Talk:Hack (comedy)

Prop Comedy
Is prop comedy, in and of itself, hack? I would grant you that Carrot Top and Gallagher are basically hack, but are they the same genre as Heath Hyche? Is it possible, that comics (including myself) might simply be frustrated that the visual stimulation of prop comedy gives comics an advantage not afforded by a simple spoken act? Does the use of a guitar for performing silly songs qualify as hack, also? Although I am not a fan of prop comedy, nor the comics who win all the contests with their guitars, I am not so quick to malign the use of either. Tony Reed (talk) 20:40, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

I don't think that prop comedy is hack. If you can only name two or three people that do it (that's all I can), I don't think it's fair to say it's been done to death. Hardtospell (talk) 04:30, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

Artie Lange
Someone posted a blurb about Artie Lange that was both biased and unsourced. Further, the way it was phrased, it was neither "Hacking" nor "Joke Theft" so it didn't really belong. To the author of that bit of info: Take a few minutes to find acceptable sources and then rephrase and repost.Tony Reed (talk) 21:16, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

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Merge discussion
Much of both articles Hack (comedy) and Joke thievery is either duplicate or closely parallel content. There doesn't seem to be a clear basis for two separate articles. older ≠ wiser 12:19, 31 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Good luck with that. I've been pushing for that for about a year now. Many people here insist on keeping the two separate. I was the original author of the Joke-Thievery article and the majority of the historical and sourced data in the Hacking artyicle. I, personally think they should be merged because joke-thievery falls completely under the definition of hacking in the Hacking article.Tony Reed (talk) 00:29, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

No. You gotta keep em' separated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.8.74.94 (talk) 15:40, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

They need to be kept separate because it is possible to be a hack or use a hack premise while at the same time not steal anyones material.

A joke or bit might be stolen but may not be hack, they are distinct concepts which can exist without the other being true.

Hack has less to do with thievery and more about just a tired, worn out, old premise.

Where the confusion comes is when being called a hack also means being called a thief, it's a way to call someone a thief without using the word thief. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.170.70.224 (talk) 03:40, 6 November 2012 (UTC)
 * As the content of this article mostly duplicated that of Joke thievery, I've redirected this page to that article. Robofish (talk) 17:01, 17 November 2012 (UTC)

Robin Williams needs to be included
It was an uphill battle just to get it mentioned on Williams’ page. Any time it was mentioned, it was deleted by Williams fans who would find some issue with the source, despite there being multiple claims in print and on video of several comedians claiming Williams stole their material, including Playboy magazine. Williams was just as notorious for thievery as Mencia, Cook, and Schumer in the 70’s.

I get that he was beloved and he has many fans. However, that doesn’t mean his controversies should be swept under the rug by his admirers.

I’m willing to bet there will be similar resistance on this page because his mention has previously been removed 8.40.179.173 (talk) 14:59, 15 February 2022 (UTC)