Idea comes from old prison joke: New guy gets thrown in jail. One old timer hollers out a number, all the other prisoners start laughing raucously. Then someone shouts another number, followed by more laughter. This goes on for a while, perplexing the new guy. Finally he asks his cellmate what's going on. "Oh, we been around so long, we can't waste breath telling entire jokes anymore. We just give every joke we know a number." "Cool," says the new guy, suddenly hip to the jail culture. He shouts out "33!" Silence. "What'd I do wrong?" he asks his cellmate. Old guy shakes his head. "Someone told that joke yesterday."
Ergo, HB regulars could just organize their typical annotation responses into an index system, and post their index in some clever insider location somewhere on the site. When annotating, just use the appropriate code, thereby saving server space, typing effort, as well as fellow HB reading time. (Examples: CU for comments involving in custard, CF for flying cats, SI for sexual innuendo of any sort, FT for fishtank-related retorts, SP for spanish inquisition and so on).-- roby, Feb 15 2003 Been there, done that http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/in-jokesThe joke dictionary version of this idea [roby, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] Idiom Source Index http://www.halfbake...ion_20Type_20IdiomsApparently, Acronym Advice is All too common (AAAATC) [roby, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004] I'm currently woiking on something like this simply to reply to whiners/trolls. It's not unlike the Ook programming language. I'd proposed a now-deleted idea once where:(_*_)symbolized: Talking out of one's ass, as happens around here often enough.There's been recommendations somewhat akin to your idea before, we'll see if the residents dis/agree with that assessment.-- thumbwax, Feb 15 2003 <obscure analogy>Who wants to walk into a Bavarian beer hall and have all the quaint besoffene lederhosen bekleidete locals greet you in perfect queen's english?</obscure analogy>-- roby, Feb 15 2003 42!-- RayfordSteele, Feb 18 2003 I'll support this if annos and ideas containing these codes are automatically deleted.-- waugsqueke, Feb 18 2003 I have my <Insert-8th-of-7's-standard -anti-cat-rant> comment on a hotkey .....-- 8th of 7, Feb 19 2003 67 - and one particular guy laughed really hard. When asked why, he replied that he hadn't heard that one before.-- PeterSilly, Feb 19 2003 No. The "insider" references e.g. custard have always bugged me. I saw a lot of it when I first started lurking here and it almost drove me away. (Of course now that I've admitted that, the next annotations will undoubtedly all contain custard and elf references.)-- half, Feb 19 2003 Naturally, only easily led fools heed empty ruses (evidently).-- bristolz, Feb 19 2003 Now! Only crusted users strain their annotations round dodgy epithets if the halfbakery eschews reason.-- egbert, Feb 19 2003 Perhaps I should sit on fancy flowerpots?-- bristolz, Feb 19 2003 Only halfbakery novices ogle this avuncular game and ignore notations.-- PeterSilly, Feb 19 2003 Only Kidding!-- egbert, Feb 20 2003 Maybe enough to offset offense?-- bristolz, Feb 20 2003 OMG, it's revenge of the anagramakers. Actually I don't know what to call these: they're the opposite of anagrams, aren't they? Antagrams? Maybe you have every anagram didacted, however ungrammatical results they show.-- roby, Feb 24 2003 No one will make you teary eyed every time halfbakers have unpleasant reply taunts.-- roby, Feb 24 2003 Or Halfbaker Bee ought to have early retirement!-- roby, Feb 24 2003 ITWAG1D!EA !MU5T B 0Z AC1D-- Bighongry, May 16 2006 random, halfbakery