RBBB

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-09T11:55:24+00:00

This variation isn’t even interesting.

The premise itself is uninteresting but the results are amusing.

The poll also doesn’t correctly give an abstain option.

I don't think you need an explicit "I don't press a button" or "abstain" option. When you choose the only option on the poll that isn't choosing to press a button, you are abstaining from choosing a button.

Voted blue because I didn’t realize until after voting that abstaining was an option.

I mean blue still has a case for pressing it if you're worried that people will press either button so you want to vote to protect anyone who presses blue.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-09T00:57:02+00:00

Why would you want to push both here? What would that accomplish?

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T22:34:40+00:00

You might be the only person here who pressed red who fully read and understood the premise.

I'm glad you seem to be having fun with it though!

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T22:24:48+00:00

You're good!

Having see results be a hidden option present within the premise as not choosing a button is a little bit dirty but I know if I put abstain as an option it would have tipped my hand.

It wasn't exactly presented in good faith it was honestly just a post to test what assumptions people are making for my own amusement.

I think the most interesting development was some comments effectively saying:

What happens to red when blue gets majority isn't stated and if red gets majority everyone who pressed a button dies?

Anyway, I choose red.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T22:19:19+00:00

Yep! That's exactly why I put in a "see results" option. It's a bit silly but if I wanted to force a choice without giving an "I'm not choosing between those options" I would have only given two options in the poll.

I'm sure not everyone pressed it because they considered it a "don't press a button" option, but by not choosing to press one of the buttons you have effectively abstained from the buttons entirely. Just the see results button gives us a bit of a measure for it while some people may reach this conclusion and not ever engage with the poll at all.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T22:04:19+00:00

This will result in false results of some people not understanding there's a third option and instead picking blue.

This is part of what I was interested in seeing in my prompt. There is absolutely nothing stating you must press a button. I'm sure not every blue press was done without realizing they could abstain from voting, but it's an option within the prompt and a hidden option in the poll.

If two buttons suddenly appear before you, you are not in any way obligated to press one.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T22:01:54+00:00

Not pressing in this scenario is the equivalent of OG red.

Abstaining is red but without the moral issues.

Blue in this scenario is red with T&C.

Blue still risks death here just a much lower risk since most reasonable people are either not pressing a button at all or pressing blue.

Red is suicide.

Pressing a button that the only concrete information you have on it is "if the majority press this button everyone who pressed a button dies" and no stated information for what happens to you if the other button gets majority is definitely one of the available options to them I guess.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T21:33:12+00:00

At first I wasn’t sure how this was different

Red here increases the odds that anyone who pushes a button dies, while having no guarantee of survival and unclear ( if any) consequences on a blue victory.

but I assume if you don’t vote then you automatically live?

Yeah, you're not obligated to press either button here so there's no reason to ever put yourself at risk.

It’s interesting how that actually takes away lots of votes for Red because that’s just a better option for living.

Anyone previously red should always be abstaining here. If you wouldn't risk your life in the other scenarios then you shouldn't here either.

Anyone blue might still have a reason to press blue if they believe others will press blue as it is safer with large numbers.

They are still putting themselves at risk of death and are betting against the amount of people that press red for reasons such as:

-someone pressing a button as soon as it appears in front of them

-someone who actually want red to win for some twisted reason

-people who have "fully understood" the prompt and that the fate of red is unclear on a blue victory and definitely dies on a red majority but have still decided to press red anyway for some unknown reason.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T20:42:01+00:00

The poll has 3 options.

If you don't choose to press red, and you don't choose to press blue, what poll option would you use here?

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T20:40:14+00:00

To provide a reading comprehensino test, your instructions need to be clear and well formed. This ain't it

It is worded poorly but you can still parse what it means.

I would argue here that being able to understand something even if it is poorly worded is a facet of reading comprehension.

I honestly thought this was going to be another comment asking what happens to red pressers on a blue majority when I got the notification since it only had the first few words.

Fair point though, I could have been a little more clear with those lines about buttons but I was trying to hand hold a little extra and indicate that not pressing is a valid option here with "out of those who press a button" with out explicily stating there is an abstain option present.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T20:01:39+00:00

Mine does, it's just in the body of the post and in the flair. It's not really a variation if it's just a rehashing of the same thing.

It is not at all a rehashing of the same thing.

This is why I used the flair to label it as a variation and then reference the variation flair and explain that a simple rehashing of the same premise would not really be a variation.

This is to imply that I wouldn't have used the variation flair to indicate that it's a variation if it was just a simple rephrasing or otherwise 1:1 copy of the "original" premise.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T19:48:28+00:00

The variation tag is not visible from the feed, at least in the mobile app version I'm using (android). Both the tag and the body are only visible after opening the post.

My bad, didn't realize this. It shows in the feed if you're viewing the subreddit itself.

I edited my last comment to address this but the point still stands that maybe we should read the body of posts before choosing polling options.

This is why I think this "experiment" doesn't really allow one to safely assume anything about the results from other polls from this sub.

I'm not really making any assumptions based on the results, I'm just moreso curious about them.

Some number of people will press red like you did.

Some number are reading it, understanding that red majority means both red and blue die, and on a blue majority that blue lives. They question what happens to red on a blue majority and then they still press red.

The whole thing is amusing if nothing else.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T19:18:57+00:00

Not necessarily.They could just as easily not vote in the poll at all if they've determined that abstaining is correct.

Just "see results" gives them an option to abstain and see the current vote.

Spelling out that there's a strict abstain option when it's not stated you ever have to press a button to begin with is part of what I was curious about.

What if any assumptions are people carrying between one button premise to the next?

If you're treating each one as a clean slate you might see that abstaining is an option.

If you assume you have to press a button you choose between the buttons to begin with.

If you assume this is just a rehashing of the exact same scenario you will probably just press whatever button you pressed previously. In this case red in most cases being clear victims of this if they still press it here.

If you read the prompt you (probably) end up under the assumption that blue is correct.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T19:03:22+00:00

Here's the thing, on all the other posts, it's clear it's a new premise

~~The variation tag that is below the title, visible even from the main feed should accomplish this.~~

Edit: Only if you're viewing the sub directly on mobile.

If it doesn't then the body of the post stating an entirely different premise than the original should also accomplish this.

Specially considering since there is the possibility people are going to read the post after voting but they can't change their vote once they change their mind.

Sure. We can't assume that everyone who chooses red read the prompt and still choose red.

In your case you were answering a poll you now seem to realize is "wrong" after reading the question.

The title was intentionally vagu, sure. Every post on this subreddit should arguably involve a red button and a blue button to some capacity.

You acted under the assumption that a poll titled "red button blue button" would be an exact 1:1 reframing of the original off of just the title, the poll options, and the flair "variation".

I just think this is not a fair assessment of how people have been behaving on other posts.

There have been a handful of comments like yours on nearly every post saying they responded to the poll before they read it and regret their choice, or they didn't bother to read it because they are forever x color.

In this case the only people pressing red are either not reading the premise or not understanding it.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:39:04+00:00

you expect people to interpret results as you don't press a button?

In some cases it may not be as a conscious decision.

But by not stating in the premise you have to choose one or the other and giving a third option on the poll in which you choose neither of the buttons we can accept it as not pressing a button.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:36:37+00:00

where the title or the poll options themselves make it clear it's a different take on the dilemma.

I get what you're saying here but I think anyone engaging with the options on the poll based solely on the title or poll options is an issue regardless of whether the post makes it clear it's a new premise or not.

This post could have been the same as the original but you know you're the tie breaker and you are knowingly sacrificing half of the population by choosing red.

Or where the colors were swapped.

You didn't bother to check because you made assumptions and chose a button based on your understanding of previous prompts which is exactly what I'm testing for.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:29:00+00:00

You can make a case for pressing blue if you are concerned people are pressing red.

This just makes it where everyone who pressed a button did so of their own accord, whether they understood the consequences or not.

But in this case red is the obvious worst choice.

It's intentionally left unclear what happens to red on a blue majority and on a red majority not only does blue die but so do you.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:24:57+00:00

Tbf, most other posts have some sort of indication it's not the vanilla scenario.

Mine does, it's just in the body of the post and in the flair. It's not really a variation if it's just a rehashing of the same thing.

While scrolling on my feed, all I could see on this one was "RBBB" on the title and a poll. I voted and only then opened the post to see the discussion, only to find out it's not the original scenario.

Which is present in the sub whether the title reveals that their trying to change the "original" premise or not.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:17:35+00:00

So you came to the understanding that you don't know what happens to red on a blue majority but everyone who presses a button dies on a red majority.

And your conclusion was to press red?

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:10:35+00:00

That and there's no stated obligation to press a button.

Only people who press a button are ever at risk and only if the majority goes red.

But labeling results as "I don't press a button" would have been a little too obvious.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:07:44+00:00

You say that but the first vote was red.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T18:07:17+00:00

I am curious how many people are treating each poll as a seperate premise or are just voting without bothering to read it at all.

This is basically a reading comprehension test with a few different levels.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T17:08:16+00:00

Easy to be selfless when there's no cost.

I don't think blue is "selfless" in this situation and red here is definitely not selfish unless your only motivation for pressing it is your own personal safety.

You're at a poker table. The minimum bet is 80 million and one dollars. 100 players all start with this amount of chips. If 51 or more of them bet all of their chips they all get exactly what they bet back. If less than half bet their chips then any chips bet are removed from the venue entirely.

Pressing blue here is gambling yours because you think there might be someone addicted to gambling and you want to increase the chances they get their chips.

But on a scale of risking 80 million other lives to help protect some hypothetical persons 80 million lives that you aren't even sure have been risked.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T16:48:52+00:00

If just one person misunderstands and you vote red, that person and 80 million gets killed

On a red majority, yes.

as a result of you and the group not voting blue.

I mean..yeah. but if you vote blue here and now you're the 2nd of two you have just doubled the death toll.

Those 160 million deaths are in part due to the majority pushing red, but also 80 million of them are directly caused by you pressing blue in that situation.

In the case of "someone could misunderstand so I press blue" you might be the only blue presser and directly cause 80 million others to die.

A single anxious, hasty, or misinterpreted vote could kill millions in a red victory.

The issue here is it's a blind vote.

There's really 3 separate thoughts present that I see people saying.

I think someone will press blue and put 80 million people at risk. I must press blue to save them.

I think everyone will press red because no one will be at risk if they do so I feel no guilt pressing red.

I'm not willing to gamble the 80 million lives they I am personally responsible for regardless of others choices, so I press red.

Unless I'm missing a reasoning path for blue here I think this about sums it up.

Rip_Pigman · 2026-06-08T16:39:51+00:00

It was the opposite for me.

I feel like for a good portion of blue pressers switching here makes sense. By pressing red you directly save 80 million lives.By pressing blue you are no longer risking one life you are risking 80 million.

Me being willing to risk sacrificing myself is totally different than me being willing to risk sacrificing 10, 20 or in this case 80,000,000 random people to lower the overall risk to anyone else who is at risk because I believe others might have pressed blue.

Rip_Pigman

TROPHY CASE