Urban Legends Reference Pages
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| URL | http://www.snopes.com/<tr><th>Commercial?</th><td>No</td></tr> |
|---|---|
| Type of site | Reference pages<tr><th>Registration</th><td>Only required on forums</td></tr> |
| Owner | Barbara and David P. Mikkelson |
| Created by | Barbara and David P. Mikkelson |
The Urban Legends Reference Pages, also known as snopes.com, is a website dedicated to determining the truth about many urban legends, Internet rumors and other such stories of uncertain or questionable origin. Snopes is run by Barbara and David Mikkelson, a couple from California who met on the newsgroup alt.folklore.urban and married. The couple also founded the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society, who were credited as the owners of the site until 2005. [1] The site is organized according to topic and includes a messageboard where questionable stories and pictures may be posted.
Contents |
[edit] Main site
Snopes aims to debunk or confirm widely spread urban legends. The site is referenced by numerous other sites, directing people to more information about various hoaxes, especially in regard to chain e-mails. Although they research their topics heavily and provide references when possible, not all of their sources (especially those which are personal interviews, phone calls, or e-mails) are fully verifiable. Where appropriate, pages are generally marked "undetermined" or "unverifiable" if the Mikkelsons feel there is not enough evidence to either support or disprove a given claim.
The site is sometimes confused with The AFU and Urban Legends Archive [2], a similar site run by the denizens of alt.folklore.urban, which houses that newsgroup's FAQ.
The Mikkelsons have stressed the reference portion of the name Urban Legends Reference Pages, indicating that their intention is not merely to dismiss or confirm misconceptions and rumors but to provide evidence for such debunkings and confirmations as well.<ref>"Urban Legends Reference Pages: (Frequently Asked Questions)". (Re "How do I know the information you've presented is accurate?") Retrieved 9 June 2006.</ref> In an attempt to demonstrate the perils of over-reliance on authority, the Mikkelsons created a series of made-up urban folklore tales which they termed The Repository of Lost Legends.<ref>"Urban Legends Reference Page: Lost Legends". Retrieved 9 June 2006.</ref> (The name was chosen for its acronym, T.R.O.L.L.) One fictional legend averred that the children's nursery rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence" was really a coded reference used by pirates to recruit members. (This parodied a real false legend surrounding "Ring Around the Rosie"'s link to the bubonic plague.) Although the creators were sure that no one could believe a tale so ridiculous – and had added a link<ref>"Urban Legends Reference Page: Lost Legends (False Authority)". Retrieved 9 June 2006.</ref> at the bottom of the page to another page explaining the hoax, and a message with the ratings saying Note: Any relationship between these ratings and reality is purely coincidental. – eventually the legend was featured as true on an urban legends board-game and TV show.<ref>"Urban Legends Reference Pages: Humor (Mostly True Stories)". Retrieved 20 June 2006.</ref> Whether this meant their plan backfired or succeeded is in the eye of the beholder.
The name snopes comes from the name of a family in the works of writer William Faulkner.<ref>"Urban Legends Reference Pages: (Frequently Asked Questions)". (Re "What are 'snopes'?") Retrieved 9 June 2006.</ref>
[edit] Forums
The ULRP has a reasonably active forums community. The community, who call themselves "snopesters" (usually lowercase s) have their own lingo, such as NFBSK (Not For British School Kids, a euphemism for adult subjects or language), Waffles (for when posters accidentally double post), YOMANK (You Owe Me A New Keyboard, their equivalent of LOL), and other expressions.
The current forums have been around roughly since 2000, replacing the two old forums, as shown in this post. The current forums are powered by UBB.classic.
The forums have a variety of subforums with different areas of discussions, grouped together, such as a group of forums devoted to discussions of different types of Urban Legends, a group of forums devoted to general talk, with forums about real life (SLC), current events (Soapbox Derby), a forum for entertainment (Amusement Bark), a forum for rants (Rantidote), and a forum for suggestions about new forum features.
There is also a forum about Glurge (Glurge Gallery) and Hurricane Katrina, as well as a forum where threads that get out of control go (Petty Bickering), a forum for jokes (Fun House), a forum for technological discussions (Technobabble) and a forum for bizarre emails sent in through the comments section (We've Got Mail!).
There are also archived versions of forums, to save space in the current versions of the forums, but not every forum has an archived version. While many older threads have been deleted, there are plenty of older threads that still exist. Board moderators also actively delete threads that they consider to be inappropriate.
The forums regularly have different themes, centered around a concept. With each theme, there is a near-universal color scheme (with only some of the forums staying another color scheme all the time) and theme related member statuses. Throughout the forum's history, usage of custom member statuses and avatars have been enabled or disabled. Currently, the forums provides for custom avatars (regardless of theme) and custom member statuses (that must relate to the theme).
The organization of the forum groups has seen minor changes in the past, but currently stands composed as:
- Urban Legends
- Non-UL Chat
- SLC Central
- Diversions
- About This Site
- Archived Forums
David and Barbara Mikkelson are active participants on the forums, with David going by the name "snopes" (lowercase s) and Barbara going simply as "Barbara".
[edit] See also
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
- Urban Legends Reference Pages, the Snopes main site
- ULMB Wikitory, the "unofficial reference pages on the snopes.com message board."
