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Does anyone else out there find themselves having less patience the older they get with regard to "Meme Culture?"

I work as an administrator at a small US college and I can tell you first hand, memes are starting to become so pervasive that they're showing up in every day speech now. The younglings are terrible when it comes to the spread of new memes, often times overusing them to the point of exhaustion. The more time passes, the crankier I've become with regards to how much I can tolerate these memes. A fine example related to this forum is the current controversy with regard to the new Sangunius model. In less than four minutes this morning, I've seen half a dozen stupid joke memes about the model pass my desk.

It really is starting to feel like people cannot have a normal conversation anymore. They have to resort to a meme to get a point across, especially in debates. Heck, I've even caught myself doing it from time to time and I wasn't even really conscious that I was doing it.

Am I just getting old, or has this meme thing really solidified itself into the culture in a negative way?

Doesn't bother me. In practical terms, they're just a new form of idiom, and we use those relentlessly, most often without realising.

You're getting old.

Certain meme culture parts are blending into reality and some of them can be annoying. Most of that is just stemming from "Heh i don't take anything seriously." Which really puts a damper on personal relationships when someone doesn't take anything seriously and they live in their own world of isolationism. (had a few that were like this but that was a programming school so mileage might vary)

I like Memes, i love reading them, i like laughing at them, but with anything its good in moderation.

I agree completely. It has become very tiresome. There are forum groups I have been a member of for quite some time. I have started leaving a number of them. There used to be discussion, and good information. They have all devolved into endless memes. They aren't clever, they aren't funny. Just, tiresome.

What do you meme?



.... it is just a modification of communication. Communication is a living and breathing process that evolves. It is totally normal for this to happen.

That being said, as an oldster, I have a hard time keeping up.

 Avatar 720 wrote:
You're getting old.

This.

Soon you'll be complaining on how there is nothing good on the TV and that its either "Modern rubbish" or "Seen it before". Then comes the rants about how life was better back then; then there's statements like "Before the Millennium". Then other changes start happening. You start to WANT new socks and slippers for Christmas (every christmas); you'll feel drafts everywhere.

The only cure is either a life crisis and buying a big flashy sports car; suddenly renouncing all your possessions and joining a new age cult or starting a new Warhammer Army.

Togusa wrote:The younglings are terrible

Avatar 720 wrote:You're getting old.

We have a winner, ladies and gents!

To be fair though, there is a lot more stupidity in memes now than there used to be. So I find myself less amused by them as well. Then again, I am also getting older.

It does seem as though the memes themselves have gotten less creative, and more abstract. I'm all for a good laugh, or a good image macro with cleaver wording on it.

But it just seems like everything is driven by memes on the internet these days. Nothing goads me harder than when I'm trying to have a discussion about something, and the only responses I get are meme pictures, instead of reasoned arguments.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Overread wrote:

 Avatar 720 wrote:
You're getting old.

This.

Soon you'll be complaining on how there is nothing good on the TV and that its either "Modern rubbish" or "Seen it before". Then comes the rants about how life was better back then; then there's statements like "Before the Millennium". Then other changes start happening. You start to WANT new socks and slippers for Christmas (every christmas); you'll feel drafts everywhere.

The only cure is either a life crisis and buying a big flashy sports car; suddenly renouncing all your possessions and joining a new age cult or starting a new Warhammer Army.

That new GSC codex is coming out soon isn't it? Hmmm.

I find the rising trend of "chan" behavior outside of the actual chan family of websites to be kind of annoying. Memes aren't fun when they're literally your only contribution to the community and every response boils down to retreading old ground. I'm glad most of the forums I actively use either don't suffer it or actively have a "no chan posts" rule.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, then a meme is worth... like 1005?

It's just like any other creative medium. Someone does something clever with effort and a bunch of far less talented people replicate it. We just live in an age where the internet gives everyone a global platform, so all of the sub par knock offs are constantly in view. The internet has essentially become one of those lovely beaches where someone is constantly trying to sell you a counterfeit Spiderman figure.

You aren't just getting old, you already have gotten old.
My condolences.

 Togusa wrote:
The younglings are terrible when it comes to the spread of new memes, often times overusing them to the point of exhaustion.

That has always been the case with memes. The only reason you don't remember it being so annoying when you were 13 years old is because you were the kid pestering his friends about how hilarious it was that Mr T ate your balls.

It has gotten out of hand at least for some people.

I'm good friends with some people I know from college - we've all gone on a little bit in our lives, I moved across the country, but we still have a group FB chat and keep up with each others lives. We're still friends in a meaningful way.

The other day one of the chat members invited in some guy they had become friends with who immediately started spamming just memes. It was annoying when I'm trying to see how everyone's doing and I have to scroll past a bunch of "hurr cheesburga so funny' meme junk pics.

I mean it's contextual, there's def. times when it's humorous but this sort of epitomized how memes can just be noise drowning out actual discussion.

 Togusa wrote:
Am I just getting old

Yes. Your parents found everything you enjoyed just as exasperating and juvenile.

 ScarletRose wrote:
It has gotten out of hand at least for some people.

I'm good friends with some people I know from college - we've all gone on a little bit in our lives, I moved across the country, but we still have a group FB chat and keep up with each others lives. We're still friends in a meaningful way.

The other day one of the chat members invited in some guy they had become friends with who immediately started spamming just memes. It was annoying when I'm trying to see how everyone's doing and I have to scroll past a bunch of "hurr cheesburga so funny' meme junk pics.

I mean it's contextual, there's def. times when it's humorous but this sort of epitomized how memes can just be noise drowning out actual discussion.

Point and case every thread about Alpharius turns into "I'm alpharius", I get its funny, But TTS (specifically to 40k) is the 40k equalivent of animemes. Its a joke. The whole thing is just misconstruction of lore to make a joke.

Some of it was true lore, most if not most of all the things they talk about aren't in the lore anymore or have been retconned completely.

It has ruined many good discussions especially when it comes to the dark angels, ultramarines, or the alpha legion.

Its horrible reading through the same repeated joke "Oh dark angels are traitors teehehehee." Before I just hit the ban button on most people who make that joke unironically.

 Asherian Command wrote:

 ScarletRose wrote:
It has gotten out of hand at least for some people.

I'm good friends with some people I know from college - we've all gone on a little bit in our lives, I moved across the country, but we still have a group FB chat and keep up with each others lives. We're still friends in a meaningful way.

The other day one of the chat members invited in some guy they had become friends with who immediately started spamming just memes. It was annoying when I'm trying to see how everyone's doing and I have to scroll past a bunch of "hurr cheesburga so funny' meme junk pics.

I mean it's contextual, there's def. times when it's humorous but this sort of epitomized how memes can just be noise drowning out actual discussion.

Point and case every thread about Alpharius turns into "I'm alpharius", I get its funny, But TTS (specifically to 40k) is the 40k equalivent of animemes. Its a joke. The whole thing is just misconstruction of lore to make a joke.

Some of it was true lore, most if not most of all the things they talk about aren't in the lore anymore or have been retconned completely.

It has ruined many good discussions especially when it comes to the dark angels, ultramarines, or the alpha legion.

Its horrible reading through the same repeated joke "Oh dark angels are traitors teehehehee." Before I just hit the ban button on most people who make that joke unironically.

Good points from everyone in the thread, but I'm not just talking about fun stuff. I'm seeing tons of memes pop up in political discourse, religion, higher education, etc.

It sometimes feels as though people boil very deep and difficult topics down to "insert meme here" views. The "chan post" as someone put it.

 Togusa wrote:
. A fine example related to this forum is the current controversy with regard to the new Sangunius model. In less than four minutes this morning, I've seen half a dozen stupid joke memes about the model pass my desk.

Well, 40k memes are a bit of an egregious example as most of them are gak. They're the same 4 or 5 gakky "jokes" repeated over and over again and they weren't even funny the first time.

It's wonderful

I'm also a decade + user on 4chan

 Grimtuff wrote:

 Togusa wrote:
. A fine example related to this forum is the current controversy with regard to the new Sangunius model. In less than four minutes this morning, I've seen half a dozen stupid joke memes about the model pass my desk.

Well, 40k memes are a bit of an egregious example as most of them are gak. They're the same 4 or 5 gakky "jokes" repeated over and over again and they weren't even funny the first time.

Yeah, I really grow tired of the leiutenant comments, and I'm glad that the plastic thunderhawk, sister of battle crap has ceased.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Stevefamine wrote:
It's wonderful

I'm also a decade + user on 4chan

Memes can be a fun thing for anyone to use. When it comes to interjecting them into daily life, into job interviews and so on, that's when I start to grow a bit concerned.

 Togusa wrote:

 Grimtuff wrote:

 Togusa wrote:
. A fine example related to this forum is the current controversy with regard to the new Sangunius model. In less than four minutes this morning, I've seen half a dozen stupid joke memes about the model pass my desk.

Well, 40k memes are a bit of an egregious example as most of them are gak. They're the same 4 or 5 gakky "jokes" repeated over and over again and they weren't even funny the first time.

Yeah, I really grow tired of the leiutenant comments, and I'm glad that the plastic thunderhawk, sister of battle crap has ceased.

Nah, now we're stuck with Abaddon having no arms (Look at me! I'm a fethwit who doesn't know how to use glue! I'm so fething funneh! ) and Dorn having a moustache. A cursory glance at r/warhammer40k will see so many people making poor attempts at humour. Oh look at me, I spilled a pot of paint- I'm a freaking moron and for some reason need to catalogue this event on the internet.

I just ignore those making note of who does as generally those who use those are not worth wasting time reading anyway

I vote we rename the thread "Grumpy old Gamers", plant a lawn and continue!

 Togusa wrote:

 Asherian Command wrote:

 ScarletRose wrote:
It has gotten out of hand at least for some people.

I'm good friends with some people I know from college - we've all gone on a little bit in our lives, I moved across the country, but we still have a group FB chat and keep up with each others lives. We're still friends in a meaningful way.

The other day one of the chat members invited in some guy they had become friends with who immediately started spamming just memes. It was annoying when I'm trying to see how everyone's doing and I have to scroll past a bunch of "hurr cheesburga so funny' meme junk pics.

I mean it's contextual, there's def. times when it's humorous but this sort of epitomized how memes can just be noise drowning out actual discussion.

Point and case every thread about Alpharius turns into "I'm alpharius", I get its funny, But TTS (specifically to 40k) is the 40k equalivent of animemes. Its a joke. The whole thing is just misconstruction of lore to make a joke.

Some of it was true lore, most if not most of all the things they talk about aren't in the lore anymore or have been retconned completely.

It has ruined many good discussions especially when it comes to the dark angels, ultramarines, or the alpha legion.

Its horrible reading through the same repeated joke "Oh dark angels are traitors teehehehee." Before I just hit the ban button on most people who make that joke unironically.

Good points from everyone in the thread, but I'm not just talking about fun stuff. I'm seeing tons of memes pop up in political discourse, religion, higher education, etc.

It sometimes feels as though people boil very deep and difficult topics down to "insert meme here" views. The "chan post" as someone put it.

Memes have no place in discussions or serious topics, it comes off as disingenious and rude honestly. (I'm young too and i think there is a time place for everything) If i am talking about the Sacking of Constantinople or the fall of rome I'm not going to use memes to describe my point.

This is the same problem I have with most 40k memers is that they can't tell the difference between actual lore and TTS or memes. (Emperor Text to Speech being aggressively used as a reference point for some discussions in the past).

Its basically like taking the monty python and the life of brain for the bible. While a great source material and filled with humor, its not the real thing.

I don't see a problem with it. Just a different form of communication, based off of a concept that the users of the meme understand.

Sure, they can be inappropriate in certain situations, and can grow tiresome, but so can every idiom, phrase, simile or metaphor. The fact is, it's become a very popular format of communicating an idea, usually a joke, and into a format anyone with knowledge of the meme's meaning can appreciate, and that kind of format is understandably popular in an increasingly global society.

If it gets too much for you, move to europe. I believe there is a strong movement to ban memes there.

Or was that a meme?

The problem with memes as a form of communication is that they depend on the assumption of a shared cultural heritage.

For example, there are currently many memes using clips from Game of Thrones. These are meaningless to anyone who has't watched Game of Thrones. Plus, unlike an unfamiliar phrase in English or a foreign language, they can't be looked up. You have to have watched the programme to know the background which gives the particular character and situation its meaning which extends to the meme.

In this respect memes perform a similar function to jargon and slang, defining an "in group" and excluding an "out group". In other words, the point of memes is not to facilitate communication, it is to limit communication to the initiated.

Of course this depends on context. If I put a Space Marine meme into Dakkadakka, I have a reasonable belief that members of the forum are aware of the fluff background of Space Marines. This is the shared cultural experience which gives the meme meaning, If I go and put the same meme into a Daily Mail discussion thread about vaccines, it won't be any use.

Finally, here is a comic about language.

Memes honestly are just kinda......lame and they seeped into everything.
The problem with memes is they really kinda took over lexicon. I was debating with someone and they said "well leftist don't have good memes" and that was their argument....that's all.
And they get....tiresome. I have a FB friend who calls himself a memelord And he constantly shares the same jokes, as if repretion is funny

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Memes honestly are just kinda......lame and they seeped into everything.
The problem with memes is they really kinda took over lexicon. I was debating with someone and they said "well leftist don't have good memes" and that was their argument....that's all.
And they get....tiresome. I have a FB friend who calls himself a memelord And he constantly shares the same jokes, as if repretion is funny

What? Leftists don't have good memes? What kind of ridiculous opinion is that! We have the best memes! We seize all the memes of production!

The spamming of memes is a problem though. Memes are fun, but if they get overused they quickly lose their value.

I had someone tell me that clearly I didn't understand memes, and that i wasn't intelligent enough to comprehend his jokes. If a joke is bad its bad end of story.