Buckaroo Blows It
Buckaroo Blows It occurs when, for negligent or emotional reasons, a user reveals too much information or acts a way online that compromises their identity, safety, or reputation in real life. The phrase is a reference to the night club scene in Ready Player One (2018) where Parzival (Wade Watts) reveals his IRL first name and true feelings to Art3mis (Samantha Cook) while i-R0k is eavesdropping. When i-R0k hears this, he replies to himself, “Well, Buckaroo blows it.” Indeed, Wade’s blunder leads the evil agents of IOI to track down his real-life residence which they literally blow-up, leading to at least two real-world deaths.
Avoiding a “Backaroo Blows It” requires that players maintain appropriate separation between their public/online identities and their private lives. As Art3mis points out in the scene, users in any public space choose how to represent themselves and you don’t know the reality behind that representation. Therefore, one’s trust should be limited and so should any other users access to your real, private self — at least until truth-based trust can be built.
Here’s the clip and a portion of the transcript (below):
Parzival: So…I’ve been thinking. Maybe it’d be cool if we meet up in the real world.
Art3mis: Nah, you’d be disappointed.
P: Oh, I wouldn’t. I like you.
A: You don’t even know me. This isn’t what I really look like. This isn’t my real body, nor my real face.
P: I don’t care. I want to know your real name. My name is Wade.
A: – What?
P: I said my name…
A: – Stop!
i-R0k: Well, Buckaroo blows it. Shocking.
A: You crazy? You don’t tell anyone who you are. You can’t use your real name. You’re not just anyone. You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me. We’ve never met.
P: I do know you, Arty. I’m in love with you.
[IOI raiding party breaks into roof of club.]
P: Is this part of the challenge?
A: – No! It’s an ambush!
I: IOI always in the way.
P: Did you hear what I said? I said I’m in love with you.
A: – No. You’re not. You know what I want you to know. You only see what I want you to see. That’s what you’re in love with! Watch out!
Ready Player One (2018)
IRL Examples
Here, we’ll compile a list of IRL (In Real Life) examples of “Buckroo Blows It” type scenarios.
- Sextortion: Scammers pose as people seeking a relationship and trick users to interact in an embarrassing or illegal way (like sending naked pictures). They then threaten to reveal the compromising content if they aren’t paid. A seventeen-year-old boy died after being tricked by scammers who extorted $150 and kept pressuring him for more money.