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• What is a meme?
  A “meme” is a theoretical unit of culture, representing information spreading from one mind to another. In common usage it refers to fads, in-jokes, catchphrases and other cultural tidbits that spawn, grow, and eventually decline into obscurity as they are supplanted by newer memes.

The term “meme” was coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, and the flow of memes from one mind to another is meant to be analagous to the way genes carry biological information from one generation to the next.

• What Is the Meme Database?
  The Meme Database is split into four sections: Featured, Confirmed, Submssions, and Deadpool. This is where all the meme entries created are listed, be they actually a meme or not.

• What is Submissions?
  When a new entry is submitted to the database, it enters the Submissions queue. Here, the meme entry will be reviewed by the Know Your Meme staff, edited, and fact-checked before being moved to the “Confirmed” section.

• What is Confirmed?
  Once a Know Your Meme admin has confirmed that the meme entry is factual and accurately represents all pertinant information regarding the meme itself, its route of spread, its appeal (what makes it spread), and any other memetic qualities, it is moved to the “Confirmed” section.

• What is Featured?
  This section is for meme submissions the Know Your Meme staff believe are the best of the best. This does not necessarily mean that the meme in question is a favorite; meme entries really go here if the entry is full of information and citations, such as origins and spreading habits, as well as meme usage and derivatives.

• What is Deadpool?
  If a meme submission fails to provide any proof of the meme’s spread or popularity, appears to be an attempt at “meme forcing”, or otherwise doesn’t fit our criteria for classifying a phenomenon as a meme entry, it is moved to the Deadpool section. Deadpooled meme entries serve as reminders that the subject has been previously submitted, but has been judged as being irrelevent to the database.