Separation of Ha and Ha
From The Extended Group
The Separation of Ha and Ha was an unwritten, socially enforced online etiquette policy that took effect in the Summer of 2003, but did not finish its administration until recent times.
Institution
Lukas and Jamie, having been friends for several years, were in frequent contact with one another on AOL Instant Messenger throughout highschool and the ensuing summer break. Whenever the two would exchange humorous dialogue in a conversation, they adhered to an unorthodox "ha ha" policy, or "separated laughs". While exact reasons for their use of this aberrant expression of laughter are unknown, some posit that this had simply become the norm through a combination of extensive online contacts with each other and the coincidence of separating their ha's. By the end of 2003, Lukas had completely phased out separating his laughs. Jamie held on for a slightly longer period of time, although unsubstantiated reports claim that he may not have fully completed the transition until as recently as 2005. It should be noted that documentation of the pre-separation period altogether is fairly difficult to come across due to a substantial lack of saved AIM conversations.
Examples
These are some examples from actual saved IM conversations:
Jamie:
- Mercury Mazer: I need someone to get a class for me
- Kza4: yeah really
- Kza4: haha
- Mercury Mazer: ha ha
Lukas:
- Heidi Lucas Fan: remember how you accuse me of obsession with the middle east?
- elporko8: yes
- Heidi Lucas Fan: you jerk!
- elporko8: ha ha ha, hey, you know its true
