Comment by llamageddon01 on 22/10/2021 at 21:44 UTC*

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies (showing 0)

View submission: The NewToReddit Encyclopaedia Redditica v2

Meta

A link or phrase nothing to do with Facebook’s name change[1] but one posted when a comment or post increasingly becomes self-referential, for example: Reddit discussing itself, a meme about memes, a conversation on the nature of conversations and so on. Meta refers to the idea of something being about itself, of which r/metamemes is a perfect example, specialising in memes about Reddit. Also: r/meta; It's So Meta Even This Acronym...

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/qjwg48/facebook_is_now_meta_and_it_wants_to_monetize/

If you feel like you kind of *get* a Reddit comment but don’t quite know why, always think 3 things:

1. Is this a Reddit meta joke?

2. Have I watched the US version of *The Office*? Have I watched *Parks and Recreation*? Or *The Simpsons*? Any Marvel thing ever? *Letterkenny*? Something in the *Lord of the Rings* universe, anything related to *Harry Potter* or whatever Netflix show is hot this season?

3. Is this the only other human with my sense of humour?

The answer is always 1 and probably involves a lot of 2. Welcome to Reddit!

*Because there is a Subreddit for everything:**

Another form of meta that Reddit has embraced wholeheartedly is the recursive image, or mise-en-abîme[2]: a formal technique of placing a copy of an image within itself in a way that suggests an infinitely recurring sequence. In film theory and literary theory, it refers to the technique of inserting a story within a story. In r/pics back in 2019, a Redditor made a fairly poignant post[3], and because Redditors will Reddit, they rallied together in support to create what turned out to be a glorious meta collaborative art project[4].

2: https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100201557

3: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/aggom4/my_mom_painted_this_and_said_no_one_would_like_it/

4: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/reddit-painting-droste-effect-1445749

This type of recursion is also known as the Droste Effect[5]. Named for the picture on a Dutch brand of Cocoa Powder[6], find other examples at r/DrosteEffect, r/2healthbars, and r/Recursion. Related to this are r/FibonacciAsFuck which is dedicated to all things Fibonacci Spirals, an amazing shape that forms when the golden ratio[7] is applied and r/FractalGifs, self-repeating and infinite zoom animations about Fractals.

5: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droste_effect

6: https://www.reddit.com/r/2healthbars/comments/7kv3tp/the_droste_effect/

7: https://i.redd.it/2ppmd01cdks81.jpg

And because cat[8], does anyone remember The Infinite Cat Project[9]? I remember submitting one of my black cat looking at a picture of himself which I entitled “Staring into the Void” but I don’t think it was successful. And now I don’t have a cat to submit.

8: https://rathergood.com/2015/09/09/the-internet-is-made-of-cats/

9: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/dandbf/til_of_the_infinite_cat_project_starting_in_2003/

*See Also:**

“And My Axe!”[10]
Circlejerk[11]
Fake Subreddits[12]
“Fake-Out” Subreddits[13]
Void[14]

Comment by llamageddon01 on 22/10/2021 at 21:44 UTC*

Meta

Replies