# The "animation is here and the world is ending" thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 26, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032 "2021-06-26T03:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/21 "2021-06-26T05:51:38Z")
Most of the time, gifs are used for reaction images, as you’re seeing here. You have to admit, this’ll make it much more fun to deal with trolls and stuff? Or just the Pit in general? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/22 "2021-06-26T05:52:20Z")
This alone? Maybe not. Along with other things (like avatars, posting pictures, links to videos, etc)? Most definitely. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/23 "2021-06-26T05:57:27Z")
Good grief, they’re annoying. Who wants to see an animated gif of someone’s reaction? They must be a lot more interesting for the poster than for the reader. It’s like the person who elbows you after telling a joke, saying “Didja get it? Huh? Huh?” Seems incredibly juvenile. Or low IQ. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/24 "2021-06-26T05:59:33Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Doesn’t mean it’s stupid, either. This place is starting to look like a “get off my lawn!” website more and more each day. Do you want the Dope to survive, or not? > > Look at the uproar about avatars – well, it’s been over a year, and none of the dire predictions came true. I love the Dope, but I absolutely loathe the way people around here act like a bunch of old stick-in-the-muds, and refuse to change with the times, then complain that the place is dying. If animated GIFs were needed for the survival of a site, then why do most social media sites make you click to view them? Sure, this is not some horrible thing that will cause harm to the board. But your reaction is just as silly. It’s not like people came here, saw that animated GIFs weren’t allowed, and left. Heck, most people likely didn’t even know there was a rule against them. They just aren’t generally useful for the types of conversations we tend to have here. The reason I think it is a bad idea is that, while it won’t attract anyone, there are many people who find autoplaying animations quite annoying, so it might actually detract. Rather than making the place look more “hip”, I’d argue autoplaying GIFs make the board seem older. It’s generally considered cringe when older places try to change to seem more hip. Surely I don’t need to go find the ancient “Hello, fellow kids” meme, right? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/25 "2021-06-26T06:05:01Z")
Hows about us fuddyduddys make some kind of fraternity pledge that we will never, ever use animated gifs on this site … unless they are really appropriate in context or very funny? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/26 "2021-06-26T06:11:59Z")
Weren’t the same arguments used against avatars? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/27 "2021-06-26T06:18:05Z")
Same response-Did adding avatars bring new people in, or even slow down the rate they were leaving? If yes, then fine. Follow up question-Who left because we wouldn’t add avatars before? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/28 "2021-06-26T06:42:05Z")
ITT: ![](https://media0.giphy.com/media/fqtyYcXoDV0X6ss8Mf/giphy.gif?cid=790b7611bda4695b1481d6447984e729d0fbff446623bbce&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g "Grampa Simpson Meme GIF by MOODMAN - Find & Share on GIPHY") lawlz ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/29 "2021-06-26T06:49:03Z")
Love it. You’re so smart to use that. Hey, @Cecil_Adams looky here!!! That thing nearly gave me a seizure. For reals.😳 ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/30 "2021-06-26T06:54:33Z")
Possums freak me out so I have to desensitize. Yeah, that’s it. Then there’s this: > > > \#cats EH KITTEH SUCH SURPRISES ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/31 "2021-06-26T07:00:04Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Weren’t the same arguments used against avatars? No. I’ve always been strongly in favour of avatars, and strongly _not_ in favour of animated gifs. A little visual information to identify posters adds value to the site. But excessive and intrusive visual distraction devalues the site. Our greatest strength is intelligent conversation. That is how we are different, and that is what we should be promoting. Intrusive animations discourage intelligent conversation in a way that avatars, small emojis, and reasonable use of images and embedded videos don’t. There are thousands of sites where people can post cute animations for a quick LOL and an ego boost instead of a reasonable or entertaining exchange of ideas. That’s not the kind of site we want to be. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/32 "2021-06-26T07:05:35Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Now that [animated gifs are allowed](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-graphics-in-posts-now-ok/945025/1), what is your reaction? [![](https://i.imgur.com/removed.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/removed.png) Just kidding—my reaction is more like this: [![](https://i.imgur.com/removed.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/removed.png) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/33 "2021-06-26T07:59:55Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > There are thousands of sites where people can post cute animations for a quick LOL and an ego boost instead of a reasonable or entertaining exchange of ideas. That’s not the kind of site we want to be. Can’t we be both, like the late Earl Warren Message Board? ---
**Author:** ![Enjoy\_Slurm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enjoy_slurm/32/3937_2.png) [@Enjoy\_Slurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enjoy_Slurm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/34 "2021-06-26T09:03:41Z")
Honestly this place has gone downhill ever since they let people use words. Real intellectuals only need 10’s. I swear you millennials won’t be happy until you get a trophy for getting a toy in your Happy Meal. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/35 "2021-06-26T09:18:40Z")
![](https://c.tenor.com/0NIEn6MmeJIAAAAC/gtfo-britneyspears.gif "Gtfo GIF - Gtfo Britneyspears Bitch - Discover & Share GIFs") ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/36 "2021-06-26T09:21:17Z")
I’m a total layman when it comes to tech stuff - do GIFs or videos pose any malware threat when posted like this? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/37 "2021-06-26T09:41:38Z")
I’m not a fan of animated GIFs, but I’m willing to give them a try. It seems that the powers that be can turn them off again if they’re causing problems. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/38 "2021-06-26T12:02:50Z")
(edit: link screwed up, del) ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/39 "2021-06-26T13:57:52Z")
I’m fine with them. One of my coworkers puts on a weekly music lounge on Microsoft Teams, and when a catchy tune comes up, listeners will occasionally put a GIF of somebody dancing. I’ve used Napoleon Dynamite, Steve Harvey, Bugs Bunny, tribal dancers, rugby teams doing war hakas, and so on. Of course, the fact that we’re all using company-issued laptops that reflect the latest level of computer tech might have something to do with it, but really, don’t assume that past computer glitches like GIF slowdowns are still around. It’s not that costly to upgrade. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032/40 "2021-06-26T14:28:41Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > It seems that the powers that be can turn them off again if they’re causing problems. I don’t think they were ever turned off; just against the rules. I accidentally posted a gif once (I thought it was a jpeg) and a mod had to manually change it to a link. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-animation-is-here-and-the-world-is-ending-thread/945032.md?page=3)