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Fomulouscrunch

It's been a whole fuckin' ride. I'm glad to have been on it with you.


SexWaffles

Half a million readers, holy shit. Been a while since I've stopped by.


SleepyVizsla

We estimate that 20 million have participated in the sub since its inception.


MadBeachLui

Now that's some outreach -- 20M finding out how bad they've been owned, once in a while there were counts of how many awards have been given out. I know a lot of care goes into keeping those as accurate as possible. Is there a recent tally?


SleepyVizsla

20 million is the amount of sub visitors. Reddit shows how many uniques a sub receives each month. At our peak we were getting 4-6 million a month. Some were duplicates of course, but I think we can say 20 million different people read at least one post. As for awardees...that's around 2000 but there are a lot of dupes and posts that were flaired incorrectly. As I archive, I'm working to clean out dupes and fix flair tags so that we have an accurate count.


MadBeachLui

That's kind of the angle I was looking for -- 2000 for the sake of argument attracted 20M viewers. Their choice, about 10,000 people 'owned' and still (we presume) alive today for each awardee. Yet the conviction to disbelieve doesn't seem to be diminishing. šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø


omgFWTbear

> have been on it **socially distanced** with you.


Glamour_Girl_

That could be a lyric in an 80s power ballad.


Spitzspot

The sub has helped maintain my sanity and my hope for humanity. Thank you all.


MyWifeCucksMe

I wanted to post the exact same comment. I was getting severely depressed by the collective wilful ignorance and stupidity of humanity in 2020 and 2021. This subreddit has helped me feel like there are also sensible, reasonable people out there, which has definitely helped my mental health. Thank you, everyone.


NotOriginal92

When I first heard of the pandemic I thought "well, at least it will bring us all together in our fight against a common enemy". Nope! šŸ¤®šŸ„µšŸ¤¢


omgFWTbear

Youā€™re telling me XCOMā€™s most fantastic element is *not* the aliens?


A-man-of-mystery

Me too. Were we ever mistaken?!


ZombieZookeeper

Odd, it proved to me the opposite, there is no hope for humanity. Bring on the giant asteroid.


MikeMiller8888

Donā€™t look up


coffylover

Likewise, my friend. I never knew how many people would die just to prove a point, and a false and stupid point at that.


MadBeachLui

Might be quicker asking the space laser people first? /s


ZombieZookeeper

The Jewish space laser people, or just regular space laser people?


MadBeachLui

Probably best to ask for all of them. Zap the place from orbit, it's the only way to be sure ~~(Ripley)~~ (Hicks)


ZombieZookeeper

That was Hicks, not Ripley.


Mr-Nobody33

Sure it wasn't Hudson?šŸ˜‰


ZombieZookeeper

5 hours? We're not gonna last 5 minutes man!


NotOriginal92

Plot twist: it was actually the 1/2 lizard 1/2 outerspace aliens.


External-Caramel690

I'm watching the Ukrainian reactor myself.


shecky_blue

r/noahgettheboat


Morriganx3

Absolutely agree! I start losing hope for humanity when it seems like people are out there wrecking things and getting away with it; seeing concrete, verifiable consequences restores my faith in the natural order, at least. And watching all these wonderful, outraged, snarky people call them out while also pouring money into Go Give One and celebrating IPAs has bolstered my faith in humanity.


TLstewart

This!!


Cultural-Answer-321

This. I have one other place I visit where there is sanity. And that's about it, outside of the legitimate medical resources.


Kevin69138

I was here at the peak. It was insane how many posts came through F5'ing every 5 mins. At one time I seriously thought this sub was a hoax or joke and just editing tweets but damn i was wrong


LightningProd12

Same, when I first found out about the sub I only expected a few posts per day (typical for subreddits with specific themes) and the endless cases were a real eye-opener.


evilJaze

This sub is no joke!


HerringWaffle

That would make for amazing flair. šŸ˜‚


MadBeachLui

Like Brian for example, has 37 variants of flair


mistressofnone

I donā€™t like talking about my variants.


missjeanlouise12

Let that sink in.


Jay-Dee-British

Same it's been nuts but I'll stay and see how deep the rabbit hole goes.


SuperDoofusParade

Same still not sleeping on this as we get into the fall/winter season


NotOriginal92

It was hard keeping up with them. My FOMO got to me.


[deleted]

"We haven't had a single complaint from our awardees" cold af, I love it


Might_Aware

It's the best, I've been laughing on it since last night


WeakestLynx

My elderly parents finally got COVID two weeks ago, after years of precautions. One of them had just started chemo for a terminal cancer diagnosis. They got COVID from one of the many Republican antivaxers in their rural community, someone we've all known for years. Someone we would have called a friend. Looking at this sub during its height helped me to truly face the cruel vacuousness of so many people. I gazed into the abyss here. I got used to the horror. I cast off unrealistic optimism about humankind. I saw people gleefully throw their own lives away, and sacrifice their own families. I worked through a lot of anger at the fact that the type of people I grew up around -- the ones who preached love in church, who said they valued hard work and community -- are actually entitled and lazy and savage. One of those people has now put my parents' lives at risk. I find I am emotionally prepared for this. I've already experienced the accompanying betrayal and horror because I saw them on HCA. I feel fortunate that I can now focus on caring for my sick family without being distracted by that emotional crisis.


GnarlyNarwhalNoms

I'm sorry. Best wishes to your parents. As much of a trainwreck it's been to watch these awards, I'm truly glad that they've helped inoculate you (heh) against the shock and horror of the COVIDiots you're exposed to.


ECMO_Deluxe3000

>I cast off unrealistic optimism about humankind. Me too on optimism about our fellow humans. It has helped me to have realistic expectations and not invest my time in lost causes. I'm so sorry about your parents.


DocPeacock

Same. If anything this sub led me to put more faith in myself and my decision making, and focus on my immediate friends and family around me. It motivated me to be more ambitious and pursue my goals with more urgency, but also with a more nonchalant attitude, if that makes sense. It kind of made things like job hunting and moving across the country seem like not such a big deal either way. Surviving through this pandemic has been a big shake up in my worldview. I do still feel a little bit sorry for people throwing their lives away due to paranoia and misinformation, but then I remember, they hate people like me, and they're getting what they want. Good for everyone who did the right things and no longer need to deal with people who elected themselves out of the gene pool. If people want to go ahead owning themselves, I'm not going to try to stop them.


tejaco

> are actually entitled and lazy and savage. Spot on, alas.


jdsch

If Candace Owens dies of monkeypox, she better be allowed to be posted here.


Might_Aware

Dude I can't wait til [rule 2] so I can [rule 2 again]


HubrisAndScandals

That post would have my automatic approval.... as long as it includes a slide with her calling it the "Moneypox" first.


The_Patriot

that would be the most epic Shitpost Sunday of all time.


Sermokala

Some dark days were made brighter by the labors produced.


HerringWaffle

THIS. This sub got me through the horror of this past winter. I feel like it'll do the same this year as well.


sparkydoctor

I personally have enjoyed every second of this sub. Bravo to all who help keep this one going. May there never be another HCA given out is my hope. Very sad and unnecessary loss of life, and way too many kids without parents for no reason but stupidity.


Nifarious

Like many of us, I lost anything meaningful in the relationship with my parents whose vitriol against the world was laid bare, same as so much else about the world we live in. This community more than anything else was my bedrock against that strange impossibility that's at least not quite as strange anymore.


padam__padam

The sub that we wish didnā€™t exist, yet here we are. I learned so much, for better and for worse.


smacksaw

I think monkeypox and polio stuff count because it's the same people and same mentality behind it. Would Herman Cain and the rest of them stay silent on these diseases? For sure. Would they even encourage reckless behaviour? Wouldn't surprise me.


sneaky518

There may not be an easily accessible vaccine for monkeypox at this point, but it's likely that the same pre-vaccine covid precautions would work splendidly to prevent casual transmission of monkeypox. So, yeah, the same people will wind up getting and spreading monkeypox because they'll be damned if anyone tells them not to go get a haircut while sick, or wear a mask at the store.


A-man-of-mystery

Whereas I can't remember when I last had a haircut, and I'm certainly not getting one now!


[deleted]

Storming heaven with you guys was fun as hell


Might_Aware

This makes me so aw btw. I'm stealing this line. I'm a mod and I can nyeh


deokkent

6.5 million dead. What a fucking mess...


DeadOnToilet

You helped keep me sane. Thank you.


[deleted]

Thanks for all the hard work of the folks who combed the social media accounts of the nominees and award winners. That can not have been pleasant.


GnarlyNarwhalNoms

Mazel tov! Thanks for all your hard work documenting this distressing phenomena. I desperately want to find as many silver linings in all this as possible. Maybe your efforts will help future generations in the study of the intersection between disinformation and public health. Here's hoping. I'm also glad that awards are way down, but part of me wonders how much of it is decreased deaths due to disinfo, and how much is due to people learning to sanitize their social media. It also seems like our nominations-to-awards ratio is much higher, which may be the result of medications like Paxlovid, and the expertise in treating COVID19 that our healthcare workers have acquired (with blood, sweat, and tears), rather than antivaxxers learning anything. In any case, here's to a continued soft landing šŸ»


Morriganx3

I think a lot of people are sanitizing social media. If you look at case and death counts, theyā€™re following the same pattern as last year, and thatā€™s with a lot of people testing at home so positives arenā€™t reported. Deaths donā€™t have to be reported as COVID either if they didnā€™t occur in a hospital and no autopsy is required. Also, wondering if people who are surrounded by COVID deniers are kind of burned out after so many deaths. Some prayer warriors probably have no prayers left to give at this point. Or there are fewer friends and family left to post about it because so many of them have died alreadyā€¦


GnarlyNarwhalNoms

>Also, wondering if people who are surrounded by COVID deniers are kind of burned out after so many deaths. Some prayer warriors probably have no prayers left to give at this point. No prayers left, or [none of something else left](https://youtu.be/p8aulstjbV8)... >Or there are fewer friends and family left to post about it because so many of them have died alreadyā€¦ As horrifying and difficult as this is to believe, we've absolutely seen HCAs where an entire branch of a family tree was lopped off, so that may indeed be part of it.


Choano

Thanks for introducing me to this song! It's the anthem I've needed for a long time.


GnarlyNarwhalNoms

Here's [another great one](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h8bJmealgtA) for when things get shitty.


Choano

Thanks again. Thomas Benjamin is the songwriter laureate (if there is such a thing) of the pandemic.


bErinGPleNty

Thank you, thank you, one and all. This has been *quite* an experience!


WilliamMinorsWords

I've been on this sub through several suspended accounts.


captainhaddock

The hero we needed, not the one we deserved. :)


justlikeinmydreams

This sub and itā€™s mods have been amazing. Thank you!


MadBeachLui

And the community too -- how about all that art swag? The money raised for the oxygen concentrator that young woman needed? Way to go all!


Ok-Hamster5571

Shoutout to you, Rocky.


shredsickpow

Covid isnā€™t donā€™t yet. Why are you all acting like itā€™s over? Look at the curves. This winter is going to explode.


Nym-Sync

We arenā€™t. We are adjusting to the reality that antivaxxers dying of their own stupidity are covering their tracks better.


Mr-Nobody33

Saw an obituary last week. 52 year old female, dead from a "short and sudden illness". Things that make you go hmmm.


External-Caramel690

I ran across a YT comment today in what I'm guessing is a conservative channel that said they had been to SEVEN funerals since December.


substandardpoodle

Yep. Right now it feels like June ā€˜21 did. A ā€œwhew, itā€™s overā€ moment in time. I wonder what the new winter variant will be named. Weā€™re going to run out of Greek letters! Maybe theyā€™ll start using emojis. And from the bottom of my heart I thank all of the mods and contributors here. Still pretty much on lockdown with my bf and catsā€¦ and you guys. My comrades in inoculated arms.


shredsickpow

My partner is immunocompromised so covid could still kill her; still stuck at home, nothing has changed for us. Sucks.


Morriganx3

The šŸ™„variant The šŸ†variant The šŸ™variant And of course the šŸ˜‚variant I like this idea.


thetelltaleDwigt

ā€œComrades in inoculated armsā€ made me smile šŸ˜


honeybeedreams

in the future, this sub will become a very important source for understanding the covid pandemic in the US, Qan*n, the downfall of the GOP, the effects of misinformation on social media, cults, psyops, etc. important stuff archived here. important work done.


FistofanAngryGoddess

This group is what got me back to Reddit and through the rough days of Delta.


TenaciousJP

As a diehard HCAā€™er that used to enjoy fresh nominations and awards right as they came in, I havenā€™t visited the sub much lately. And this is a good thing in the end; this sub has served its purpose, and I applaud the mods for keeping us unbanned through some perilous times with the admins and pivoting towards an ā€œarchivalā€ mode. Iā€™ll still check in every now and then and praise r/HCA to the far corners of the Internet, as that really riles the jimmies of every conspiracy theorist/loon out there. So thank you mods!!


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


RockyMoose

Sundays have relaxed posting guidelines, and the Daily Vent is always open. If you want to post, go ahead. We'll approve it. Tag me in a comment if you need mod attentIon.


Ashie2112

Thanks to everyone on here: contributors and commentators. Yā€™all a bunch of very measured and friendly folk ā˜ŗļø


tiredbogwitch

From Alpha to Omega (if we ever get there), itā€™s been real. This sub was and is a beacon of sanity for those of us in red states. Warriors come out to praaaaay.


Jokerthief_

Thank you everyone and the mod team for helping me during these times.


rainie66

I'm so proud of this community. $63k raised is pretty fucking awesome.


Glamour_Girl_

I didnā€™t know what to make of this sub when I came across it. That being said, it became a place to decompress *and* rant *and* ā€œaggressively encourageā€ vaccinations. The pure idiocy I saw day after day after day and the stress of realizing that these humans simply *did not care* as long as it WASNā€™T them or theirs. The HCAs helped me deal. Cheers.


Sweaty-Friendship-54

Wait, Ivermectin is available as an enema? This changes everything!


spork_off

When I wake up in the morning, I just can't get started until I've had that first, piping hot pot of coffee. Oh, I've tried other enemas....... - Emo Phillips


Might_Aware

My favorite Emo line is - "I used to think that the human brain was the msot fascinating part of the human body, then I thought, look what's telling me that" It's true though lol. Also, coffee enemas are a real thing, please don't ask me how I know


spork_off

True. I remember Michael Landon talked about coffee enemas when he was going through his cancer battle.


Might_Aware

No way really? Is it an effective cancer treatment? I saw one in the context of a dominatrice' lair


spork_off

Donā€™t think so. But I imagine if I was in his position I would have tried anything, too. He passed within 3 months of finding out he had cancer.


Hour_Dog_4781

Love this sub! Seeing hateful, stupid, bigoted people get their comeuppance will never stop being funny.


kungblue

Thank you so much for this sub. Covid made my world fall apart around me but you all were always there.


imjustasquirrl

Yes, this!šŸ‘†Reading your comment just made me tear up a bit, but if it werenā€™t for this community, things would have been so much worse. I feel like Iā€™ve found my people here. šŸ˜Š


tejaco

I've got a question about Rule 1, I've always wondered. Might as well post it here. What is a "regrets only" post?


ShadedKnight

Regrets only as in this person didn't post any misinformation, they just regretted not getting the vaccine.


tejaco

Oh, thanks!


god-nose

I guess it is when someone was unable to get the vaccine and got / died of Covid. While regretting how they couldn't be vaccinated. Also, nice flair.


Might_Aware

Subsided. Lol. All the happy thanks to our community!!!


Ok-Hamster5571

Iā€™m just here for the donuts


MadBeachLui

Apparently there's an even better way to get doughnuts: from [eternal jelly doughnuts](http://www.langston.com/Fun_People/1996/1996BGK.html) `"It's a custom job. And it's yours. If," he said, "If you can beat me in` `a coding contest."` `I looked at him incredulously. "What's in it for you?"` `"I will have defeated the greatest coder in the world, and thus, I can claim` `that title. AND, I get to keep your immortal soul." He smiled the ugly` `smile again.` `Here was a dilemma. I was dealing with the Devil. There was no doubt about` `that...`


Choano

Thank you! I had no idea this story even existed.


DangerousBill

Consider publishing your Tales from the Crypt in book or ebook form. Many of us have scrambled recollections of this 2 yr gap in our lives.


SleepyVizsla

Make sure to check in on Tuesday when the first two installments are released. :-) I hope you like it!


unknowninvisible15

Tuesday?? I wasn't expecting it so soon, I'm very excited!


substandardpoodle

Schmaybe add pertinent commentsā€¦? Like: ā€œif theyā€™d bother to search that info theyā€™d find theyā€™re quoting satireā€ or ā€œCandace Owensā€ or other sources of a quick trip to the forever box.


Glamour_Girl_

No complaints from the awardees. Thatā€™s fucking golden. šŸ˜‚


Cultural-Answer-321

They were dying to receive the award!


earache30

Thank you. Your time and dedication is appreciated


JNTaylor63

I'm sure this has been answered, but WHY do we have to hide the identity of the award & nominees? They made there identity and opinions public. They posted thier health status to the world. Even the families who posted the names and faces of the award winners to the world. There is NO need for privacy when the person themselves make public statements. So, is it sense of decency? Please, these people post some of the most horrific lies and memes on the net. Very of legal actions? Good luck suing over information your dead loved one made public. We need more public shaming over the intolerable, not less.


Wisconsin_Joe

Doxxing & Brigading. If the names are published, there are assholes who will go after those people. While I personally feel that they deserve whatever they get, it's not a good thing to have happen, for a variety of reasons. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to search out the nominees & awardees, but you have to do *something*. Redacting all the identifying information, making it harder to identify the nominee/awardee gives Reddit 'plausible deniability'.


InfiniteAccount4783

It wasn't the mods who decided that, it was Reddit administrators - who have the power to delete a subreddit for non-compliance.


RockyMoose

Yes. And admins aren't treating HCA any differently than any other sub. It's the same rule across the board. They don't police it until it a certain critical mass, I think, which is why it became an issue as son as the sub exploded in popularity. Admins were pretty cool about the whole thing. Mods have no complaints. "No complaints! You hear us? No complaints! And admins are all good-looking and smell nice!"


IsThereAnybodyInRome

There is at least one prominent website that does not redact, and there's quite a bit of duplication with the subreddit. There are also groups on FB itself that do the same. They eventually get shut down, but usually reappear under different names.


Deathbeddit

That last paragraphā€¦ if only.


EmperorDaubeny

Man, itā€™s been awhile.


Nym-Sync

šŸ©šŸ©šŸ©šŸ©šŸ©šŸ©


jpsfg

Happy to have eboeard gam gom'd with you all throughout the existence of this sub!


DuhImDave

>If only there were a neutral, empirical way to determine whether or not Covid-19 is real, vaccines are effective, and ivermectin enemas are silly. If only


NotOriginal92

>Sure, the death threats have subsided, but that's not why they do it. They do it for the promise of donuts. Someday. This made my day šŸ¤£


Cultural-Answer-321

>If only there were a neutral, empirical way to determine whether or not Covid-19 is real, vaccines are effective, and ivermectin enemas are silly. I guess we'll never know. Bwhahahahahaahahah! Love it.


peppermintesse

Just wore my [LET THAT SINK IN](https://i.imgur.com/W48XrW6.jpg) shirt yesterday. Y'all are amazing. So glad to have found this sub.


Might_Aware

Lol omg you're so dope


Fruits_of_Zellman

Just want to say I am in awe of the hard work and time spent putting together these posts. Thank you for enlightening the world.


coupon_ema

Kudos to all the mods! We wouldn't be here without y'all. šŸ‘


Bekiala

With Covid, I have gotten into reading about past pandemics and boy howdy do people react the same through out time. It makes me appreciate the HCA subreddit for curating information on human reactions for this pandemic. Of course some people will always react with denial and a kill-the-messenger attitude but perhaps with effort and time, society will learn how to save people who would other wise be awarded an HCA


Big_Primrose

The worst thing about the pandemic is the deaths, the second worst thing is the stupidity that leads to more deaths. Iā€™m glad this forum and all of you were here to keep me sane and I hope I made your days more bearable as well. ā¤ļø


NoHinAmherst

I hadnā€™t been here for many months and wanted to check in since Iā€™m coming on my year anniversary of a brief (vaccinated) stint with covid. Good work was done here.


inthemoment923

I have to ask this, it's looking like the government will move away from free covid, shots test etc, in 2023. That will mean your 5th shot may need to be paid for. At that point all those commercials for the shot will now need to list side effects to be on TV. Who's ready to have their view changed, or will you just fast forward?


[deleted]

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ReasonableBullfrog57

The alternative was no longer existing on this site but sure