WHAT IS THIS AUUUGH

[azurelunatic]

I'm not the only one to scream about this in recent memory; I think someone was headpounding in IRC. I've screamed about this in the past, but there's now a new twist.

A cut or lj-cut is a link that obscures part of the contents of your entry, and shows the whole thing when clicked. (Or when expanded!)

A fake cut is a link that is styled to look like an lj-cut, but goes to a different location entirely.

Things that are not a fake cut: a link that has no attempt made to make it look like an lj-cut.


The new thing, which set me off just now, and resulted in me unsubscribing from a community on LJ: what in the name of the ingrown beard hairs on both of Janus's two faces is a fake link.

A fake link.

IS THIS A LINK THAT DOESN'T WORK WHEN YOU CLICK IT?
IS THIS A RICKROLL?

NO. IF IT GOES SOMEWHERE WHEN YOU CLICK IT, AND YOU SAY WHERE IT IS GOING, ACCURATELY, IT IS A LINK. NOTHING FAKE ABOUT IT.

IF YOU LEARNED THAT SOMETHING WAS A "FAKE LINK", YOU WERE TAUGHT BADLY. NOW YOU KNOW BETTER. GO FORTH AND IT'S A FUCKING LINK OK? EVEN IF IT HAS TEXT ON IT AND DOESN'T SHOW ITS HTTP. IT'S STILL A LINK.

Comments

[trobadora]

Hahahahaha, let me cling to you because I was just thinking exactly the same thing! :D

[azurelunatic]

I. Just. IF IT WORKS, IT'S NOT FAKE.

[boundbooks]

Haha, oh my gosh. So glad to know that I'm not the only one bugged by this. XD

[azurelunatic]

IT IS A BAD MEME. BAD, BAD, BAD MEME.

[boundbooks]

Haha, new favorite concept: the unintentional meme. XD

[azurelunatic]

Well, since the original meaning is a self-replicating piece of information...

[mathsnerd]

Who the FUCK is spreading this level of FUCKERY? I mean, how DUMB do you have to BE? AUGH! The STUPID! It BURNS!

[azurelunatic]

There are enough offenders that a site search does not actually pull up the person who made me yell.

Though there are some correct uses in site search:

An example bit of code that does not in fact have a link where one would be in the real code
A bad link to a bad site, from spammers/scammers
Something that may have some statistical correlation, but has no actual causal relationship (like, churches and bars; the relationship there is population, not churches popping up in response to bars or bars popping up in response to churches)

[mathsnerd]

*groans* Which LJ comm was it?

[elf]

I don't get it. I mean, I know what a "fake link" is. This is a fake link. Arguably, the Vorkosigan fandom fic posted at Yuletide (Barrayar Expects That Every Fan Will Do Their Duty) has "fake links"--they all just link to the fic itself.

I know some people call Rickrolling "fake links," and that's reasonable too... link says it's going one place, which is fake, and goes somewhere else. Sure. The link itself is real, but the text is lying; that's within my understanding of the word "fake."

But um. Links that say where they're going, and then go there... that's kinda the opposite of the concept of "fake link."

[azurelunatic]

EXACTLY.

I think it is badly-transmitted knowledge being picked up badly.

[fiddlingfrog.livejournal.com]

Yup, empty anchor tags. That's what I've always heard called a fake link.

[azurelunatic]

You have been traveling in the sensible parts of the net.

[lannamichaels]

Arguably, the Vorkosigan fandom fic posted at Yuletide (Barrayar Expects That Every Fan Will Do Their Duty) has "fake links"--they all just link to the fic itself.

Heh, not really, they're real link tags just without a URL put in them. A fake link would have been if I'd marked it up to *look* like a link and make the cursor change, but it not actually being an anchor tag. ;) I'm not that evil and/or I have no idea if I could have gotten that to work on ao3. ;)

[sithjawa]

It is a mimic that disguises itself as a link. When you try to click it, it eats your cursor.

[azurelunatic]

*snerk*

[armaina]

a fake link

[azurelunatic]

*snerk*

[kerri]

This made me lol :D

[inoru_no_hoshi]

Bahahaha. :D

[vass]

Oh dear FUCK. >:(

[waketosleep]

Isn't it funny how the internet's been around longer than some of the people who use it, and yet people can still herp the derp this much?

[azurelunatic]

I suppose it's charming and basically harmless compared to the things the kids believe about the human reproductive system.

[sophie]

[edit: Removed my reply after second thoughts; it wasn't helpful. Sorry.]

[chagrined]

Hahaha, I saw that the other day as well. And then ranted about it on tumblr. XD Right, an underline or something disguised to look as a link that doesn't actually link anywhere -- that'd be a fake link. Ppl who see "fake cut" and think "ahhh, that's for a link to a fic? so uh, if I don't disguise it as a cut, it's a ...fake ...link...?" LOL

[azurelunatic]

Yes. BAD MEME. NO BISCUIT.

[silverflight8]

I HATE FAKE CUTS with the burning, burning passion of one who has explained many many many times repeatedly to the same person (and many people) who are clueless about links and lj-cuts and conflate them WITHOUT THE ADDITIONAL CONFUSION OF CUTS DISGUISED AS LINKS

/the entries scream of despair

[silverflight8]

sorry, this was not entirely relevant. I just - augh.

[azurelunatic]

AUGH INDEED.

[pengolodh_sc]

I agree with you so much.

[andrewducker]

What, pray tell, is the difference between a "fake link" and a "link" in the minds of these people?

[azurelunatic]

That is indeed a question.

[matgb]

in the minds of these people

I think you've located the problem, or lack of, there.

[automaticdoor]

I do believe I was doing some of that yelling in irc. Wtf, people. Look at your life. Look at your choices.