this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
427 points (98.2% liked)

memes

21098 readers
1649 users here now

Community rules

1. Be civilNo trolling, bigotry or other insulting / annoying behaviour

2. No politicsThis is non-politics community. For political memes please go to !politicalmemes@lemmy.world

3. No recent repostsCheck for reposts when posting a meme, you can only repost after 1 month

4. No botsNo bots without the express approval of the mods or the admins

5. No Spam/Ads/AI SlopNo advertisements or spam. This is an instance rule and the only way to live. We also consider AI slop to be spam in this community and is subject to removal.

A collection of some classic Lemmy memes for your enjoyment

Sister communities

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 28 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] username_1@programming.dev 35 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

You can't steal meme. You can copy it, yes. But not steal.

[–] raicon@lemmy.world 29 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Would you download a meme?

[–] W98BSoD@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

yeah don't tell me what i wouldn't do

[–] jjj@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You wouldn't download someone's awesome tile art

[–] qualia@lemmy.world 9 points 2 weeks ago

Yes OP: it may prove affirming to refamiliarize yourself with the definition of a meme. Replication = success

[–] hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Would you screenshot a car?

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)
[–] Redjard@reddthat.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

If you say so
*steals @username_1@programming.dev 's computer*

[–] GreenShimada@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Memes are like the flame of a candle - a million memes can be shared without taking anything away from the original image. Other than jpeg compression, but you know what I mean.

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 13 points 2 weeks ago

Memes are meant to be stolen. If they're not being stolen, they die. Copying is the life-force.

[–] SirHaxalot@nord.pub 12 points 2 weeks ago
[–] jh29a@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] nutbutter@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 weeks ago

Thanks for fixing it!

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 weeks ago

Like piracy itself, that's not stealing. It's sharing.

[–] vivalapivo@lemmy.today 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Aqarius@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Hat and all.

[–] neox_@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Copying is not theft: stealing a thing leaves one less left while copying makes one thing more, that's what copy is for. Example?

I if steal your bicycle, you have to take the bus. But if I just copy it, there's one for each of us.

(Thanks Nina Paley https://archive.org/details/CopyingIsNotTheft1080p 😁)

[–] Retail4068@lemmy.world -3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

So you're completely kosher with AI it seems?

[–] namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm not a fan of AI personally, but the "copying others' work" argument never resonated with me. The internet makes copying data trivial - if you still get worked up over people using a technology that has been trivial since the '90s, well, I don't know what to tell you, but you're just not going to win that one. People are just going to keep doing it anyway and maybe it sucks, but there's nothing you can do about it.

The only reason file sharing is illegal today is because nobody bribed politicians to keep it legal.

[–] Retail4068@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

🤣👌👍

[–] MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Copyright is but one of the issues one could have with the planet-ruining, livelihood-stealing, brain-rotting, nadir-of-consumerism generative slop known as "AI".

[–] Retail4068@lemmy.world -1 points 2 weeks ago

Wew lad, the hoop dance is real.

[–] Omegamanthethird@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

If nobody steals your meme, is it still a meme?

[–] yggstyle@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

We do not steal hats. We share them. We teach fraternity and knowledge. We are balance. We are believers in open and free markets. We remain curious, unbridled, and fly no colors.

In time: we may be the only capable navigators of a sea rife with giants and uncouth countries.

We privateers may well be stealing history back from those who would destroy it.

Yo ho my hearties.

Take what you can ...

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago