Allison, Kimberley R., Kay Bussey, and Naomi Sweller. "'I'm going to hell for laughing at this' Norms, Humour, and the Neutralisation of Aggression in Online Communities." Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 3.CSCW (2019): 1-25.

This study examines how the subreddit r/RoastMe, where users willingly submit photos for others to mock, challenges conventional norms by making negative comments acceptable through humor, a mean but funny normative tone, and the explicit articulation of these norms. A mixed-methods experiment with 117 participants investigated the acceptability of comments from RoastMe and compared reactions to comments from other communities with varying tones and norm clarity. The findings reveal that humor and the explicit mean-spirited, yet funny, context of RoastMe allow for negative comments to be viewed positively, supported by individual moral disengagement and benign violation theory. The study highlights the unique dynamics of subversive online communities and the role of shared norms in redefining acceptable behavior.