research-article

'I'm going to hell for laughing at this': Norms, Humour, and the Neutralisation of Aggression in Online Communities

Authors:

Kimberley R. Allison,

Naomi SwellerAuthors Info & Claims

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, Volume 3, Issue CSCW

Article No.: 152, Pages 1 - 25

https://doi.org/10.1145/3359254

Published: 07 November 2019 Publication History

Abstract

The subreddit r/RoastMe presents an intriguing case of how alternative norms can emerge in subversive online communities, allowing behaviours conventionally condemned as inappropriate to be reframed as acceptable. In this community, users post photos of themselves with the explicit expectation of being mocked or ridiculed by others. This mixed-methods, within-subjects experiment explores the influence of three factors that allow negative comments to be framed as acceptable and appropriate within RoastMe: humour, a mean (but funny) normative tone, and explicit articulation of these norms. 117 participants read, rated and reported their intended responses to humorous and non-humorous comments presented as being from RoastMe (explicitly mean but funny), ToastMe (explicitly positive), and two fictionalised communities where the normative tone was not explicitly defined (the mean but funny RateMe, and the positive DescribeMe). Results indicated clear interaction effects between community tone and norm explicitness, whereby comments from RoastMe were consistently rated and responded to most positively, and separate effects of humour on comment ratings and responses. Individual-level moral disengagement appeared central in allowing participants to excuse negative comments in humorous or permissive contexts. Consistent with benign violation theory, the explicitly negative tone of RoastMe was seen to create a shared understanding that users posting photos would expect and not be harmed by comments, allowing participants to reframe interactions as safe, acceptable and funny.

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Cho SLusthaus JFlechais I(2024)Unpacking the Dynamics of Harm in Game Cheating Communities: A Guiding Framework for Cross-Industry InterventionGames: Research and Practice10.1145/36565582:2(1-17)Online publication date: 8-Aug-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3656558
Paakki HVepsäläinen HSalovaara AZafar B(2023)Detecting Covert Disruptive Behavior in Online Interaction by Analyzing Conversational Features and Norm ViolationsACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/363514331:2(1-43)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3635143
Akahori WYamashita NJamieson JNakatani MHashimoto RWatanabe M(2023)Impacts of the Strength and Conformity of Social Norms on Well-Being: A Mixed-Method Study Among Hybrid Workers in JapanProceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544548.3581383(1-17)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
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Index Terms

'I'm going to hell for laughing at this': Norms, Humour, and the Neutralisation of Aggression in Online Communities
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
    1. Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction

Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction Volume 3, Issue CSCW

November 2019

5026 pages

EISSN:2573-0142

DOI:10.1145/3371885

Editors:
Airi Lampinen
Stockholm University, Sweden
,
Darren Gergle
Northwestern University, USA
,
David A. Shamma
FXPAL, USA

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Copyright © 2019 ACM.

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Publication History

Published: 07 November 2019

Published in PACMHCI Volume 3, Issue CSCW

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Cited By

Cho SLusthaus JFlechais I(2024)Unpacking the Dynamics of Harm in Game Cheating Communities: A Guiding Framework for Cross-Industry InterventionGames: Research and Practice10.1145/36565582:2(1-17)Online publication date: 8-Aug-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3656558
Paakki HVepsäläinen HSalovaara AZafar B(2023)Detecting Covert Disruptive Behavior in Online Interaction by Analyzing Conversational Features and Norm ViolationsACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/363514331:2(1-43)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3635143
Akahori WYamashita NJamieson JNakatani MHashimoto RWatanabe M(2023)Impacts of the Strength and Conformity of Social Norms on Well-Being: A Mixed-Method Study Among Hybrid Workers in JapanProceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544548.3581383(1-17)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544548.3581383
Zhu HOu YZhu Z(2022)Aggressive humor style and cyberbullying perpetration: Normative tolerance and moral disengagement perspectiveFrontiers in Psychology10.3389/fpsyg.2022.109531813Online publication date: 23-Dec-2022
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1095318
Weitz BKoc Y(2022)The effect of relational status on perceptions of gay disparaging humorCurrent Psychology10.1007/s12144-022-03712-942:30(26617-26632)Online publication date: 26-Sep-2022
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03712-9
Borsotti VBjørn P(2022)Humor and Stereotypes in Computing: An Equity-focused Approach to Institutional AccountabilityComputer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)10.1007/s10606-022-09440-931:4(771-803)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2022
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Kou YGui X(2020)Emotion Regulation in eSports GamingProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/34152294:CSCW2(1-25)Online publication date: 15-Oct-2020
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R. Allison KBussey KSweller N(2020)Fair Game: The Effects of Target Identity, Attack Topic and Role-Relevance in the Judgement of Online AggressionInternational Conference on Social Media and Society10.1145/3400806.3400821(122-133)Online publication date: 22-Jul-2020
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