Venn diagram explaining why people write 'first' in comments

First

1997catchphraseclassic

Published September 24, 2026

"First" is the internet habit of racing to type the word "first" as the earliest reply on a post, forum thread, or video. The practice is generally traced to Slashdot's chronological comment system in September 1997 and became a running joke and a moderation headache across tech blogs, YouTube, and LiveJournal through the 2000s.

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Overview

"First" is the practice of racing to type the word "first" as the earliest reply on an online post, forum thread, or video4. The comment adds nothing to discussion and is widely treated as troll behavior, which is why site operators have spent decades filtering, delaying, and outright banning it1. Common variants include "First post!", "FP!", and self-mocking follow-ups like "first yaaay!"4.

Site owners went to real trouble to stop the habit. Some auto-replaced the phrase with random text, others buried the offending reply further down the page, and one popular tech blog simply shut its comment system off for a weekend to catch a break from the flood1.

Origin & Background

Platform
Slashdot
Date
1997

The habit is generally traced to Slashdot, the tech news site launched in September 1997, where the earliest comment on a story appeared above the rest by default3. Readers realized they could grab that top slot with a two-word "First post!" or "FP!" the second a story went live, and the practice spread as Slashdot regulars seeded other early comment-driven sites.

How It Spread

In 1999, Drew Curtis' community news site Fark installed a word filter that swapped "first post" for "boobies" and pushed the timestamp twelve hours into the future so the comment could never sit on top3. On June 21st, 2000, the Wayback Machine archived a Geek Culture storefront selling a screen-printed "First Post!" t-shirt aimed at Slashdot regulars2.

Engadget switched its comment system off entirely on June 24th, 2005, with the team writing they were "tired of spending so much time deleting comment spam and dealing with trolls and all that 'first post!' crap"1. On April 2nd, 2007, YouTuber CasimirN uploaded the video "First!", following a man who races to type the word on every article he opens; the clip crossed a million views by July 20125.

Urban Dictionary added an entry for "first" on February 10th, 2009, then picked it as Urban Word of the Day in February 20114. On May 12th, 2012, Funny or Die released a promo skit for the 16th Annual Webby Awards starring Patton Oswalt as the world's original "first" commenter3.

How to Use This Meme

Fire off a reply the second a fresh post or video appears and type only the word "first" (or one of its variants: "First!", "First post!", "FP!"). Common convention treats the reply as low-effort trolling rather than a real contribution, and other commenters typically respond with mocking follow-ups such as "want a cookie?" or eye-rolling replies pointing out that nobody cares1.

Frequently Asked Questions