HRWiki:Projects/Inside Jokes vs Running Gags
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The precise definition of these terms seems to have lead to much confusion in the past, having been discussed on multiple separate occasions.
Inside Jokes defines the term as:
An inside joke is something that is only found on the site in two or three places, and is obscure in most or all instances. Something that has been featured more than three times usually becomes a regular feature of the site. [...] These are the things that people who are new to the Homestar Runner body of work would simply not get at all.
This seems to imply something appearing more than three times disqualifies it from being an inside joke — yet quickly browsing through the A's in Category:Inside Jokes we have A. Chimendez, AC/DC, Abdi LaRue, Alfred Hitchcock, Angels, Atari Dragon, and Atlanta Braves with six or more appearances.
If an inside joke is something "obscure" that non-Homestar fans "would simply not get at all" why include articles like Batman, John McEnroe, Professional Wrestling, or Mario, that have dozens of entries and are certainly funny to people not familiar with Homestar Runner? Why is Fhqwhgads, a string of letters that appears as gibberish to someone unfamiliar with Homestar Runner, not considered an inside joke?
Running Gags defines the term as:
A running gag is an amusing situation or line that constantly reappears throughout the site. Often the frequent repetition of the running gag is what makes it so humorous.
Again this sets up volume as the differentiator — a running gag "constantly reappears". Yet entries like Arby's, Buttdance, Featuring Oneself, and Strong Bad Losing His Pants have five or fewer appearances, fewer than several articles that are listed as Inside Jokes.
Furthermore, if these are meant to be two different terms, then how can articles be both an inside joke and a running gag? e.g. Kevin, Lowercase i's, The Cheat's Glowsticks, Thyme
Wikipedia defines an in-joke as:
a joke whose humour is understandable only to members of an ingroup; that is, people who are in a particular [...] community of shared interest. It is, therefore, an esoteric joke, only humorous to those who are aware of the circumstances behind it.
By this definition, then, it seems that Inside Jokes should be those things only recognizable to people familiar with Homestar Runner, i.e. Dumb Animal Characters, Graw Mad, Soolnds. With this definition, then, something can be an inside joke and a running gag. Real-world references would therefore be categorized solely as running gags; for example, Atari 2600 would be a running gag (because it occurs often) but NOT an inside joke (because the console's style is familiar and recognizable to non-H*R fans), while Strong Bad's Technology can be a running gag (because it occurs often) AND an inside joke (because Strong Bad's characterization is an important part of the humor).
In short:
- The definitions of "Inside Jokes" and "Running Gags" are potentially confusing, and many pages in their respective categories do not fit the criteria set forth in the main page.
- I suggest we adjust the definition of "Inside Jokes" to remove the qualifier that it only appear "two or three" times, keeping the qualification that it is something that a person unfamiliar with H*R would "not get at all"
- Either way, several pages in both categories will likely need to be re-categorized.
Does anyone have thoughts or insights on these two categories? -- Bleu Ninja 
00:56, 25 July 2023 (UTC)
- Should we toss all the celebrities and pop culture things into the Running Gag category and out of the Inside Jokes? -- 68.37.43.131 04:58, 25 July 2023 (UTC)
- I almost feel like there should be a new, different category along the lines of "Pop Culture References" or "Real-World References". Several "running gag" categories already use the "references" phrasing — Category:Video game references, Game Show References, Popular Music References — and I agree with you that "a real-world reference is not an inside joke". Using Category:Electronics running gags as an example, we could move Intellivision, Linux, and MS Paint to a new Category:Electronics references and keep Couch Mumbling and Fake Error Pages in Electronics running gags. -- Bleu Ninja
02:53, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
- I almost feel like there should be a new, different category along the lines of "Pop Culture References" or "Real-World References". Several "running gag" categories already use the "references" phrasing — Category:Video game references, Game Show References, Popular Music References — and I agree with you that "a real-world reference is not an inside joke". Using Category:Electronics running gags as an example, we could move Intellivision, Linux, and MS Paint to a new Category:Electronics references and keep Couch Mumbling and Fake Error Pages in Electronics running gags. -- Bleu Ninja
- As I go down the list of Inside Jokes I wrote in the Sandbox, I realize that there are many articles miscategorized as inside jokes where I have no idea where to relocate. Where do I put things like Angels and Demons, or Aztecs, or Van Buren? There's no category for mythological beings or historical figures that I know of. Abraham Lincoln is listed as a name running gag, but Van Buren jokes are more about his bust, not his name. Even Lincoln is better known for his likeness on pumpkins than his name. Creating entirely new categories like this is a bit above my pay grade. We better call the wizard. -- 68.37.43.131 04:03, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
- There's also Category:Recurring_Themes which is for things that are not necessarily jokes or gags, in my understanding. (See also its talk page) -113.37.226.89 07:29, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
- Good call, I was unaware of that category. I think "recurring theme" is a good category term for a lot of bits that are neither really IJs or RGs (Death, Internet Slang) where even if they are usually used in a certain context in H*R they are not original to the body of work; I think this fits that third category I brought up in my prior post. -- Bleu Ninja 16:35, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
- Good call, I was unaware of that category. I think "recurring theme" is a good category term for a lot of bits that are neither really IJs or RGs (Death, Internet Slang) where even if they are usually used in a certain context in H*R they are not original to the body of work; I think this fits that third category I brought up in my prior post. -- Bleu Ninja
- There's also Category:Recurring_Themes which is for things that are not necessarily jokes or gags, in my understanding. (See also its talk page) -113.37.226.89 07:29, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
- As I go down the list of Inside Jokes I wrote in the Sandbox, I realize that there are many articles miscategorized as inside jokes where I have no idea where to relocate. Where do I put things like Angels and Demons, or Aztecs, or Van Buren? There's no category for mythological beings or historical figures that I know of. Abraham Lincoln is listed as a name running gag, but Van Buren jokes are more about his bust, not his name. Even Lincoln is better known for his likeness on pumpkins than his name. Creating entirely new categories like this is a bit above my pay grade. We better call the wizard. -- 68.37.43.131 04:03, 27 July 2023 (UTC)
- The Inside Jokes category was completely cleaned up about a year ago. Is this still an "ongoing" project? -- 68.37.38.51 20:11, 9 December 2024 (UTC)
- It seems there is or might still be work to be done.
- For example, @Bleu Ninja suggested "we could move Intellivision, Linux, and MS Paint to a new Category:Electronics references".
- Same with Angels and Demons, or Aztecs, Van Buren and Abraham Lincoln.
- Category:Recurring_Themes looks pretty solid, so that part is likely complete.
- Overall, it looks like a good tidying up of these categories is still in order. --Stux 15:33, 11 December 2024 (UTC)
- It seems there is or might still be work to be done.
- The Inside Jokes category was completely cleaned up about a year ago. Is this still an "ongoing" project? -- 68.37.38.51 20:11, 9 December 2024 (UTC)
