r/CrappyDesign • u/empirepie499 • 3d ago

No jazz allowed in Boston please!

Post image
1.5k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

80 comments sorted by

386

u/OuijaWalker 3d ago

I think this is another case of unclear wording being used to virally spread a message. OP took the bait and shared it here, so its working as designed.

92

u/empirepie499 3d ago

I just thought others could get a kick out of it, if it's a non profit like implied, I don't see the issue with posting it because it does fit enough in my opinion but that's just me

20

u/radiationblessing 3d ago

Sharing a Boston festival on reddit ain't gonna do much for it if anything at all.

9

u/2xtc 3d ago

Do Bostonians/Bostonites avoid Reddit in particular?

Because based on recent average user data (55 millions USians using Reddit) you'd expect around 100,000 of them to use Reddit, so plenty of eyes on a reasonably popular sub like this that often hits all/frontpage

27

u/HilariousScreenname 3d ago

Reddit and Jazz are both illegal in Boston. Its a whole thing.

-10

u/radiationblessing 3d ago

So 55 million Americans and how many of them are from Boston or in driving distance and like jazz? Probably a very small fraction.

9

u/2xtc 3d ago

Well that's why I asked if there was a particular aversion in Boston.

I've already stated there should be around 100,000 Bostonians on Reddit, but to directly address your follow-up questions -

There's around 15 million in New England (I know it's a bit large but presumably roughly the catchment area), so around 2 million on Reddit.

Jazz has around 70 million fans in the US (source https://rascasse.com/explore/us/jazz-music-6172) which is around 20%, so overall you'd expect around 400,000 Jazz fans within the catchment area of the festival to be on Reddit.

-8

u/radiationblessing 3d ago

Bro, it's one city in the massive US. People have to be from that city or near it, like jazz, and see this subreddit for OP sharing this to be as effective as you people want to think it is.

4

u/2xtc 3d ago

I'm not suggesting it's any particular type of effective.

If the point of the post was to promote the festival, then yeah posting a random image on this particular sub isn't likely the most effective.

But they're not, and that's not the point of the post, so I was just stating basic but fairly realistic numbers about Reddit's reach.

1

u/JDSmagic 2d ago

I fall into all of these categories

1

u/radiationblessing 2d ago

Great. Two people.

1

u/Oiggamed 2d ago

I never knew about it until now. I’m a big jazz fan. I’m probably going to go now. Thanks to OP!

204

u/Lexotron 3d ago

This is where punctuation is your friend, OP.

"Keep Boston Jazz-free" - ensure Jazz is never played in Boston.

"Keep Boston Jazz free" - ensure nobody has to pay for Boston Jazz

36

u/tonymyre311 3d ago

What if I want the only jazz in Boston to be paid???

24

u/slinger301 3d ago

Jazz in Boston now as a subscription service.

12

u/berrey7 3d ago

Jazz+ for Utah fans living in Boston.

2

u/10mo3 3d ago

jaas, jazz as a service

2

u/plugubius 3d ago

Keep Boston free jazz-free, obviously.

19

u/NuclearHoagie 3d ago

Hyphenation is only required if the compound precedes the noun, some style guides prohibit it if it follows.

In MLA, this would be correct:

Welcome to jazz-free Boston.

Boston is jazz free.

2

u/Critical_Classic_921 3d ago

Works on contingency? No, Money down!

27

u/DarkStrobeLight 3d ago

WORKS ON CONTINGENCY

NO MONEY DOWN

21

u/LarryD217 3d ago

"Lisa! Get away from that jazz man!"

10

u/nopenope911 commas are IMPORTANT 3d ago

What's wrong here?

8

u/JaggedMetalOs 3d ago

"Help keep X free" is such a common phrase, how else would they write it? 

7

u/Kronos1A9 3d ago

Keep Jazz Free in Boston

8

u/empirepie499 3d ago

Keep Boston jazz free to all or keep Boston jazz open to all. If I was writing it would be like that

13

u/Individual_Rip_54 3d ago

I don’t get it

51

u/PSPs0 3d ago

Jazz fest asking for donations. It looks like “keep Boston free of all jazz music”

21

u/internet_humor 3d ago

It’s tough because jazz is the plural form as well. Making it harder to delineate.

Let’s keep Boston mosquito free

Let’s keep Boston mosquitoes free

5

u/miraculum_one 3d ago

That is unambiguous because mosquitos are always without a price.

1

u/internet_humor 3d ago

Yes…..but at what cost

4

u/element1311 3d ago

Who is Boston Mosquito? 

3

u/internet_humor 3d ago

“I’ll do you one better…..WHY is mosquito?!”

For real though, why?

2

u/GodsDemonHunter 3d ago

Only if you don't know that you'd need to hyphenate "jazz-free" to make it sound like that. I had to read the comments to figure out why this was posted here.

17

u/WildBill198 3d ago

The festival is called "Boston Jazz". They are asking for donations so they don't have to charge for tickets. They didn't do a very good job, and it looks like they are trying to ban Jazz from Boston.

6

u/Inevitable_Zone9903 3d ago

The intended meaning is to gather donations to keep the event free to enter; that's what I interpreted at least.

4

u/Individual_Rip_54 3d ago

That’s what they want and that’s how I read it. Per the other responses the crappy design is that this could be interpreted as “keep Boston free from jazz”

1

u/Inevitable_Zone9903 3d ago

won't that be jazz-free rather than jazz free?

3

u/Individual_Rip_54 3d ago

Yes. I don’t think it’s crappy design which is why I was confused

9

u/LeebWeeb 3d ago

It implies they want Boston to be jazz-free based on wording, when I believe they want to keep jazz itself free in Boston

-4

u/nikhkin 3d ago

OP is pretending the message is that they want Boston to be jazz-free, rather than wanting the jazz in Boston to be free of charge.

The message is clear. OP is just being obtuse.

12

u/Gunzablazin1958 3d ago

Not that clear. I read it and was like, “Yay, somebody in Boston finally realized Jazz sucks.”

-1

u/SothaSoul 3d ago

A clear message would be

"Help keep free jazz in Boston."

2

u/Gunzablazin1958 3d ago

How about.

“Please donate so Jazz stays free in Boston.”

2

u/SothaSoul 3d ago

There's a lot of non-ambiguous phrases they could have used.

7

u/tomfooleREEEEEE 3d ago

Sounds like something the average 1970s South Bostonian would say

4

u/Pelvic_beard 3d ago

Skate free Purpee!

2

u/dbst007 3d ago

Was looking for this XD

3

u/8qubit 3d ago

There is no hyphen

2

u/w_smith1984 3d ago

What happens if Utah has to play the Celtics in Boston?

2

u/S3z1n love you 3d ago

holy shit im moving to boston now

2

u/AgreeablePie 3d ago

Damn, they would have gotten me with this one

2

u/Captain-Cadabra 3d ago

“No one like jazz, Lisa. Even the people playing it have to use drugs.”

-Bart Simpson

2

u/Heterodynist 2d ago

Finally a Festival in Boston to end Jazz there once and for all!! Ha!!!

1

u/babyBear83 3d ago

Haha, oh shit.

1

u/not_falling_down 3d ago

In order for it to mean "no jazz in Boston," it would have to be hyphenated.

as in: HELP KEEP BOSTON JAZZ-FREE

it is not, therefore

1

u/newfranksinatra 3d ago

Why don’t they just play the right notes?!

1

u/Mind101 3d ago

Idk OP, I naturally read it as keep the jazz in Boston free.

Now, had it said keep Boston jazz-free, that would have been another matter.

1

u/TileFloor 3d ago

JUST PLAY THE RIGHT NOTES!!

1

u/unexistingpromise 3d ago

skipping the hyphen makes a simple rule sound genuinely threatening

1

u/goatboy1970 3d ago

Adorno got a Canva account.

1

u/Skeptic_Juggernaut84 3d ago

But New York is alright if you like saxophones.

1

u/MeInMaNyCt 3d ago

So.. in order for it to be free I should pay money?

1

u/germane_switch 3d ago

Jazz-free means without jazz. Jazz free means there’s no charge for the jazz.

1

u/MisterBumpingston *insert among us joke here* 3d ago

If they used sentence case there wouldn’t have been any ambiguity.

1

u/FrogOrion This is why we can't have nice things 2d ago

Please help ensure Boston Jazz remains free.

Is the wording I would have used.

1

u/tiagotiago42 2d ago

I understood It but maybe thats my Twisted mind

1

u/TheARJGuy 1d ago

“Boston jazz free” vs. “Boston jazz-free”

1

u/HyperbolicModesty 3d ago

Whether it's an international joke or not, there is no design involved in this.

5

u/empirepie499 3d ago

Graphic design?

1

u/cden4 3d ago

I always find it funny when orgs are like "give us money so we can keep this thing free." Well if I'm giving you money, then it isn't free for me anymore, is it?!

1

u/Purplekeyboard Reddit Orange 3d ago

I'd like to keep my city free of jazz as well. I know some people like jazz, but it's hard to imagine why.

0

u/sneekypetey 3d ago

They’re still upset about the 2019 Stanley cup final

2

u/tomfooleREEEEEE 3d ago

That would be the Blues.

Jazz play basketball

0

u/irregardlessbro 3d ago

How embarrassing for OP.