Fark

"Fark" redirects here. For other uses, see FARK.

File:Fark screenshot.png

Screenshot of the Fark.com page from February 26, 2006. The top link represents the most recent item added to the queue

Fark.com is a community website created by Drew Curtis allowing users to comment on a daily batch of news articles and other items from various websites. Links are submitted by Fark members, which are then approved for posting on the main page by admins.

TotalFark.com is a premium version of Fark. Members are able to see, and comment on, all submitted articles (not just "greenlighted" articles on the main page). TotalFark requires a monthly fee to join, unlike "Fark Lite", or "PartialFark," which is free. Members of TotalFark have established an online community and frequently participate in "TotalFark discussions", which are submitted links not meant to be greenlighted, but rather commented and discussed by TotalFark members only.

Fark.com also features regular "Photoshop contests" where users use a graphical editing program (such as Adobe Photoshop, from which the contest draws its name, or GIMP) to create various funny pictures derived from an image provided by the creator of the contest, or less commonly, according to a set theme as set out in written form.

History

Originally, the web server on Drew Curtis' fark.com domain contained no content, except for an image of a squirrel with large testicles. Later, in 1999, the site introduced what would evolve into its current format, as a way for Curtis to share what he considered interesting news postings with his friends rather than sending them numerous emails. Features such as link submission and forums have slowly been added over the years, as popularity and participation grew.

The term "farking" was originally intended as a euphemism for the verb, "fuck". However, it has also come to refer to websites that have stopped responding due to a high load after being linked to from fark.com. Particularly small websites referenced by Fark headlines are often "farked", meaning that their servers have received so much traffic that they have stopped responding completely (See also: Slashdot effect).

Fark and Something Awful have been engaged in a friendly rivalry of sorts, culminating in a Photoshop Contest between the two sites, judged by celebrity Wil Wheaton. Contrary to popular belief, there actually is no real rivalry between Fark.com and Something Awful. This rivalry was propagated mostly as an inside joke by Lowtax, the owner of Something Awful. The joke comes from the fact that Drew and Lowtax are close friends, and that Fark.com and Something Awful share some of the same readership.

There are certain sites which Fark.com will not link to, such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, or Ananova.com. The reason for not linking to the New York Times and Washington Post is that these sites require a user registration. Submitting any link which requires registration is frowned upon by the Fark community. Members can post links to the New York Times or the Washington Post in the forums during a discussion, but may not submit these links directly through the queue.

Fark does not link to Ananova because the website had posted Fark's headlines without giving credit in addition to posting many inaccurate articles. Ananova was receiving a great deal of traffic due to Fark's links while refusing to acknowledge Fark and reciprocate the gesture. While Ananova denied using Fark's headlines, Drew specifically put a few "fake" links on the main page which Ananova then posted. Drew then decided not to accept links from their website.

Fark has often been criticized for running headlines and articles that are politically biased. However, they are accused of having both a conservative and a liberal bias. Drew has stated that rather than trying to keep it in the middle, admins enjoy running both far-left and far-right articles. The top four hated "groups" on Fark.com are (in no particular order) PETA, Catholic priests, the French, and Duke University, according to founder Drew Curtis.

Fark has been accused of selling preferential placement of story links on the main page. Drew responded to this by saying he had considered selling links he was already going to post to servers that could handle the bandwidth, such as CNN or ABC. He claims the only type of links that are paid are some of the adult content (usually "boobies") links, and are clearly labelled as being sponsored. He also claims that thus far all sponsored links have been clearly labelled adult content links to ensure the links are trojan-free, spam-free, and spyware-free. Adult content links that aren't labelled as sponsored links are not paid for and were submitted by individual users. According to Drew, there is currently nothing in the works to sell links to sites such as AP, CNN, or anyone else. During a discussion in a forum on such accusations, the moderators would repeatedly delete comments that questioned whether this was for or against Fark.com philosophy.

Many people also complain that Fark will not publish their link to their main page or "greenlight" their articles. All of the links submitted on Fark.com are submitted by individual users and are approved based on content by administrators. Articles that are posted to the main page are selected based on the content of the article, how funny the headline is, and sometimes how much bandwidth usage the site can handle. The administrators will never greenlight an article because they were emailed and asked to do so.

Tags

File:Fark Tags.png

An example of article tags used by fark.com.

The signature of Fark has always been the "tags" given to stories by submitters - e.g. stupid, interesting, dumbass, etc. - that are displayed prominently alongside often witty headlines and a link to a forum to discuss that specific article. Articles discussing Wil Wheaton are given the "Wheaton" tag. Articles discussing Christopher Walken are given the "Walken" tag, though Walken has never participated on Fark. Tags that say "advice" or "survey" are used for discussion threads where comments are often voted upon. So many headlines were contributed about the state of Florida that it received its own tag as well. Tags that say "photoshop", "audioedit" or "videoedit" are used for threads where digital content is edited for a humorous or artistic effect.

Tags that say "boobies" or "weeners" are used to post adult content or discussions, although recently "weeners" have faded away almost entirely and "boobies" have been diverted to Foobies.com, in order for Fark.com to be more acceptable to a wider variety of advertisers. At the early stages of Foobies.com, "weeners" would appear occasionally. Sometimes, "Foobies.com" links that were considered safe for work would appear on the main page.

Finally, the news tag (and newsflash for even more important news) is used for news which is a matter of important breaking news, and an email is sent to the administrators notifying them that someone has submitted a "Newsflash". Members are told to use this tag very sparingly and only for matters of extremely important breaking news. All of the links that are posted on Fark are submitted by users and "greenlighted" by unpaid administrators or Drew Curtis himself. The administrators are personal friends of Drew, as are the moderators. The tags next to the articles represent the submitter's feelings on that article and do not necessarily represent the views of Fark or the administrator who greenlighted the article.

Next to an article on Fark appears a number in parentheses, such as (105). Clicking on this number goes to the discussion about the article. The number in parentheses is the number of comments users have made. The discussion part of the thread is where readers are encouraged to comment, discuss, and often argue the content of the link. When the number of comments accumulate to various larger numbers, the number changes into something humorous such as "(∞)", "(ℵ₀)","(π)" or even "(√-1)".

Farkisms and clichés

The original engraving of an image that has been modified many times.

Fark's comments threads are often smattered with "Farkisms" or "FARK.com clichés" (essentially, in-jokes) which are an integral part of the community culture and used in myriad discussions at the website, regardless of whether they apply to the topic at hand. Many of these clichés are not exclusive to Fark. A few examples include:

• / (slash) – Best thought of as a combination of "postscript" and the /me command from IRC, a tongue-in-cheek reference to closing tags in HTML; posts often have several rows at the end.
• Abe Vigoda – Numerous joking references are made to Vigoda, mostly about his vital status (i.e. whether he is alive or dead). The joke derives from a People article from 1982 which erroneously declared him dead. When Fark.com won the naming rights to the TD Banknorth Garden for a day, they attempted to name it the Abe Vigoda Memorial Center. Some users have references to the article on their user profile page; one example is the username "Abe Vigoda's Ghost".
• Admiral Ackbar's "It's a trap!" – Line from Return of the Jedi.
• Aisle seat – As in, "I'll take an aisle seat." References that the commenter is going to hell after posting an offensive joke. Alternately, the commenter can request a window seat.
• Asshat – A euphemism for the NSFW term "asshole". Probably popularized by director Kevin Smith.
• Domo-kun – An odd-looking Japanese TV channel mascot, often appearing in Photoshop contests.
• Duke sucks – Drew Curtis is from Kentucky and thus hates Duke Basketball with a passion because of the 1992 East Regional Final in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, which Duke won at the last moment in double-overtime.
• [fap fap fap] – the sound created by a masturbating male, often accompanies pictures or discussions of attractive women.
• Flying Spaghetti Monster – aka "FSM." Often used to mock "Intelligent Design" arguments.
• France surrenders – Frequently used in news related to the country/People of France or of a military nature, e.g. "US declares war on Iraq, France surrenders." A reference to the rapid surrender of France to Nazi forces in World War II. This is a variation of a theme found in The Onion's Our Dumb Century, which is a collection of fake newspaper articles supposedly published all across the 20th century. One of the jokes is that every time there's a war (World War I, II, Vietnam, etc) the words 'French Surrender' follow the headline.
• HA! HA! guy – a.k.a. the "Laughing Quaker", or "Ha! Ha! I'm using the internet" picture. First appearing with said original message, it has become increasingly popular to edit the phrase after "ha-ha" to say myriad varying thread-specific phrases.
• Heineken looter guy – from the semi-famous Hurricane Katrina aftermath picture.
• Here comes the science – Originally uttered by actor Ben Affleck and actress Jennifer Aniston in L'Oreal shampoo commercials aired in the UK.
• The Internets – Reference to President Bush making the following statement: "I hear there's rumors on the internets that we're going to have a draft." Often written in the 'voice' of someone ignorant of Internet culture (i.e. IN ALL CAPS), or used on purpose (i.e. like saying 'nucular' instead of nuclear)
• I Work For – I work for (insert company name); So I am really getting a kick out of most of these replies. Some of you guys are very good at making it sound like you know what you are talking about. But trust me.... You don't. I think you just want to make yourself sound smart, when in reality you don't know what you are talking about. This is how bad info gets passed around. If you dont know about the topic....Dont make yourself sound like you do. Cos some (insert target group) believe anything they hear. Originated in a thread about spyware.
• Jailarity ensues – Used when writing headlines for stupid criminal stories. Jail + hilarity = jailarity.
• Killing kittens – A euphemism for masturbation, in reference to the Internet phenomenon "Every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten."
• Moran – Misspelling of moron, referring to a well-known picture of a redneck holding two signs saying "Get a brain! Morans" and "Go USA", in response to anti-war activists protesting the US invasion of Iraq. The image was originally taken at a Boeing plant in Saint Charles, Missouri shortly after the war began in March, 2003.
• French newscaster Mélissa Theuriau – Often in conjunction with the line, "Got nothing."
• Mustard Man – A picture of a large man standing in what appears to be a kitchen holding a large jar of mustard, in which he seems to have previously buried both of his arms up to the elbows. Enterprising bloggers were able to find Mustard Man and determined that he is actually a Toronto comedian named Mike 'Nug' Nahrgang.
• Not News: (a common problem) News: (a solution to the problem) Fark.com: (Something odd about the solution) Example: [2]
• "O RLY?" Owl – Short for "Oh, really?" is a popular Internet phenomenon, typically presented as an image macro. The usual conversation flow starts with O RLY?, triggering a YA RLY ("Yeah, really") response, and then ending with NO WAI!!! ("No way") (though sometimes OIC ("Oh, I see") is used instead). An additional exchange of SRSLY? SRSLY! ("Seriously? Seriously!") or YA WAI... ("Yeah way...") may follow. Originated in the Something Awful forums and popularized by fark.
• Oh, the huge manatee – A picture of a large manatee photoshopped over the famous photo of the Hindenburg exploding. Play on words for "Oh, the humanity!"
• Old and Busted: __. The New Hotness: __. – (e.g.: "Old and busted: Boobies links. New hotness: Cell porn"). A reference to Men in Black II.
• Owes me a new keyboard/monitor – Used to indicate that the poster has spat coffee or a similar substance over his computer after reading a particularly funny joke. Similar to the Usenet saying 'C&C (Cat And Coffee) warning please', referring to the painful scratching that can result from bursting out laughing while having a cat on one's lap.
• Pound-Me-In-The-Ass (PMITA) Prison – Taken from the movie Office Space.
• Ric Romero – A Los Angeles television reporter for KABC-TV, noted for reporting on blogging as if it were a new discovery, years after it had hit the mainstream. Ric Romero is usually mentioned in fark articles when the topic is of an incredibly obvious nature. Often, a photo of Romero and a quote are included, usually ending with, "More at 11."
• Sammich – (mispronunciation of "sandwich") Typical use: "This girl needs a sammich", referring to overly thin models in "Boobies" posts.
• Get these motherfarkin' snakes off my motherfarkin' plane – A reference to the movie Snakes on a Plane, which pays homage to the movie's title and its obvious plot.
• Sharp knees – Used to criticize a woman for being too slender, or, more often, mocking the critic himself for his beliefs. It is usually posted in conjunction with a photo and fake fark post of a nerdy-looking guy using the fark profile, "Studman69."
• Squirrel – The origin of Fark.com was Drew Curtis' desire to post a pic of a squirrel with big testicles on his site.
• Still no cure for cancer – Referring to pointless scientific studies. The first reference appeared in a headline on January 23, 2002 in an article about a bored scientist doing something totally useless. It didn't seem to catch on until another headline appeared in May of the same year.
• teh ghey – An intentional misspelling of "the gay", used to describe something as effeminate or otherwise characteristic of homosexuality. Often used to sarcastically refer to homosexuality itself as some kind of contagion, e.g. "I watched Brokeback Mountain last night, and I think I caught teh ghey.". Originally this was probably a reference to part of Margaret Cho’s "I’m the one that I want" tour in 2000.
• The goggles, they do nothing! – A response to a posting of a particularly grotesque image. A misquote from the Simpsons episode, Radioactive Man (2F17), wherein the actual quote does not contain the word "they". In that episode, Austrian-born actor Rainier Wolfcastle A/K/A "McBain" dons protective goggles before he is hit with a fifty foot wave of sulphuric acid and cries out that they are ineffective. Often times, this is in a connection to the popular idea of "Beer Goggles" that are typically understood to mean that the "goggles" will make something look better (aka, the Ugly chick will now look hot).
• Three steps to Profit – "Step 1: (something stupid). Step 2: ?????? Step 3: Profit." This is the business plan of the Underpants Gnomes from episode 217 of Comedy Central's South Park. Also frequently seen on Slashdot.
• UFIA – an acronym, meaning "Unsolicited Finger in the Anus". It became a fark.com cliché due to a Discussion Thread on March 12, 2004, where it was featured prominently. UFIA was prominently used again in February, 2005, when Fark's creator, Drew Curtis, purchased the naming rights to the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts before it became TD Banknorth Garden for the single day of February 28, 2005. The consensus choice of Fark.com's readers was that it should be re-dubbed the, "Fark.com UFIA Center." In the end, however, Boston Garden was chosen as the name. In April 2006, a Fark member convinced the Tennessee Department of Transportation to erect an Adopt-a-highway sign in the name of UFIA on the 2 miles of Tennessee State Route 63 west of the intersection of TN 63 and US 25E. The Department required a definition of UFIA, which was explained as, "Uniting Friends in America".
• Ugly-ass baby _____ – Used to reference births of baby animals at zoos.
• Vodak – Accidentally originated by user sirjonnyinla in a thread about jelly beans, this simple transposition took off and has replaced the correct spelling of Vodka.
• Wal-Mart Greeter – a photo of a naked old man wearing only a Wal-Mart sack is usually posted in threads pertaining to Wal-Mart. The photo originated as a spliced photo of former Wal-Mart greeter Dean L. Wooten's head on an unidentified man's body. Wooten was later terminated from his position as a greeter for distributing the photo to customers, telling them that Wal-Mart was cutting costs and that the sack was company's new employee uniform.
• Your dog wants _____ – (original line is "your dog wants steak"). Originated by submitter Dr.Feyin a headline regarding a Japanese device that supposedly read canine thoughts, and was followed up two days later in a headline for a device that supposedly translated a human baby's cries.

Filters

The Fark.com forums use filters which replace profane or otherwise offensive text by euphemisms. Some examples are given below:

text entered	displays as
first post	Boobies
first comment	Weeners
fuck	fark
shit	shiat
bitch	biatch
cunt	coont
nigger	attractive and successful African-American
nigga	nubian
in soviet russia	[text is removed]
Fb- is the father	[text is removed]
goatse	gootse
!! or ..	! or . (repeated punctuation is reduced to one occurence)

Because the filters operate on any occurrence of the target strings, even if spaces are included, it is possible to post text that will invoke the filters in unintended ways. For example, the text "it's a bit chilly out" will appear as "it's a biatchilly out".

See also

• blog
• Citizen journalism
• Drew Curtis
• Neologism
• Photoshop contest
• Snowclone
• Something Awful
• Totalfark.com

External links

• Official Website (RSS)
• Fark Russian Version
• Farktography – Site for Fark photography (NOT Photoshop) contests
• TF Kitchen – TotalFark recipe archives
• Fazed – Fark-like site