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Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

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Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe MeatCanyon[1], or Joe Cappa's stuff[2], could fall into the modern "YouTube weird" - but I think a lot of the particular "weird" vibe of the early days of the modern web is pretty much dead - or at least not mainstream enough for me to know about it. There was a much more amateur bent to a lot of the old viral flash stuff, which I think just wouldn't stand out today. These two are a sort of new kind of weird -…

> but I think a lot of the particular "weird" vibe of the early days of the modern web is pretty much dead I take it you haven't had a 12 year old talk your ear off about Five Nights at Freddy's lore or "SCP" then? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCP_Foundation

SCP Foundation has been around for like 15 years! The wiki itself is absolutely great though, it's definitely a good example of that DIY ethos. It's been interesting to see how much content has been generated from the stuff on the site over the last few years. My kids seem to enjoy the SCP lore explainer videos (at least, when they're allowed on YouTube).

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#72
post #56
post #17

I recently heard about Skibidi Toilet being the latest sensation among teenagers and had a very old person "what is wrong with kids today" moment when I watched some, before remembering that 20 years ago my friends and I were all watching Salad Fingers, Sick Animation, Homestar Runner and other dumb flash cartoons on albinoblacksheep.com.

I think there's definitely a qualitative difference, though. Salad fingers, at least, had better quality "stories", and the weirdness was less "basic." Skibidi Toilet is an excellent representation of the hyper-ADHD-ification of kids due to rapid-fire content consumption brought on by newer social media platforms.

Tbh this kind of sounds like that old man saying music in the 80s was the best and it’s never been good since.

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#73
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay but there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with Homestar Runner. Well... yes there is, but there's nothing wrong with the site aside from it being built in Flash.

There is a Poopsmith. I have to assume that us quoting Strongbad seemed as weird to our parents as this skibidi toilet or whatever is gem these days.

Honestly I would have struggled to describe to my parents why on earth I was howling with laughter when "homsar" became a thing on Homestar Runner. I'm quite happy that Gen Z have their own weird humour like skibidi toilet that is impenetrable for older people like me.

There's even a level that I can genuinely enjoy this little universe too - I have no idea if these tweets and replies are made by someone invested in the whole toilet thing or poking fun at it (likely the latter) but I loved them: https://twitter.com/nleglopnar/status/1679676790401380357

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#74
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's definitely a qualitative difference, though. Salad fingers, at least, had better quality "stories", and the weirdness was less "basic." Skibidi Toilet is an excellent representation of the hyper-ADHD-ification of kids due to rapid-fire content consumption brought on by newer social media platforms.

Tbh this kind of sounds like that old man saying music in the 80s was the best and it’s never been good since.

And this sounds like a convenient way to dismiss criticism/comparisons of new vs old. Not every such thing is an old man raging at change he doesn't understand. Sometimes there actually is some merit to the criticism.

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#75
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tbh this kind of sounds like that old man saying music in the 80s was the best and it’s never been good since.

And this sounds like a convenient way to dismiss criticism/comparisons of new vs old. Not every such thing is an old man raging at change he doesn't understand. Sometimes there actually is some merit to the criticism.

But not here. Skibidi toilet has a plot and themes.

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#76
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what H*R quotes do you find yourself unconsciously quoting to this day? for me it's "dag, yo" and, whenever I see "Ontario": "On-tah-REE-oh, CAH-nah-da—ooh, a little south of the border flavor"

“Burninatin”… and telling my toddler off for throwing a light switch rave.

There's so much in that sbemail that I love. I recently remembered his second attempt at the dragon, saying "Let's put one of those beefy arms back on him for good measure. That looks really good ... coming out of the back of his neck there" and was chuckling to myself. And the little music video at the end where the drawings all feature nicely shaded drawings like the one Strong Sad made that got burned. God what a site :D

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#77
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And this sounds like a convenient way to dismiss criticism/comparisons of new vs old. Not every such thing is an old man raging at change he doesn't understand. Sometimes there actually is some merit to the criticism.

But not here. Skibidi toilet has a plot and themes.

I never wrote or implied that Skibidi Toilet doesn't have a plot or themes.

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I think a lot of the particular "weird" vibe of the early days of the modern web is pretty much dead I take it you haven't had a 12 year old talk your ear off about Five Nights at Freddy's lore or "SCP" then? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCP_Foundation

SCP Foundation has been around for like 15 years! The wiki itself is absolutely great though, it's definitely a good example of that DIY ethos. It's been interesting to see how much content has been generated from the stuff on the site over the last few years. My kids seem to enjoy the SCP lore explainer videos (at least, when they're allowed on YouTube).

[deleted]

Re: Salad Fingers and the dawn of ‘weird YouTube’

#80
post #17

I recently heard about Skibidi Toilet being the latest sensation among teenagers and had a very old person "what is wrong with kids today" moment when I watched some, before remembering that 20 years ago my friends and I were all watching Salad Fingers, Sick Animation, Homestar Runner and other dumb flash cartoons on albinoblacksheep.com.

20 years old. Not an iPad kid. It might just be shitposting in the end but I watched around a half hour of it a few weeks ago and I found the sci-fi war story interesting, the occasional moments of "humanity" touching, the action impressive, and yes, the toilet humor funny. All the more impressive with effectively no dialog.
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