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So, apparently in the Electric Boogaloo thread we had a discussion about whether it should be included as a meme because Electric Boogaloo is an IRL meme that has jumped onto the internet.

Chris Menning told me that we don't include memes that don't need the internet for the sake of their memeness or didn't get affected as a meme from jumping to the net. That was a different era, but it hasn't exactly been made clear if we've changed that policy or not.

Huh, I always thought that as long as the IRL meme had a large enough presence online it could be documented here. But I guess a line has to be drawn someplace.

If something has a large online presence, it can be documented here. We'd much rather have more information than less about the going-ons of the web, whether they start online or off.

Besides that, there is the fact that pop culture is constantly getting more and more connected with the web, so they really are one and the same most of the time.

That is the case. As Chris said, with mainstream getting a bigger presence on the web the line between IRL and internet has pretty much faded away.

Also the fact that Katie's argument is based on a Chrismen quote isn't really a strong one. Besides that one person does not decide the definition of a meme, Chrismen is also former staff. Ever since he left, the site has evolved a lot and our area of documentation has become a lot broader. Quotes from the past don't always apply to the present.

So, are we saying chrismen isn't credible as a source of policy anymore?

I ask because I arrived around the time he had his, let's say, dramatic departure.

As far as strict policies go, yes. As far as discussion, points of contention, or even general guidelines go, I wouldn't say that. I feel like it's too dismissive and simple to say that older admins' opinions don't matter just because they left (i mean, my opinion is still vaguely relevant… right guys? …guys? ;_;). They've dedicated way too much to this site, particularly Chrismen who was at the beginning shaping the site's direction, to cease be credible sources of insight anymore.

Nevertheless, iirc (please correct me if I'm wrong), ChrisMen actually would support what we then called IRL memes, and also what we include now. His opinion has evolved over time, like all the moderators who have been on this website for an extended period of time, particularly after Don and Brad took over, and a little before too.

Edit: Actually, come to think of it, when I wrote this up, I remember being against so-called IRL memes. It was either Jamie or Chris Menning who suggested I be careful about excluding all IRL memes (particularly ones from movies/art/media, since he argued they weren't really "IRL" either). I'm 85% it was Chris Menning though. At the very least, he was for a lot more flexibility, and in light of the increasing blurriness of an internet/real life distinction, I think he would support what KYM does now.

Nobody has made it clear what our policy is now on such things, that's what I've been trying to see.

Let's talk about infographs vs Electric Boogaloo. Infographs have been around for a while but have exploded on the modern net. Because of that it's worth documenting here. Infographs are only as big and significant as they are because of the internet.

Now, as for Electric Boogaloo, it really hasn't changed because of the internet, they're making the same jokes the same way here as anywhere else. If we include Electric Boogaloo then we have to include stuff like Jumping the Shark and whatnot.

Just because we have an entry for one thing doesn't mean that we automatically have to make one for any other thing. If someone thinks that an entry is worth making and working on, then they can make it and work on it.

More > Less.

I kind of agree with Katie here. I don't think Electric Boogaloo is particularly noteworthy at all, no more so than many other slang terms, so I wouldn't have added that as an entry.

But, now that it is an entry, it doesn't hurt anything to have it. The phrase does find some usage online, so I'd say that now someone has submitted it, it can probably stay.

As Amanda once told me, the more (viable) entries the better. It may not necessarily be my chosen philosophy for running the site, but that's how it is, and it works well enough.