Meaning
What does LUL mean?
LUL is a reaction image and original emote created for the streaming website Twitch.tv, based on a picture of John “TotalBiscuit” Bain while he is leaning back with one hand on his chin, laughing with his eyes closed.
The emote is used to express laughter (otherwise known as LOL-ing) on Twitch.tv.
The emote LUL has spawned many variants, which are all based on the original image of John, like:
Origin
What's the origin of LUL?
The original image of John was uploaded to the professional photograph sharing website Flickr in 2013, which was taken on a Major League Gaming event.
John has created a unique emote called “cynicallaugh” for his stream on Twitch.tv, which at first was only available exclusively to subscribers of his channel in 2014.
Spread & Usage
How did LUL spread?
Unfortunately, the original version of the emote had to be taken down from the site, as the photographer filed a claim against the use of his work as subscription-based reward.
The Twitch.tv staff has responded, by removing the image and taking a new photo of John as close as possible to the original one, hence bypassing copyright laws.
The emote was already one of the most popular ones on Twitch.tv, but the controversy has popularised it even more on the internet.
As of 10/12/2019. LUL is 2nd on the top 100 most used emotes list according to the website StreamElements.
External resources
- Urban Dictionary – LUL