- Image macro
An image macro is a term coined for a
picture with digitally superimposed text, often for humorous effect. It is actually a misnomer, since modern java applets have quickly replaced the need for macros to be used to add text to images. It is not to be confused withmacro photography .Internet forums
On
internet forums andimageboards , image macros are used to emphasize a certain phrase (often an Internet meme) by superimposing it over a related picture. In some forums, use of image macros outside of certain subforums is seen as annoying or disruptive, and may be prohibited.Formats
Although they come in many forms, the most common type of image macro is a photograph with large text superimposed in Impact font, using all upper case letters and coloured white with a thin black outline.
One of the most famous image macros is "
O RLY? " O RLY is often used on the internet as an abbreviation for the phrase "Oh, really?" Originally started with asnowy owl photograph (which is the classic O RLY image macro) [cite news | url=http://tigerweekly.com/article/01-18-2006/1524 | title=Internet Term of the Week | author=Stephen Phillips | publisher="The Independent Tiger Weekly" | date=2006-01-18 | accessdate=2007-08-06] , it spread out over the Web quickly and is now succeeded by many other photos that convey the entire spectrum of human emotions. Another style of image macro that has amassed its own separate subculture is the "lolcat ", a photo of a cat with a humorous or idiosyncratic caption.Etymology
The name "image macro" was first used on the Something Awful forums cite web|url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/dictionary.php?act=3&topicid=83 |title=SAClopedia entry for "image macro" |accessdate=2008-07-28 |work=Something Awful SAClopedia] . The name derived from the fact that the 'macros' were a short bit of text a user could enter that the forum software would automatically parse and expand into the code for a pre-defined image, relating to the computer science topic of a macro, defined as "a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to an output sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure."
Though modern-day Image Macros may not follow the literal concept of a macro, the name is still often used in accordance with their definition as described above.
ee also
*
Lolcat
*4chan
*Motivational poster References
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