The founder said that they created the subreddit after a happy coincidence that got their creative juices flowing. "I founded the subreddit a while back. I actually was going through some memes posted on Reddit and saw a response to a somewhat... ‘fitting’ comment that would be right at home with CursedComments. In a response to the comment, someone joking posted r/CursedComments. I was intrigued and when I clicked on it, the subreddit didn’t exist, so I created it because I thought it was super good."
The founder was open with Bored Panda about how they wished to be "smart enough" to have come up with the original name of the subreddit. However, moving past that, they wanted to focus on making the subreddit "a great experience" for everyone while also going for quick growth. "A sort of ‘self-test’ for breaking into the online space. I began posting posts and was loose with the rules to engage content creation and made sure to comment on every post to maximize community engagement," they said.
At first, the moderation on the subreddit was fast and loose (if there was any at all). But this was all done intentionally to maximize growth and get the most attention possible on Reddit. Eventually, this changed. "Posts became more strict, more clear guidelines were established, and branching ‘wings’ such as this Instagram account and discord were set up, both of which still operate." The founder added that they had plans to expand to Twitter as well, but this didn't really work out.
"The moderation towards the end was very strict, and thanks to a really good moderation team helped put together by me and a close friend at the time, we managed to keep it a good space," the founder of r/cursedcomments said.
One of the main challenges that the community faced was facing a possible "quarantine" or shutdown after a run-in with a top Reddit moderator. This was because of a lot of jokes on the subreddit of a very sensitive nature. However, things turned out for the best with a change in rules. "That was incredibly hectic and really kicked moderation into high gear with rules becoming much more strict. At this point in time, the moderation strictness still applies, although with a subreddit of that size it’s still hard to fully moderate, and I personally think post submission quality has taken a hit because of it, no fault to the moderation team."
The r/cursedcomments subreddit is all about humor through shock value. Or, as their moderators explain on the subreddit, they want to make you smile and mystify you with how incomprehensible and blatantly gruesome some of these comments found from the corners of the internet are.
A lot of these will probably have you giggling like there’s no tomorrow. Odds are, you might feel a bit guilty about laughing too hard because the jokes really do border on the Dark Side (what? They have cookies!). But you really, really shouldn’t. Science is on your side.
Laughter provides lots of tangible physical and mental benefits (like helping deal with stress), according to researchers. Naturally, it’s only right that we dip into humor (especially dark comedy) during tough times. Imagine 2020 if we weren’t allowed to poke fun at how tough life is—it would’ve been even worse.
Professional comedians think so, too. In a previous interview, comedy writer Ariane Sherine told Bored Panda that she thinks it’s “essential” to joke about things like the coronavirus pandemic because “humor is a release mechanism to help us cope during dark times.” Even sensitive topics can’t be considered to be ‘off-limits’; if people kept their sense of humor during the two World Wars, we can keep ours in 2020 and beyond.
What’s more, Ariane explained that humor helps people bond and get rid of the gloom. So the next time you chuckle at a cursed comment, don’t feel guilty—embrace it. Cuz the laughter’s making you stronger.
