WTF!?: The 8 Strangest Communities on the Web
Every once in a while you'll stumble upon a forum or an online community that is so specific, so insane, so completely ridiculous that you are forced to conclude that you have reached the end of the Internet. Sure, you may continue on your merry clicking way, but you do so with the deep-seated feeling that there is nowhere else to look; you have seen everything the Internet could possibly hope to provide. Here are the eight online communities that killed our adventurous spirit, made us sure that we'd seen everything the online world has to offer, and even more certain that we didn't want to try to find anything more depressingly fascinating.
#8.
Ice Chewers (icechewing.com)
What it is
A place for people who really, really like to chew ice.
Excerpt that Sums Up the Community In A Nutshell
Subject: Newbie - A Chewer for Almost 10 Years
Hey all,
I randomly found this forum and I think it's comforting, in a way, to see so many people who eat ice as much as I do. I started when I was 14, just crunching on huge cubes straight from the tray. People commented on my strong teeth & jaws. Razz From there I downsized to more manageable-sized cubes, and softer ones, too (like crushed ice). I found ice would/can be a good replacement for crunchy food like chips and pretzels, and I tend to resort to a tall glass of ice after a big meal. My teeth have taken a battering from it (I don't tell my dentist I chomp cubes) but I plan on getting crowns on a few fillings that have chipped away...and then abstaining from ice. It's my only bad habit (don't smoke, don't do drugs, etc) but...it's hard to quit!
Why It Makes Us Uncomfortable
We like ice as much as anyone else, but c'mon. It's ice. Going by Bob Saget's standard for addiction in Half Baked-which states that you must have sucked dick for your coveted good-ice is probably the least addictive thing out there. If you've ever sucked dick for ice, we're pretty sure that means you just really wanted to suck that dick. Just go order a soda. We can almost guarantee you there'll be some ice in there.
It doesn't even really taste like anything, anyway-but don't tell them that.
#7.
Men's Long Hair Hyperboard (mlhh.org)
What it is
A "hyperboard" (how old is this site, anyway?) for men to discuss growing, washing, brushing, and wearing long, luxurious locks. Many of the posts take on a defiant tone and mention things like "fighting the good fight," which, we assume, means not getting a haircut.
Excerpt that Sums Up the Community In A Nutshell
Subject: Dry hair - I need your help!
Hello all,
i have a big problem. My hair look shiny and pretty healthy but... when I touch it , it feel darmaticaly DRY ! especialy on the end.
i have tried many things but didn't worked...
here is my routine:
gently brushing my hair before washing it -> baby shampoo (that must'nt be hard wuth hair right ?) -> a lot of conditioner -> cold rinse -> towel dry a bit -> hair dry.
once dry i put a small amount of olive oil in my hair and i gently finger comb and brush my hair gently.
You who have soft hair please help me :(
Why It Makes Us Uncomfortable
There is something just a little off about these guys and their fixation on growing their hair out. To make things worse, they seem to see themselves as waging some sort of imaginary war against a sea of "squares" (read: people who don't rock long hair) who, in all honesty, couldn't care less about these dudes or their immaculately-maintained manes. Plus, does anyone really associate long hair on guys with rebellion anymore? Usually it just means they work at Guitar Center.
#6.
4chan's "Random Image Board" (img.4chan.org/b/imgboard.html)
What it is
We honestly have no fucking clue. All we know is that it has a lot of weird anime porn on it and everyone who posts on it types in all caps and makes absolutely no sense.
Excerpt that Sums Up the Community In A Nutshell
FirstPostGuy:
SO YEAH, SOMEONE MADE THIS ABOUT ME. DO YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS? NO? THATS RIGHT YOU DON'T. YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT. I MEAN, IT'S SUPPOSED TO INSULT ME BUT LISTEN, THERE IS NO (FUCK I WISH I COULD CAPS LOCK THAT BUT I AM ALREADY IN MAXIMUM CAPS LOCK) SUCH THING AS BAD PUBLICITY. I AM FAMOSE. THAT'S RIGHT. FAMOSE. YOU NOOBS SHOULD ALL TAKE TRIPCODES AND SEE IF YOU CAN BECOME MORE FAMOSE THAN ME. YOU KNOW WHAT? YOU CAN'T. THAT'S RIGHT. BECAUSE I'M THE FUCKING EPIC FIRST POST GUY. I TAKE FIRST POSTS. I TAKE FIRST POSTS SO FAST YOUR MOMMA IS A HOE. TRY BEAT ME, I CHALLENGE YOU. ALSO, FUCK ANONYMOUS. TRIPCODEPWNERERS FTW.
Why It Makes Us Uncomfortable
Apparently pretty much every internet meme ever was started on 4chan, including such gems as the "O RLY?" owl and LOLCats of various shapes and sizes. And that makes us uncomfortable. Why? Because we're pretty sure that being exposed to stuff that was spawned from the incomprehensible gibberish that is 4chan is part of an internet wide conspiracy to make us all stupider.
#5.
Second Life (secondlife.com)
What it is
A free MMORPG that has no point whatsoever.
Excerpt that Sums Up the Community In A Nutshell
Second Life promotes creativity in its users by encouraging them to build their own items using an in-game programming language, to start businesses by buying land and developing properties on it, to work collaboratively with other players to thrive.
Sounds good in theory, but for some reason the reality of it usually involves a lot more virtual strip clubs, S&M parlors, and casinos. Oh - and a lot more furries.
Why It Makes Us Uncomfortable
Linden Labs, the company that makes Second Life, likes to brag about its membership numbers. In reality, the actual number of active players is always much, much lower than the sum total of all registered users. That means that people create an account, build a house for their in-game avatar to masturbate in, and then they stop playing and never come back. What does that mean for you, the curious, newbie player? It means that walking around Second Life is like walking around in some weird, virtual post-apocalyptic zombie movie, only instead of encountering zombies, you occasionally stumble across some dude dressed up like a mechanical teddy bear having sex with a giant cat.
A friend of mines explained to me that 4chan apparently spawned when some guys from somethingawful forums didn't get the credit they wanted or some stupid s**t like that. 4chan is retarded though and well, makes no sense anymore.
ReplyHmmm, chewing ice. Vodka and ice rots your brain. Whiskey and ice rots your liver. Gin and ice rots your kidneys. Coke and ice rots your teeth. The obvious conclusion is that ICE KILLS! For the love of God, these people are mad. We should make a law or something.
Replylooked up furvert ,going to lynch myself later.
ReplyThat's pretty stupid to lynch yourself from seeing something that doesn't fit your tastes or can't be tolerated. A lot bigger things to lynch yourself over and your going to settle with that? you have quite a set of standards. I'm just saying.
looked up yiff , now I'M addicted .
ReplyIt's not bad, its just not 'familiar', hence resentment is common among people lol. I find it hilariously sad when people find yiff or anything furry related to be terrible; It couldn't be anymore harmless.
"that rare handful of folks who are both Insane Clown Posse fans (aka "Juggalos") and God-fearing Christians"
ReplyAs far as I know, that demographic does not exist.
On number 3- While I can't sight any particular verse that bans people from dressing up as anthromorphic animals, I'm pretty sure that furries and the Church should maintain a safe distance, oh say about a football field.
#s 1 and 2- BURN IT WITH FIRE!!!!
Can't wait for the day where I actually come across the slash fanfiction it sounds hilarious. I'll keep a paper bag and a bottle of brain bleach by the computer just in case though
Replywhatever happened to ross wolinsky? :(
ReplyDirty Bieber Secrets should have gotten a mention.
ReplyWHAT.
I had already run across most of these, or at least wasn't very surprised (that's what happens when you've been using the internet regularly for half of your life) but that last one? I freaked the f**k out. I had no idea...
ReplyWhat happened to Sanguinians or that one forum where it's just 1 guy posting thousands and thousands of times? Someone didn't do much research...
ReplyBronies anyone? Or are we finally accepted?
Replyno, if this had been a top 10 list you would have been on it
Huh. I agree, why DO we want to see the stars of your favorite TV shows banging?
Replyit's a strange addiction I cannot explain ._.
Tell me about it.
For reasons I cannot fathom, I keep seeing really good fanart of Supernatural characters going at it. The artists are genuinely talented and the pictures are not laughable... I don't even watch the show. Does that make it better?
I wish I had known about the Men's Long Hair Hyperboard before I cut off all my long hair... Definitely keeping it bookmarked now that I'm growing my hair out again.
ReplyThe ad after the conclusion was Christian Mingle. I feel obligated to post about this.
ReplyNAMBLA, pro-ana/pro-mia communities... there are much crazier communities out there on the internet than these...
ReplyWell, yea, but if they posted NAMBLA they'de be on the watchlists too. I saw the South Park episode, and then I found out it was real! O.o
Has no one bombed a meeting yet?!?!?!?!?!
are they afraid they will acciedentally kill a bunch of Marlan Brando look-alikes?
I dunno. Pro-ana/mia communities are crazy, but they're an understandable crazy. They are communities of people trying to justify their self-destructive habits by calling it "lifestyle." Meanwhile, I have no idea what is up with boytaurs thing.
The order of this list should be:
Reply1. Boytaurs
2. Furrs fur Christ
3. Juggalo faith
The rest shouldn't be on here...
dude anything on 4chan/b deserves to be on here and if you dont see that you need to be on a watch list
1-2 years? All of those teen mom shows must be a lie.
ReplyThese are not even CLOSE to the strangest communities on the web. I guess the ice chewing one is kind of strange just because its weird that anyone would even think to make a community about it, and I'll give you boytaur's, too, as it IS pretty strange, despite still being fairly tame as far as weird fetishes on the internet go. I don't really see whats so weird about the guys with long hair community at all, and practically every nerd girl I've met since middle school has had an interest in slash and/or Yaoi (though the characters they're pairing together- THAT can be strange, but slash in and of itself? not so much). /B/ is undeniably strange, but everyone and their mom knows about /b/ so I figured we'd already gotten used to that enough that it wasn't really that shocking any more. Same goes for Half Life, too. Furries and Juggalos are fairly weird, too, but I thought we were used to them by now, as well. I guess *also* being Christians makes it a little bit stranger, but are we really still surprised that some Christians are doing weird stuff? I don't know, maybe I spend too much time on the internet, but everything on this list seems ridiculously tame.
Reply Hide All See All 4 RepliesI would challenge you to write a gritty reboot of this article. tell us your list of truly bizarre internet communuties that hide in the darkest (or brightest?) corners of the internet. I am curious to know what you found that makes this list so tame. I would seriously read it.
Agreed with Wike... you say these aren't crazy at all, implying you know of some seriously fucked up shit, and then go on to tell us what was in the article we just read... proof?
I could easily come up with a list, but I don't think I'm much of a writer.
MsZombi doesn't provide proof, MsZombi provides perspective; Hence, needless to follow through with your proposition.
There's nothing to prove, but something to gain. Think about that next time before challenging an opposing argument. Please digest the contents prior to making assertion of taking any actions and then we can take your thoughts and suggestions into consideration, not the other way around; common sense.
btw, look around wikeweasel, I'm sure your efficient on finding this on your own. A gritty reboot? psh, save yourself the drama and go figure it out, it's not a priority for anyone but yourself as you expressed.
So with that said, Let's not be immature and try to top each other with this "I can think of darker corners of the internet" crap. I may not know you, but I do know that your intelligent enough to know what I am talking about.
Jesus Christ is a lion! get in the car!
ReplyThere, I just used two of your 8 forums in one sentence. Enjoy figuring out which two.
/b/ and Furrs Fur Christ
I believe this excerpt from the depths of /b/ truly sums up itself:
ReplyBAM! TO BEHOLD, A PUBLIC BULLETIN BOARD, BUILT OF BOTH BRILLIANCE AND BARBARITY BY BASTARDS WITH BONERS. THIS BASTION, NO MERE BULWARK OF BOREDOM, IS A BRUTAL BARRAGE OF BLISTERING BULLSHIT, BARELY BENEVOLENT... BUT BEHIND THE BIGOTRY AND BOOBS, BEYOND THE BITTER BROADCASTS OF BRAGGING BUFFOONS: HERE BE THE BODY POLITIC. A BROTHERHOOD OF BLASPHEMY, BLESSED WITH MORE BALLS THAN BRAINS, BATTLING THE BLAND, THE BOGUS, THE BENIGN. BEDLAM? BRING IT ON. BUT I BABBLE...BETTER TO BE BRIEF. YOU MAY CALL ME /b/.
Just replacing 'V' words with 'B' words is not clever. Just read V for Vendetta.
You're like the V for Vendetta guy of /b/. If you made this up, you're my hero.