unpopular opinion:
i actually quite like most of the goofs i have seen for april fools day
to me a good goof is not a prank that hurts anyone or significantly impairs their ability to use anything, can be ignored quickly and does not overstay its welcome, and has the aim to be silly instead of to shock or alarm
if the joke is going to be targetted in any way, i think it's a chance for some valuable satire, and then it still needs to play by the rules of good satire (punch up, not down)
ex., part of warframe's april fools is teasing a fake game with an overdone, over-confusing chart about which preorder gets you what, lampooning current video game preorder fuckery
a good goof adds to experience, and doesn't take away from it.
i think oddly corporate goofs tend to be really good for this - joke teasers and trailers. i'm thinking of ffxiv's goof from last year about a mobile game for gathering that included chucking your phone into a fishpond lol.
thinkgeek i think is most successful in doing april fools tbh. they don't even deprive the audience by having all of them remain jokes! things that people go "i want that actually" get made and sold!
additionally i think corporate goofs often have the upper hand because they tend to make it really obvious that it's an april fool's joke, and for me that is an essential part of the experience. it lets the audience in on the joke, gives the audience a chance to laugh, and cuts through any lingering ambiguity.
a joke is only a good joke when everybody gets the chance to laugh tbh.
ultimately when people say 'prank' they think of mean things, and i can agree with that connection. a prank is something you play on someone.
a goof, however, is something you do including someone so that they can come laugh too.
down with april fool's pranks, up with april fool's goofs, imho.
so in conclusion i think Travis of those McElboys has summed it up best:
"I do not prank. I believe the best kinds of jokes are the ones everyone is in on and when everyone is laughing together. Let’s all be kindly foolish and be foolishly kind!"
don't prank. instead, goof. don't prank somebody. instead invite them to come laugh with you and play in the space pshooowww https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2f9bz5_2dM (ok wrong mcelboy but still counts) PLAY WITH UUUUUUS~
it doesn't mean april fools is only for corporations, but it's that spirit that needs to be carried through in other situations, too.
for example a delightful prank that a friend perpetuated upon their boss: writing up an (enthusiastic and flattering) fake aquarium fact sheet as if he is a rare fish species, and putting that up on the door to his office, along with DO NOT TAP ON GLASS.
actually funny, allows person to laugh at it, can be reversed/undone very quickly, not mean! A GOOD JOKE.