Humor on the web & how to stop it

Humor on the web is largely performative rather than meant to amuse, according to this essay on social software design. The author argues that humor online serves to prove worth, intelligence, belonging or superiority, a pattern traced to an "Internet citizenry" that formed among people who felt rejected offline. Memes and catchphrases act as credentials of in-group membership, and parody answers on sites like Quora are described as attempts at validation rather than help. The author also suggests that community builders who ignore these factions, citing the Chevy Tahoe "Make your own ad" campaign, the Time 100 4chan stunt and Mr Splashypants, have run into trouble.