History Website / Fark

** In addition to the lame puns in the headlines themselves, the tags are sometimes subject to punning: "[[TastesLikeDiabetes Sappy]]" on a story about trees, "[[TooDumbToLive Asinine]]" on one about rear-ends, "[[MrFanservice Weeners]]" on one about sausages or Dachshunds, "[[EnforcedPlug Plug]]" on stories about plumbing or electrical mishaps, etc.

* YouCanPanicNow: "EVERYBODY PANIC" often accompanies sensationalist stories.

[[caption-width-right:350:We don't make news. We mock it.]]

* 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).

Typically, a motivated Farker will find an odd story somewhere online, submit it to the site for approval with a witty headline, and add one of a list of predefined tags that tell the reader what to expect. Only the best postings[[labelnote:*]][-Here, "best" is defined by the administrators' personal and temporal whims-][[/labelnote]] make it to the main page, while lists of ''all'' submissions can be viewed by subscribing to the $10-per-month [=TotalFark=]. Getting a "greenlight" is a sign of [[BraggingRightsReward prestige]] among the farking community. Once a story is posted, users can comment on it, blog-style, by clicking on the link to the right of the headline.

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[[labelnote:*]][-Here, "best" is defined by the administrators' personal and temporal whims-][[/labelnote]] make it to the main page, while lists of ''all'' submissions can be viewed by subscribing to the $10-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. During it's glory years, it was a hotbed of MemeticMutation, and quite a few of the Internet's most memorable memes were, if not born, proliferated at Fark. At it's peak, it was one of the top 100 most visited English websites. That's some serious proliferation.

** [[Film/NationalLampoonsVacation “X is closed, Y out front should have told you.”]] Though, it may be a DiscreditedMeme after the Covid-19 Pandemic made this apply for ''everything''.

** ...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". Until January 26, 2016, when Vigoda died for real. They then transferred the meme to Creator/BettyWhite or Music/KeithRichards.
* SarcasmMode: "Ugly-ass" [whatevers] as code for pictures of {{Ridiculously Cute Critter}}s.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: 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 misspelled or poorly-punctuated headlines.

* TrueCompanions: Get on their good side, and Farkers will be your friends for life. Particularly TFers and “Maddites” (The Farkers who post on the daily MSNBC thread).

* YetAnotherBabyPanda: An old Fark meme is news stories about ugly baby animals being born.

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 at Fark. It is one of the top 100 most visited English websites. That's some serious proliferation.

** ...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". Until January 26, 2016, [[AuthorExistenceFailure when Vigoda died for real]]. They then transferred the meme to Creator/BettyWhite or Music/KeithRichards.

** '''NIXON, YOU DOLT!'''[[labelnote:Explanation]]When Michael Savage said on his radio show, "I don't know of any American president who's resigned," one troll asked for a "better example than LBJ or Washington", to which this answer was directed, in large bold type to get the point across.[[/labelnote]]

** '''NIXON, YOU DOLT!'''
** I work for Fark, so I'm really getting a kick out of some of these replies...

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[[labelnote:*]][-Here, "best" is defined by the administrators' personal and temporal whims-][[/labelnote]] 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.

* [[Film/NationalLampoonsVacation “X is closed, Y out front should have told you.”]] Though, it may be a DiscreditedMeme after the Covid-19 Pandemic made this apply for ''everything''.

* OhCrap: A TotalFark deal during the Covid Pandemic was called simply “Oh Fark.”

* UnusualEuphemism: “Fark”, of course. Also, “shiat”.

* HumanInterestStory: Usually accompanied by a "Sappy" tag and a headline mentioning [[SandInMyEyes how dusty it is in here]].

** ...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". Until January 26, 2016, [[AuthorExistenceFailure when Vigoda died for real]]. They then transferred the meme to Creator/BettyWhite.

* [[AllegedlyFreeGame Allegedly Free Site]]: [=TotalFark=] costs $5 a month; many such users look down upon "liters".

** When a link gets posted with a poor or entirely lacking pun or joke title, someone will almost inevitably comment ''"I submitted this with a better headline"''. If a story is already greenlit but a truly brilliant and humorous headline for the same story gets submitted, the admins may greenlight it anyway with a [[AC:repeat]] tag.
* BerserkButton: Whatever you do, do NOT submit multiple newsflashes for a [[DontExplainTheJoke story about Phil Spector]]. Actually, don't submit multiple newsflashes at all.

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Often, headlines are presented in the form of a setup and a multiple choice of what to do. Option c) will be inevitably be the squick. And it will also inevitably be what actually happened, since bread and eggs don't make for good Fark stories. This meme is so overused it's just as often subverted these days, with a) and b) being equally bizarre and outlandish (in which case the answer will be 'all of the above').

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Often enough as a headline, usually following; "Student/Citizen does (insert something [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner good or awesome]]) for his community/school. Person gets reward/scholarship for his deed. Just kidding! Person gets arrested/suspended."

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 Wiki/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.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS / FandomBerserkButton: Averted; the HiveMind over that way doesn't much care if you call them "farkers" or "Farkers."

** Headlines with Creator/SarahJessicaParker or Creator/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.]]

** 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]].

** "I have to be at the gym in 26 minutes."

* ScunthorpeProblem: The fark filters have become in-jokes themselves.

** ...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". Until January 26, 2016, [[AuthorExistenceFailure when Vigoda died for real]].

* {{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 [[TheFundamentalist Bevets]], who goes into every thread tangentially related to evolution, posts a ton of pro-creationism quotes, and leaves. 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-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!!!"'''[[note]]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.[[/note]]
** 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.

* ToiletHumor: The built-in filter replaces "first comment" with "weeners," and "first post" with "boobies" for instance.

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.