A copypasta is a block of text that gets copied and pasted across the internet by individuals, in a similar fashion to a meme. Copypastas are often humorous in nature and get shared widely on forums, message boards, chat platforms, and social media. While many copypastas are relatively new internet creations, the very first copypasta dates back to the early days of the internet in the 1980s. In this article, we will explore the origins and history of copypastas, and discuss what is considered to be the very first copypasta ever created.
What is a Copypasta?
A copypasta is a block of text that gets copied and pasted over the internet by multiple users. Copypastas often contain text written in a conversational tone and may come across as rants, funny stories, bizarre anecdotes, or jokes. While not all copypastas are humorous in nature, many of the most popular and widely-shared ones have comedic intent.
Some key characteristics of copypastas:
- They are blocks of text ranging from a paragraph to several paragraphs.
- They are copied and pasted without modification by users across the internet.
- They are shared widely on forums, message boards, chat platforms, and social media.
- They often have an informal, conversational tone.
- Many are intended to be humorous or satirical.
The widespread sharing of copypastas could be considered an early form of internet meme. However, while memes often undergo mutations and variations, copypastas are shared verbatim, without changes to the original text.
History of Copypastas
The earliest predecessors of copypastas can be traced back to the early days of the internet in the 1980s, when text-based chat platforms and bulletin board systems (BBS) rose to prominence. Users on these primitive chat and forum platforms began copying and pasting humorous blocks of text for entertainment. Early examples of proto-copypastas included short stories, joke lists, song lyrics, and bizarre anecdotes.
However, many internet historians consider “Kilroy was here” to be the very first proto-copypasta. This simple text graffiti arose during World War II and was found drawn or stamped on walls and vehicles all over Europe. American troops would leave the graffiti marking as a prank and it eventually spread virally across Western Europe. “Kilroy was here” could be considered an extremely early analogue copypasta, as soldiers and graffiti artists copied and pasted the text widely.
| Year | Early Copypasta Example |
|---|---|
| 1980s | Lyrics to Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley |
| 1980s | Stories from absurdist text generator ATPo |
| 1940s | “Kilroy was here” WW2 graffiti |
The first copypastas as we know them today emerged in the 1990s with the growing popularity of internet forums and message boards. Text files, stories, and jokes were copied and pasted repeatedly across the early internet, gaining traction and wide circulation. Some key early examples included:
- The Babies Laughing text – A bizarre story about a creepy sound file of laughing babies that first emerged in 1996.
- The Hampster Dance text – Lyrics to the viral early internet hit Hampster Dance song.
- Navy Seal Copypasta – Longwinded text claiming to be from a Navy Seal, filled with military jargon and threats. Emerged in 2010.
However, the very first copypasta as it is recognized today is considered to be the “John is kill” text.
The “John is kill” Copypasta
According to KnowYourMeme.com and other internet historians, the “John is kill” copypasta is considered to be the very first modern copypasta. This text originated from a 4chan thread in 2007, where a forum user shared a short hypothetical conversation between friends informing someone that “John” had died.
Due to a typing error, the announcement “John is kill” emerged and was subsequently copied and pasted across 4chan and other forums as a humorous way to inform users that someone was dead.
Here is the original copypasta text:
john is kill
no
This very short and deadpan humorous text was widely copied and pasted verbatim across the web in subsequent years, solidifying its status as the first known example of a copypasta. It gave rise to the snowclone template:
“[Subject] is kill”
“no”
Which is still used today across the internet in a similar humorous manner, often with intentional typos or misspellings.
While other proto-copypastas preceded it, “John is kill” represents the first text that was expressly copied and pasted for comedic effect, as opposed to simply sharing lyrics, stories or jokes. This crude 4chan thread gave rise to the entire internet phenomenon of copypastas that is still thriving today.
Characteristics of the “John is kill” Copypasta
As the first recorded copypasta, “John is kill” introduced several characteristics and concepts that later became integral aspects of copypastas as a whole:
- It was birthed on 4chan – Copypastas are heavily associated with 4chan culture.
- It was wildly copied and pasted verbatim – Copying and pasting texts widely became a core concept.
- It contained intentional typing errors – Typos and errors are common in later copypastas.
- It was incredibly short – Many copypastas are quite short texts.
- It had deadpan dark humor – Much copypasta content contains dark or anti-humor.
So while simple and crude, this small 4chan post set the stage for copypastas as we recognize them today.
Later History of Copypastas
After the “John is kill” copypasta took off on 4chan, copypastas grew rapidly in popularity and became an entrenched part of internet culture in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Some notable events in the history of copypastas include:
- The Navy Seal Copypasta goes massively viral – This longwinded tough-guy rant copypasta became one of the most well known.
- Creepypastas and horror stories gain traction as dark copypastas on forums like /x/ and r/nosleep.
- Reddit launches in 2005, copypastas become widespread on subreddits.
- Copypasta Wikis are created to archive long lists of copypastas.
- Youtube poop videos mash up and remix copypastas and audio clips.
Copypastas remain highly popular today on social media, messaging platforms, forums, and sites like Reddit and Tumblr. While memes have overshadowed copypastas in mainstream popularity, copypastas are still spread daily across the internet as they have been for decades.
Conclusion
In summary, copypastas emerged from early internet forum and message board culture in the 1980s and 90s as users began copying and pasting humorous text blocks for entertainment. However, the very first recorded copypasta as we know them today arose from a 2007 4chan thread entitled “John is kill”, containing an intentionally misspelled announcement of someone’s death.
This short text introduced the key concepts of copypastas that took root and evolved in later years. So while other examples pre-dated it, “John is kill” stands as the first distinct copypasta that sparked the internet phenomenon carrying forward for decades to come. It shaped the distinctive characteristics of intentional typos, anti-humor, short length, and verbatim copying and sharing that define copypastas seen throughout the modern internet.