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Do you actually "laugh out loud?"

  • 05-03-2010 4:47pm
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭


    When I write "lol," it tends to be a simple acknowledgement of something mildly amusing rather than anything even remotely resembling actual laughter. Hell, most of the time I don't even crack a smile.

    Then, when I'm reading boards, I occasionally come across posts like "I just laughed so hard I spit coffee all over my keyboard" or some such rot. And, at least in my opinion, it's generally in relation to something that really.. isn't that funny. And, to be frank, it makes me cringe as I attempt to visualise some poor sod actually doing this.

    Now, I may be some kind of robot or something, but there's very, very little that can be displayed in text on a screen that can actually make me "laugh out loud." In fact, anything displayed on a screen, period, doesn't make me laugh unless I'm in company or it's that youtube cat jumping over the baby gate with a miserable "fail" ending. I don't laugh at jokes in threads, I don't laugh at youtube videos, I don't laugh at TV shows or movies-- unless I'm in company. I tend to just smile to myself if I'm alone and I find something particularly tickling.

    So who's the weird one? Me, or the kind of people who claim to be laughing their arses off (and allegedly spraying beverages out of their noses) at something they read?


«13

Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 22,559 ✭✭✭✭AnonoBoy


    I chuckle menacingly at inappropriate times.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,542 ✭✭✭Captain Darling


    liah wrote: »
    When I write "lol," it tends to be a simple acknowledgement of something mildly amusing rather than anything even remotely resembling actual laughter. Hell, most of the time I don't even crack a smile.

    Then, when I'm reading boards, I occasionally come across posts like "I just laughed so hard I spit coffee all over my keyboard" or some such rot. And, at least in my opinion, it's generally in relation to something that really.. isn't that funny. And, to be frank, it makes me cringe as I attempt to visualise some poor sod actually doing this.

    Now, I may be some kind of robot or something, but there's very, very little that can be displayed in text on a screen that can actually make me "laugh out loud." In fact, anything displayed on a screen, period, doesn't make me laugh unless I'm in company or it's that youtube cat jumping over the baby gate with a miserable "fail" ending. I don't laugh at jokes in threads, I don't laugh at youtube videos, I don't laugh at TV shows or movies-- unless I'm in company. I tend to just smile to myself if I'm alone and I find something particularly tickling.

    So who's the weird one? Me, or the kind of people who claim to be laughing their arses off (and allegedly spraying beverages out of their noses) at something they read?

    LOL


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,344 ✭✭✭Thoie


    Bits of this site sent me into hysterics one evening, but aside from that, the majority of things on discussion boards etc make me smile at most.

    A lot depends on what else is going on in your life when you read something that strikes you as particularly amusing.


  • Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 19,242 Mod ✭✭✭✭L.Jenkins


    I only lol at the misfortune of others!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 37,214 ✭✭✭✭Dudess


    I do indeed - I'm a very "laughy" person. But I wouldn't to the point of deafening everyone within earshot, e.g. in a restaurant, at work, etc...

    Some Boards posts make me laugh out loud, but yeah, sometimes I type "lol" when referring to something that amuses me but doesn't literally make me "laugh out loud".


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    I don't laugh, ever.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,953 ✭✭✭Vinta81


    I write "lol" and I mostly have a blank expression on my face. i say "lol" when I can't be bothered saying anything else generally...lol.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27,944 ✭✭✭✭4zn76tysfajdxp


    I sometimes do laugh at loud when I'm reading and tend to just use "lol" on such occasions.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,595 ✭✭✭bonerm


    Yes, I laugh out loud. But that's mainly because I'm a 60's Bond villain.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,211 ✭✭✭here.from.day.1


    I have picked up a bad habit of saying "Lol," it started as a joke.. God help me!


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,097 ✭✭✭extra-ordinary_


    lol indicates that I'm joking or I found what you said funny. I read boards all day in work and I actually laugh out loud or at least chuckle I'd say at least once everyday when reading threads on here.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,061 ✭✭✭damagegt


    not on screen as you say but i have a tendency to laugh in my sleep most nights


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,094 ✭✭✭jd007


    liah wrote: »

    Then, when I'm reading boards, I occasionally come across posts like "I just laughed so hard I spit coffee all over my keyboard" or some such rot. And, at least in my opinion, it's generally in relation to something that really.. isn't that funny. And, to be frank, it makes me cringe as I attempt to visualise some poor sod actually doing this.

    Just cos you don't find it funny doesn't mean someone else can't find it funny.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,228 ✭✭✭bluto63


    Dudess wrote: »
    I do indeed - I'm a very "laughy" person. But I wouldn't to the point of deafening everyone within earshot, e.g. in a restaurant, at work, etc...

    Some Boards posts make me laugh out loud, but yeah, sometimes I type "lol" when referring to something that amuses me but doesn't literally make me "laugh out loud".

    Ditto


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,593 ✭✭✭Sea Sharp


    Some of the funniest 'text' on the internet.
    LINK

    I'd be concerned if I saw someone rolling around on the floor with laughter because of something funny on the internet. So I assume rofl is never to be taken literally.

    =] (I didn't really smile)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 17,689 ✭✭✭✭OutlawPete


    No, I sometimes us LOL when I just smile.

    The smiley looks Ghey though ---> :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,581 ✭✭✭✭TheZohanS


    liah wrote: »
    So who's the weird one? Me, or the kind of people who claim to be laughing their arses off (and allegedly spraying beverages out of their noses) at something they read?

    Since you asked I'm going to say you.


    LOL!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,597 ✭✭✭WIZE


    Knock Knock


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,228 ✭✭✭bluto63


    lol who's there? lol


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,840 ✭✭✭Luno


    Some stuff on Boards I actually laugh out loud about but I generally don't type it...


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,632 ✭✭✭ART6


    Personally I find it an irritating expression that's over used. We need an abbreviation for "chuckle", one for "belly laugh" and one for "that's hilarious";)

    A better range of emoticons would do it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,128 ✭✭✭cynder


    I have to admit i laugh out loud and even in the cinema and every one turns around and looks:eek:,,,,,,,eeeerrrrrr.

    Got a good sense of humour but when someone falls over in frount of me i double over laughing at them insted of trying to help.:D:D:D

    I even laugh if i fall over.... :D

    I do laugh out loud if i read something funny.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,134 ✭✭✭Lux23


    Yes when something is funny I laugh.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    Evidently I'm a robot so. :eek:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,597 ✭✭✭WIZE


    bluto63 wrote: »
    lol who's there? lol

    Me


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,304 ✭✭✭bonzodog2


    liah wrote: »
    So who's the weird one? Me, or the kind of people who claim to be laughing their arses off (and allegedly spraying beverages out of their noses) at something they read?

    Do you think a new acronym may catch on ? (SBOOMN)
    Maybe not ...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27,944 ✭✭✭✭4zn76tysfajdxp


    liah wrote: »
    Evidently I'm a robot so. :eek:

    That's cool, robots are rad.



  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,228 ✭✭✭epgc3fyqirnbsx


    I'm very moody, sometimes I can do a run through boards without cracking a smile, other times I'm very giggly and do laugh out loud on occasion, even at the stupid jokes

    It's hard to convey tone in text, thats why lol is used, just to let people know that you're getting a kick out of this


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 22,058 ✭✭✭✭Abi


    Yes I do. Which is fine and well when I'm at home, but if I'm reading it on mobile when out I'm sure I look crazy. Meh don't care.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,973 ✭✭✭RayM


    I don't think I've ever literally "LOLed" (or - thankfully - "PMSLed") at anything on the Internet. At a stretch, I might crack a smile. It's the same when I'm watching something really funny on TV. Laughing loudly while alone just seems strange.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 10,838 ✭✭✭✭3hn2givr7mx1sc


    If something is hilarious on boards I will lol, but usually I just smile.
    TV, YouTube etc. either get a little smile or I burst out laughing. 'Tis great.:D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,265 ✭✭✭SugarHigh


    I do genuinly laugh out loud sometimes. I don't really understand why you can't laugh at something because it's on a computer screen or because you're on your own.

    Some jokes work better in text than when spoken.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,814 ✭✭✭TPD


    Not really. I'd give a smirk at most, unless something is really incredibly outrageously funny, which may happen once every two years.

    I was shown a few jokes in an email by an ex's mother, who along with the ex had been laughing her ass off. I read them, had a chuckle (exaggerated, the jokes weren't that funny), and got looked at like some kind of mentalist. They assumed I'd read the jokes every day for weeks to not have found them funny.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    SugarHigh wrote: »
    I do genuinly laugh out loud sometimes. I don't really understand why you can't laugh at something because it's on a computer screen or because you're on your own.

    Some jokes work better in text than when spoken.

    It's not that I can't laugh at something because it's on a computer screen.

    I just find laughing to be a very social activity. If there's nobody around, then what's the point? Laughing conveys what you're feeling to another person. If there's no one around to hear it, as it is essentially a form of communication, I just don't laugh. It's like talking to yourself for me.. if you do, on a regular basis, it does kind of come across as a bit weird.

    I don't mean to not laugh. I just don't. I suppose it's a subconscious thing.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 90 ✭✭YourSQL


    When someone tells me something somewhat amusing in real life that is vaguely funny but not funny enough to make me laugh i just say 'lol'


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,971 ✭✭✭we'llallhavetea_old


    if i write lol i have laughed out loud, but then i'm the kind of person that laughs out loud when i'm on my own anyway. if i'm in company its pretty much the same.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,419 ✭✭✭✭jokettle


    I'm watching tim minchin for the first time and it's making me laugh audibly....but I never type "lol" in response to a post. I don't see the point....I do like lots of full stops though.....I like to think it evokes thoughtfulness and depth......


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    jokettle wrote: »
    I'm watching tim minchin for the first time and it's making me laugh audibly....but I never type "lol" in response to a post. I don't see the point....I do like lots of full stops though.....I like to think it evokes thoughtfulness and depth......

    People like you drive people like me mad. I read everything as its expression is written; insofar that if it uses the appropriate grammar (full stops, ellipses, commas, semi-colons, etc.), that's the way it's read in my head. So when I read a post by someone who consistently uses ellipses, I read it as a ridiculous amount of pauses in the text. Which is irritating, because it's usually totally unwarranted. So damn you! And your ellipses-fanatic friends. :pac:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,650 ✭✭✭✭minidazzler


    liah wrote: »
    It's not that I can't laugh at something because it's on a computer screen.

    I just find laughing to be a very social activity. If there's nobody around, then what's the point? Laughing conveys what you're feeling to another person. If there's no one around to hear it, as it is essentially a form of communication, I just don't laugh. It's like talking to yourself for me.. if you do, on a regular basis, it does kind of come across as a bit weird.

    I don't mean to not laugh. I just don't. I suppose it's a subconscious thing.

    You try to watch Jimmy Carr for an hour and a half alone and not laugh once, impossible!

    I do use lol whether I laugh or not TBH. Dunno why!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,466 ✭✭✭Forest Master


    liah wrote: »
    I occasionally come across posts like "I just laughed so hard I spit coffee all over my keyboard" or some such rot. And, at least in my opinion, it's generally in relation to something that really.. isn't that funny.

    +1
    These people are tools.

    And nobody laughs out loud at text-only internet stuff unless they're simple.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,406 ✭✭✭Pompey Magnus


    Very rarely, usually I would just break a smile at funny stuff, but sometimes a gem comes along and just gets me actually laughing. The last post here to actually get me laughing was this one :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    You try to watch Jimmy Carr for an hour and a half alone and not laugh once, impossible!

    I do use lol whether I laugh or not TBH. Dunno why!

    Again, it's not like I'm trying not to laugh. If it's exceptionally funny, I'll let out a rather undignified snort (forced, I don't snort naturally!) or a low, close-mouthed laugh.

    That's about as far as it gets when I'm on my own.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 440 ✭✭MrPain


    I had a genuine lol thismorning, I was looking at a video on youtube and burst out laughing, then my dad looked a me funny from behind the paper so I tried to hold it in, which resulted in me going red and having a little giggle fit:o
    Here is said video, it the tarzan like sounds and flying away upside down that do it foor me.


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,919 Mod ✭✭✭✭pickarooney


    +1
    These people are tools.

    And nobody laughs out loud at text-only internet stuff unless they're simple.

    I'd venture that people who require humour to be acted out for them are the simple ones.
    liah wrote:
    Again, it's not like I'm trying not to laugh. If it's exceptionally funny, I'll let out a rather undignified snort (forced, I don't snort naturally!) or a low, close-mouthed laugh.

    That's about as far as it gets when I'm on my own.

    So essentially when you do laugh, in company, it's faked?

    /tries not to extrapolate anything from that


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,750 ✭✭✭liah


    So essentially when you do laugh, in company, it's faked?

    /tries not to extrapolate anything from that

    What? No. I'll laugh at something funny in real life and I don't need to fake it. But funny in real life is easier to laugh at, there's energy, expressions, and the situation to feed off of and laughter is contagious.

    How on earth did you draw that conclusion at all?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 17,689 ✭✭✭✭OutlawPete


    It's the people in the cinema laughing out loud constantly when something isn't funny that bugs me.

    Roaring their heads off at nothing.

    Spanners.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 827 ✭✭✭Wolflikeme


    I laugh all the time but, I've never been a 'LOLer' - no man should. :P A simple 'Haha' should suffice.

    If it's especially funny, it'll get one of these - Hahahaha.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,224 ✭✭✭Bolag_the_2nd


    ROR-- im oriential ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 27,944 ✭✭✭✭4zn76tysfajdxp


    And nobody laughs out loud at text-only internet stuff unless they're simple.

    Or unless it's written well. Do you need moving images to find something funny? You must think jugglers are a riot.


  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 11,204 Mod ✭✭✭✭artanevilla


    I don't think I've ever written "lol" I'd just say "ha".


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