# Is the SDMB stuck in the past? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 9, 2006, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043 "2006-06-09T10:02:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/21 "2006-06-09T19:41:32Z")
Geez, and here I thought this thread was a reaction to the three-page discussion of “why Bill Clinton was impeached” that started up a few weeks ago. Or the “was the 2000 election stolen” discussion. But we’ can’t be completely stuck in the past - there hasn’t been a serious Iran-Contra discussion in, what, three months? ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/22 "2006-06-09T21:18:27Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] Your only examples the offer in terms of “reliance on the past” are a couple of in-jokes. True a fresh in-joke might be better than a stale one, but then again, we only accept the best AND new in-jokes/words are being made all the time, so I wouldn’t say that we are only using antiquities. Two that I can recall off the top of my head are: [doog](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=335151) [N1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=331200) We’re making the future of the English language here as well. [/QUOTE] I love doog…sigh. Can someone clue me in on where I can learn about said “1920’s style death ray”? And for the record, in-jokes are fine. Plus the posters here have something going on between their ears, unlike most places I’ve gone, and the answers I get & jokes I hear are always top-notch. Wouldn’t change a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/23 "2006-06-09T21:21:01Z")
Nevermind re: the Death Ray thing. I plead guilty to skimming. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/24 "2006-06-09T21:23:51Z")
[QUOTE=John Corrado] Geez, and here I thought this thread was a reaction to the three-page discussion of “why Bill Clinton was impeached” that started up a few weeks ago. Or the “was the 2000 election stolen” discussion. But we’ can’t be completely stuck in the past - there hasn’t been a serious Iran-Contra discussion in, what, three months? [/QUOTE] We’re also sadly lacking on the Wilson’s Fourteen Points front, not to mention free and unlimited coinage of silver. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/25 "2006-06-09T22:18:49Z")
[QUOTE=Eve] [Grandpa Simpson] “We can’t coin catch-phrases like we used to, but we have our ways. One trick is to post stories that don’t go anywhere - like the time I logged into YMMV, which is what they called IMHO in those days. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so I decided to go to ask where everyone else got heels for their shoes. So I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time. Now, to subscribe to a message board cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. ‘Give me five bees for a quarter,’ you’d say. Now where were we? Oh yeah - the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn’t have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones . . .” [/Grandpa Simpson] [/QUOTE] “That reminds me of a funny story. Actually, it’s not so funny as it is long …” ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/26 "2006-06-09T22:25:26Z")
Personally, I like the little injokes and such. Gives the SDMB a more community feel. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/27 "2006-06-10T01:50:27Z")
I _think_ I was a witness to the unfolding of “and penis ensues.” One night, a few weeks later, I heard Tucker Carlson say something about " and (somethingorother) ensues." I couldn’t help but wonder if he was familiar with the inside joke. (This is supposed to be a serious sign of mental illness.) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/28 "2006-06-10T02:12:41Z")
“Hilarity ensues” or “panic ensues” has long been a short-hand way of describing a zany, mad-cap situation on a television program. Not specific to this Baord, and usually used sarcastically. The Freudian typo which caused “penis ensues” is something that these newcomers seem to enjoy. I don’t think it’s been around for more than four years. (uglybeech – You had vacuum tubes? We would have killed for vacuum tubes. My differential engine had mechanical switches. And I was happy to have that! It took me three weeks to download one titty-picture. Not like what these kids have today. Don’t know how good they have it, and do they appreciate it?) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/29 "2006-06-10T02:14:27Z")
Us fossils remember “Who is Mr. Ruda-Duda?” Now that was a catch-phrase, not like these newfangled things you kids are all saying. What a \*shocking \* bad hat. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/30 "2006-06-10T03:35:34Z")
Interesting to see the replies. I’ll re-iterate that my OP wasn’t a complaint, just an observation- ie, there’s a lot of stuff here from a while back (and let’s be honest, in Internet Time, 2001 is Medieval, and anything from the 1990s should probably involve Chariot Races and a Colosseum). I read the threads in ATMB explaining all the “in-jokes” a while back (in comparative Internet Time, back when Britain, France, and Spain still ran the world). I’m not saying they’re a bad thing, but I am observing that a lot of them seem to be from a couple of years ago and a lot of people using them aren’t really aware where they came from- they’re just “recycling” them so to speak. I don’t think it scares new people away, and it certainly doesn’t detract from the overall SDMB experience. I dunno if I’d agree it adds to a “Community Feel” though, but this thread does serve as an excellent example of **Martini’s Law** : _No matter what your viewpoint on a given topic is, there’s a very high chance you’re in the minority._ ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/31 "2006-06-10T03:39:35Z")
[QUOTE=ElvisL1ves] Like a mother fuck! [/QUOTE] And if she didn’t we would be poorer for it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/32 "2006-06-10T05:10:13Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] This thread needs more Stupid Food. (ca 2006) [/QUOTE] Actually, this one went [Name] “eats stupid food for breakfast” and part of what made that so funny was that the insult was originally delivered by a six-year-old child. Some of the catchphrases here do get a little old. For example, I wouldn’t mind not seeing the “band name” thing again. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/33 "2006-06-10T06:08:51Z")
Read the chapter on [Popular Follies in Great Cities](http://www.litrix.com/madraven/madne011.htm) from Mackay’s Extraordinary Popular Delusions And The Madness Of Crowds for examples of the Hi Opals of the 19th century. " London is peculiarly fertile in this sort of phrases, which spring up suddenly, no one knows exactly in what spot, and pervade the whole population in a few hours, no one knows how. Many years ago the favourite phrase (for, though but a monosyllable, it was a phrase in itself) was Quoz. This odd word took the fancy of the multitude in an extraordinary degree, and very soon acquired an almost boundless meaning. When vulgar wit wished to mark its incredulity and raise a laugh at the same time, there was no resource so sure as this popular piece of slang. When a man was asked a favour which he did not choose to grant, he marked his sense of the suitor’s unparalleled presumption by exclaiming Quoz! When a mischievous urchin wished to annoy a passenger, and create mirth for his chums, he looked him in the face, and cried out Quoz! and the exclamation never failed in its object. When a disputant was desirous of throwing a doubt upon the veracity of his opponent, and getting summarily rid of an argument which he could not overturn, he uttered the word Quoz, with a contemptuous curl of his lip and an impatient shrug of his shoulders. The universal monosyllable conveyed all his meaning, and not only told his opponent that he lied, but that he erred egregiously if he thought that any one was such a nincompoop as to believe him. Every alehouse resounded with Quoz; every street corner was noisy with it, and every wall for miles around was chalked with it. But, like all other earthly things, Quoz had its season, and passed away as suddenly as it arose, never again to be the pet and the idol of the populace. A new claimant drove it from its place, and held undisputed sway till, in its turn, it was hurled from its pre-eminence, and a successor appointed in its stead." “The next phrase was a most preposterous one. Who invented it, how it arose, or where it was first heard, are alike unknown. Nothing about it is certain, but that for months it was the slang par excellence of the Londoners, and afforded them a vast gratification. “There he goes with his eye out!” or “There she goes with her eye out!” as the sex of the party alluded to might be, was in the mouth of everybody who knew the town. The sober part of the community were as much puzzled by this unaccountable saying as the vulgar were delighted with it. The wise thought it very foolish, but the many thought it very funny, and the idle amused themselves by chalking it upon walls, or scribbling it upon monuments. But, “all that’s bright must fade,” even in slang. The people grew tired of their hobby, and “There he goes with his eye out!” was heard no more in its accustomed haunts.” ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/34 "2006-06-10T06:15:26Z")
I don’t think it’s true that we never drop old jokes or catchphrases here. I was just thinking the other day that I haven’t seen anyone say “felch” or “squick” in ages. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/35 "2006-06-10T13:55:38Z")
[QUOTE=Smeghead] I haven’t seen anyone say “felch”… [/QUOTE] And yet, the goat is still mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/36 "2006-06-10T20:27:52Z")
Martini Enfield - The one bitter truth I’ve learned about completely pointless message board memes. They go away when they’re good and ready, and not one millisecond sooner. And this is one of those things that there is _no_ discussion about. Ever. Much like “criticism necessary to teach you what’s right” on Improfanfic (even after it got so out of control that it completely killed the site). Or the “butchery” of Initial D. SDMBis still better than, oh, about 99.9% of the message board sites out there, so I can deal wit hit. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/37 "2006-06-10T21:17:41Z")
Ask **Hal Briston** if he agrees that we cling too tightly to things in the past. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/38 "2006-06-10T21:58:17Z")
[QUOTE=Smeghead] I was just thinking the other day that I haven’t seen anyone say “felch” or “squick” in ages. [/QUOTE] Neither of those terms are unique to this place. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/39 "2006-06-10T22:14:56Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] Neither of those terms are unique to this place. [/QUOTE] No, but there was a goat felching fad on these boards some years ago. Um…I mean…that is to say, there was a fad for making humorous _references_ to felching goats. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043/40 "2006-06-11T00:52:17Z")
[QUOTE=Martini Enfield] The most obvious is probably the number of holdovers here from Ye Olde Days, ie back when this place was on AOL or something and nobody outside Chicago really knew who Cecil was. The most obvious are some of the rather… sod it, I will say it, _nonsencial_ memes- “When come back, bring pie” and adding “Hi Opal!” to short lists spring readily to mind, as does the whole “Once, in 1960, for 20 minutes” thing. Now, I’m a huge Bill Bryson fan, and whilst the fact that humankind’s first and only visit to the deepest point of the ocean was not only at a time when there was still a “Belgian Congo”, but lasted for about the same length of time as an episode of _Futurama_ (sans advertisements) was indeed made mention of in _A Short History of Nearly Everything_, I’ve never quite understood how it evolved into a strange and slightly nonsensical meme on an internet discussion board. Similarly, whilst having some (grammatically defective) reference to returning from one’s destination with various baked pastry goods may have been amusing a long time ago, surely it’s time to accept that a lot of these “in-jokes” are not only ancient, but largely incomprehensible to anyone who wasn’t posting here back when Coal Power was still pretty nifty? [/QUOTE] Shove off, ya pobe. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-sdmb-stuck-in-the-past/360043.md?page=3)