Signal Boost: [zenolalia's beautiful shitpost explainer]

[cimorene]

zenolalia commented in rydra_wong's post O hivemind seeking to crowdsource a good definition of the 'shitpost':

In jokes, memes, and shitposts ALL derive their humour from a certain level of surrealism.

A meme is not funny because it's true, but because it's an accepted set of ideas and responses that is not, in fact, tied to any objective reality. Nonetheless, it is known to a great many people--people who often do not know each other, but rather, operate in a shared culture--and thus there is a familiarity in its absurdity. It's absurd, but it's absurd in a way we all known and share in, which is comforting. And the combination of unexpected/absurd, and comfort, is what creates humour (as opposed to fear, which is the unexpected/absurd without comfort).

An in-joke is basically a meme for a very small group, usually a set of friends, or other small gathering where everyone knows (at leat, is passingly familiar with) everyone else. Friends, families, military units, people working at the same office, students in a single class, etc. An in-joke tends to occur when everyone knows everyone, and thus has a very specific shared context that does not exist in the greater culture.

A shitpost exists between these two scales.

This isn't the whole explainer! This is just a good introductory sample! Read the whole thing (or the whole post).