About
Meme Arrows are an ironic name for the greater-than signs (“>”) typically associated with Green Text Stories. The name is typically associated with those who are outside of chan culture and use the arrows in a ways that demonstrate their lack of knowledge on said culture.
Origin
On imageboards such as 4chan, the greater-than sign, when used after a line break, allows the user to change the rest of the line’s color to green; this feature is intended to allow the user to differentiate quoted text from their own.[1] This feature is often and instead used for other purposes, such as in conjuncton with phrases including implying, mfw, and [year], as well as green text stories, which are one of 4chan’s most popular forms of exported content.
Spread
The earliest complaints about “meme arrows” stem from late 2012. On September 3, YouTube user lorem tripsum uploaded a video parodying the use of “meme arrows”. A Facebook page for greentext stories was created under the name Meme Arrows on September 4.[3] On September 9, a screencap of a /b/ thread discussing the death of “meme arrows” was posted to the subreddit /r/4chan, where it gained a score of 166 before it was archived.[2] An Urban Dictionary definition for “Meme Arrows” was submited in November of the same year.[4]
Search Interest
External References
[1]A 12-year-old’s Guide to Internet Powertools – 4chan basics
[2]Reddit – Meme Arrows
[3]Facebook – Meme Arrows
[4]Urban Dictionary – Meme Arrows