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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Moquel (talk | contribs) at 04:06, 14 March 2005 (→Specific-topic forums: expanded SAS-subforums). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Something Awful Forums (usually abbreviated as the SA Forums) are a set of limited-access highly-modified message boards on the popular humor website Something Awful, with a large userbase (over 56,000, though this includes banned users). The forums are ranked (as of September 2004) by Big-Boards as the eighth most popular on the Internet, in spite of a registration fee being charged for access. [1]. It runs on a heavily modified version of vBulletin. People who frequent the Something Awful Forums call themselves "SA Goons," or simply "goons." The forums are very strictly moderated. The community is international but mostly comprised of American males in their late teens and early twenties.

While a selection of forums is sometimes available for highly restricted, read-only anonymous browsing, it costs $9.95 to register an account; this money goes directly to the webmaster, Rich "Lowtax" Kyanka, who currently makes a living from administering the forums. Many other forum features also cost between $5 to $10 each, such as gaining access to the search servers and an archive server, or putting an image and custom text under your or someone else's username.

Main Forums

  • General Bullshit (GBS) - similar to any of the "Off Topic" forums found on other message boards on the Web. GBS threads can be started on almost any topic, except those which have other forums dedicated to them. As well as the conglomeration of news and links found on most "Off Topic" boards, GBS is also host to many non-official Photoshop competitions and improvisational joke threads.
  • Fuck You and Die (FYAD) - the forum where anything is allowed, save for posting child pornography, bestiality, and openly mocking admins and moderators, the latter of which is nonetheless treated more leniently than on the other forums. Humor is mixed with many links to shock sites and shock images. Much in the same way Something Awful often satirizes the Internet, FYAD often satirizes other Something Awful forums. A short-lived version of FYAD, called FYAD 2.0, was created and allowed full use of HTML. However, after passwords were stolen using JavaScript, FYAD 2.0 was shut down within one day. FYAD currently contains a subforum known as FYAD Jr., to which members can be relegated as punishment. The actual name of FYAD varies from time to time. Expect grotesque pictures spammed in here.

Specific-topic forums

  • Serious Hardware/Software Crap (SH/SC) - a forum for self-proclaimed computer experts. Many of the less technically inclined posters come here for computer advice, both for purchases and troubleshooting. PHP issues and Dell 2001/5FPWs are also discussed here.
  • Games - video games are the chief subject of discussion. Tips, requests, spoilers, and positive/negative reviews are rife. There are subforums devoted to traditional pen-and-paper and board games as well as private game servers.
  • Sports Argument Stadium (SAS) - discussion of all popular sports such as wrestling and football.
    • Fantasy Island - this subforum of SAS is for any and all discussion of fantasy sports leagues.
    • Poker in the Rear - a subforum dedicated to the game of poker. The forum description has long read "POKER IS NOT A SPORT" reflecting the wish of some to have this moved from it's position as an SAS subforum to a Games subforum.
  • SA-Mart - a bazaar where anybody may buy, sell, or trade anything so long as it is legal. Posters may also link to eBay auctions. Feedback about posters' experiences with a particular buyer or seller can be posted in a subforum of SA-Mart. The administrators and moderators disclaim any responsibility for actions between the buyer and seller. Nevertheless, defrauding a buyer is generally considered the worst thing a user can do on the forums (other than hacking them) and will almost always result in the user being banned permanently.
    • Coupons, Rebates, Freebies, & Great Deals (Coupons) - this subforum of SA-Mart is the place to obtain exactly what the forum's title suggests. It is known for being one of the least active discussion forums.
  • Debate and Discussion (D&D) - holds more involved discussions on politics, current events and philosophy. It evolved from the Current Events (CE) forum, which was created for all the threads growing out of the events of September 11th, 2001. D&D posters tend to identify strongly as left-wing or libertarian; for some reason, traditional conservatives are more likely to be found in GBS.
  • The Crackhead Clubhouse (TCC) - a forum for discussion of recreational drugs. No discussion related to buying or selling of illegal drugs is allowed.
  • Automotive Insanity (AI) - technical automotive forum for enthusiasts.
  • Creative Convention - a forum for the more creative members or those who wish to enlist their talents. All manners of art, literature, photography, and even website design can be found within this forum.
    • Photoshop Phorum - a forum specifically for image editing using tools like Photoshop.
  • Anime Death Tentacle Rape Whorehouse (ADTRW) - anime discussion. The forum got its name for seemingly common anime and manga "hentai" that involves various taboos.
  • The Firing Range (TFR) - a forum specifically for the discussion of firearms.
  • The SA Propesting/Fauxtesting Forum - forum for organizing propests/fauxtests. These are "fake protests" which often heavily disagree with the point of the protest it is formed around, or sometimes make no sense at all.
  • Pet Island - pet-related discussion.
  • Musician's Lounge - similar to the Creative Convention, it is used mostly for critiquing and general advice for aspiring musicians.
  • The TV IV - discussion of television programs.
  • Batman's Shameful Secret - centered around comic book discussion and other related topics.
  • Cinema Discusso - for serious film discussion.
    • The Film Dump - a forum dedicated only to film reviews (specifically excluding film discussion). Instead of the usual tags, all posts use a 5-star rating system.
  • No Music Discussion - for discussion of music.

Special-purpose forums

  • Comedy Goldmine - a repository of the very best threads in all forums but FYAD. Currently the Goldmine goes back to October 2001; the archived Goldmine goes back to when the forums started using vBulletin.
    • FYAD Goldmine - same purpose as the regular goldmine, but for FYAD threads only
  • Comedy Gas Chamber - threads that have been deemed unsuitable or not up to standards by the moderators are sent here and have been said to be "gassed".
  • The Leper's Colon(y) - formerly known as the Leper Colony. Contains posts by administrators listing the users who had been banned, permabanned, or automatically banned by the forums software. (Features restricted to moderators and administrators are visible to all users, but instead of simply denying permission the software automatically bans users who use them. This system is informally called "forum Darwinism".) The banning system has recently been upgraded and moved to a special page separate from any of the forums, and this forum has now disappeared. Both the old forum and the special page are interchangeably referred to as The Leper Colony or The Leper's Colon.
  • The Forum Archives - threads which have remained dormant for a long time are moved to the Forum Archives, in which these threads are searchable. Accessing the Forum Archives requires the purchase of an Archive Account for $9.95.

Punishment

The Forums have an elaborate system of punishment for violation of its various rules and conventions. These occur on a daily basis, and are given out quite liberally in comparison to other "serious" online fora. All of these punishments can be given out by the forum admins for breaking the forum rules, and are rarely retracted or reduced. The punishments include:

  • Probation - a user can be placed on Posting Probation by an admin for any period of time, but usually ranges between six hours and one month. A user placed on probation is unable to reply to threads or post new threads, but may do anything else normally allowed—including editing his or her existing posts. Examples of offenses usually given probation are:
    • Posting replies consisting entirely of a catchphrase or an emoticon.
    • Direct-linking to images without the hosting provider's permission.
    • Flaming or trolling (at the administrator's discretion).
  • Hellban - The reasoning for a hellban is unclear because it is done with no reference to a particular post. The hellban makes a user's posts and replies invisible to other users of the forums; this is usually to stop users who post a lot with little or no content from being seen. Hellbans are infrequently used.
  • Ban - before Probation was created, the Ban was the most common punishment for breaking the rules. Anything punishable by a probation can still possibly result in a ban. "Ban" is a misnomer, as the user is not barred from re-entering the forums, but merely has to pay $9.95 to either re-activate his or her account or buy a new one. Bans result from offenses like the following:
    • Re-posting a gassed thread without trying to fix what caused it to be gassed.
    • Replying with: "Install Linux; Problem solved," to any inquiries about hardware or software.
    • Being insubordinate to mods or admins—attacking their actions, ignoring their instruction or reversing their actions. This sort of conduct is also known as sass.
    • Repeating probationable offenses, or committing them with heightened severity.
  • Autoban - a ban given automatically by the server software. The Autoban is triggered when a user who is not a moderator or administrator posts a thread with a tag that is reserved for moderator announcements—the "Hot", "Ban me", and flashing yellow "Attention" tags on most of the forums. Use of these tags is allowed in FYAD.
  • Permaban - An account which is permabanned cannot be re-activated, and any new account registered by a permabanned user is permabanned upon discovery. While permabans usually come from a history of bad or annoying behavior, there are actions which can result in an immediate permaban:
    • Posting child pornography or bestiality images, or links to sites containing them.
    • Tampering with or attempting to damage the forum software or website.
    • Scamming or defrauding users via SA Mart.
  • Restrictions - sometimes the admins place humorous restrictions on a forum user for being annoying. This can include being banished from FYAD or being locked into one of the forums (usually FYAD or GBS, but occasionally a random one like Coupons). These may also include replacement of the user's avatar or addition of a logo below it.

Culture

The SA forums have their own special culture. One large component of it is a widespread detestation of furries.

Anti-furryism and the Comedy Lolocaust

Long ago, the posting of "furry" porn, or depictions of anthropomorphic animals committing sexual acts, was not against the forum rules in FYAD. When this happened, the poster was usually rebuked if they did not include a warning in the thread's subject text, and perhaps had their preference in pornography mocked.

As time progressed, furry threads continued to be posted, mostly if not solely in FYAD. As FYAD is not intended to have any rules, the posters were not stopped, though they were taunted endlessly by the other members of FYAD. Lowtax one day decided, however, that furry porn would no longer be allowed in FYAD, setting in motion a chain of events later to be known as the "Comedy Lolocaust."

As the first step of the Lolocaust, Lowtax created a subforum in FYAD dedicated to the posting of furry porn, called "The Furry Concentration Camp." This kept all furry threads out of FYAD and in one central location. The denizens of this subforum, along with any others proven to have furry tendencies, were then given custom titles of a large yellow star with the title "Yiff" on top, a reference to a slang term for furry porn. Once all of the forum's furries were identified, they were then permanently relegated to the Furry Concentration Camp, and finally banned, effectively ending the mass proliferation of furry porn in FYAD.

Charges

Forum registration is the main paid service provided by Something Awful. As of 2005, this is $9.95. There are also other services which a Something Awful member can buy, including:

  • Re-registration of banned accounts ($9.95)
  • Custom titles for themself ($5.00) or for someone else ($9.95)
  • Username changes ($7.95)
  • Banner ads that link offsite ($49.95)
  • Banner ads that link to a specific thread or section of the forums ($7.95)
  • Removal of ads ($4.95)
  • Change of their displayed registration date to September 11,2001 ($9.11)
  • New emoticons in the smiley list ($29.95)
  • Stickied threads in SA-Mart ($5.00 per day)
  • "Platinum" account upgrade, which allows private messages, posting polls, attaching images, and searching the forums ($9.95)
  • A forum archives account ($9.95)
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