Faux HTML Tags



"OP (name redacted) Has anyone noticed that Twitter-style hashtags have replaced HTML-style coding as meta-commentary on the internet? Person responding (also redacted)"

- Fail Blog



HTML is the markup language that powers the internet. Every web page uses it or technology that builds upon it. It also happens to be very simple to pick up: make an opening tag with, then close it by inserting a / in front of the tag name, like. On blogs and Internet discussion forums, some participants uses the SGML-style tags popularized by HTML, or sometimes even BB Code-style tags, to accentuate their messages by mimicking the style and syntax of semantic HTML, where tags communicate their purpose (e.g., for navigation; happens to be a real tag that can be found on the MDN Web Docs).

Common examples of Faux HTML Tags made up for this purpose include ...  and  .... Sometimes these Faux HTML Tags can include attributes such as ... . Often only the closing tag will be present as a kind of self-conscious lampshade hung on the preceding flame/rant/what-have-you type of post. These can also be used in Image Macros and other humorous images, such as a man with " " tattooed on his neck or a tombstone with " "; this gallery on icanhascheezburger.com provides many examples. is also occasionally used on Usenet to indicate that one is unsubscribing from a thread, though the semantically correct usage would be either (to indicate that the subscription is ending) or (with an XML empty tag to indicate an unsubscription).

This used to be done with faux C preprocessor directives, e.g.: "# ifdef FLAME flame flame flame
 * 1) endif"

but that usage has largely been supplanted by more-approachable HTML.

Also known as Ostensible Markup Language, although it's not the only meaning of that phrase.





Real Life

 * Adam Savage of Mythbusters frequently wears a T-shirt that states "Am I missing an eyebrow?".
 * Anti-war candidate Darcy Burner wore a T-shirt with  on it in several photos.
 * As mentioned in the article, on many forum trends. There are simply too many of them to list and we'll be here all day.