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16th Feb '13 10:07:45 AM justanid

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->''It's not news, it's Fark!''

Created by Drew Curtis in 1999, [[http://www.fark.com Fark.com]] is a community news aggregator with irreverant humor. Fark was inspired by Curtis' love for bizarre, unusual, or just plain stupid news stories. Before user-driven content was really the "in" thing, Fark was already allowing website viewers to nominate such articles for consideration.

Typically, a motivated "farker" will find an odd story somewhere online, think of a witty "headline" to list beside the link, and add one of a list of predefined "tags" that tell the reader what to expect. Only the best postings[[hottip:*:Here, "best" is defined by the administrators' personal and temporal whims]] make it to the main page, while lists of ''all'' submissions can be viewed by subscribing to the $5-per-month [=TotalFark=]. Consequently, having one's headline "greenlit" is a sign of [[BraggingRightsReward prestige]] among the farking community. Once a headline is posted, comments can be viewed and made, blog-style, by clicking on the number to the right of the posted headline.

Like everything else [[LongRunners that's lasted this long]], it's undergone a number of changes and evolutions, including the addition of daily (or semi-daily, or bi-daily) Photoshop contests, an "[[{{Defictionalization}} UltraFark]]" e-mail address, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking (of course)]] Creator/WilWheaton. It's a hotbed of MemeticMutation, and quite a few of the Internet's most memorable memes were, if not born, proliferated. It is one of the top 100 most visited English websites. That's some serious proliferation.

If you're considering farking for yourself, there are a few things you should remember: Fark is one of the more intelligent and wittier communities online, but it's not nearly as ''[[GoodIsNotNice nice]]'' as TVTropes. You'll probably get {{Troll}}ed, and [[InternetBackdraft flame wars]] break out almost hourly. A little research, thick skin, capitalization, and punctuation will go a long way if you plan on jumping in the deep end of the pool.

Or, you know, you can just make [[GagPenis oblique references]] to things like [[OrAreYouJustHappyToSeeMe "extensible markup language"]].

[[DontExplainTheJoke Penis.]]

Oh, and, yes, there [[http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-News-Fark-Media/dp/1592403662/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360447054&sr=8-1&keywords=fark is a book]].
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!!This website provides examples of:

* AGoodNameForARockBand: Happens every so often in the comments of the story.
* [[AllegedlyFreeGame Allegedly Free Site]]: [=TotalFark=] costs $5 a month; many such users look down upon "liters".
** Mainly because all of the trolls and shills are liters as they don't want to spent money.
* AscendedMeme: The catch-quotes at the top of the page as of the 2011 redesign. Examples include "Pricipal caught sayof" and "You'll get over it."
* BribingYourWayToVictory: [=TotalFark=] subscriptions enable viewers to peruse headlines not approved for posting on the main page... even though [[SturgeonsLaw most of them]] aren't that great.
* BerserkButton: Whatever you do, do NOT submit multiple newsflashes for a [[DontExplainTheJoke story about Phil Spector]].
** Farkers do not approve of Alternative Medicine or Anti-vaccination. They have a special hatred for Jenny [=McCarthy=], even though they drool over her tits.
* BlackComedy: Nothing is sacred there. (Except Fark itself, and the [[ParentalAbandonment founder, mods, and policies]] thereof. Step on those toes, and you'll find yourself on the [[FantasticCasteSystem wrong end]] of all manner of [[JerkAss dickery]].)
* CatchPhrase: Too many to list, but including "Duke sucks," "You'll get over it," and "Still no cure for cancer."
** [[http://www.fark.com/comments/6742322/Teacher-rapes-11-pupils-It-looks-like-they-should-have-puts-on-sunglasses-put-on-sunglasses-YEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH Case in point.]]
* DontExplainTheJoke: "Oh, it's funny because Drew went to Kentucky, and thus hates Duke and repeatedly says the phrase whenever they lose."
* [[YouCanPanicNow EVERYBODY PANIC]]
* FlameBait: The administrators (who approve the headlines) are mostly conservative. The readers are mostly liberal. What happens is exactly what you'd suspect.
** As of the most recent reset the admins and the readers are now both mostly liberal (except for Drew himself that is).
* GoldenMeanFallacy: Used so often by StrawmanPolitical "Fark Independents"[[note]]Farkers who say they're independent, but just happen to agree with Republicans on pretty much everything[[/note]], it garnered its own initialism: BSABSVR. That is, "Both sides are bad, so vote Republican."
* HereComesTheScience: Ben Affleck did an ad in the UK that featured the line, "Here comes the SCIENCE!" Fark got hold of it and a meme was born and that meme grew up and became a TropeNamer.
* HumanInterestStory: Usually accompanied by a "Sappy" tag and a headline mentioning [[SandInMyEyes how dusty it is in here]].
* HurricaneOfPuns: Comment threads often turn into one o' these.
* LOLCats: Especially on Caturday.
* MemeticMutation: In addition to memes harvested from the web as a whole, the on-site Photoshop contests allow viewers to watch memes mutate visually from day to day.[[invoked]]
** '''NIXON, YOU DOLT!'''
** I work for Fark, so I'm really getting a kick out of some of these replies ...
** This entry is so obvious that Ric Romero reported it
** RON PAUL does not approve of this foolishness.
** Your dog wants [[DontExplainTheJoke steak]].
* MoodWhiplash: The comments from users vary wildly from sympathetic to acerbic, no matter the topic.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Often enough as a headline, usually following; "Student/Citizen does (insert something [[HomestarRunner good or awesome]]) for his community/school. Person gets reward/scholarship for his deed. Just kidding! Person gets arrested/suspended."
** Also, "(insert mundane thing here)? That's a jailin'."[[note]]That's from ''TheSimpsons'' episode where old man Jasper tells the students doing pretty much anything at all is a paddlin'.[[/note]]
* NotSafeForWork: Links posted by some users are [[BrownNote damaging to sanity]].
* OnlyInFlorida: See AcceptableTargets.
* SarcasmFailure: Frequently accompanied by the "Newsflash" or "Sad" tags, momentous or solemn events are not posted with snark, but with simple, serious listings.
** [[http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4750813 Not]] [[http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4752739 always]] [[http://www.fark.com/cgi/comments.pl?IDLink=4510714 true]] (about the news flashes, at least)
** ...but most obituary threads fill up with "wrong" RIP wishes...including at least one for AbeVigoda. Or, more recently, A pic of Vigoda saying, "I'm still here, bitches".
* SarcasmMode: "Ugly-ass" [whatevers] as code for pictures of {{Ridiculously Cute Critter}}s.
* SchmuckBait: Lampshaded whenever a hot actress in very little clothing is featured. After that fact is stated, most headlines go off into CloudCuckooLand, surmising that the Farker has already clicked the link. Sometimes, this backfires: "and let this be a lesson to you to read the entire headline before clicking!"
* [[ScunthorpeProblem Scoonthorpe Problem]]: The fark filters have become in-jokes themselves.
* ShoutOut: At least one headline a day will be a not-so-hidden reference to *something*. More commonly, multiple ones will be.
* SophisticatedAsHell: The site, its founder, and most of the clientele.
** A brilliant example, from an October 2011 political thread:
-->"Or do you think that killing Glass-Steagall and instituting Graham-Leach-Bailey sprung fully-formed from some legislator's head like f*cking Pallas Athena?"
** [[http://www.fark.com/comments/7155620/77404387#c77404387 This comment,]] in a thread about the Spanish economy, uses the trope to great effect:
-->"Germany is doing pretty damned good, thanks to a mix of fiscal sensibility, employer subsidies, and broad-based government investment in the private economy. See also: Sweden. Or don't, because you might encounter the real [[PrecisionFStrike f*cking]] world, and the Hayekian dildo you've been riding so hard would break."
* SpellMyNameWithAnS / GannonBanned: Averted; the HiveMind over that way doesn't much care if you call them "farkers" or "Farkers."
** On the other hand, the {{Grammar Nazi}}s will hammer poorly spelled headlines.
* ToiletHumor: The built-in filter replaces "first comment" with "weeners," and "first post" with "boobies" for instance.
* TooDumbToLive: The "Dumbass" tag is normally given, although an actual death may use a different tag instead. 
* {{Troll}}: Notable for its collection of very bizarre trolls. One speaks in barely-understandable {{Engrish}} while yelling "LAUGHTER O EL", another makes over-the-top conservative rants filled with hidden references pertaining to a random theme (girl bands, Franchise/StarTrek episodes, etc.), yet another posts nothing but the word "APPROVES", followed by a link to a ShockSite that would make the Goatse guy blush. One more spends an entire day every few weeks writing a topic-specific limerick in every comments thread slated for the main front page. Another goes into every gun thread and tells the thread exactly how he plans to troll the thread and still gets bites. 
** And then, of course, there's Bevets, who goes into every thread tangentially related to evolution, posts a ton of pro-creationism quotes, and leaves. Though, thanks to PoesLaw, it's not known whether he's a troll or an actual proponent of what he espouses. Some even question whether he's a human or just a [[TuringTest quote mine-spewing bot]].
** Several Trolls have become memetic with some of their defenses..."I need to be at the gym in 26 minutes", "I'm traveling", "I've got a GED in law", etc.
*** And one Troll became a PhraseCatcher: '''"NIXON, YOU DOLT!!!"'''[[hottip:*:Context: A headline submitted quotes Michael Savage as saying he didn't know of any American President who had resigned the Presidency. Cue epic facepalm...then the Phrase Catching troll replies, "Fail? You guys better have another example than LBJ or Washington." Cue new meme.]]
** And then there's everyone's favorite Marine [[DontExplainTheJoke Core]] soldier. Semper fib.
** Drew and the other moderators have been known to troll the entire site from time to time. During the SOPA/PIPA debates, the moderators stated that Fark was going to "white out" in support of the bills. After much flaming by the farkers, the site posted a video calling SOPA wrong and evil. That's world-class trolling.
** Drew has also been known to post headlines in ALL CAPS berating Farkers for their pissing matches in the "Politics" tab, and telling them to go outside. These episodes tend to coincide with the nights Drew (admittedly) downs a bit too much Heineken. 
** There are a few well-known users who post a lengthy, seemingly-related anecdote in a thread, but as you continue reading it becomes clear that [[TheMunchausen they're making the whole thing up]] or that the entire preceding argument is satire. A new user unfamiliar with them will usually believe them.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: The community might kill over bacon and beer. Well, bacon, anyway. They'll ''definitely'' kill over beer.
* WorldOfPun: At least one approved article each day will be of this kind.
** In addition to the lame puns in the headlines themselves, the tags are sometimes subject to punning: "Sappy" (TastesLikeDiabetes) on a story about trees, "Asinine" (TooDumbToLive) on one about rear-ends, "Weeners" (normally reserved for MrFanservice) on one about sausages or Dachshunds, "Plug" (normally used for paid links) on stories about plumbing or electrical mishaps, etc.
** Headlines with SarahJessicaParker or JuliaRoberts will invariably have a [[HollywoodHomely horse pun]] thrown in. [[DontExplainTheJoke See, it's funny because their faces are elongated and their teeth are prominent, not unlike a horse.]]
* Creator/WilWheaton: Dude's got ''his'' own tag, too. Fortunately, he's saner than [[OnlyInFlorida Florida]].
* WouldntHurtAChild: For all that Fark has a cynical heart as cold as space and twice as dark, jokes about kids getting hurt or killed do ''not'' go over well.
* [[YetAnotherBabyPanda Yet Another Ugly-Ass Baby Panda]]
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9th Feb '13 1:58:31 PM JMQwilleran

Send JMQwilleran a PM notification explaining the badness of natter: natter-fy

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4th Jan '13 9:51:58 AM Chariset

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2nd Jan '13 9:43:23 PM aoirann