Definitions by billbrown
simpletonic
Anonymous Rando: Almost no one is talking about the genocide in Nigeria.
CR: Don't be simpletonic. "Most" or "few" do not mean "all" or "none." Come on!
CR: Don't be simpletonic. "Most" or "few" do not mean "all" or "none." Come on!
simpletonic by billbrown April 17, 2026
Value Signalling
A sibling of virtue signalling, this preening displays the signaller's (perhaps self-perceived) taste and discrimination through the purchases they've made, the long-standing appreciation of some content or producer of content, or the obscurity of their interests.
TWEET: <video of some classic rock song>
VS: I saw them in concert in 1986! So good!
Lurker (thinking to himself): We get it, you liked them back when. Enough with the value signalling!
TWEET: Looking for good books…
VS: I've read all of Tom Varney's works, even got several of them signed before he died last year.
Lurker (thinking): Yes, yes, you are quite a dedicated fan who appreciated him before he passed away. Oy with the value signalling!
VS: I saw them in concert in 1986! So good!
Lurker (thinking to himself): We get it, you liked them back when. Enough with the value signalling!
TWEET: Looking for good books…
VS: I've read all of Tom Varney's works, even got several of them signed before he died last year.
Lurker (thinking): Yes, yes, you are quite a dedicated fan who appreciated him before he passed away. Oy with the value signalling!
Value Signalling by billbrown March 31, 2026
Pareto part
The main source of value or importance in something being considered. The Pareto principle is that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, sometimes shortened as "the 80/20 rule"
YOU: This yard is full of weeds. It'll take us two days to clear them out.
ME: Let's just do the Pareto part surrounding the walkway: that should only take 4 hours and 48 minutes.
ME: Let's just do the Pareto part surrounding the walkway: that should only take 4 hours and 48 minutes.
Pareto part by billbrown October 10, 2023
randosplain
A pompous explanation of context by an anonymous social media user, usually to someone with actual expertise or experience.
ProfessBioMIT: @BioLabFella That's a fascinating idea about bioenergetics. I wonder how adjacency affects the signal.
John623498770: @BioLabFella @ProfessBioMIT Cells are almost always packed tightly so adjacency should be frequent.
ProfessBioMIT: @BioLabFella Ugh, I just got randosplained. Maybe I should call you at the lab and take this fascinating conversation private.
John623498770: @BioLabFella @ProfessBioMIT Cells are almost always packed tightly so adjacency should be frequent.
ProfessBioMIT: @BioLabFella Ugh, I just got randosplained. Maybe I should call you at the lab and take this fascinating conversation private.
randosplain by billbrown December 30, 2022
Jira jockey
Jira jockey by billbrown September 1, 2022
slackalanche
The deluge of messages in Slack that cause a particular one to get lost thanks to Slack's feature of marking a message as read once it is glanced at.
slackalanche by billbrown February 7, 2022