Rule 34 (and Other Memes)
Rule 34 states: There is porn of it. No Exceptions.
I was recently asked what Rule 34 was and in explaining it I learned that I am truly a geek. Rule 34 is an internet meme or cliche. It’s something that permeates the intertubes (the term “intertubes” is also a meme) and is understood by common knowledge. There are lots of them out there really. Many of them (like Rule 34) are started on a huge message board called 4chan (which is an English remake of the 2channel Japanese site considered to be the largest online community in the world).
NOTE: I wouldn’t recommend going to 4chan because they are all a bit crazy. If you want to learn a bit about 4chan, try the Wikichan. Then proceed at your own risk.
Other sites like YouTube, Fark, and Digg are starters to memes as well since they are extremely large online communities like 4chan. Other memes just… happen. Which is exactly the definitely of a meme.
Here are some popular examples of internet memes… you can find all sorts of info about them with a basic web search:
- All your base are belong to us
- Hamster Dance
- Chuck Norris Facts
- Chocolate Rain
- Star Wars Kid
- Numa Numa
- O RLY
- LOLCatz
- OK GO – “Here it goes again”
- Leeroy Jenkins
- It’s a trap
- Dancing Baby
- Goatse (don’t search for this one… it’s awful)
Knowledge of these memes will help you look like less of a noob when commenting or participating online. There are lots of others and they come and go… but some have real staying power. ‘All your base are belong to us’ has been around for years and years and years while the “dancing baby” is long, long gone.
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I thought it was just a really boring 1-dimensional cellular automata rule.
i nominate Chocolate rain as the #1 most likely song to get stuck in a person’s head