Internet Comment Etiquette

About

Internet Comment Etiquette is a YouTube web series produced and hosted by American comedy writer Erik Hoffstad in which he offers satirical tutorial guides on how to post "proper" comments to the internet on a wide range of popular websites,online communities and media content in accordance with their respective customs and conventions.

Online History

On June 24th, 2007, Erik Hoffstad^[1] launched a YouTube channel titled LetsGOtoCLASS^[2] to showcase original sketches and short films. On June 30th, Hoffstad uploaded his first video "Billys Guitar Lesson,"^[3] a comedy skit in which a guitar teacher verbally harasses his student by performing songs with offensive lyrics under the pretext of a lesson. In 2008, Hoffstad started his first short-form episodic web series Cumming On Pigeons, which ran for 15 episodes from April 29th to May 17th.

Salvia Videos

On May 25th, 2008, Hoffstad uploaded a video titled "Gardening on Salvia," in which he attempts to demonstrate how to garden supposedly under the influence of salvia, a type of psychoactive plant (shown below, left). The video went on to become his first viral hit on YouTube, garnering over 2.1 million views within the next six years. The sequel video, "Driving on Salvia," has the same concept but instead of gardening, he is shown driving (shown bottom). As of April 4th, 2016, it has over 2.3 million views. Two other videos in the "On Salvia" series were made, titled "Gardening on Salvia Part 2"^[4] and "Writing a Letter to Congress on Salvia."^[5]

Internet Comment Etiquette

On February 19th, 2009, the first episode of Internet Comment Etiquette made its premiere on the LetsGOtoCLASS channel, in which Hoffstad demonstrates how to post a "proper" comment on a video of a man showcasing his recipe for roasted chicken (shown below). While the premise of the series suggests a focus on exercising proper manners and etiquettes in various situations and online platforms, Hoffstad often ends up posting comments that are rude and vulgar in nature.

On February 17th, 2015, Hoffstad announced the launch of a standalone YouTube channel solely dedicated to his Internet Comment Etiquette videos, along with an explanation of a newly structured programming schedule^[7] in a separate video titled "2015 Syllabus."^[8] The video was then followed by a "5 day open beta"^[9] wherein viewers could submit any qualms or problems they had with the channel to Erik for improvements before he released the channel's first official video, titled "Starting a YouTube Channel."^[10]

Notable Episodes

Since the premiere of the first episode of Internet Comment Etiquette in February 2009, a total of 44 official episodes have been released on the LetsGOtoCLASS^[6] and Internet Comment Etiquette With Erik^[2] channels.

In addition to the main episodes, the series features several recurring segments with unique themes, as well as one-off episodes that have yet to be serialized.

Website Spotlight

This series is similar to Subreddit of the Week in that it features a notable website to bring attention to, whether good or bad. The first episode in the series focuses on Trumpbangsthings.com ^[24], which was a blog that Erik had created himself for people to submit pictures of businessman and 2016 presidential candidate Donald J. Trump having intercourse with various beings and objects.

Internet Cold Cases

Only one video belongs to this series as of April 4th, 2016. The video, "Who Killed HitchBot?" (shown below) focuses on the death of the beloved HitchBOT, whom was mysteriously found destroyed. Erik makes several assumptions as to who the murderer could be, before being interrupted by HitchBOT who appears on his computer screen. He informs Erik that it was Ted Cruz who killed him. Erik promptly writes a tweet to Cruz, but is then shot in the head with a bullet in the middle of writing it.

Backwards Friday

A one-off series (and the supposed 40th in the entire series) as of April 4th, 2016 where Erik supposedly does everything the exact opposite of how he is supposed to do it. He states in this that his primary goal is to offend the creators of the videos, yet he ends up leaving abnormally polite and insightful comments as opposed to his normal rude and unwarranted remarks made within the usual videos. (Video shown below)

Comment Quiz of the Week

Occasionally at the end of a video, Erik asks the viewers to participate in a quiz by choosing one of four possible answers to choose from. The questions and answers are usually absurd in nature, and despite what the title of the segment suggests, the correct answer is never given.

Getting in the Middle of It

In this series Erik focuses on "Getting in the middle of it", where he attempts to barge himself into situations that do not involve him in any way, shape, or form. He doesn't try to stop the issue at hand, but rather to just leave his mark. Two episodes have been produced as of April 4th, 2016 – one about Martin Shkreli ^[14], and the other about NBC National News' raid in the house of the San Bernardino shooters ^[15].

Subreddit of the Week

In this series Erik focuses on bringing public attention to obscure and odd Subreddits. As of April 4th, 2016, only two episodes have been featured, focusing on the subreddits r/cummingonfigurines^[16][25] and the now defunct r/beatingwomen2^[17][26].

Tweets from the Class

This series focuses on his users Tweeting him questions, media, remarks, or anything else that might warrant a response from Erik.^[18]

Highlights

Ted Cruz Tweets

In almost every single episode on the newer Internet Comment Etiquette channel, Erik makes rude and offensive tweets to Texas Senator Ted Cruz, usually mocking him and his policies (example below).

Skjöldr

Skjöldr is an alter ego character portrayed by Hoffstad that makes cameo appearance in several episodes. While presumably based on the legendary Danish king with the same name,^[11] little is known about Skjöldr aside from his mystical powers that allow him to travel between realms and/or dimensions, such as a "sandworm" dimension, where "every minute on this Earth is a thousand over there."^[13] First introduced in the episode "People Hurting Themselves" on the LetsGOtoCLASS channel (shown below, left), Skjöldr often writes various legends and tales that his mother used to tell within his internet comments.

Reputation

Internet Comment Etiquette currently has over 100,000 subscribers, as of April 4th, 2016^[1]. His Patreon as of April 4th, 2016 has him making over $470 per video/lesson.^[22] Erik's videos are met with almost 100% positive reactions, and he is well liked for his takes on on several touchy subjects such as racism, terrorism, politics, social justice warriors, among others. He has collaborated with a few other YouTubers, most notably Jack Dougulass of Jacksfilms ^[19], making a cameo in "Your Grammar Sucks #100"^[20] and more recently in "Top 10 Worst Flags in the World."^[21]

Personal Life

Outside of his online persona on YouTube, not much is known about Erik. He has had an acting career, most notably on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where he appeared in season 8 episode 8, "Charlie Rules the World."^[23]

Search Interest

External References