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This is Bob
Part of a series on ASCII Art. [View Related Entries]
About
This is Bob is a Unicode-based copypasta of a stick figure character named "Bob," which is most commonly used to spam the comments section on YouTube.
☻/ This is bob. Copy and paste him so he can take over youtube.
/▌
/\
Origin
The precise origin of the very first "Bob" character remains unclear, but the earliest known instances of the copypasta began appearing in YouTube comments sometime between June 2008 and April 2009, according to Google Trends and numerous forum discussions about the spam.
How to Make a Bob
- Step 1: Alt + 2 = ☻
- Step 2: Add a slash ☻/, then press enter and add another
- Step 3: Alt + 221 = ▌
- Step 4: Line break and add slashes
Spread
On April 10th, 2009, a sudden, noticeable influx of the copypasta on YouTube led to more than a dozen of queries about the stick-figure character on Yahoo Answers. Like with most chain e-mails or spam comments, Bob was instantly met by hostile responses from the rest of YouTube community, leading to frequent clashes between those who endorse Bob and those who flag the comments as spam. The copypasta continued to permeate the comments section of videos on YouTube, eventually reaching its second highest peak in terms of Google search interest circa June 2010 before declining gradually over the following years.
On April 18th, 2009, YouTuber SpongeBobRocks00 uploaded a short video of the stick figure character, declaring that the meme "has officially taken over YouTube."
2013 YouTube Spam
The "Bob" character saw its largest resurgence yet in November 2013, when the YouTube community began spamming the comments section with the copypasta in a protest against the new requirement of a Google+ account in order to comment on any YouTube videos. Usually accompanied by a military tank or an AK-47 rifle depicted in Unicode, the revamped version of "Bob" also features a new message urging YouTubers to copy and paste "Bob" all over YouTube to protest against the Google+ mandate.
Notable Derivatives
Bob Slayer
☻__
/▌ /▌
/\ /\ ☻
Tom
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")
Owly
{o,o}
|)__)
-""--
Fluffy
(\(\
( – -)
((') (')
KKK Bob
☺/
/[]
/\
Hikari
(● ≥⌂≤)●
Rory
[ •_•]
/(__)\
Bob Anti-virus
┌∩┐ ◣_◢ ┌∩┐
Bob Terminator
'̿̿\̵͇̿̿\=(•̪●)=/̵͇̿̿/'̿̿ ̿ ̿ ̿
Search Interest
External References
[1] Yahoo Answers – Will bob take over youtube?
[2] Yahoo Answers – How will this whole "bob is taking over youtube" thing last for?
[3] Yahoo Answers – Why does bob want to take over youtube.com?
[4] Yahoo Answers – Why are People doing this on youtube?
[5] Yahoo Answers – Have you seen 'Bob' on Youtube comments?
[6] Yahoo Answers – What the hell is "I am bob" thing on Youtube?
[7] Yahoo Answers – WHAT/WHO THE HELL IS BOB.??? I SAW HIM ON YOUTUBE A WHILE AGO TOO..WHAT'S GOING ON..?
[8] Yahoo Answers – POLL: Have you seen that stick figure named Bob on youtube comments?
[9] Yahoo Answers – Uhm.. Who's Bob.. Stick Figure..?
[10] Yahoo Answers – Search Results for 'Who is Bob on YouTube?'
[11] 2029 Forums – How to make my char…
[12] Bungie Forums – 'Bob' is taking over Youtube
[13] ReFace.me – Have You Ever Been Bobbed?
[16] Facebook – BOB Taking Over
[17] Washington Post – YouTube commenters bring in text art tanks to fight Google+ integration
[18] TIME – Google’s Relentless Campaign to Make Google+ Work Becomes YouTube’s Problem
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![Bob's Army AMV | Wake Bob Up [NEVER BEFORE SEEN RAW FOOTAGE]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aVrSkdejDFw/hqdefault.jpg "Bob's Army AMV | Wake Bob Up [NEVER BEFORE SEEN RAW FOOTAGE]")
Top Comments
Jarl Balgruuf
Nov 14, 2013 at 03:36PM EST
Artie
Nov 15, 2013 at 07:18PM EST