Talk:Skull emoji

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 talk 13:38, 12 March 2025 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

• ... that an image of a skull is used to express happiness?

• Source: The Guardian

• Reviewed:

Created by AstonishingTunesAdmirer (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 16:03, 15 February 2025 (UTC).

• I will work on this review, please bear with me as it's my first review ever TNM101 (chat) 05:39, 19 February 2025 (UTC)
• Checklist:

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook: Hook has been verified by provided inline citation
Cited: Interesting:

QPQ: None required.

Overall: I will ask another reviewer to take a quick look at this, since it's mentioned at WP:DYKRI TNM101 (chat) 05:39, 19 February 2025 (UTC)

• This article is new enough and long enough. However, I would not use this Guardian article as a source, as the "Pass notes" section is a facetious, light humour section in the G2 supplement. I have removed the source. In any case, a CNBC article verifies the hook. (@TNM101: when checking for reliable sources, it is good to be cautious not just about who is publishing the source, but also what the nature of the source is). The article is otherwise well-sourced. The hook is interesting. Good to go. Best, Tenpop421 (talk) 23:29, 6 March 2025 (UTC)
  • @Tenpop421, thank you for your review! I used that specific source because most other sources say that it expresses joy, and I didn't want to spend time arguing whether joy is happiness (it is), as I think the hook sounds more intriguing with happiness in it. Upon further inspection, though, I do agree with you. FWIW, the reviewer told me that the source used in a DYK nomination must be included in the article too (and I don't remember the guidelines saying that). AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 00:50, 7 March 2025 (UTC)
    • No worries, AstonishingTunesAdmirer it's only something I picked up on as a Brit and Guardian reader. The guideline about the source for a hook also being in an article is mostly just DYK folklore (along the lines of mathematical folklore) Tenpop421 (talk) 01:04, 7 March 2025 (UTC)
      • Thank you Tenpop421 for re-reviewing this. I have understood your concerns and will follow them next time TNM101 (chat) 04:32, 7 March 2025 (UTC)

Is this related to brain rot?

Or is it gen alpha slang? FacuZamXD (talk) 15:18, 23 February 2025 (UTC)

Reliable sources don't categorize it as either, for now at least. I believe there isn't a clear divide yet between gen Z and gen alpha slang. Both groups use the same words. It may change in the next couple years. And then, as journalists point out, gen alpha will start using a different emoji, while the skull emoji will become uncool, cringe gen Z slang. Or it will get a second life as an ironic meme, like the joy emoji now. AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 17:23, 23 February 2025 (UTC)

uhhhhhh this article is dead wrong

Idk about you guys but I've never seen people use the skull to express happiness. You post the skull when someone else has done something embarrassing or stupid. If I posted a stupid opinion on Discord, people might react to me with a skull. Alternatively, if I described someone else doing something stupid, people might react with a skull too. It's also a reaction to hearing misfortune. It fills a similar meaning to a groan.

I don't have any sources to back this up, but someone should get on this ASAP. 200.68.140.35 (talk) 01:59, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

Calling the newspapers as we speak. AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 02:35, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

@AstonishingTunesAdmirer Has it ever occurred to you that a writer for The Guardian who isn't of our age range could be wrong? This is a fundamental problem that Wikipedia has. It gives too much power to these online news articles that are written by one individual who could have flaws like on this topic for example and also other biases on other topics. Alexysun (talk) 06:39, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

Or I guess a slightly longer version of it: the reason why you don't have any sources to back this up is because you are wrong. When I send a meme to my friend and he replies with this emoji, it's not because it's stupid or embarrassing, it's because he finds it funny. Or when I'm looking at all these posts, surely not all of them are using this emoji because they are embarrassed. That said, Wikipedia reflects whatever reliable sources say. And right now, that's what they say. If/when they'll write about the way it's used on your Discord servers, we can update the article. If you want to speed up the process, let the journalists know that they are wrong. AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 03:33, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

@Alexysun, please see above. AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 21:22, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

Nevermind, I've managed to find a source for embarrassment. The others will stay too, though, because they are all sourced. AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 22:12, 17 March 2025 (UTC)

@AstonishingTunesAdmirer Thanks for the ping. Alexysun (talk) 06:35, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

@AstonishingTunesAdmirer Wow! Coming in a little bit hotheaded there!

Me and IP user aren't commenting for no reason lol. Alexysun (talk) 06:40, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

@AstonishingTunesAdmirer Bro. Lmao and a skull emoji means laughing awkwardly. Or idk how to explain it but it's like if the post is making fun of someone you can reply with a skull emoji and it doesn't mean laughing it all. It more means something around the lines of "That's crazy". Alexysun (talk) 06:47, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

Yup exactly. IP user is 100% correct.

I saw the "Did you know?" section yesterday on the Wikipedia main page and my first reaction was "WTF", though I was too busy to get involved until today. And it seems that my fix has gotten reverted! Alexysun (talk) 06:36, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

@Alexysun, Yes, because your "fix" (removing the part where it said that it represents joy or laughter) is wrong, as I said. And no, you can't say that a dozen different journalists were wrong and you are right. A simple google search is enough to confirm it [1] [2] [3]. AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 09:24, 18 March 2025 (UTC)

@AstonishingTunesAdmirer You literally have one source. "a dozen" is an exaggeration. Alexysun (talk) 00:50, 20 March 2025 (UTC)

@AstonishingTunesAdmirer "A simple google search is enough to confirm it".

Proceeds to cherry pick Reddit replies, while previously arguing that only "reliable sources" are of note. The amount of lies, trickery, and manipulation here is insane. At least try to keep your own standards consistent. Alexysun (talk) 00:53, 20 March 2025 (UTC)

I was half-way typing a response, but I think it's pointless. What you are doing now is called "casting aspersions", and if you continue next stop will be WP:ANI. AstonishingTunesAdmirer 連絡 00:57, 20 March 2025 (UTC)