Explain the meme's.

[Stewie7Griffin]

Okay, I don't go to 4chan, so there are a lot of memes that I understand, but I don't understand why people use them or where it started. I, personally, find memes to be highly annoying. If you care to tell me the origin, or reason why it is done, of the following, feel free.

Face palm: I cannot stand seeing people use this as a statement.

Example:
Larry: Phsychology is spelled with an 'S' right?
Joe: No, it's spelled with a 'Phs'.
Larry: But it makes the -insert 's' sound- sound and not the -insert f sound- sound the 'ph' makes.
Joe: Face palm.

In Soviet Russia: This makes no sense.

Something.jpg: I don't get this one. People add .jpg, .bmp, or .avi to the end of random statements.

I just don't understand why people use these. :/

*EDIT* Also, feel free to add others to this list.

[cedolad]

cause they think it's cool.

I actually facepalm when I say "facepalm"...soooooooooo

[Stewie7Griffin]

Another one I don't understand is people putting unfunny quotes other users made as their signatures.

[Superfreak04]

Facepalm = to a dramatic(As you put your hand on your head) *sigh*, "Wow you're a ****ing idiot"

Get it?

[ichliebekase]

Well, I can say that for the quotes as signatures, mine is because I posted a milestone and that's what rushy had said to me.

I also literally face palm when I say it, but I rarely say it as it is.

Some people are just odd. You learn to live with the people in your family, thus you learn to live with the FFR family.

[DossarLX ODI]

nope.avi is a rude way of saying "nope" on Team Fortress forums.

Facepalm just means "I'm disgusted" basically.

For signatures, I agree it's a bit pointless since it's usually overboard.

[bmah]

Facepalm should be self-explanatory: in real life, when someone does a facepalm, they're disappointed at you for whatever reason, be it you failed a test or you got drunk and went into the girl's bathroom.

"In Soviet Russia _____ you!" I can't remember if it came from a specific image or whether it was the idea of being communist in the first place that the meme started. The only thing I know is that the ideas as a Soviet (and implicitly thus the ideas of a communist) is generally contradictory towards "normal" or "capitalistic" views (in north america). So I'm pretty sure this phrase can be used in a situation that displays some sort of absurdity. I guess this meme is supposed to be somewhat humorous when used properly.

The last one actually depends on what you're referring to. If you're talking about "nope.avi", this is actually a popular video posted on youtube of a man extending his neck and saying "nope". All in all, it's rather hilarious to watch it, and at the same time can be an alternative way of disagreeing with someone on the forums. And I don't know whether this video or some other set off a trend, but now people seem to be adding media file extensions at the end of phrases and words as a result. Doesn't really mean anything.

[Stewie7Griffin]

I understand the Facepalm concept, I just think it's overused.

[Superfreak04]

Originally Posted by Stewie7Griffin

I understand the Facepalm concept, I just think it's overused.

Probably overused since most people on forums are trolls, or can just be a complete nuisance. A lot of flaming may occur, so that can be a reason a facepalm may be used, or if someone is just trolling, or the fact that people just truly are idiots and shouldn't be posting on a forum.

[Xx{Midnight}xX]

Originally Posted by Stewie7Griffin

Another one I don't understand is people putting unfunny quotes other users made as their signatures.

Originally Posted by ichliebekase

Well, I can say that for the quotes as signatures, mine is because I posted a milestone and that's what rushy had said to me.

^ this is rarely the case.

Usually I quote things people say to me to piss them off. Example: 3/4 of the quotes in my Siggy.

The fourth one is because that guys is awesome

[Rubin0]

"In Soviet Russia..." is actually an ongoing joke from a comedian from the 80's. He was a Russian immigrant who gained fame with the "In Soviet Russia..." jokes. Just since you were wondering and all...it's like one of those things that stops being funny after you say it a few times but if you wait like 10 years it's really funny again. Like on FFR, it is no longer funny after that guy made that thread a few months ago, but people are still trying to use it and are failing.

[Izzy]

The .jpg thing comes from image boards where people are to lazy to browse for a particular image.

[LJRoX]

Lol my quote in my sig is self explanatory.

[devonin]

The "In Soviet Russia" thing was a joke by a Ukrainian comedian named Yakov Smirnoff. The original joke was "In America you can always find a party, In Soviet Russia, party finds YOU"

His comedy is actually pretty funny, and the majority of memetic uses of the "In Soviet Russia" joke are pretty bad.

[duddychuck@yahoo.com]

Does it matter?

[MrGiggles]

facepalm.jpg

edit: drummin.avi

[FuzenAkuma]

I've never seen anyone just say "facepalm" as a statement. I always see it like *facepalm* or /facepalm or something like that.

[Ground_Breaker]

Originally Posted by Stewie7Griffin

I just don't understand why people use these. :/

They're no different than any other word or phrase that evolves in a language over time. Another example of this concept would be the acceptance of Google (which is obviously the name of a corporation and search engine) as having a verb form. I use the term "acceptance" rather loosely...I would not recommend using Google as a verb in a formal paper, for example, but in everyday conversation, you will likely not come across someone who is extremely offended by this usage.

This is the reality of language. It constantly evolves, and as an English major, I find it far more productive to adapt to the evolution of language in a general sense, rather than to fight it.

Of course, we are on an internet forum, and as such, you will on average see far more laziness, abbreviations, and shorthand than in any other medium of communication (outside of text messaging, perhaps). As stated earlier in the thread, "facepalm" or "/facepalm" is something people now say on the internet as shorthand for, "I believe that the action you have previously committed is foolish or silly." Most of the other words or phrases you bring up can be attributed to this process as well.

[irishknight]

Originally Posted by Stewie7Griffin

Something.jpg: I don't get this one. People add .jpg, .bmp, or .avi to the end of random statements.
.

Haven't heard of that one. I've seen trollface.jpg and foreveralone.jpg used more frequently if anything. All good laughs. Gotta love the memes.

[bmah]

Originally Posted by Ground_Breaker

This is the reality of language. It constantly evolves, and as an English major, I find it far more productive to adapt to the evolution of language in a general sense, rather than to fight it.

Personally, I find it enriching for language to evolve and diversify our way of speaking and communicating ideas. It's more interesting than to stick with the same old.