"I wrote about this in relation to 4chan and Summer of Megadeth in Epic Win. We want to feel connected, a part of ~something bigger than ourselves~, but not too big. Group participation doesn’t feel as special without some exclusivity. Sense of connectedness is strengthened when the group’s aesthetic and iconography are positioned against a broader alternative. So multi-layered jokes rife with obscure references that only a handful of people will understand help us to feel like we’re in a cool club. We lol and say “OMG this is s000 us."