Something Awful (SA) launched June 1999 by Richard “Lowtax” Kyanka as comedy website featuring Photoshop contests, video game reviews, and absurdist humor. The SA Forums (launched 2001) required $10 one-time registration fee, creating community of “Goons” who shaped internet culture, created memes, and influenced comedy for two decades.
Early Internet Comedy Hub (2000-2010)
Something Awful pioneered internet comedy formats later adopted everywhere: Photoshop Fridays (user-submitted image edits), Let’s Play (screenshot video game playthroughs with commentary), “Your Band Sucks” music criticism, and Truth Media Reviews (mocking conspiracy documentaries).
The $10 registration fee (revolutionary for 2001) filtered out low-effort posters, creating higher-quality discussion than free forums. Goons developed sophisticated inside jokes, created original content, and maintained community standards through peer pressure and moderator bans.
Meme Factory & Cultural Influence
SA Forums originated or popularized countless memes and internet phenomena:
- Slenderman (2009): Created in SA Photoshop contest, spawned horror franchise
- Rickrolling: SA goons systematized the bait-and-switch prank
- “All Your Base Are Belong To Us”: SA popularized the Zero Wing translation meme (2000-2001)
- LOLcats/I Can Has Cheezburger: SA goons created early cat caption memes before mainstream adoption
- Advice Dog: Originated on SA before spreading to 4chan/Reddit
The community’s comedy style—absurdist, referential, punishing try-hards—defined internet humor aesthetics. Many early Reddit, 4chan, and Twitter power users started as SA goons.
Let’s Play Revolution
SA Forums invented “Let’s Play” format around 2005: users posted screenshot-by-screenshot playthroughs of video games with humorous commentary. The format evolved into video LPs, eventually spawning YouTube’s entire gaming content industry.
Early LPs: “The Oregon Trail,” “Mystery Science Theater 3000” style riffing on bad games, speedruns with commentary. Before YouTube gaming channels existed, SA goons pioneered the format that became billion-view industry.
Decline & Lowtax Controversy (2010-2020)
As Reddit and Twitter offered free alternatives, SA’s paid registration became barrier. The community aged—early 2000s college students became 2010s parents with less time. Activity declined while cultural influence persisted (former goons ran major subreddits, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels).
Richard Kyanka’s personal problems (domestic violence allegations, financial issues) tarnished SA’s reputation. His suicide (November 2021) shocked community. Current ownership struggles to maintain relevance while honoring history.
Legacy (2023+)
Something Awful’s impact on internet culture is immeasurable. The forums incubated comedy writers, game developers, content creators, and community managers who shaped modern internet. The $10 barrier experiment proved paid communities could work (Discord Nitro, Patreon tiers follow similar logic).
SA’s decline reflects broader internet shift: from forums to social media, from pseudonymous communities to personal brands, from text to video, from desktop to mobile.
https://www.somethingawful.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Something_Awful