choose to be stupid, stupidity isn't purposefully malicious, I suppose someone suffering from legitimate mental retardation must really have it coming then. Let's not even think about animals besides humans.

Seriously, even if you think these morons need to be punished for how stupid they are, who's to say that the appropriate punishment is the loss of their phone? Isn't that a somewhat arbitrary punishment, that's only being delivered because it's the natural outcome of what they did? I mean, it's almost sounds like you believe in Karma or something.

There is a difference between a moron frying his own phone and bullying somone becuase hes stupid. and i would support only first one.

He only fried his own phone because someone on the internet told him he should, it is bullying and you know it. The cause and affect are the same, the fact that the victims technically destroyed the phones themselves is irrelevant because they did so out of ignorance of what would happen. When a person drops a bowling ball on another person's head you don't blame gravity.

The people who came up with this prank are the one's who deserve to be punished, they knowingly led someone to destroy their own property. But no, I guess in your world they're the heroes, the deliverer's of justice.

I'm pretty sure Darwinism only takes affect if the action prevents them from surviving or reproducing, despite what Apple might want you to believe, I don't think people will die from not having an iPhone 6.

reproduction is much more complex nowadays. somone who is stupid enough to fry his phone and then post about it online will gain scorn from people (see: this thread). thus, lowering his chance of meeting a mate to have offsprings with. Its not the loss of iphone, its the display of stupidity thats causing the darwinism effect.

Except they're going to get way more attention through posting pictures of their destroyed phones than if they had done nothing. The fact that they wanted to show the world their stupid mistake shows a degree of self-deprecation that often accompanies people with a degree of confidence, which can be helpful in finding a partner. Of course this is all just speculation in the end.

The willingness to post the images also makes me wonder if this was just a publicity stunt and if the phones weren't already bricks. How sure are we that those are even iPhone 6s?

 

[RICHIERICAN]

The internet can a great source of information if you know where to look BUT for some people the internet tends to lower their IQ level so they do some dumb shit like putting their phone in a microwave!! And these people are suppose to be tech savvy????

 

[Zipa]

I always said people who buy iPhones are idiots...

Could've been worse. They could've bought a Android device.

Well those are the only options. But at least android comes in multiple platforms, not restricted to a single cheap piece of junk built in a Chinese sweatshop that shatters if you look at it cross eyed. Seriously, not counting display models in the Apple store, have you ever actually seen an iPhone that WASN'T busted up? I sure haven't.

Yes actually I have, numerous times. The three iPhones I myself have owned, none of them have so much as a dent or a scratch on them. You know why? Because I treat them properly, I don't throw them around and actually bother to use a protective case. My mothers iPhone to, because she too doesn't throw it around like its indestructible.

Doesn't matter who makes a phone if you mistreat it then like anything else it will break. I work with a guy who does just this, and his phone looks like it has been through a war zone, cracked screen dented to hell and half the buttons don't work. It being a Sony phone using Android didn't save it from abuse.

 

[tstorm823]

One time I was talking to a group of 13 year old girls. They told me a story about how they were playing in the creek so they all put their phones in a ziplock baggy. But then the girl holding that bag had a bumblebee fly at her, and she swung her arm and the baggy broke in the direction of the water, and all of their phones broke. So all 4 of them had to get brand new iphones...

They were absolutely full of crap. They just wanted new phones.

Basically what I'm saying is most of these microwaved phone pictures don't say "I'm so dumb that I did this," but rather "and now I have an iphone 6 anyways!"

 

[Aeshi]

I always said people who buy iPhones are idiots...

Could've been worse. They could've bought a Android device.

Well those are the only options. But at least android comes in multiple platforms, not restricted to a single cheap piece of junk built in a Chinese sweatshop that shatters if you look at it cross eyed. Seriously, not counting display models in the Apple store, have you ever actually seen an iPhone that WASN'T busted up? I sure haven't.

I've seen plenty of plenty of iPhones that weren't busted up, because most of us are capable of looking after our electronics. You only need to look for durability in your phone if you're the sort of cretin who still can't be left alone with those little bits of plastic marked "keep away from children."

Heck, I once picked up an abandoned iPhone off the road after it got run over by several cars and it was still in good enough condition for me to get a connection and call its former owner, despite lacking 25% of its screen and having a chunk of circuitry missing.

EDIT: And aren't most of the most popular Android phones made by a company that gets the their Hardware from the same place Apple does anyway?

 

[Kieve]

So basically all you're saying is that you do think stupidity a crime worthy of a significant punishment via destruction to one's property.

If they destroy that property of their own free will (and ignorance)? That seems perfectly reasonable to me, and almost everyone else in this thread. "Punishment fitting the crime" and all that - the "crime" in this case being a total lack of sense or ten seconds of basic fact-checking. Either would easily have saved them from the "punishment."
As I've stated before, personally I just consider it a learning lesson on the same level as "don't touch the hot burner."

I can't say I understand this point of view. People don't choose to be stupid, stupidity isn't purposefully malicious, I suppose someone suffering from legitimate mental retardation must really have it coming then. Let's not even think about animals besides humans.

You're leaping to conclusions where there are none. We're not advocating the mockery of the legitimately handicapped, we're talking otherwise-intelligent people who read something on the internet and decided to believe it - again, noting that a few seconds of research before putting their expensive electronic item at risk would have saved them from this moment of stupidity.
Of course, if you want to train your cat to microwave your phone, I won't stop you.

Seriously, even if you think these morons need to be punished for how stupid they are, who's to say that the appropriate punishment is the loss of their phone? Isn't that a somewhat arbitrary punishment, that's only being delivered because it's the natural outcome of what they did? I mean, it's almost sounds like you believe in Karma or something.

There is a difference between a moron frying his own phone and bullying somone becuase hes stupid. and i would support only first one.

He only fried his own phone because someone on the internet told him he should, it is bullying and you know it. The cause and affect are the same, the fact that the victims technically destroyed the phones themselves is irrelevant because they did so out of ignorance of what would happen. When a person drops a bowling ball on another person's head you don't blame gravity.

You have a very warped view of "bullying," so let's back up the bus and get things perfectly clear here:
They did this to themselves of their own free will. No one twisted their arm and forced them to microwave their phone, no one stopped them from checking to see if maybe this "Wave" thing was fake, and there is no one else here responsible for their actions but the individual in question - who then went on to post evidence of that action publicly.
Even your own strawman doesn't hold up in this case: When a person drops a bowling ball on another person, you blame the one dropping the ball. When they put their phone in the microwave and nuke it, you blame them for that too.

The people who came up with this prank are the one's who deserve to be punished, they knowingly led someone to destroy their own property. But no, I guess in your world they're the heroes, the deliverer's of justice.

If you want to get steamed up at the perpetrators of the hoax, go for it. If you're trying to raise a lynch mob over it though, you're in the wrong place. Consensus here is, these people should have known better already. Hopefully, they do now - perhaps you're familiar with the term "learning the hard way"?

*And re: the Darwinism thing, even very smart people can do some very dumb things on occasion, so removing themselves from the gene pool for a singular foolish moment with their appliances and electronics feels extreme - unless they also didn't read the hoax instructions carefully and set the microwave to 5+ minutes, blew up their kitchen, and burned their house down.

 

[Strazdas]

They really aren't. Maybe you should get out more, or get out in different places. The majority of people I interact with are decent and polite, and display a reasonable level of empathy. 'Mean people' aren't punished for being spiteful either - certainly not for taking pleasure in another's misfortunes. If they are looked down upon by others for doing so (if that is what you mean by 'punished'), maybe that is because the majority see that behaviour as lacking.

Correction: majority of people act decent and polite. how many of them are - you do not know. The person is only himself when he is alone.

Irrelevant. the person I responded to said that an appliance that causes heat does not mix with metal. I indicated that the statement was incorrect.

fair enough, my mistake then.

So basically all you're saying is that you do think stupidity a crime worthy of a significant punishment via destruction to one's property.

I can't say I understand this point of view. People don't choose to be stupid, stupidity isn't purposefully malicious, I suppose someone suffering from legitimate mental retardation must really have it coming then. Let's not even think about animals besides humans.

Seriously, even if you think these morons need to be punished for how stupid they are, who's to say that the appropriate punishment is the loss of their phone? Isn't that a somewhat arbitrary punishment, that's only being delivered because it's the natural outcome of what they did? I mean, it's almost sounds like you believe in Karma or something.

No. That is because i do not consider ability to destroy my own property a crime and you seem to imply that i do. Also you seem to think a loss of a cell phone is significant punishment, whereas i would disagree.

People may not choose to be stupid, but they choose to be ignorant. if you intentionally do not even skim the instruction manual of new electronice device you never used (microwave in this case) you are willfulyl electing to be ignorant.

If a persons mental retardation is such that he starts microwaving everything people tell him, hes likely not intelligent enough to be left living alone. not everyone is caapble of taking care of themselves.

I never claimed it was an "appropriate" punishment, merely that i do not see it unfair that they had to learn it this way if they willfully elect to be that ignorant.

He only fried his own phone because someone on the internet told him he should, it is bullying and you know it. The cause and affect are the same, the fact that the victims technically destroyed the phones themselves is irrelevant because they did so out of ignorance of what would happen. When a person drops a bowling ball on another person's head you don't blame gravity.

The people who came up with this prank are the one's who deserve to be punished, they knowingly led someone to destroy their own property. But no, I guess in your world they're the heroes, the deliverer's of justice.

You are wrong again. There was an image on the internet. a mockup joke of stupid apple ads. the person willingly read it, misunderstood it then elected to NOT check this new concept thats contrary to everything he knows and went into personal experimentation mode. For this he is to blame himself and there is no bullying. if somone started spamming his twitter with demands that he tries it i could understand bullying angle, but this was not the case.

To use your example with a bolwling ball, a person left a bowling ball on the table and somone else elected to bump the table enough to make it rolling downwards. i would not blame the person that left it on the table.

They are neither heroes nor criminals, they simply made a joke on the internet. Hardly their fault somone thought it wasnt a joke. equating them to criminals would be equating somone posting a meme on the internet and people taking it seriuosly and trying to do it in real life.

 

[orangeapples]

You know why it is hard to do this to Android users? It isn't because Android users are smarter, it's because a new android phone comes out every other month and that you can't actually catch all of the stupid ones in one fell swoop. Apple on the other hand makes a bit deal of every release once a year. The more excited people there are the higher your chances of finding the dumb ones.

I suppose you can say it is a feature of Android Lollipop or whatever they're on now, but not everyone gets the new Android version. There are still people stuck on JellyBean or Gingerbread House or Eclair.

Some people are just stupid and their choice of phone, or video game console, or music genre or where they fall on the Battlefield vs Call of Duty spectrum isn't the defining trait. There are stupid people everywhere.

 

[Animyr]

While intellectually I understand some people just lost more money then they can afford on their microwaved iPhone, I'm still somehow rather pleased that this trick worked.

 

[KissingSunlight]

This is the best thing I saw today! I had to walk away from the computer and find a place to lay down and laugh my ass off.

Anyone who is butthurt about people laughing at these idiots who fried their phones. All I have to say is: Everyday I see people who not only do stupid things in general. Also things that are dangerously stupid and criminally stupid. No consequences ever happen to them. Our society seems more interested in protecting morons than they are protecting people from morons.

On a lighter note, did anyone else have this scene pop into their heads when reading this article?

 

[conmag9]

I heard this just this morning and my first reaction was a laugh. Hard. But the more I think about it, the worse I feel for anyone who actually fell for it. The utter lack of sympathy is baffling to me. There are people with smart phones today who were alive before tv was invented (my grandmother's one of them). Is it really so surprising that with the extremely rapid changes in technology these days that those who aren't plugged into that sort of thing might be fooled? Heck, wireless recharging IS a thing after all, so someone might see the parallels and be fooled without being an utter moron.

Personally, I'd rather correct ignorance with words, not derision and piles of slag worth hundreds of dollars. The former just makes people more afraid to ask questions for fear of being laughed at, while the latter is just a burden the average individual doesn't need.

 

[Olas]

So basically all you're saying is that you do think stupidity a crime worthy of a significant punishment via destruction to one's property.

If they destroy that property of their own free will (and ignorance)? That seems perfectly reasonable to me, and almost everyone else in this thread. "Punishment fitting the crime" and all that - the "crime" in this case being a total lack of sense or ten seconds of basic fact-checking. Either would easily have saved them from the "punishment."
As I've stated before, personally I just consider it a learning lesson on the same level as "don't touch the hot burner."

Yes, because a few seconds of pain in your finger and having a $400 device you just bought destroyed are equivalent.

Also, most parents don't TELL their children to touch the stove, by lying to them about what will happen when they do. Trying to defend this prank by calling it a "lesson" is obviously disingenuous; ya, it's real important people learn to not do something they wouldn't have done on their own anyway.

I can't say I understand this point of view. People don't choose to be stupid, stupidity isn't purposefully malicious, I suppose someone suffering from legitimate mental retardation must really have it coming then. Let's not even think about animals besides humans.

You're leaping to conclusions where there are none. We're not advocating the mockery of the legitimately handicapped, we're talking otherwise-intelligent people who read something on the internet and decided to believe it - again, noting that a few seconds of research before putting their expensive electronic item at risk would have saved them from this moment of stupidity.
Of course, if you want to train your cat to microwave your phone, I won't stop you.

How do you know how "otherwise-intelligent" these people are?

Frankly it doesn't really matter, whether it was actually low intelligence, or gullibility, or whatever, none of it is a moral transgression. I don't have any problem with pranks if all they do is scare or embarrass someone in a non-harmful way, but when you start destroying someone's property I think you're crossing a line.

Let's face it, you don't have much of a leg to stand on here. You're defending the morality of a prank that was done by people who obviously didn't care about the morality of it.

Seriously, even if you think these morons need to be punished for how stupid they are, who's to say that the appropriate punishment is the loss of their phone? Isn't that a somewhat arbitrary punishment, that's only being delivered because it's the natural outcome of what they did? I mean, it's almost sounds like you believe in Karma or something.

There is a difference between a moron frying his own phone and bullying somone becuase hes stupid. and i would support only first one.

He only fried his own phone because someone on the internet told him he should, it is bullying and you know it. The cause and affect are the same, the fact that the victims technically destroyed the phones themselves is irrelevant because they did so out of ignorance of what would happen. When a person drops a bowling ball on another person's head you don't blame gravity.

You have a very warped view of "bullying," so let's back up the bus and get things perfectly clear here:
They did this to themselves of their own free will.

For goodness sake, saying someone used "free will" doesn't mean a damn thing when they are acting on misinformation. How do you not understand that? Why do you keep bringing up their "free will" like they knowingly chose to destroy their phone?

No one twisted their arm and forced them to microwave their phone, no one stopped them from checking to see if maybe this "Wave" thing was fake,

Your argument that they should have checked to see if it was fake is based on the notion that they should have been skeptical to begin with, that they should have known better. If they weren't smart enough to realize the Wave thing was BS why would you assume they're smart enough to know to search around the internet first? I'm not saying these people didn't need to be taught a lesson about taking things at face value, but teaching lessons doesn't require you to be a dick, which is all these pranksters were trying to be.

Even your own strawman doesn't hold up in this case: When a person drops a bowling ball on another person, you blame the one dropping the ball. When they put their phone in the microwave and nuke it, you blame them for that too.

No, actually it does hold up. It's your interpretation that's flawed. The person who drops the ball knows what will happen. Only if he was unaware of how gravity works would he be analogous to the person putting the phone in the microwave. You might as well blame the microwave while you're at it since it also acted without knowing that it was going to destroy the phone.

The people who came up with this prank are the one's who deserve to be punished, they knowingly led someone to destroy their own property. But no, I guess in your world they're the heroes, the deliverer's of justice.

If you want to get steamed up at the perpetrators of the hoax, go for it. If you're trying to raise a lynch mob over it though, you're in the wrong place. Consensus here is, these people should have known better already. Hopefully, they do now - perhaps you're familiar with the term "learning the hard way"?

It's only a "hoax" if you spread a false belief that's not materially damaging. If you spread a false belief that causes someone financial harm it's technically fraud, not that this is something that one could or should take to court.

I'm not trying to raise a mob. I just find it concerning how many people seem perfectly fine, or even happy about this, and I think the notion that these people "deserved" to lose their phones should be challenged.

edit: Also, not that it makes any difference, but I'm clearly not alone in my sentiment like you're trying to imply. I've seen planet of comments from others expressing sympathy for the people who lost their phones.

 

[Olas]

So basically all you're saying is that you do think stupidity a crime worthy of a significant punishment via destruction to one's property.

I can't say I understand this point of view. People don't choose to be stupid, stupidity isn't purposefully malicious, I suppose someone suffering from legitimate mental retardation must really have it coming then. Let's not even think about animals besides humans.

Seriously, even if you think these morons need to be punished for how stupid they are, who's to say that the appropriate punishment is the loss of their phone? Isn't that a somewhat arbitrary punishment, that's only being delivered because it's the natural outcome of what they did? I mean, it's almost sounds like you believe in Karma or something.

No. That is because i do not consider ability to destroy my own property a crime and you seem to imply that i do. Also you seem to think a loss of a cell phone is significant punishment, whereas i would disagree.

People may not choose to be stupid, but they choose to be ignorant. if you intentionally do not even skim the instruction manual of new electronice device you never used (microwave in this case) you are willfulyl electing to be ignorant.

Fine, then they made a mistake. They screwed up. They weren't careful enough. It's still an error of the brain, not the heart. There's no immorality to be punished here, except from the people who willingly tried to make them destroy their phones. At most the victims deserved some light punishment to drill in the "lesson" people seem to see this as, like the horror of temporarily believing they'd broken their phones, or maybe a shock to their hand, or just the embarrassment they seem to have willingly brought on by posting this on the internet. They didn't deserve to have the phone destroyed.

If a persons mental retardation is such that he starts microwaving everything people tell him, hes likely not intelligent enough to be left living alone. not everyone is caapble of taking care of themselves.

Which is one of the reasons I'm skeptical that this is real. Those phones could have already been bricks, or maybe they were previous generation iPhones. Although if these people elected to destroy their old iPhones for publicity rather than give them away, then they're assholes.

I never claimed it was an "appropriate" punishment, merely that i do not see it unfair that they had to learn it this way if they willfully elect to be that ignorant.

So you're not saying the punishment is "appropriate" but that it's "fair". What exactly is the difference?

He only fried his own phone because someone on the internet told him he should, it is bullying and you know it. The cause and affect are the same, the fact that the victims technically destroyed the phones themselves is irrelevant because they did so out of ignorance of what would happen. When a person drops a bowling ball on another person's head you don't blame gravity.

The people who came up with this prank are the one's who deserve to be punished, they knowingly led someone to destroy their own property. But no, I guess in your world they're the heroes, the deliverer's of justice.

You are wrong again. There was an image on the internet. a mockup joke of stupid apple ads. the person willingly read it,

Yes, he willingly read something, how dare he.

misunderstood it

Not willingly.

then elected to NOT check this new concept thats contrary to everything he knows and went into personal experimentation mode.

How do you know what's "contrary to everything he knows"?

More importantly, like I already said, not checking to see if it was legit was just more stupidity. It's not like these people were suspicious that is was fake, but then made the mental calculation that they should NOT research to find out if this suspicion is true. If they microwaved the phone without checking, it's obvious because they had no suspicion or doubt to begin with.

Either that or they didn't give a shit about their phones, in which case no harm done.

For this he is to blame himself and there is no bullying. if somone started spamming his twitter with demands that he tries it i could understand bullying angle, but this was not the case.

Fine, we don't have to call it bullying if that semantic distinction is important to you, although Wikipedia defines bullying as "the use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others." and I would consider this using coercion to abuse someone.

Regardless, it's still wrong.

To use your example with a bolwling ball, a person left a bowling ball on the table and somone else elected to bump the table enough to make it rolling downwards. i would not blame the person that left it on the table.

Except the person who left it on the table did so intentionally so that someone else could knock it off, and even put a sign on the table saying "bump me".

Frankly you're missing the point, the point is that when you do a fault analysis, you can't assign fault to an unknowing agent. You might as well blame the microwave, it was just as ignorant to what it was doing as the person inserting the phone into it.

They are neither heroes nor criminals, they simply made a joke on the internet. Hardly their fault somone thought it wasnt a joke. equating them to criminals would be equating somone posting a meme on the internet and people taking it seriuosly and trying to do it in real life.

Except they BELIEVED SOMEONE WOULD FALL FOR IT. They had done it before and people fell for it[footnote]by claiming the previous generation phone was waterproof[/footnote], and they did it again, purposefully trying to make it believable enough to fool people. Making people microwave their iPhones was the express purpose of their "joke".

 

[MintSM]

You know that episode of Futurama satirizing how people have turned into zombies to buy the same shit over again? Yeah, a lot of people say that episode is kinda generic, and they're probably right, but I'll be damned if that hasn't turned for the completely accurate right now. The iPhone 6 itself to me is a perfect symbol of the pointless consumerism of everything nowadays, and seeing the fact that there are some people who actually bought it and thought to themselves "yeah, you know what, plugging it into a charger is too inconvenient; I'm gonna stick it in a fucking microwave!" and immediately went through with that violation of sense a 6-year old would possess does nothing but affirm that, wow, modern consumers are kind of idiots. I'm sticking with my unmicrowaved IPhone 4, thank you very much.

Commentary aside, my god, this is on par with that hoax stating Justin Beiber had cancer and fangirls rampantly shaved their heads in a combination of support and blind idiocy. In other words, probably one of the greatest things ever. XD

 

[Kieve]

Yes, because a few seconds of pain in your finger and having a $400 device you just bought destroyed are equivalent.

It can go both ways, depending on how you feel like looking at it. Which is worse, loss of money or actual physical harm? iPhones are expensive (and this is exactly why you think twice before doing stupid stuff with them!) but can be replaced. Burn scars would stick with you your whole life. Regardless, let's not get hung up on one specific example, I also include "sticking your tongue to a frozen lamp pole" and "browsing the internet without an antivirus" in this category. You know, simple everyday knowledge to live longer, healthier, and happier.

Also, most parents don't TELL their children to touch the stove, by lying to them about what will happen when they do. Trying to defend this prank by calling it a "lesson" is obviously disingenuous; ya, it's real important people learn to not do something they wouldn't have done on their own anyway.

In fairness, I grant you that no, most people will not think to put their phone in a microwave. In turn, I expect you grant me the point that intelligent people wouldn't do that even if suggested. The folks that do are apparently not aware of what microwaves do to technology, and in this respect it is indeed a learning experience. It may not be ideal classroom education[footnote]My own education came from watching my friends nuke Free Trial AOL disks in science class, circa 2001[/footnote], but it would be equally disingenuous to say there isn't a lesson to be learned here. Multiple, counting the whole "don't believe everything you read on the internet" adage.

How do you know how "otherwise-intelligent" these people are?

I don't, it was simply my logical conclusion based on the fact that they can still operate a device to post evidence of their incompetence, and hadn't taken themselves out of the equation with a Darwin Award yet. But you're right, they could be complete morons top to bottom, I wouldn't honestly know.

Frankly it doesn't really matter, whether it was actually low intelligence, or gullibility, or whatever, none of it is a moral transgression. I don't have any problem with pranks if all they do is scare or embarrass someone in a non-harmful way, but when you start destroying someone's property I think you're crossing a line.

And here is where we see a fundamental divergence.
-You claim the hoaxers are the ones destroying the property (by suggesting the act).
-I assert it falls upon the one actually nuking the phone.

I can see where there's a bit of moral leeway in who is "more" at fault here, but consider also: you don't see anyone in this thread crying "Waah, I microwaved my phone and it didn't work!" Which says to me pretty clearly that they saw the same "Wave" ad and somehow managed to keep their phone intact.

Let's face it, you don't have much of a leg to stand on here. You're defending the morality of a prank that was done by people who obviously didn't care about the morality of it.

Incorrect. I am ascribing my own morality to it because I like seeing foolish people learn from their errors. I don't honestly give a damn if the prank is moral or not. You may not like my sense of morality, but then I don't care much for defending the actions of the stupid either. Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

For goodness sake, saying someone used "free will" doesn't mean a damn thing when they are acting on misinformation. How do you not understand that? Why do you keep bringing up their "free will" like they knowingly chose to destroy their phone?

Because they did? Spin it however you like, the cold, hard (and burned/melted) fact is, they put their own phone in the microwave. They pushed the button.
The end result may not have been what they anticipated, but it was entirely their own choice to do so. Again, that isn't really a debatable point unless you also want to take argument with things like "fate" and "destiny" (or karma, as another user suggested).

Your argument that they should have checked to see if it was fake is based on the notion that they should have been skeptical to begin with, that they should have known better.

Yep. Microwaves have been common household appliances since the 70's. Anyone in this day and age - smartphone owner or otherwise - should be well acquainted with its function. This is not an unreasonable expectation.

If they weren't smart enough to realize the Wave thing was BS why would you assume they're smart enough to know to search around the internet first?

Because they obviously read it from the internet to begin with. Taking an extra ten seconds to double-check that isn't asking a whole lot, when they're already connected.

I'm not saying these people didn't need to be taught a lesson about taking things at face value, but teaching lessons doesn't require you to be a dick, which is all these pranksters were trying to be.

A fair and valid point. I don't think a facebook survey "Would you microwave your phone?" would have the same impact though.

Even your own strawman doesn't hold up in this case: When a person drops a bowling ball on another person, you blame the one dropping the ball. When they put their phone in the microwave and nuke it, you blame them for that too.

No, actually it does hold up. It's your interpretation that's flawed. The person who drops the ball knows what will happen. Only if he was unaware of how gravity works would he be analogous to the person putting the phone in the microwave. You might as well blame the microwave while you're at it since it also acted without knowing that it was going to destroy the phone.

Do you realize you just broke your own example? Regardless, let's dispense with strawmen altogether please, it serves no purpose here.

It's only a "hoax" if you spread a false belief that's not materially damaging. If you spread a false belief that causes someone financial harm it's technically fraud, not that this is something that one could or should take to court.

We're splitting hairs with the semantics here, but for the record I think you might be interested to note:

As for the closely related terms practical joke and prank, Brunvand states that although there are instances where they overlap, hoax tends to indicate "relatively complex and large-scale fabrications" and includes deceptions that go beyond the merely playful and "cause material loss or harm to the victim".

Not that I consider Wikipedia an almighty bastion of pure truth, but this isn't the first time "hoax" has been used to describe a prank that was indeed damaging in some way.

I'm not trying to raise a mob. I just find it concerning how many people seem perfectly fine, or even happy about this, and I think the notion that these people "deserved" to lose their phones should be challenged.
edit: Also, not that it makes any difference, but I'm clearly not alone in my sentiment like you're trying to imply. I've seen planet of comments from others expressing sympathy for the people who lost their phones.

Not alone, just in the minority. That's fine though, I've found myself on that side of the fence more often than not, and it generally doesn't change anyone's opinions either way.
As I stated earlier, I'd be happiest just knowing people weren't that dumb to begin with, but I've had an astonishingly low tolerance for wanton ignorance all my life. Darwin Awards, Feed Dump, articles like this - it helps knowing that such levels of foolishness do have consequence.
In this case, a slagged iPhone.

 

[Gnarynhar]

Have a new piece of technology you've never used before? Read the manual. Have a new piece of technology that's very similar or a different brand to something you've used before? Read the manual to see where it differs from what you've used before. Have a new piece of technology that's the same as one you've had before but with one new feature? Read the section(s) in the manual about the new feature.

The manual is the in the box with the item, or a clearly titled page on the official website of the company that produced the product. It is not random picture floating around on the internet. Someone/something tells you about a feature your device has that you didn't know about? Look in the manual.

I'm dating myself here, but I never had a problem programming any of the VCRs our family had over the years, even before I was close to being done with primary school. Why? Because it was always in the manual. (Or in the case of the very first one - the double-sided laminated A3 card that served as the manual.)

While there is a short "pffft" of amusement that rears it's head after the first confused "What?" then the dis-believing ".....Really?" mostly what follows is a resigned moment of exasperation followed by light depression.

If you've dropped a large amount of money on an item then destroyed it excitedly testing out something you 'heard it could do' then either it wasn't that important to you in the first place, you have enough disposable income that replacing it is nothing more than a light inconvenience, or you're far to impulsive to be owning anything that expensive. (Or it was so beyond you that you probably shouldn't have had it in the first place.)

Have a drawer or folder where you can put all the manuals that come with virtually everything these days. At least skim the ones for new things you already know how to use. (If only for the brief amusement or little glow of smug self-superiority, or baffled incredulity when something that seems blindingly obvious to you, is spelled out in careful details showing that there are enough people out there to which this is vital information.)

This is why RTFM comes on t-shirts, mugs and other assorted items.

Have I broken the read the manual rule? Sure, we all do at some point. If we're lucky, reality gives us a pass. Carelessness, impulse overriding our caution, or just one of those days when your common sense takes an unscheduled holiday -at some point in our lives, we must all pay the Idiot Tax- so just stop, take a moment to calm down and then try and do a little research (it often results in a nice little tax break), and when you do pay it, take your lumps, admit your fault, learn from it, and try not to do it again.

 

[Olas]

Yes, because a few seconds of pain in your finger and having a $400 device you just bought destroyed are equivalent.

It can go both ways, depending on how you feel like looking at it. Which is worse, loss of money or actual physical harm? iPhones are expensive (and this is exactly why you think twice before doing stupid stuff with them!) but can be replaced. Burn scars would stick with you your whole life.

You'd have to leave your finger on the metal for several seconds to get a permanent burn mark, which would take a considerable force of will. I have a few burn marks from my time in the BSA but none of them are from touching metal, one of them is a rope burn if you'll believe it.

Also, most parents don't TELL their children to touch the stove, by lying to them about what will happen when they do. Trying to defend this prank by calling it a "lesson" is obviously disingenuous; ya, it's real important people learn to not do something they wouldn't have done on their own anyway.

In fairness, I grant you that no, most people will not think to put their phone in a microwave. In turn, I expect you grant me the point that intelligent people wouldn't do that even if suggested.

Well obviously, I haven't contended otherwise.

The folks that do are apparently not aware of what microwaves do to technology, and in this respect it is indeed a learning experience. It may not be ideal classroom education[footnote]My own education came from watching my friends nuke Free Trial AOL disks in science class, circa 2001[/footnote], but it would be equally disingenuous to say there isn't a lesson to be learned here. Multiple, counting the whole "don't believe everything you read on the internet" adage.

I'm going to be honest, besides knowing that you shouldn't put metal in them, I'm no expert on what microwaves do to things myself. I know that it heats up water, and by extension anything with water in it, that's about it. People on this thread talk about not microwaving electronics like it's a conversation every parent has with their kid or like it's part of school curriculum or something. Ya, we all use microwaves, to heat up food. Not everyone was the type of kid growing up who liked to stick things in the microwave or electric socket to 'see what would happen'. Nor are we all science geeks who know all about the electromagnetic spectrum.

Please don't take this as a defense of their intelligence. I'm merely saying it's not as obvious as if they were told they should hit their phone with a hammer or stick it in a blender.

Let's face it, you don't have much of a leg to stand on here. You're defending the morality of a prank that was done by people who obviously didn't care about the morality of it.

Incorrect. I am ascribing my own morality to it because I like seeing foolish people learn from their errors. I don't honestly give a damn if the prank is moral or not. You may not like my sense of morality, but then I don't care much for defending the actions of the stupid either. Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that.

I guess we're on a vastly different page then, because I don't see intelligence and morality as being entwined. I think a stupid person should still be treated with respect until he starts deliberately disrespecting people, and I think the same is true of a genius. If anything the genius probably requires greater critical evaluation because with great power comes great responsibility and all that jazz.

For goodness sake, saying someone used "free will" doesn't mean a damn thing when they are acting on misinformation. How do you not understand that? Why do you keep bringing up their "free will" like they knowingly chose to destroy their phone?

Because they did? Spin it however you like, the cold, hard (and burned/melted) fact is, they put their own phone in the microwave. They pushed the button.
The end result may not have been what they anticipated, but it was entirely their own choice to do so. Again, that isn't really a debatable point unless you also want to take argument with things like "fate" and "destiny" (or karma, as another user suggested).

SO WHAT?!!

Ya, it's a undeniable fact; it's also an irrelevant fact. That's what I'm saying. If I slipped poison into someone's drink while they weren't looking and they then proceeded to drink it, they would also be doing so of their free will. But that doesn't mean they're committing suicide, they're not choosing to die, I'm still the killer.

It's like I'm talking to an alien here or something. The fact that they were acting of their own free will is completely trivial to the discussion because the only decision they made was to try and charge their phone using the cool new Wave feature. Knowledge that the phone would be destroyed was not a factor in their thinking. Can we please put that to rest now?

If they weren't smart enough to realize the Wave thing was BS why would you assume they're smart enough to know to search around the internet first?

Because they obviously read it from the internet to begin with. Taking an extra ten seconds to double-check that isn't asking a whole lot, when they're already connected.

You're sidestepping the point. You act like the reason for not double checking first was that it would be too inconvenient or time consuming. That's clearly not the case. The possibility that it was a prank was clearly not even a consideration to them, otherwise they would have spent that 10 seconds. They weren't weighing the risks, because they didn't conceive of any risks to weigh. You have to remove your own knowledge and understanding and put yourself in their head to understand what they did.

Even your own strawman doesn't hold up in this case: When a person drops a bowling ball on another person, you blame the one dropping the ball. When they put their phone in the microwave and nuke it, you blame them for that too.

No, actually it does hold up. It's your interpretation that's flawed. The person who drops the ball knows what will happen. Only if he was unaware of how gravity works would he be analogous to the person putting the phone in the microwave. You might as well blame the microwave while you're at it since it also acted without knowing that it was going to destroy the phone.

Do you realize you just broke your own example? Regardless, let's dispense with strawmen altogether please, it serves no purpose here.

It's not a strawman, it's an analogy, and I only "broke" it because you changed the person dropping the ball from being the person designing the prank to being the person falling victim to it. I stand by both variations of it though, despite your flawed attempt to derail it.

It's only a "hoax" if you spread a false belief that's not materially damaging. If you spread a false belief that causes someone financial harm it's technically fraud, not that this is something that one could or should take to court.

We're splitting hairs with the semantics here, but for the record I think you might be interested to note:

As for the closely related terms practical joke and prank, Brunvand states that although there are instances where they overlap, hoax tends to indicate "relatively complex and large-scale fabrications" and includes deceptions that go beyond the merely playful and "cause material loss or harm to the victim".

Not that I consider Wikipedia an almighty bastion of pure truth, but this isn't the first time "hoax" has been used to describe a prank that was indeed damaging in some way.

A hoax is a distinct concept that involves deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving the victim.

I guess that makes us even, although mine is from Wikipedia itself and not "Brunvand".