The bolded part is unsupported by facts.
Oh, c’mon.
The SDMB without humor would be as dull as a trump story without a hooker in it.
Yeah, there’s this.
Which is why, if I’m tempted to make an in-joke, I try to think about whether it’s going to confuse, annoy, or alienate people who aren’t in on the joke; and, if it is, (1) is there any way I can mitigate this without ruining the joke, and (2) is the joke good enough that it’s worth it?
The zombie jokes do serve a purpose and are not (well, at least not usually) just a joke. They alert other readers to the fact that the thread is a revival, so they can adjust their responses accordingly. But just saying “Warning: zombie thread” is boring, so people become creative, hence the jokes.
So I think they should be tolerated for that reason.
Just noticed the other thread where several people made this very point. Well, never mind.
Our board culture tends to latch on obsessively to things, and it gets boring to see the same things over and over again. It’s one reason I spend less time here than I used to.
I don’t think “no one is allowed to like what I don’t like.” I’m not trying to codify my opinions into rules. I just get bored when someone goes out of their way to make yet another post about how Hal Briston fucks sheep.
Hal wasn’t fucking that sheep, he was just helping it over the fence.
Lovely.
Frankly, I’m not annoyed by board in-jokes, except for Quarry. I’m an easy audience.
That said, specific board jokes fail at being funny. Others are ok. The problem with the zombie comment is that it’s dismissive and unwelcoming of newcomers. There are better ways of expressing the underlying point.
Basically, I think board in-jokes need to be evaluated on a case by case basis, much like other jokes.
That’s what a Texan calls them too. Well, that or cheerleader. But I’m glad you liked it, I was afraid you wouldn’t.
You’re right, I was inaccurate: utterly and completely unsupported by facts.
As someone who’s been here since before the in-jokes were even created, I say, sometimes it’s time to let them go.
OpalCat died five years ago. We assume anyone who discovered this place as far back as 2013 is supposed to not only figure out what “Hi Opal” means, but to also figure out who Opal is, and why the phrase is used in that context - if the poster is even using the phrase in its original context.
The same thing goes for callbacks like “Rio, by Duran Duran,” airplane on a treadmill and others, unless the poster happens to include a link to the original thread.
We’re judgmental enough of newcomers. There’s no point of making them feel excluded through no fault of their own.
"Nuke it from outer space [it’s the only way, etc]” is an in joke, I suppose. Although the phrase might be on other boards, and if it is, it’s use here is purposeful—when posted as a humorous (rarely, snarky) comment that we/you might as well give up on OP query, if it is of a canyouhelpmefixit kind. It actually means that, to “us” and is only slightly more “in” than talk8ng about trolls or sock puppets or whatever, which is also in-language of a sort.
If someone doesn’t know it’s an in-joke phrase with that meaning, well, lucky him—he’ll think it’s clever (which we all are, right?) And if he doesn’t pick up on this pearl of hyperbole, that’s just tough luck. Most everyone will.
If a jerk types it every time in every situation, say in Elections, he’s an asshole, and we can’t regulate for that ahead of time.
A lot of the old jokes have died already. When is the last time someone mentioned the death ray. Or the Marianas trench. And I saw a reference to “masturbating like a …” in the Pit I think which reminded me how long it has been since that reference has come up.
I don’t even see many Hi Opals any more, so I think we can let old jokes die a natural death and not hurry them along.
After all, all your jokes are belong to us!
Nuh-uh, I burning your jokes!
I would agree if we were cagey about explaining them. But the few times that I’ve seen somebody ask about a a joke, we’ve not only explained graciously, but ended up with a long thread listing, explaining and providing links for every board joke we can think of. It’s hardly an exclusionary bunch.
Right, but there’s a long journey between “no longer/didn’t find it funny” and “annoyed by it.” With some board members going as far as “Let’s make an actual rule not to do this anymore,” you lost me at annoyed.
I don’t get why anybody would go to “annoyed”, much less considering outlawing a simple group joke. If I don’t find something funny I just keep scrolling.
And part of surviving in a group environment is being able to move past a statement that you don’t find funny. Flipping into annoyance or controlling mode is mystifying to me.
When are we judgmental of newcomers just for being new? I mean, I’ve never seen us be anything other than welcoming unless they are trying to use 733t or start 17 threads per day on the same topic?
As for the others, as I said above if they ask we always explain. And if they do a simple search they will surely find the answers on their own, which is how I found out about most of this stuff.
Oh for heaven’s sake, it’s a bit of minor poking fun at them. If they’re snowflakes and can’t take THAT, they are going to have a real hard time here AND elsewhere.
Actually, it is their fault. They didn’t read the FAQ and they posted without checking the date.
A zombie joke is nowhere near “dismissive”, “unwelcoming”, “judgmental” and “excluded”.
Cecil is famous for very snarky responses. Compared to that, a zombie joke is nothing.
What I find weird is the idea that these “in-jokes” are even supposed to be funny. Humor requires surprise, and surprise isn’t possible once something becomes a ritual. They function more as a part of a community’s shared identity. They aren’t even really shibboleths, because anyone with half a brain can notice them and start using them, without even knowing where they started.
If we got rid of the “in-jokes” when they weren’t funny anymore, they’d have been removed a long time ago. So that can’t be the problem. Something else has to be behind people no longer liking a particular one.
And, having seen it in several online communities, I’m no closer to figuring out what it is.
Bo, I’m not saying this to be rude, or nasty or anything, but why do you persist with the quarry thing, when you know it annoys so many people? I know you think it’s hilarious, and that’s fine. But a lot of people have said, “hey, dude, would you mind cutting it out?” I know you claim you don’t use it all that often, but obviously it happens enough for people to take notice.
When you have to explain a joke, that pretty much means it’s not funny. And let’s face it, the Dope has a tendency to overdo ANY little in joke to death. Until the jokes themselves are zombies.
Sometimes it’s okay to let things go. Really.