Alan's Random Insult Generator (1999)

(alanbellows.com)

74 points | by DamnInteresting 3 days ago ago

28 comments

  • Scoundreller a day ago ago

    I'm partial to this complaint generator, on the internet since 1994 and semi-regularly updated since: https://www.pakin.org/complaint

    here's a 1 paragraph complaint about Dang (which will be different on every load): https://www.pakin.org/complaint?title=&firstname=Dang&middle...

  • DamnInteresting 3 days ago ago

    I found this in a dusty corner of my code archive, and it made me laugh, and thought it might do the same for others. I wrote this when I was first learning a fancy new language called "Javascript." Apologies for the juvenile humor. Sometimes NSFW.

    • a day ago ago
      [deleted]
    • nstents a day ago ago

      Reading Damn Interesting every day, I had no idea. Someone used your insults on AOL, or something like that, repeatedly. Thank you for the laughs.

  • whacked_new a day ago ago

    This is great! I remember being extremely impressed by Boris Johnson's "great supine protoplasmic invertebrate jellies" insult. How does one come up with such a string of words? I would've used this as a study resource.

    • YeGoblynQueenne 21 hours ago ago

      >> How does one come up with such a string of words?

      By spending all day thinking about them instead of running a country.

    • a day ago ago
      [deleted]
  • bityard a day ago ago

    The modern web seems to know nothing about it at this point, but back when CGI scripts were a new curiosity, there was a Shakespearean Insult Generator which was popular and quite a lot of fun.

  • zwaps a day ago ago

    Hey, don’t copy my daily affirmations

  • ChrisMarshallNY a day ago ago

    I won't link it, here (the last time I did, it got flagged), but look up Guy Macon's Insult File.

    Not a single word that would have tripped the content filters of the time.

  • mrweasel a day ago ago

    While it has now be retired, I was also partial to the "Theo" mode in mg for insults.

    https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/checkout/src/usr.bin/mg/Attic/the...

  • citizenfishy a day ago ago
  • sehugg a day ago ago

    I wrote a conversational insult generator in AppleSoft BASIC, inspired by a program called "Abuse" that I saw advertised in a magazine, and of course by Eliza.

  • a day ago ago
    [deleted]
  • ljiljana a day ago ago

    Y2K Certified too!

  • karim79 a day ago ago

    I know we could easily code this by scraping but I would like to see an official REST API for this inspired service.

  • srean a day ago ago

    They have a nice ring and cadence. One could string some of them along into a Pythonic poem to be recited from castle tops.

  • daoboy a day ago ago

    So glad to see this preserved.

    It was sad to discover zombocom finally died an undignified death earlier this year.

    • arthurcolle a day ago ago

      Zombo still works

      • daoboy a day ago ago

        The domain was purchased and redesigned. It still exists but lost something ineffable in the process.

  • stblack 18 hours ago ago

    Presaged the President of the United States, 27-years ago.

  • specproc a day ago ago

    Now that's what I call programming.