thank you for writing this up - thought this was a good (albeit long) post. i love this closing at the end. and i think that your broad point is true: too often, memes (and other things) on base seek validation from me/the core base team/some perceived 'cabal' that doesn't really exist and if it did, wouldn't contribute to making a meme successful. the best version of memes on base is one where memes succeed in and of themselves. because they are funny. because they onboard people. because they make fun. because they piss people off. whatever. but because *they* do it, not because I or someone else says "this is a good meme." if i look at some of the oldest, best memes on base historically - toshi, tybg, chad, dickbutt, etc - i think you see this is a pattern. i'm excited to see the base trenches continue to grow and evolve and the memes that are meant to, go viral.