Stop the FNAF ARG hunt 

This video feels like MatPat saying "Don't be an idiot" in the most respectful, patient way possible.

rules to follow in ARG hunt: 1. Never publish private info. 2. Stick to publicly available info. 3. Be safe in public. DO NOT trespass. 4. Do not call private businesses or individuals. 5. Find one central place online for ARG discussion. Huge Respect to Matpat for addressing this issue and coming up with a solution immediately 👏👏

Also, if the ARG requires you to trespass or break the law still don’t do it. I could easily see this happening with abandoned properties and irresponsible creators thinking its fine to leave clues there as the setting has the creep factor and fits their aesthetic. Just don’t assume the ARG creator can just be blindly trusted, they are still just a stranger on the internet.

It's such a shame that someone like matpat has to apologise to pizza place workers just because a bunch of kids can't tell reality from fiction...

Damn we just got lectured by dadpat. That first stop felt like a “I’m not mad, just disappointed” sorry dadpat

I love how his message is "Stop." Full period, clear and straight forward, no music or silly graphics. No beating around the bush or "softening" the blow.

"A snowflake in an avalanche never feels responsible." Thanks for covering this Game Theorists!! Very important etiquette guidelines to follow going forward.

The fact the fandom blamed Matpat instead of the idiots who did this shows how the FNAF fandom is on a downward spiral faster

The fact that Matpat stepped forward, addressed the issue, apologized for it and took upon himself to make sure it doesn't happen again, shows a great deal of both maturity and responsibility. I'm sure this video alone will help many new arg players in the future. So, thank you, Matpat.

You know it’s serious when he records himself sitting on his couch

Another rule: unless the creator of the ARG or owner of a phone number approves or denies the fact that a private phone number is being used in the ARG, DO NOT CALL IT

You did this so well. Huge respect to you, Mat. I love how you just say 'STOP'. no garbage, no filler. straight to the point. thank you for apologizing to the businesses. thanks for just being this awesome person that you are

This feels ALOT like a dad pulling his children together for a talk 😅 like I didn't do anything but this makes me wanna say "sorry dad, I won't do (bad thing) again"

Matpat is like a dad with millions of children.

This legitimately like the birth of the ESRB rating system. It's awesome that matpat here is spearheading this initiative to set a series of guidelines to hold yourself accountable for, like a society should.

This has got to be the best youtuber apology I have ever seen. And I’m glad he took responsibility for his fan base and told everyone to stop doing what they are doing. Huge respect to MatPat. If only all youtubers were this responsible and sincere.

HUGE respect to Matt and the crew for addressing this. These rules feel like they should be obvious, but of course there will always be those outlier groups. Let’s all solve these types of things the responsible way!

This is so responsible of you, MatPat. As an ARG ourselves, and one that references real public places, this is a huge worry for us too. ARG rules are vague and undefined, and impossible to outright convey while staying in character as an ARG. It is awesome of you to take responsibility and try to put a stop to it, when you could have easily turned a blind eye to the mess. That earns a lot of respect.

As someone who played and researched ARGs YES THIS THIS THIS. Also: bring a buddy for any real world pickups/clue hunts. I once went, alone, at night, through an unfamiliar part of new York City and picked up a package at a random building and now 10 years later I look back like "wow I could have gotten into trouble doing that I should have brought a friend"

Think SSSniperwolf should’ve seen this before doxxing Jacksfilms the other month

I never thought we’d ever get the “5 Commandments of Solving an ARG” much less delivered by MatPat. Interesting how the Internet develops.

Now THIS is the proper RU-vid Apology and not the basic “trend” half-assed ones you get from April Fools or “prank videos”. And hats off to this guy being a problem solver and bringing solutions to what could’ve been a real bad situation, especially for already struggling businesses.

You know it’s boutta be serious when you see the couch

Yo, matt this vid is tight and all but I gotta thank you for that shout out man!

Another general rule of thumb about ARG's is to look up the laws of the area where you're going. Make sure your aware of the differences between your area and the area you're going to. If you don't, and do something that is allowed in your area, but not allowed in the area of the ARG, you could be in a bad situation. So, be informed.

I like how Matt Patt quickly responds to anything he thinks could hurt his fans like honestly, mad respect

Watching this a year later as a guidebook on how NOT to design my ARG

I think one of the rules should be to not actually take anything found in the real world for an ARG as your own. Snap a photo or something and leave it there.

I don't know if someone's mentioned this one or not but when trying to solve ARG's only call phone numbers that are revealed through the ARG itself. I think that most if not all ARG's that have created phone numbers as part of the puzzle have these numbers in plain sight. So, if no phone number is provided, DO NOT CALL ANYONE.

Can we add: As much as possible, never go ARG hunting alone. Be in a group that you trust. First, it's more fun being in a group, and second, it's much safer than going alone.

it's kinda cute for matpat to be giving his community this set of rules in such a nice and understanding way, it feels like he's a dad speaking to his kid

MatPat is like a dad who has a tons of animatronic childrens.

Most RU-vid apologies are hollow recitals, but you can tell that MatPat is genuine by the fact that he's making effort to prevent this from happening again. Kudos.

Mat pat is the only content creator that actually sounds sincere when giving an apology. Amazing job Mat.

I actually actively participated in the Gravity Falls ARG and the statue being a physical real thing was just amazing and made the show even more great.

As someone who's participating in their first arg rn, i really appreciate this video matpat.

You hit the nail on the head MatPat. There has been a distinct lack of written rules of ARG etiquette. I give praise to the speed at which you discovered the issue and how well you and the channel thought out the list for ARG etiquette, which I hope Every ARG will take note of.

Dadpat isn’t mad, he’s just disappointed

The year is 2287, Scott has released fnaf infinity 2, the 3007’th installment of the fnaf series. Mathew is thawed from cryosleep to make the FINAL timeline theory

You already had my respect for all you’ve done-not only for your audience but for the world-but my respect for you just PEAKED after this. We love you MatPat. Thank you for all you do for us

Can we just pay respect to matpat and his team for not putting ads on a 10 minutes video that got after 6 hours over 1 million views

The fact that Matpat not only posted this as soon as possible but also took some responsibility and apologized for this going out of hand even though it wasn't his intention says a lot about him and the crew. I wish you all the best and please remember the rules!

This man is like my second dad

Mat is literally our dad. That thought in itself is hilarious. We, probably mostly new adults... are like children following the words of an older adult.

This feels like a dad giving his best dad talks to his children. This is why we love this channel!!

That's why you are one of the greats and the best in this. Thanks for addressing.

This is amazing Mat, such a great way to address a problem like this. I haven’t really took part in any arg’s yet but this is a great guide to them because as you said they had never really had a set of rules besides ones the creator sets, which is hard since they don’t tell you you’re playing an arg, you have to find it yourself.

Matt is just saying “don’t be stupid” in the most polite way possible

As someone who has done an ARG in the past, for the real place rule: TAKE SOMEONE WITH YOU! Never go into the woods alone (gravity falls arg I’m looking at you)! If you’re not familiar with the place, you need to bring a second set of eyes. As Unus Annus taught us “Use the Buddy System!”

I like how MatPat had enough maturity to address this issue and stop this ARG. He already has a huge fan base and responsibility to apologize to the businesses that had been harassed. Thank you MatPat.

MatPat address this situation like a dad, even in the tone of his voice and expressions, this is why we love him. (Ps. We are sorry)

I am so very glad that you decided to create this video. You covered some very serious topics in a professional manner. Many channels completely fail to do this. You made me proud that I am subscribed to a channel that takes these topics seriously.

I have another thing to add: if there is a real-world location given, assume that local theorists will get there first and post. There’s no need to crowd such locations, especially if they’re in a small town or wilderness-type area. Too much foot traffic can endanger these environments or make the environment dangerous. There is no shame in watching from afar.

One rule to add, if there *IS* some type of clue that requires a person to call, write, or visit a place, it will be firstly seen/given on official channels either by a known and trusted solver or by the creator or another game master. If Johnny calls a number that wasn't given to him by the/a game master or found in circulation by a known/trusted source in connection to the ARG, they're doing a bad.

You explained this issue and with the solutions like a real parent . And even though i was not included in any of your arg's neither this one I would still do my best to never forget these logical and should be followed because they are related to real life, rules . Thanks matpat 👍🏻

I watched this video on silent to help boost it (and I’m glad it ended up trending according to other comments) directly after the premier because I saw a notice for someone else live covering everything, but I was in the middle of getting homework done. Watching it for real, I’m glad to see how this was handled but can definitely see and hear the stress. Thank you MatPat and the entire theorist team for handling the issue as fast as possible, and I hope every loyal theorist that was accidentally causing trouble saw or sees this video.

I’m glad he’s addressing this before it got disastrous.

top tier youtube apology: no batting around the bush just straight to the issue but ALSO providing solutions should this kind of thing happen again

It's really great that you always apologize when necessary. Thank you for just being direct and honest about things like this.

Completely agree, I’ve never dealt with any args before but this was very educational. Thank you for being very informative!

I’m glad that when MatPat knows that his fanbase screws up, he addresses it instead of ignoring it. Mad props dude

Hadn’t even thought of this happening, props to you for calling this out as soon as possible, I think setting out some ground rules for args is essential for community safety

You can see that he was stressed about this at 1:15 where there's a cut and suddenly his hair is more messed up, suggesting he was rubbing his head or had his head in his hands.

This felt like my dad that was scolding me even though I did not even participate

To add to the last rule, check for an "official" source - a well run ARG should provide a community (whether private forum or public social media area) that includes rules, clues and updates for any running game.

To all RU-vidrs: THIS is how you do an apology. Taking accountability and creating a plan of action moving forward to make sure it never happens again. I’m constantly impressed with the team. Keep up the great work

Respects to u my dude, u addressed the problem as soon & possible & apologized & even made solutions to fix this problem. This is why ur one of my fav creators, u take responsibility for ur actions & try to fix them. Mad respect

I love the fact SO SO MUCH that you not only talked about the problem but ALSO solutions.. That right there is how you should do it!

I honestly love how MatPat doesn’t just ask us to stop, but gets really into the root of the problem, so to solve it. Love the content, keep it up MatPat and Team Theorist!

Thanks for addressing this Mat! Great idea to make a set of guidelines when engaging in ARG mysteries

You know its serious when Mat vlogs showing his face, without edits and wears a leather jacket.

Thanks for addressing this Matt. Most RU-vidrs wouldn't address this type of situation, but your different and better!

Mad respect that you’re addressing this as soon as possible because this could’ve escalated quickly and you even offered a great solution so the fanbase would stop before it got out of hand. Nobody could’ve said it better than you did.

Matpat feels like an adult who is trying to tell a child to not do something politely but it also just trying to keep cool and honestly i respect that

Thx MatPat, I saw the rage on twitter about you and I was confused. But I’m glad you are clearing it up

This kind of stuff is why I am proud to be a part of the Theorist community. Everything is handled so well, with so much thought and care towards both sides of an issue.

I wish there were etiquette guides for making args. Because "don't use private locations" should absolutely be a hard coded rule. There are a lot of smaller args that do stuff like that, which makes it tempting for solvers to go to those locations

MatPat did this so well! He did not assume the offenders were being malicious, just overexcited and naive to the world of ARG. He kept this in mind as he calmly explained where the boundaries are, how they were crossed, and the best way to move forward. And he took responsibility by personally apologizing to those affected by this. CLAP AND A HALF TO YOU, TEAM THEORIST!!!

Matt patt is like that fun dad who never gets mad but when u do manage to irritate u feel really bad about it

I've never gotten this far through the playlist. This was an unexpected one.

Another rule: do NOT follow anyone to any "back rooms" for lore. Especially in abandoned pizzerias.

I saw this pop up and I was so confused but I'm glad that he's addressing this before it gets too far and he gets blamed

Yes father it won’t happen again.

Just thank you for this video. Keep up the fantastic work

This is why I respect MatPat, as soon as his community steps anywhere out of line he addresses it and apologies for it, unlike other popular creators right now...

MatPat has to be the best content creator when it comes to admitting his mistakes. Not fake or to put himself in the clear, but sincere and serious. Respect.

This is why I love matpat. He’s one of the only creators I’ve been watching for 5 years consecutively now. He’s very respectable and very aware and on top of his community. Very grateful to be a part of such a great community🥰

You can see the panic in his eyes and hear it in his voice

MatPat: "I think FNAF has an ARG planned that fell through." A Few Hundred Kids: "Matt wants us to literally call the police."

This! This is maturity and accountability! This is why we love and respect Matpat! I applaud your openness and honesty, and am so proud to be a supporter of your channels

You should totally add some kind of pop-up thingy in the last video linked to this to make it even more obvious for newer viewers of that video! Thank you so much for taking accountability and addressing everything accordingly, Matpat. Always unafraid to be genuine as always.

Respect my friend, very well said on everything you noted and stated when it comes to safety, privacy, & most importantly, avoiding all illegal negativity.

tbh, this isn't Mat's fault, NEVER in the video was he like "HEY! Go and call up random businesses, asking about FNAF LORE" or anything like that, it was everyone else that went way, WAY TO FAR.

Could we also talk about NOT involving emergency services of any kind? Like, calling up local police and asking them stuff? They've got things to do. And ensure if you are going into a PUBLIC SPACE that you HAVEN'T BEEN TO BEFORE, you notify someone or take someone with you. It's easy to get lost and it would be a real shame to see any fans get lost trying to find clues to something.

mostly just commenting to boost the stats on this one, but this is a phenomenal video and set of guidelines moving forward for ARGs in general. it's easy to forget that the internet is still a wild west in a lot of ways, it's still pretty new in the grand scheme of things and we don't have set etiquette for a lot of digital-to-real-world crossover stuff like this. this video is not just a great apology, it's a great way to establish clear etiquette for both ARG creators and solvers. well done matpat

I just say this after watching that Fnaf vid and this is why I wish more creators were like Matt because he’s respectful and he’s actually means it when he says sorry.

I seriously respect this Mat. Mad props

NOW THIS, this lady's and gentlemen is how you ADDRESS, APOLOGIZE, AND SOLVE A FREAKIN' ISSUE. He did it without tears, he made it short and simple, and he made sure that it doesn't happen again in the future. Perfect video ∞/10 amazing job.

its sad someone like matpat had to make this. though im glad that it was genuine

Impressed by how professional this is. It feels like a training video you’d see at a school or something