First Post! LOL!

The phenomenon is largely confined to sites that have reached a high degree of popularity, such that users are genuinely surprised to see an article without any associated comments. In its original form, a first post was a light-hearted expression of the poster’s excitement at being the first person to write a comment. However, it is now more widely intended as a means of annoying other site users (see Internet troll), with the aim of provoking a negative reaction (see Flamebait). There is also the necessary condition that comments are displayed in chronological order (meaning the first message is the most prominently displayed). It is prevalent among user-commentary sites and does not often appear on conventional webboards, community journals, etc.

Categories: Ephemera