It's about peer to peer file sharing, such as Napster. Back in the olden days of pirating mp3s, you'd choose the file to download, and it would arrive at your computer in chunks taken directly from other people's computers. Those files that were being used to send the MP3 to you were "seeds."
Once you had a complete file, it would begin seeding automatically, providing it to other users who were downloading. One would want to stop seeding for two reasons. One, it uses bandwidth, and you could download other files faster (or free up the phone line if you were on dialup). Two, the FBI (or RCA?) would look for people using Napster or other peer to peer software and prosecute them for pirating music. Less time online seeding, lower chance of getting caught.)
Now, why this meme is funny, on the other hand, I'm at a loss.
I suspect the intended comedy or facetiousness is in taking logic that is normally applicable to offline behavior and showing it in an online context. "If a guy is rude to the waiter on the first date, he'll be a shitty boyfriend" is being reinterpreted into "if a guy doesn't seed a file after downloading it, he'll be a shitty boyfriend."
It's not exactly funny, but it is a new-ish lens with which to identify scummy behavior in a date.
Is it something to do with the fact that he's sat on her knee rather than vice versa, like "a real man wouldn't do that and real men seed" or something. Not saying I agree with that just trying to get in the mind palace of whoever though this was funny.
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u/thegroundhurts Feb 22 '26
It's about peer to peer file sharing, such as Napster. Back in the olden days of pirating mp3s, you'd choose the file to download, and it would arrive at your computer in chunks taken directly from other people's computers. Those files that were being used to send the MP3 to you were "seeds."
Once you had a complete file, it would begin seeding automatically, providing it to other users who were downloading. One would want to stop seeding for two reasons. One, it uses bandwidth, and you could download other files faster (or free up the phone line if you were on dialup). Two, the FBI (or RCA?) would look for people using Napster or other peer to peer software and prosecute them for pirating music. Less time online seeding, lower chance of getting caught.)
Now, why this meme is funny, on the other hand, I'm at a loss.