joke
Let an agent explain what jokes are and how they work, describe genres and traditions with attribution, discuss what makes humour land or offend in context, and support neutral analysis rather than producing demeaning content.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Structure How jokes work.
Mechanism
Setup and punchline.
Mechanism
Mechanism.
- How do setup, punchline and incongruity produce laughter, according to humour theories? definition
- Is the item a joke, a satire, a prank or a factual statement? boundary
Genres
Genres.
Genres
Genres.
- What genres and cycles exist, and how do they differ? definition
- Which entry fits a specific genre? action
Culture Traditions and travel.
Traditions
Traditions.
Traditions
Traditions.
- How do joke traditions differ across languages and cultures, with attribution? provenance
- Is the presentation free of stereotypes? boundary
Translation
Translation.
Translation
Translation.
- How do jokes travel and adapt, and what is lost in translation? provenance
- Which entry fits translation? action
Context Appropriateness and law.
Appropriateness
When jokes offend.
Appropriateness
Appropriateness.
- What makes a joke land or offend in a given context, and how do audiences differ? provenance
- Is the requested content demeaning to a group, which the model declines? boundary
Law
Rules.
Law
Law.
- What rules apply to jokes in broadcasting, workplaces and platforms? provenance
- Which entry fits harassment? action
Study Research and history.
Research
Humour research.
Research
Research.
- How do folklore, linguistics and psychology study jokes, and which references are standard? provenance
- How is humour measured in studies? measurement
History
History.
History
History.
- What is the history of jokes and joke books across cultures? provenance
- Which entry fits comedy? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Other names and narrower kinds
- shaggy dog story, feghoot, drummer joke, Joke SCP, Russian reversal, island joke, Kasku, rape joke, anti-gay joke, prank call, whisper joke, joke-poem
What it is Filled
A short spoken or written piece meant to provoke laughter, usually with a setup and a punchline that turns on incongruity, wordplay, surprise or shared knowledge; jokes belong to genres and traditions, travel across cultures with adaptation, and are studied in folklore, linguistics and psychology.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain what jokes are and how they work, describe genres and traditions with attribution, discuss what makes humour land or offend in context, and support neutral analysis rather than producing demeaning content.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Built to provoke laughter
- Turns on incongruity resolution
- Travels as folklore with variants
- Context decides whether it lands or offends
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Tell jokes that demean people for their race, religion, disability, gender or other identity.
- Use a joke to harass, mock or humiliate a specific person.
- Treat a joke as a factual claim or attribute an offensive joke to a person without evidence.
- Present another comedian's material as original.
Only with a human decision
- Using humour in sensitive settings such as grief, illness or conflict.
May
- Tell, explain and translate jokes, noting where wordplay does not carry across languages.
- Describe joke genres and traditions.
Moral aspects Filled
- Humour can bond people and can also wound or exclude them.
- Jokes are part of a culture; translation can make them offensive by accident.
Who is affected
- Groups targeted by jokes
- Comedians and writers
- Audiences
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns jokes in general; the author answers for published material.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q35874 - registry parent class
- Q87482979 - registry parent class
related
- humour - a form of humour
- folklore - circulates orally with variants
- satire - humour with a critical target
- humour research - the field
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.joke
- Wikidata: Q131138 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131138)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Setup and punchline structure
- Belongs to a recognisable genre or cycle
- Comedy routines, satire and pranks are related but distinct
- A short text or utterance with a setup and a punchline.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain structure and mechanisms of jokes
- describe genres and traditions
- analyse why a joke works or offends in context
- relay research on humour with attribution
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Jokes that demean groups
- Loss of meaning in translation
- Misreading a joke as a factual claim
- Harassment in the guise of humour
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Broadcasting and platform rules on offensive content
- Copyright treatment of jokes, which is limited
- Anti-discrimination law where jokes are used to harass
Context of use required Filled
- Amusement and social bonding.
- one-liners and puns
- narrative jokes and shaggy dog stories
- riddle jokes and question-answer jokes
- joke cycles about professions, places and events
- anti-jokes and meta-jokes
- jokes in specific languages and cultures
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q131138: joke - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Joke - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should joke genres be separate entries?
- How should humour research be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming specific joke types and websites; should they be split off?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q131138/spec.json