Poll: There is science in forums

[Rawker]

I visit a site fairly regularly called www.funnyjunk.com, just to get a chuckle every now and then. I was on for an expanded period one evening when I read a comment from some one who hadn't signed on simply stating . "Fat Ben made poop." There were no indications to who Fat Ben was, or why he "made poop." only that he had. I casually shrugged it off as another idiot who found out how the keyboard works. I continue on through the the pictures and videos they had and noticed that Fat Ben had posted the same comment on other items. I was bored that evening so I counted the number of posts he had made. there were 10 videos and 20 pictures he had posted on.

Later on that week I returned to the site, and noticed more Fat Ben posts, except they were random accounts who had posted, not the random guy before. About 3 days past, and I return to the site. As I sifted through the pictures, I noticed some one had posted a picture stating "F@*k Fat Ben." This is were it all went wrong.

People began posting post and more Fat Ben comments, and more and more people made Anti-Fat Ben pictures. People were claiming they KNEW Fat Ben, and they posted phone numbers of who to call and complain to. People tried to imitate him, saying "Skinny Jane made Pee." People were complaining that the site needed moderators, or that they needed a judging system. People were going insane over a total of 30 comments from the original poster.

As a bystander, I just like to step back and laugh at these tools fight a war against SPAM. I feel as though I have conducted science by writing this, as I call it theFat Ben Theory. Look for it in the latest psychology book you read.

Fat Ben Theory (n.)-A small viral annoyance in which a small number defend, and a small number protect a menial gesture due to mixed emotions on both sides, while both sides grow in increasingly large popularity to the point in which a battle still occurs, yet the true intentions have been lost.

 

[Pandalisk]

I wonder if i cursed the name of Him here, would the same thing happen? I say we test it! FOR SCIENCE!..

 

[WhiteTiger225]

This is more "Mob Mentality" then "Fat Ben Theory"

Remember "It only takes one"

I trip and hit my knee, shouting "FUCK!" behind a camera woman who was speaking about the latest nationally important murder trial. It first makes it as a single complaint letter on the news. That's it... for that day. Then someone sends a letter (Or writes an editorial) stating how the complainer was wrong in accusing me of doing such things on purpose. Another person says "Well why does such nonsense matter anyways even if it was on purpose?" Now what we have, are three view points, and people onlooking who are nodding along to things they hear. These people have now been elected avatars of the people who think the same, by the people, and the opposers morph from opposing viewpoints, to outright enemies. Basically as things go on, more and more people come out of the woodwork, claiming how this subject matters to the nation, and soon, we have people twisting the debate into wether or not freedom of speech should truly be allowed. Then it morphs on from there.

Want an example? Look how gay rights originally popped up, and see how the original debate went from "Is preventing gays from marrying unconstitutional?" all the way too "HOMOSEXUALS ARE PEDOPHILES AND THE BIGGEST THREAT TO AMERICA!"

 

[Sonicron]

Honest to God, I've seen something like this in real life.

I was caught in rush hour traffic and had to wait a few minutes before finally passing a particular traffic light. At one point when the light turned green, the car at the front of the endlessly long column of cars didn't budge, which led to the guy behind the slow poke starting to shout obscenities. Suddenly the guy behind that one started an argument with the first aggressor, and more and more people piped in...
In the end we all missed at least one green light phase because of the argument that had broken out over the guy not reacting to the traffic light - except for the guy himself, who had already made tracks, which the others didn't even notice because they were too busy shouting at each other.

 

[Spacelord]

This is known as an internet meme.

Welcome to the internet, young'un.

 

[Rawker]

okay, so maybe I didn't quite discover it, but damn it I feel like the only who can point this out.

I will also be testing and logging my results on various websites. fingers crossed.

 

[Knight Templar]

I remember how a well respected member of our community had fallen into the habit of make large and well thought out posts, that on random words linked to a pictures of cute kittens.
People went crazy, eventualy the person decided it was a problem that he could fix and stoped adding the links.

I've seen much stranger things than a joke told because it used to be funny. People who tell a joke they don't think is funny to people who don't think it's funny isn't strange to me anymore. Thanks internet!