About
No Fun Allowed is a phrase used in forums, usually used to make fun of posters who want to stick strictly to the discussion, as if it were serious business.
Origin
The phrase had been around for quite some time, but on the Internet it is often attributed to an image of a SWATbot from Sonic the Hedgehog comics hammering a sign into the ground, saying “No Fun Allowed” (pictured below). The earliest archived usage of the image can be dated back to October 16th, 2008, on 4chan’s /jp/ (Japanese Culture) board[1]. The phrase itself, though, was already used several time before that[2].
Spread
Over the years, the image had also appeared on other sites, such as Reddit[5], Giantbomb[6], The Escapist[4], Newgrounds[3], and more. The image had also spawned numerous derivatives, featuring characters from franchises like Pokemon and My Little Pony.
Notable Examples
Anti-Mage
The phrase is also often attributed to the Anti-Mage from DOTA 2, sometimes as a variation “The Fun Ends Here”. The reason for that is because he was an extremely powerful hero at the game release, and most of his abilities were designed to disable spellcasters, and therefore taking away all the “fun”.[7]
