Meme Bias

I appreciate your concerns about this site. I’ll never claim that I make the best memes on the planet. But I am in the top 100 on imgflip, and I have had several front page memes. But it is pretty clear to me that someone (or possible several someones) play games with picking favorites, punishing those who are not their favorites, etc. A great many of my memes are submitted very early in the morning, and do to feature until very late in the day. It’s kind of like running the Boston Marathon, but leaving the starting line 8 hours after the starter pistol goes off. I have seen a great many good memers leave this site, and I am very close to following them after experiencing all of the nonsense personally.

I'm sure there will be some eye rolls for me adding my perspective here. I can live with my submissions that never feature, I can live with my featured creations that get downvoted to submitted, I can live with a mod pulling my front pager down. I'm pretty sure those have all happened to me, but I keep coming back to this river because it's so damned funny here. Not every cast brings back a trophy fish, and sometimes you loose a fly you spent hours tying. I dont think there is a mod scuba diving in the river specifically singling me out looking to cut my line or any individual user's line.

Captain Obvious, The mods have rules and a system. It's not perfect and when individual users feel they are being singled out sometimes they head for the door. AnimationFun was a user that comes to mind who felt he was being singled out and left. I hope you and Swiggy aren't putting on your coats and looking at the door.

Long times between submission and featuring probably have more to do with site traffic and whether site maintenance is occurring and probably nothing to do with the username attached. The someone or someones you perceive playing games and favorites are probably fellow users who trail the fishermen to their favorite spot on the river.

I am not at all suggesting that the delay is caused solely by username, although I am utterly convinced that there are very favored usernames. I've been told that an awful lot is not human controlled. But being a retired MIT Computer Scientist, I know that computers are governed by algorithms created by humans. The algorithms can be constructed to weigh all kinds of attributes that have nothing to do with the latest submission from a particular username. If those algorithms are perceived to be heavily weighted, then I hope you don't expect that the reaction of those who have already 'put their coat on', is any different than it would be if the perception is that everything was purely determined by a human.

But I also suspect that there are ways for human intervention that do factor in. But that is simply a suspicion. The coat is indeed on. I just haven't walked out the door quite yet.

My dad went there, Class of '52 I think. I remember meeting Doc Draper and Doc Edgerton at different times there when I was a kid.

No doubt there is a human element involved and also that a lot of the functions here are automated according to algorithm.

Its clear to me the mods are listening, and are open to ideas on how to improve things, ie for the imgflip community. A mod said that here below and recently on one of Swiggy's submissions. Users replying to acuity's comment below about their individual situation might be a good approach to getting things changed, might not. Personally I've had some luck sending offline suggestions using the feedback link imgflip.com/feedback or sending an email to [email protected]

Thank you for your understanding.

I had the pleasure of working with Doctor Leo Sullivan. I know that a whole lot of people would not know that name, but he was one of the co-inventors of RADAR which he did while WWII was in progress. It was a huge technology that really helped the Allies win the war.

I have some really fond memories around seeing my Dad's work at MIT. I met some interesting people and saw some cool stuff there as a kid.

I got to work on some cool stuff there. During the Reagan administration, I was on the 'Star Wars' research team. We had to solve a multitude of physics problems pertaining to getting a very high power laser beam through the atmosphere, while minimizing atmospheric distortion of the beam. This research ultimately lead to laser weapons that are now on ships, trucks, airplanes, etc. That project is probably the one and only project that I was on that I can somewhat talk about.

I hope you don't leave the site, because your memes are consistently very good.

Well, thank you so much for your very kind words. Love your memes, also.

I only make memes here as a stress relief, so don't worry about my stats, placement or any of that. But this being said, I am not blind either, I notice things, and yes, have a feeling you're onto something.

Yeah. Remember my meme, “if cinderella’s Shoe fit perfectly, why did it fall off?” Well that was put back into submission right when it went to the second page. And the top of the front page meme is always raydog’s. Also, the reason I like memes so much is because they’re the only thing that can make my laugh because I have depression.

Well, there's also the fact that some of the mods are trolling people. That's why I stopped posting altogether. Made top of page 1, bam, back into submission and trolled by a mod. We provide content for Imgflip. It's not like it's the only meme site around. Or even the only only graphic manipulation site.

What other sites would you suggest

just google "Meme Generator", although Juicydeath1025 has made a home at Know Your Meme. http://knowyourmeme.com/users/juicydeath1025. I can make my own memes with the software I have, but I believe they have a meme generator. I've been posting on Imgur of late.

Memes about things Trump says can have a hard time getting to the Hot pages on imgflip. Once a meme features, it starts life in those first 50 or so views. Sounds like the first version of the meme got some downvotes before anyone was able to upvote it. I'm pretty sure the guy who runs the site had nothing to do with it going back to submitted. FYI, when I see your stuff I upvote it sometimes.

?

hi

I've seen this comment a lot. It's intriguing that everyone immediately jumps to conspiracy theory, but I suppose that's natural when the reasons for all actions on the site are not broadcast publicly. The majority of changes from "featured" to "submitted" that people complain about are automatic, merely because the image wasn't doing too well. We've thought about just leaving the images in "featured" state so people don't feel like they are being punished, but most of the time this won't change how well the image does since it's already doing poorly. One reason to move images back to submitted is to help keep the latest queue highish quality, since otherwise everyone has to page through memes that potentially 0 out of 100 people liked.

If you have ideas to improve it, please share them.

Sorry, but I'd have to say that you're about the worst troll here, because you've decided to abuse your power. The fact that "reasons for all actions on the site are not broadcast" is BULL! If you expect users to follow rules, then let them know what the rules are. There have been a lot of page one memes put back into submission. Nobody gets that far when "Potentially, 0 out of 100 people liked it." Or take the folks that have points on their posts because they share them immediately to other sources using the link buttons Imgflip provides. Make a meme or GIF, share it as soon as it's submitted, any wonder it has upvotes. Too often there is a delay in the submission time versus the feature time.

The memes the users produce are here because most of us just want to entertain people. some use it for stress relief, some as part of their jobs, and some to spread their political propaganda. (which I don't have a problem with, as long as it's actually humorous. Unfortunately, most of those are just vitriolic hate messages)

My guidelines of posting a meme are: would this pass a broadcast TV's censorship. Not the best, but it's something. Of course, we don't have the NFSW option on the meme generator like we have on the GIF maker. I figure if it's considered NFSW, the mods will mark it as such, or it will get flagged. It's amazing what passes without being censored. Like this one: https://i.imgflip.com/1ja8k3.jpg, yet this one was https://i.imgflip.com/1j91pa.jpg

I've done moderating in the past, and I learned that some posts need to be deleted. I can understand that some posts are so bad that get downvoted into oblivion for being bad, others are victims of downvote fairies, but there is always that rogue renegade mod or two that may have it in for a poster, hoping to drive them out of the playing field.

Excellent job, Swiggy.

Did you hear from Swiggy before he left?

No, I was totally unaware that he left. I fully understand his frustrations. I too see the games being played with time of submission versus time (and sometimes a different date) that it is featured. I left temporarily and periodically re-evaluate whether to stay or go.

When I say reasons for actions, I don't mean only actions in response to rule-breaking, I mean all actions. This includes things like what happens if a user upvotes a meme, makes a comment, deletes an image, etc. Many of these things trigger other actions under the hood, including changing of ranking on the homepage.

With regard to rules we enforce, all of those rules are present on our terms of service or submission guidelines in one form or another.

The majority of images that are switched from "featured" to "submitted" are indeed from automatic ranking updates as I mentioned. Images on the frontpage that have a ton of upvotes are also sometimes manually moved back to submitted by moderators when they are in contradiction to the Imgflip submission guidelines. In this case we recognize that users are appreciating the images and it's actually a bit painful to remove something that is providing enjoyment to the community. However we also believe that some guidelines are important for the long term enjoyment and vibrance of the Imgflip community, even if at times they can be annoying. We hope that you also value originality and respect for all human beings (two factors that drive our guidelines), but we respect your opinion to create and share images on whichever sites you prefer most.

It seems here you admit sometimes moderators do remove something that is popular. Also you haven't addressed how I have numerous examples of memes with way less than now it is 52 views with no likes. Something just does not seem right. And truthfully most of the time I see this happen are with political posts.

Looked again. The meme is now at 53 views with no feature. I never see something go unfeatured then back to featured. In any case one meme I have that is featured only has 17 views with no likes. How is it this is featured yet in the example above got delisted when it was seemingly gaining traction?

You continue to backpedal on your statements. Why do you need to clarify them?

Since the images that go from featured to submitted status has an automatic ranking, the people that create those memes are owed the obligation of an explanation of why each one is reverted. This shouldn't take much code: IF[downvotes = or > X,change status to submitted, copy "downvoted to submission" comment to meme comments] If determined that it is a TOS violation, the TOS violation needs to be added, which is generally handled manually, then that NEEDS to be put in a comment as well: Most TOS violations are made because there is always a grey area. I've even seen where I've posted bare nipples to the site (female nipples) and I referred it to the Mods. This was a time that I asked for guidance, turning my own TOS violation over to the MODs because it wasn't the focus of nudity in the meme. It was meant to be suggestive, and did have the NSFW tag, but it was deemed by the mods to be acceptable as an NSFW post. Heck, in that instance, I never even noticed the nipple until after someone commented on it.

Regardless, Imgflip will continue to have disgruntled posters unless they take a proactive stance: letting people know why their memes and GIFs don't feature. Take this one: <a href="https://imgflip.com/gif/224ua0"><img src="https://i.imgflip.com/224ua0.gif"/></a> I took a GIF of a woman practicing her sword skills, added a caption, and still not featured after two weeks. No reason why, just sitting there along with my other submitted items. Or this one: <a href="https://imgflip.com/gif/21qpcx"><img src="https://i.imgflip.com/21qpcx.gif"/></a>

there has to be a reason, but based on lack of communication, I have to wonder what the TOS violation on these would be. views? I usually share as soon as I submit. so I doubt if they were featured and put back into submitted immediately.

So people need a personal explanation as to why their rule breaking or downvoted offensive-to-some-meme/gif isn't featured because they lack the capacity to figure out why? So they can then cry even more incessantly about it?

Really?

It's only a meme, but my life depnds on it.

A person that does not understand something cannot change themselves without feedback. If rules were clearcut, it would be easy. Take the meme where I was trolled by a mod. A top of page one meme was put back into submission because it "looked" like I was trying to circumvent a rule that was not a part of the TOS. HUH??? Sounds like abuse of power to me. Not a "This should have been marked NSFW" even though there is no NSFW button to mark it. Or take the above meme: Put back into submited after 51 views, yet it's featured here. On Imgur, if I submit something to the gallery, it features, immediately. If it's downvoted into oblivion, I can actually see that and use that as a basis for future posts. Since putting all my memes on Imgur, I've gotten both aspects, but I've had three page one posts in the last two weeks. Not easy since they have so many posters there, but then, the quality of posts, like Imgflip varies. Take this one: I never expected it to go viral: https://imgur.com/gallery/38GKG yet it did.

No, trolls I can handle: trolls that have power and can abuse it makes me just say f**k it. I keep my account so I can upvote and comment. I even make memes, but, unless it's a comment meme, I post it elsewhere.

Biting the hand much?

1. You tried to pass an old meme you found off as yours?

2. You got busted?

3. You call that getting trolled?

I call that:

1. Cheating.

2. Busted.

3. The mods doing their job.

We've had this convo TWICE last year - that there's too much uncredited 'borrowing' and not enough originality from a bunch of middle aged and older thumb suckers vying for the vaulted top ten and useless points.

Remember how you said it was alright for senior members but not newbs to do? A hierarchy straight outta hs? Well guess what, you just graduated from hs to the real world. There IS a hierarchy:

1. The site and it's owner

2. The mods

3. Memers.

Welcome to Planet Earth.

1: is i against the rules to post old memes? or repost them? nope. Funny, if it were such a common meme, why did it make top spot on page one. Memes get recycled here quite often. I didn't post it in order for it to make page one, I posted for laughs.

Uh,could you tell me where I said it was alright for senior members but not newbs. Your off your meds, again, Moddy. As far as the heirarchy, picture this: eliminate the Memers, and how popular will this site be? I'm sure Dylan could come up with a couple new memes a day, or recycle a few old ones when in a slump. Instead, he put this site up to generate income: To do that, he needs to attract people to the site. Without that, he can't sell advertising nor collect user fees from paid subs. Without the people that produce the memes, the site would be pretty empty. So why chase away the popular ones: the ones that keep people coming back again and again. Look at how many popular users have left in the last few months? I haven't seen JuicyDeath1025 around in a while. He posts maybe, once a month here. Others have done like me, others much higher on the leaderboard. They just stop posting. It used to be a person had to post decent memes everyday to secure a spot there. Get rid of those pesky meme makers, and suddenly, everything will change. First off, the big savings on having MODs. Of course, with no memes, advertisers won't advertise, because there would be nothing here to attract visitors. Then it'd be a money pit, and would become defunct.

1. STEALING memes while pretending they're yours by typing in the text anyways (why not just use a blank template instead of stone souping it? Derp much?) on 0 font is STILL STEALING.

Pal, you wanna go ad hominem, then so shall I:
Meds?
Seniority - ity = Senior = You.

You're a gosh danged senior citizen with grandkids. Stop acting like a paranoid schizoid colicky crybaby because not all your stupendoulsy incredible memes make it to the FP. Grow up, while there's still time...

I'm not reading the rest. But you can look up them old convos if your memory is sinensising away from you that badly.

Later.

If you consider that stealing,then I've been stealing from myself for a long time. For example, take my Diner of Despair series. because web based graphic programs take much more of my computing power than using my standalone graphics program, I often use that to create those. I still add the text at zero font so that it appears in the image description. I do that because people with slow connections like I used to have can get a preview of what the meme is about. Also, it allows the censor bot to confirm that none of the banned words of Imgflip slip through. One time I used a kid's cartoon character's name, Dick Dastardly, and it was originally flagged NSFW. It was later changed once it was pointed out to a MOD that the guy's name was Dick.

Or, take my PUNography series. Those are probably a pain in the patoot for the MODs to deal with because they have the zeroed font. I've discussed this in the past. Same wording, though. I even go so far as to remove the copyright notice from them to fall in line with the TOS. No problem, as I hold the copyright. Imgflip hasn't even complained about my use of the PUNography logo, possibly because of its location and it identifies me as the creator of the captioned graphic. If I like the way it looks in my files as well, I use the zero font. It's what's known as aesthetics. I've been editing graphics before the term "Meme" was created. I want the site to look good as well as be humorous. Something I've noticed recently is noobs doing what you're saying, without zeroing out the font. it looks like the top meme in my example. The meme looks like shit, even if it's funny. I prefer to post a clean meme. When I first came here, you couldn't make a meme with a zero font. At least I couldn't on my smart phone, which was all I had at the time. Wasn't a problem, though, as I didn't have access to my files.

I've work hard to make Imgflip a good place to visit, but someone appears to be upset when anyone moves up the leaderboard and becomes popular. I'm not afraid to call bullshit when someone tries to push it on others. Like your bullshit claim that about me saying there should there's a difference what senior posters and noobs can do here. Never said it. Apparently you don't want to look it up because it was with someone else, or you just decided to lie about it to make me look bad. All things considered, I'd say you're lying.

^ tl;dr

Sorry, Swiggingtoomuchbeer, ya ended the discussion earlier with an uncalled for pre-emptive ad hominem.

1. You stole

2. You got busted

3. You cried in your diapers

4. You blamed it on everyone except you

5. You are right though: curiously, people - mods, memers, the public at large, etc, - just don't think even your stolen memes are top 10 worthy.

Wonder why?

Learn to deal, and move on,,,

Nitey nite

You weren't getting trolled by a mod, that's ridiculous. You're the one trolling, trolling a mod no less. To take something as personal vendetta for what reason?

You posted about that last year too, that sweet Jesus, two of your memes took a whole 2 and 3 hours to feature. That the mods were holding you back from clocking at some whatever insignificant point mark (Whoo, whoo, one hundred thou!), letting you sweat it for a few hours. Paranoid much? You're taking this all too personally. And that's just silly.

The fact that like here, on occasion on Imgur you get downvoted into oblivion kinda indicates that the conspiracy to hold your talent back must be even bigger than you thought. Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, like the OP, sometimes people don't like a particular meme a lot, and hit the opposite of the upvote you seek. Do you need a participation award for non-wins like these flabby wastoids we call children do nowadays?

The current President is the product of social media. His constituency consists of irritable simplistic types whose discourse is limitited to one or two lines (no Twitter, he never would have been elected). Hence they flock to memeing because said lines come with pretty pictures too. The result is when a memer such as the OP posts something that rankles their overly delicate sensibilities, they pull out their keyboard ray guns and zap away.

1. Butthurt

2. Snowflakes

3. Trolls

Boo boo words that mean nothing.

Word has it that the world outside ain't that bad to take a breath in on occasion,,,

Yes, I recall the incident. It took over 24 hours for some memes to Feature. Upset? Sure. I don't expect my memes to post immediately, but that was unusually a long period. It fosters distrust and avarice. Of course, it could have been prevented by a notice that Imgflip was updating software. That's one thing I like over at Imgur: Sure, they have their downvote fairies: people that can't post interesting or entertaining things, so instead of improving themselves, they downvote everything. So it's more a case of the public determining what stays and what doesn't. It's rare I have a front page post there, but I can live with that. They've set it up so trolls can't mass downvote, and since then, my stuff usually gets decent results. Not always: I still get downvoted off to oblivion, but I also can see that the downvotes are there.

But, Anyway you cut it, in the month I've stopped posting here, I've still gotten more upvotes than you have been able to muster.

"With regard to rules we enforce, all of those rules are present on our terms of service or submission guidelines in one form or another."

Then why don't you enforce the only English rule? I see a bunch of those floating around in "latest." If you enforce the rules, shouldn't those be enforced as well? And the rule that says no nudity...I've seen those get featured as well.

This makes no sense. At 3 likes it was featured. In less than 12 hours it was 51 views then delisted back to submitted. I’m sorry this has nothing to do with likes. I’ve had other memes with no likes and way less views featured. Someone at the top is making executive decisions that I suspect are heavily based on political ideology.

And I think everyone has noticed raydog’s memes go to the front page almost automatically. One of his memes was super popular after just four hours.

I think we jump to conspiracy theories because we don't get much feedback on the site when we have concerns about something. And maybe we're jumping to conspiracies because many times when we use the feedback option, we don't get any replies even when we put our emails.

That's the reason we conjure up conspiracies...because no one really knows what's going on here.

Or maybe people jump to conspiracies because "the mods have a secret agenda against your point of view" is a lot more interesting and exciting than "your meme sucked, and a bunch of people downvoted it".

Holy shit, calm down people!!!