Thread

1. add-sub-mul-div · 1790255147 · focus · HN ↗

   I wonder if they went straight to "AI" as an insult independently from the older generations, or if they were using "slop" like the rest of us but had to adopt a new insult because "slop" has been co-opted to refer to things that are terrible whether AI or not.

   1. samrus · 1790255491 · focus · HN ↗

      Slop meant cheap garbage meant for mass consumption before it was used for AI. The roots are actually antisemitic. 4chan's cooking board used "goyslop" to mean fast food and other cheap consumerist foods that they claimed the illuminati or jewish conspiracy or whateve fed to non jews to keep them unhealthy. Its crazy how often 4chan's neonazi rambling are the start of so many cultural phenomena. They supported trump way before he became a serious candidate in 2016

      1. jknoepfler · 1790257404 · focus · HN ↗

         That's a very dodgy etymology. The use of "slop" to refer to trashy content dates back to the late 19th/early 20th century, long before the advent of the internet.

         I think our tendency to attribute "novel" word usage to 4chan might reflect more on us than on our language.

         I&#x27;m a little short on primary reference material, but here&#x27;s an example from 1917: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gutenberg.org&#x2F;cache&#x2F;epub&#x2F;22692&#x2F;pg22692-images.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gutenberg.org&#x2F;cache&#x2F;epub&#x2F;22692&#x2F;pg22692-images.ht.... Conversation on language log has at least two others from 1897 and 1920 respectively.

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