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[Loud Whispers]

In this day and age, one has to look far and wide to find a corner of the internet that has been untouched by memes. In fact; such a thing is impossible. A meme is simply defined as a recurring thought pattern that finds its way into a culture and propagates itself in said culture through replication and modification, the form most people would know it as comes as the form of an image macro.
An image macro is an image with superimposed text in the header and footer. Often funny, often not.

As much as I'd find it interesting to go into the history of their rising from their demiurges' piss, their rejection from their demiurges after their adoption by the great appropriators and so forth; the question I am asking now is whether the widespread adoption of memes as a primary form of communication is detrimental to dialogue on the internet, and on the world as a whole.

I am of course, in constant moral panic about these things. Panic isn't the right word of course; I fear of these changes as a geriatric man would fear some new trend in hip clothing and of course hope they are as unsounded fears as that. Yet there is something fairly disturbing when people lose their ability to use the internet for more than Pavlovian conditioning; i.e. this message is expressed through this meme, and as such the message carries the same reaction as the meme would carry. Similarly the narrowing of opinions, of the ability to express one's self - is it slipping away with every continued chip at prose?
Will the usage of memes ever have reached a point where it has gone too far, such as the various western governments employing the usage of memes in embarrassing wastes of money in order to try and cash in on the shortening attention spans of their loyal voters?
I remember a time when people were fretting, worrying and panicking about a certain community being killed by the constant overusage of memes. Sure enough, it died.

And for those of whom who cannot understand what I mean, allow me to express the above entirely in memes.

You blew 150k on memes you could have gotten in $1.50 in 4chan gold...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Those line-drawn faces (such as in the y u no listen) get me every single time. I just love them so much!

I think image macros and memes are a form of clever parlor banter. One person says something, another person makes a witty remark, the ladies titter, and we serve the champagne. Glasses clink. The men retire to the drawing-room for cigars and cognac while the ladies head to the veranda for some Eyes Wide Shut.

In the same way, one forum post leads to another smoothly, with clever surprises and unexpected turns. It's conversation-as-exploration. You cut the vines with your machete and reveal the golden Aztec pyramid shining in the blazing noon. You part the veil of cobwebs and spy men furtively unloading crates into the sea-cave in the moonlight. What you are about to say excites me! That's half of why I'm here.

I also like to feel that little rush of creativity, the low-effort climax when I hit "post" on a silly thing I wrote or linked or image-macro'd, and it gets all over your monitors. And then you might say something about it! It's great.

In a way, image macros and similar memes are an art of communication with a complex and rigorous formalism. You can write a Villanelle, or you can write a limerick, and both restrict your expression but are satisfying because of your creativity and success in fulfilling that form. But you can also just write some words that have beauty, and substance, and illumination.

As long as we have ways to express what we want, I think we'll be fine.

[Tiruin]

As much as I'd find it interesting to go into the history of their rising from their demiurges' piss, their rejection from their demiurges after their adoption by the great appropriators and so forth; the question I am asking now is whether the widespread adoption of memes as a primary form of communication is detrimental to dialogue on the internet, and on the world as a whole.

Yes.
Most probably due to how the internet (given that it is the primary method of actually putting memetics in this sence, to work) is very open and free to young minds who cannot exactly discern the implicit difference between what is stated in the idea from what is the correct way of discourse. Exposure and all, without an alternative.

Also I firstly thought this thread was an italian medieval take or questionnaire on modern memetics.
Err, yeah.

I am of course, in constant moral panic about these things. Panic isn't the right word of course; I fear of these changes as a geriatric man would fear some new trend in hip clothing and of course hope they are as unsounded fears as that.

You must understand how these things go, firstly--why these happen.

Yet there is something fairly disturbing when people lose their ability to use the internet for more than Pavlovian conditioning; i.e. this message is expressed through this meme, and as such the message carries the same reaction as the meme would carry. Similarly the narrowing of opinions, of the ability to express one's self - is it slipping away with every continued chip at prose?

How loud one makes their message is how far it would be heard--I do believe that the lessening or deprecation of quality is at the same rate or a bit higher than years ago and not as quick as it is now, just a lot louder that more people are waking up to it.

Will the usage of memes ever have reached a point where it has gone too far, such as the various western governments employing the usage of memes in embarrassing wastes of money in order to try and cash in on the shortening attention spans of their loyal voters?

...You should mention that this thread is for [this country] or such in the title. I'm from Asia (I would've said East but then I remember that West and East are either based on the idea that Europe was the center of the world due to historical texts or thank you timezone structure.) and...cannot really understand how memetics work, other than something the common person would associate with given its...commonality, which is my best guess why.

Though I get that the shortening attention span is an effect. Yeah.
...
I still guess its on what one chooses to focus on (and in lieu of lacking reinforcement, will stay in that current state of mind).

And for those of whom who cannot understand what I mean, allow me to express the above entirely in memes.

But you stated it concisely! D:

PPE: Hi Leo! (I agree on the aesthetics. )

[LeoLeonardoIII]

I think it's fine if young people have difficulty communicating. The spheres in which I work are resistant to linguistic change and are not dominated by the young. Which means anything that hinders young people reduces competition I will have to face in the future.

[Tiruin]

I meant in how people learn to communicate.

[Willfor]

Language is a meme. Your move, LW.

[Flying Dice]

What about the alarming tendency for people to respond via poll (or *cough* segue) when they either cannot or won't take the time to formulate a coherent response?

[LeoLeonardoIII]

Language is a meme. Your move, LW.

He kinda went out of his way to specify the kind of Internet memes which you totally understand what he's saying vs. the real meaning of the word "meme" which would include all of culture.

[Tiruin]

What about the alarming tendency for people to respond via poll (or *cough* segue) when they either cannot or won't take the time to formulate a coherent response?

Bleh, I'm sorta biased against those kinds of polls which give--or rather, give the lack of--'freedom of choice'.
Cursed prediction-answer types.

Essays, for the win!

[Willfor]

He kinda went out of his way to specify the kind of Internet memes which you totally understand what he's saying vs. the real meaning of the word "meme" which would include all of culture.

I was hoping that the "your move" section would denote the entire comment as a joke due to the memetic weight of the phrase in our current internet culture.

[LeoLeonardoIII]

He kinda went out of his way to specify the kind of Internet memes which you totally understand what he's saying vs. the real meaning of the word "meme" which would include all of culture.

I was hoping that the "your move" section would denote the entire comment as a joke due to the memetic weight of the phrase in our current internet culture.

orite, nm

[Loud Whispers]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I think image macros and memes are a form of clever parlor banter. One person says something, another person makes a witty remark, the ladies titter, and we serve the champagne. Glasses clink. The men retire to the drawing-room for cigars and cognac while the ladies head to the veranda for some Eyes Wide Shut.

And that's all nice and well - except where such a thing doesn't happen. The internet has given such cases before. One person repeats an old joke, all laugh, the joke is remembered. The joke is repeated, people laugh - they get the joke, the joke is repeated. Not as many laugh. The joke is repeated. Newcomers laugh. The joke is repeated. Newcomers compensate for their newness by repeating the old joke, joining the knowing of the joke by the old. Some of us were even there, or can call up past experiences of doing such. The magma blitz is hardly the romantic ideal of witty remarks sparking clever banter, nor is the death of /b/ at the hand of memes a shining example of them spurring creativity - I mean it's horrifying to see 5 year old jokes still being repeated as if they were new, by internet standards that's even worse. The narrow confines of macros and rage comics slimmed the level of discourse down into preset formula, confining all conversation to past conversations, reducing its future to be a constant echo of itself.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I also like to feel that little rush of creativity, the low-effort climax when I hit "post" on a silly thing I wrote or linked or image-macro'd, and it gets all over your monitors. And then you might say something about it! It's great.

I would think the same way, up until I realized they were wholly unnecessary and actually lowered the quality of what I had to say. It is not that hard to turn a macro into a coherent sentence without even including any effort; creativity does not come prepackaged in neat colours on memes. Every meme starts with an original bit of information, and when memes become the primary form of communication - no new memes will arise.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

In a way, image macros and similar memes are an art of communication with a complex and rigorous formalism.

But not as most would know them. I claim not to know the full intricacies of the neckbeard nor the legbeard, but their ways are a far cry from rage comics and macros as can be.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

As long as we have ways to express what we want, I think we'll be fine.

Unless such ways prove to be insufficient in allowing full expression.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Most probably due to how the internet (given that it is the primary method of actually putting memetics in this sence, to work) is very open and free to young minds who cannot exactly discern the implicit difference between what is stated in the idea from what is the correct way of discourse. Exposure and all, without an alternative.

I shudder to think that there would be people who hold the power to command 'correct' discourse, this is just my ramblings. But again, I stress that there is a gulf of difference between how memes are used in the stale lands of 9gag, facebook, reddit and /b/ versus the content creating corners of the internet in the strangest forms of , /tg/, reddit, tumblr and /pol/. In the former where memes have become the primary method of communication - nothing new is made, everything is a clone. In a latter, new memes are created because dialogue comes from discourse first and foremost, or in tumblr's case doodles.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Language is a meme. Your move, LW.

UR MOVE MR LAW MAN

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I am of course, in constant moral panic about these things. Panic isn't the right word of course; I fear of these changes as a geriatric man would fear some new trend in hip clothing and of course hope they are as unsounded fears as that.

You must understand how these things go, firstly--why these happen.

Memes are easy, they require little thought to just punch in a statement into a generator and plast it into a well-recognized meme to gather the appropriate response with little regard to the actual content. No individual thought required.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

How loud one makes their message is how far it would be heard--I do believe that the lessening or deprecation of quality is at the same rate or a bit higher than years ago and not as quick as it is now, just a lot louder that more people are waking up to it.

Louder, with larger ripples - it started leeching from the internet into meatspace a long while ago and a notable deprecation in quality is evident; just look at media adverts, done by people who spend long chains of 0's in front of ones and dollar signs to find out what captures the attention best of viewers. Hence, epic memes.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

...You should mention that this thread is for [this country] or such in the title.

Ah, it's for none in particular; but this thread branched off from an Amurrican story posted in a Ukrainian thread, so there's just that little bit tying in the two conversations.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And for those of whom who cannot understand what I mean, allow me to express the above entirely in memes.

But you stated it concisely! D:

That's the point

[LeoLeonardoIII]

When you said larger ripples I misread as larger nipples. That is all.

[Loud Whispers]

What about the alarming tendency for people to respond via poll (or *cough* segue) when they either cannot or won't take the time to formulate a coherent response?

I am fond of my joke polls, and as has been pointed out you don't really have a choice; all three are the same in the eyes of the digital world. For all intents and purposes, this is the thread where I shall litter this forum with coherent responses.

When you said larger ripples I misread as larger nipples. That is all.

I actually foresaw that people would mistake them for large nipples, and found it acceptable.

[Yoink]

I enjoy memes. Even if they do begin to creep into everyday communication in a major way, well, it's certainly better than the grammar-less chat speak garbage the average brainless dipshit spews out on Facebook. At least this option has the possibility of adorable cats.