share
Stack OverflowWhat are some funny loading statements to keep users amused?
[+597] [270] Oli
[2008-10-08 10:51:34]
[ ajax loading fun ]
[ http://stackoverflow.com/questions/182112] [DELETED]

Nobody likes waiting but unfortunately in the Ajax [1] application I'm working on at the moment, there is one fair-sized pause (1-2 seconds a go) that users have to undergo each and every time they want to load up a chunk of data.

I've tried to make the load as interactive as possible. There's an animated GIF alongside a very plain, very dull "Loading..." message.

So I thought it might be quite fun to come up with a batch of 50-or-so funny-looking messages and pick from them randomly so the user never knows what they're going to see. The time they would have spent growing impatient is fruitfully used.

Here's what I've come up with so far, just to give you an idea.

var randomLoadingMessage = function() {
    var lines = new Array(
        "Locating the required gigapixels to render...",
        "Spinning up the hamster...",
        "Shovelling coal into the server...",
        "Programming the flux capacitor"
    );
    return lines[Math.round(Math.random()*(lines.length-1))];
}

(Yes -- I know some of those are pretty lame -- That's why I'm here :)

The funniest I see today will get the prestigious "Accepted Answer" award. Others get votes for participation.

Enjoy!!

Yes, it is a design issue, but you are already presenting a solution (a message), you are not asking about it. This is your site and you are free to do whatever you wish with it, but still I think asking such question sets bad example of asking "loosely related, but popular and funny" questions. - Suma
This isn't Jeff's question - It's mine. That edit statement was mine. But you should know that considering you posted here before it turned into a Wiki-thread. - Oli
(44) I wouldn't bother. Even if you can find 50 "funny" entries (the vast majority of suggestions so far have been overwhelmingly unfunny), they won't be funny the second time you see them. A progress bar would be more useful, perhaps with a "Tip of the Day" to provide actual helpful information. - Dan Dyer
(2) Dan, I'd agree if two things were true: 1. It's an app where tips can be applied. 2. The pause is considerable in length (5-10s) so people actually can read it. Neither is the case in my app. It's a tiny app with a very finite interface and the pause is short (but frequent). - Oli
(154) Actually, you don't "program" a flux capacitor, you "charge" it. The difference may seem slight, but you'd definitely care if you suddenly found yourself in 1,000,000 BC instead of 2012 AD. Important safety tip. - Cyberherbalist
Great way to deal with the unavoidable delays. That is, provided you're not building a banking system or something as... serious... see the easter egg discussion about being funny. Otherwise, I really dig the idea! =) - schonarth
seen that there : picnik.com it's quite nice when related to the subject. - call me Steve
This is an interesting tactic, that I have used, but the blatant reference to handing out reputation and the off-topic not-about-coding got my downvote. - singpolyma
Isn't this a blatant copy of the way Maxis loads its games? Reticulating splines, anyone? - Jon Limjap
(9) I love the "why the downvote" edit now that the net votes are +168 :-) - paxdiablo
(7) ... "waiting for the tubes to be unclogged..." - DeadHead
(33) There are lot of them in World Of Goo! - TheVillageIdiot
(5) I laughed so hard at "Spinning up the hamster...". +1. - unforgiven3
Take one look at the Sims. - Charlie Somerville
* this Math.round(Math.random()*(lines.length-1)) should be Math.floor(Math.random()*(lines.length-1)) - cwallenpoole
Hey, those entries... I've seen them in a game somewhere, a long time ago. Maybe day of the tentacle ? - Stefano Borini
(4) While these are amusing for programmers to read, the average business user hates those kinds of messages. If you are doing a game, go ahead and use them. If you are building a business application, you will one day be explaining to the CEO why the elves are too busy to provide him with his data. - HLGEM
@HLGEM: When I started the question, it was intended for a webapp for some friends' wedding. It worked well so I've pulled it into other informal things since. I do agree though that some people might not see the funny side and you do have to weigh up if your audience is better served by a dull loading gif. - Oli
@pax: your comment, in turn, is great now that the total votes are at 446. - Lord Torgamus
It really depends on the user community if this is appropriate. They might not have the same sense of humor and will only be annoyed. - Jeroen Huinink
@Huinink: In my opinion, dry people can go and dry out somewhere else. As long as they don't bore me it doesn't bother me that they are dry. - Frank
(1) Shovelling coal into the server... that was the funniest thing I've seen here! - iamserious
(4) It took just 5 people to close this question despite 518 people saying they thought it was good. Can somebody join me in getting it re-opened. There are still good answers to be had. - Oli
(3) ".....so..... what are you wearing?...... " - dietbuddha
@dietbuddha that is awesome! - j_random_hacker
[+440] [2008-10-08 15:27:43] Adam Rosenfield

The MIT campus map [1] has a bunch of good ones:

(All loading messages are prefixed with "Please wait")

  • 640K ought to be enough for anybody
  • the architects are still drafting
  • the bits are breeding
  • we're building the buildings as fast as we can
  • would you prefer chicken, steak, or tofu?
  • pay no attention to the man behind the curtain
  • and enjoy the elevator music
  • while the little elves draw your map
  • a few bits tried to escape, but we caught them
  • and dream of faster computers
  • would you like fries with that?
  • checking the gravitational constant in your locale
  • go ahead -- hold your breath
  • at least you're not on hold
  • hum something loud while others stare
  • you're not in Kansas any more
  • the server is powered by a lemon and two electrodes
  • we love you just the way you are
  • while a larger software vendor in Seattle takes over the world
  • we're testing your patience
  • as if you had any other choice
  • take a moment to sign up for our lovely prizes
  • don't think of purple hippos
  • follow the white rabbit
  • why don't you order a sandwich?
  • while the satellite moves into position
  • the bits are flowing slowly today
  • dig on the 'X' for buried treasure... ARRR!
  • it's still faster than you could draw it


EDIT: MIT has since updated their campus map. The old map can still be found at archive.org [2], and the old loading messages can still be found here [3] (for now).

[1] http://whereis.mit.edu/
[2] http://web.archive.org/web/20060101092711/whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg
[3] http://web.mit.edu/campus-map/please-wait/

I like the gravitational constant one. - peacedog
(35) checking the gravitational constant in your locale is the best! LOL! - Pablo Marambio
(5) Please wait we're testing your patience. ... haha - chakrit
(13) ha I used to work someplace where we did need to check the local gravitational vector, actually stored in a db indexed by lat/lon :). - Doug T.
The last one is the best, period. - Andrea Ambu
(13) "a few bits tried to escape, but we caught them" - Navneet
(1) +1 for "don't think of purple hippos"... grrr, that coffee goes for $3.50 a cup! ;-) - scunliffe
first I didn't get it on MIT Map, but then I clicked on right arrow and wow it was there! "the serve is powered by a lemon and two electrodes" - TheVillageIdiot
(4) "we love you just the way you are." Aww...now I don't mind waiting. - Karmic Coder
(1) I'm guessing gravitational forces vary depending on distance from the core... - Mayo
(2) Love the last one- "It's still faster than you could draw it". +1 - DMan
spot on... it's still faster than you could draw it - Belun
1
[+389] [2008-10-08 13:08:07] Rob Allen [ACCEPTED]
  • Do you suffer from ADHD? Me neith- oh look a bunny... What was I doing again? Oh, right. Here we go.
  • The last time I tried this the monkey didn't survive. Let's hope it works better this time.
  • Testing data on Timmy... ... ... We're going to need another Timmy.
  • I should have had a V8 this morning.
  • My other load screen is much faster. You should try that one instead.
  • The version I have of this in testing has much funnier load screens.

(61) love the timmy one - helloandre
(5) Upvoted for timmy. Also like the monkey one. :) - different
(1) Man how long has it been since I even thought about Timmy :) thanks for the laugh. - Ron Tuffin
(58) Just in case the "Timmy" stuff needs a reference: youtube.com/watch?v=FwVA698Hx2g - Rob Allen
(3) AA for the Timmy one. I managed to miss that before. Almost had me on the floor in fits of giggles. - Oli
(1) I like the last two because they are funny, but not region-specific. Never heard of Timmy, only heard of V8 because I spent last year in the US, and the first two aren't really that funny. - Airsource Ltd
(1) lol +1 for timmy - WalterJ89
I think the monkey one is a reference to the infamous "Scratch Monkey" story. See cs.utah.edu/~elb/folklore/scrtch.monkey - T.E.D.
@Ted.dennison - Funny story, but not what I had in mind. - Rob Allen
well...it should have been. :-) - T.E.D.
It should be 'Me neith-', not 'Me eith-' - Charlie Somerville
(1) I kid you not. I was on an interview for a consulting job. The IT Director had this large glass window that stretched from floor to ceiling. A rabbit hopped by the window and I interrupted her and yelled, "Oh, look a rabbit!". She laughed and gave me the job right then, because, in her words, "I wasn't the serious type," and she wanted someone she could work with." - AMissico
2
[+335] [2008-10-08 11:17:58] WebDude

"Loading humorous message ... Please Wait"


(79) You went meta on that - Varun Mahajan
(9) For a long while my mailing list sig was "WARNING: SYSTEM FAILURE! Unable to insert amusing tagline." - Chris Upchurch
(3) @Varun: Never go full meta. - community_owned
@delete: good advice with that username - sehe
3
[+275] [2008-10-09 12:18:10] AnthonyWJones

Two animated gifs, one that runs twice as fast. A button that says 'Turbo Boost'. On click swap in the fast gif for a few seconds after which swap back and briefly display 'Turbo boost exhausted, click again to re-enable'. Reduce time enabled after each click.

Randomly introduce messages 'Are you sure this is helping?' and 'Must go faster, must go faster'.


(51) making a game out of waiting is a great idea. - Karl
(9) This one is really original - PRINCESS FLUFF
ROFL, this was the funniest and +1 for the originality. - Rakesh Juyal
Nice!!! ---------------------- - Pekka
cool, this is really creative and original - kizzx2
(2) Watch out, Namco might sue you for infringing on their minigames-during-loading-screens patent google.com/… - jsoverson
Class, I'm very tempted to add such a thing to my sites. - Pool
(3) The Strike Commander CD-Rom-Edition featured a Breakout-like game during the rather lengthy loading times the single-speed-CD-Rom drives of its time in which you had to keep a spinning cd from falling of the bottom of the screen using a red line as paddle, controlled by the mouse. You only had one cd, so when it dropped of the screen, you had nothing left to do during the loading time. - sum1stolemyname
just WOW!!! Brilliant - Headshota
4
[+238] [2008-10-08 11:40:24] Peter Wone

Animate this:

Testing RAM..............OK
Testing CPU..............OK
Testing Primary Disk.....OK
Testing Patience.......FAIL

USER ERROR: OUT OF PATIENCE!

It's a bit too much to squeeze through in the time, but that's a lovely idea for a longer waiting period. - Oli
(70) I'd say forget the out of patience error, just keep writing dots after testing patience indefinetly. - SpoonMeiser
(2) You could omit the first three lines and just keep writing dots, as per SpoonMeiser's suggestion. :) - different
(5) USER ERROR: OUT OF PATIENCE! Performing memory dump... - Cristián Romo
(84) How about a shockwave animation of Clippy (the annoying paperclip from Office) tapping on the screen (complete with sound) and saying "It looks like you're running out of patience. Would you like to write a letter?" - Peter Wone
(4) USER ERROR: OUT OF PATIENCE! Please wait while we submit error reports. - chakrit
Your users will not be amused with this message/error - Click Upvote
5
[+236] [2008-10-08 14:18:02] Matthew Scouten
Loading Infinite Monkeys....
Monkey 1....................Loaded
Monkey 2....................Loaded
Monkey 3....................Loaded
Monkey 4....................Loaded
Monkey 5....................Loaded
Monkey 6....................Loaded
Monkey 7....................Loaded
Monkey 8.........

(112) My favourite kernel panic message was "Enraged Monkey Error: Out of bananas! - Peter Wone
(15) I just wonder when people start asking each other "How many monkeys have you got?" - phunehehe
There must be at least one dead monkey. - Zippoxer
@Zippoxer: nonsense! you can avoid dead monkeys by mounting a scratch monkey. - Matthew Scouten
6
[+227] [2008-10-08 10:57:37] Crippledsmurf

Reticulating splines


I remember this from WAY back at the first "Sim City" games. - Unkwntech
I first saw it in The Sims 1. I still don't know what it means, if anything. I don't know what a spline is or why it needs to be reticulated or what reticulated even means. - Thomas Owens
(6) see here stackoverflow.com/questions/182112/… - Jeff Atwood
(2) Man, I miss those old Maxis games. - Electrons_Ahoy
That's a classic - Joshua Carmody
I still have some of the old ones, like SimTower, all 8bits of it graphics suck but its fun to script it to run in the background and build the tower. - Unkwntech
@Unkwntech: You can script SimTower?? - Michael Myers
You can do anything you want when you can programmaticly move the mouse and simulate KB events. :) - Unkwntech
SWEET! I love that one. Or Re-reticulaing splines. - stephenbayer
Spore has quite a few of these too. - davenpcj
(1) You also get this message from the Mozy Backup Client... - rikh
(1) SimTower was awesome! SimCity2000 best sim game ever IMHO! - Steve Tranby
(2) +1 for SimTower and SimCity 2K :) Old maxis was the best. - maayank
+1 for the best loading message of all time. I had seen a few references to this on SO and, for some reason, it sounded so familiar. - Evan Plaice
Sim copter 1 reporting heavy traffic - Brad
7
[+163] [2008-10-08 11:27:32] seuvitor

"Warming up Large Hadron Collider..."


(70) Cooling down Large Hadron Collider - Matt Price
(4) Dusting Large Hadron Collider. With a toothbrush. For a Barbie. - Ates Goral
Look up "Bose Einstein Condensate" in the context of powerful fluctuating magnetic fields. The LHC has such fields and is surrounded by 700 tonnes of liquid helium, which is a BEC. I'm not sure that's so funny. - Peter Wone
"Donning tinfoil hat" - David Heggie
Cleaning icono-synclastic infundibulator - Remou
(4) Opening hyperdimensional door... - Vinz
(4) "Detecting presence of birds ............. DONE (NONE FOUND)" "Warming up LHC ......." - Nicholas Kreidberg
"Warming up Large Hadron Collider..." then "Warning: Overheat - Cooling down Large Hadron Collider" in the loop - jcubic
*Hardon collider. Dawkins-reference fixed. - Jonta
8
[+155] [2008-10-09 04:53:45] Snocrash

The NetPositive browser on BeOS had some great error messages! They were all written as Haiku and could be modified to suit your app or at least provide some inspiration:

http://www.8325.org/haiku/

  The web site you seek
  Lies beyond our perception
  But others await.

  Sites you are seeking
  From your path they are fleeing
  Their winter has come.

  A truth found, be told
  You are far from the fold, Go
  Come back yet again.

  Wind catches lily
  Scatt'ring petals to the wind:
  Your site is not found.

  These three are certain:
  Death, taxes, and site not found.
  You, victim of one.

  Ephemeral site.
  I am the Blue Screen of Death.
  No one hears your screams.

  Aborted effort:
  The site, passed this veil of tears.
  You ask way too much.

  Mourning and sorrow
  404 not with us now
  Lost to paradise.

  Not a pretty sight
  When the web dies screaming loud
  The site is not found.

  Site slips through fingers
  Pulse pounding hard and frantic
  Vanishing like mist.

  The dream is shattered
  The web site cannot be found
  Inside the spring rain.

  Bartender yells loud
  Your site cannot be found, boy
  Buy another drink.

  Chrome megaphone barks
  It's not possible to talk
  Not yet anyway.

  Emptyness of soul
  Forever aching blackness:
  "Blah.com not found."

  Click exciting link
  Gossamer threads hold you back
  404 not found.

  With searching comes loss
  And the presence of absence:
  The site is not found.

  You step in the stream,
  But the water has moved on
  The site is not here.

  Rather than a beep
  Or a rude error message,
  These words: 'Site not found.'

  Something you entered
  Transcended parameters.
  The site is unknown.

  Stay the patient course
  Of little worth is your ire
  The server is down

  There is a chasm
  Of carbon and silicon
  The server can't bridge.

  Chaos reigns within.
  Reflect, repent, and retry.
  Server shall return.

  Won't you please observe
  A brief moment of silence
  For the dead server?

  First snow, then silence.
  This expensive server dies
  So beautifully.

  Seeing my great fault
  Through darkening dead servers
  I begin again.

  Visit the home page
  It can't be done easily
  When the site is down.

  Cables have been cut
  Southwest of Northeast somewhere
  We are not amused.

  Site is silent, yes
  No voices can be heard now
  The cows roll their eyes.

  Silicon shudders
  The site is down for the count
  One big knockout punch.

  Yesterday it worked
  Today it is not working
  The web is like that.

  The ten thousand things
  How long do any persist?
  The file, not there.

  A file that big?
  It might be very useful
  But now it is gone.

  To have no errors
  Would be life without meaning
  No struggle, no joy

  Errors have occurred.
  We won't tell you where or why.
  Lazy programmers.

  The code was willing
  It considered your request,
  But the chips were weak.

  Error reduces
  Your expensive computer
  To a simple stone.

  Server's poor response
  Not quick enough for browser.
  Timed out, plum blossom.

  Login incorrect.
  Only perfect spellers may
  Enter this system.


(4) I recall seeing this message somewhere: "A file of that type? / It might be very useful. / Here it will not work." - Michael Myers
(1) Oh wow that really was the greatest thing I have ever read. - LegendLength
(1) +1 just for the death and taxes one - Lord Torgamus
(1) I love haikus. Teary sniff. - cplotts
A lot of these are just sentences split unnaturally into "haiku", which actually requires a measure of 5-7-5 morae, not syllables. </pedant> - dreamlax
+1 for mentioning BeOS, which I miss. - msmithgu
9
[+150] [2008-10-08 23:58:25] Zarkonnen

How about randomly generating a phrase?

[verbing] [adjective] [plural noun]

And then have a small dictionary for each of these three slots: { "transglutinating", "fine-tuning" }, { "injector", "radiant" }, { "goatherd", "post-processor" }.


(2) Do you know the Firefox plugin "Firesomething"? Brands each Firefox window with a new name - like Moongnu, Poweroyster etc. Sadly it's not available for FF 3 - Olaf Kock
Oh yes! I used to use that back in FF2. :D - Zarkonnen
(61) heh, or "Im in ur [random]z, [random]ing ur [random]z!" - Svante
(19) Make sure you figure out what the most inappropriate combination is before deploying :) - Dining Philanderer
@Olaf: quitt.net/Mozilla/Extensions/… - Alex Barrett
Is it just me, or does transglutinating the radiant goatherd just sound ... - Sean Vieira
(17) In soviet Russia [random noun] [random verb]'s YOU! - Crippledsmurf
Ahh... and I thought I was the only one that wrote stuff like that... - J. Polfer
Matlab does this if you ask "why" - vsz
10
[+131] [2008-10-08 10:54:59] cagcowboy

"Scanning your hard drive for pr0n. Please be patient..."


(19) counting b00b1es on the intrawebs. - whatnick
(27) @whatnick ERROR: Integer overflow. - Aistina
(3) @Aistina followed by "Please wait while we recompile with long ints" - Sharpie
11
[+129] [2008-10-08 10:56:18] slashnick

"It looks like you're waiting for a website to load..."


(2) this one made me irlol - thesmallprint
(19) "... Can I help you with that?" - Dalin Seivewright
You should totally drop that and try ... - a_m0d
12
[+123] [2009-03-08 15:20:07] Yar

Sammyo's answer

Yes there really are magic elves with an abacus working frantically in here.

is the only way to be possibly funny every single time. You need ONE centralizing concept, like elves inside, and then you work with that.

This derives in:

  • Happy Elf and Sad Elf are talking about your data. Please wait.
  • All the relevant elves are on break. Please wait.

etc. etc. As long as there's one concept in there, the user will feel it's funny because they've "gotten it" and then you can go out on further and further tangents.

  • Elf down! We're cloning the elf that was supposed to get you the data. Please wait.

Heh, that's a nice concept. - Jonta
I like that concept there - Andrew Marsh
(6) +1 I like the concept idea, and deriving the variations from it - KLE
(6) Really, it's also how to be funny in a room full of people. - Yar
13
[+113] [2008-10-08 11:28:22] mdb

"Press Alt+F4 for a quick IQ test"

(this has the added bonus of being able to waste some time on making your loading messages User-Agent specific...)


(54) If only I could do this without getting fired... - num1
Ahh, Alt-H was the good old one for the Bulletin Board days with a 1200baud modem. That caught me out a couple times actually! - Carl
how about Press CTRL-ALT-DEL for a quick IQ test? - 動靜能量
(2) Talkers/Muds equivalent "type qu for quote of the day" <user has disconnected> - Chris J
(1) @Jian Lin:cross platform only!M$ things are not OK. - Behrooz
(1) This one is FUNNY !! - user279521
@Behrooz: Alt-F4 is not cross-platform, either. - Christopher Creutzig
ctrl+w is across many browsers :) - ratchet freak
this most funniest answer.....>!! - Mr.32
14
[+111] [2008-10-08 10:58:25] Jeff Atwood

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCity_2000

SimCity 2000 was the first sim game to feature the semi-nonsensical phrase "Reticulating Splines". Will Wright stated in an interview that the game does not actually reticulate splines when generating terrain; he inserted the phrase because it "sounded cool". The phrase has since been featured in SimCopter, SimCity 4 and The Sims, as well as being referenced humorously by a status message in Mozy, an off-site backup solution offered by EMC Corporation. It is also parodied in the game Spore which features the phrase "Reticulating Spines" in some of its loading screens.

Video clip of female voiceover from SimCity 2000 [1]

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UR5WpJCZGA

(4) I remember first seeing it in SimCopter. I thought it was helicopter terminology. - Mark Cidade
(2) Splines are also supposedly "reticulated" in the PS3 game "Tiger Woods Golf" while it creates a 3d model from a user-loaded photo, as part of the "Player Game Face" feature. - benjismith
(7) The nice part of this one is that Mozy actually does reticulate splines when it does its change set calculations but nobody believes it. - wizard
15
[+97] [2008-10-08 12:26:29] wax eagle

Time is an illusion. Loading time doubly so.


(3) Nice DNA reference, except, s/dually/doubly/ - Ishmaeel
fixed it. I couldn't remember which one it was. blasted English language. - wax eagle
(2) I thought that was a Hitchhiker's reference. - Matt Ball
(3) It is a Hitchhiker's reference. DNA was Douglas Noel Adams, the author. - TRiG
16
[+93] [2008-10-08 11:07:24] Chris Boesing

Maybe some recursion:

"Want to see a funny loading message? Take a look here [1]"

[1] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/182112/funny-loading-statements-to-keep-users-amused/182170#182170

(46) DOH, now don't I feel stupid, I clicked the link and was like "WTF?" - Unkwntech
(1) It's funny because it's true, granted in my defense it is 4am, and I've not yet gone to bed, damn hobby projects. - Unkwntech
Hahahaahaha - Up Vote! - BenAlabaster
(1) HAhaha, THAT was funny! Im looking at u Unkwntech :P - Moulde
(1) Aw crap. [I fell for it too] - Mark
DOH +1 got me too ... - Nippysaurus
grrrrrrr and me - Mark Cooper
i was reading the jokes section before this post, and that one got me :) so thankfully this didnt :D - LnDCobra
+1: And me. Plus, I had to do it again, just to make sure. - AMissico
(7) This page looks awkwardly familiar ... - FreekOne
(1) This joke is in Jargon File jargon.net/jargonfile/r/recursion.html - jcubic
17
[+92] [2008-10-08 11:02:52] Greg

Futurama Rules!


Reconfoobling energymotron


(9) You found my weak spot! Futurama reference gets the upvote :-) - Ferruccio
... or whatever. - Kevin Panko
18
[+89] [2008-10-08 16:42:06] Daniel Auger

"Press play on tape."


(6) Dammit - I'm old enough to get this. Good one. +1 - CAD bloke
Yeah, me too. sigh +1 - darron
(27) Or similarly, "Please Turn to Side B and press Play" - enobrev
(3) LOL. +1 I remember using those... and when it finally loaded you'd change your mind and choose another game. - Osama ALASSIRY
(2) +1. hahahahahah. I'm with the other oldies... - Mitch Wheat
(2) +1 I feel old. I wasn't even a teenager when I had to follow that instruction. sigh - Spoike
(5) +1 ... and don't forget the ,1 in ,8,1 :) - Skaldrom Y. Sarg
Man I remember those. I used to start loading the program before I would go outside to play. That way I could play games when I was done outside (an hour later). I was always so happy when I could find the games on cartridge instead of tape. - Oorang
Insert diskette for drive A: and press any key when ready. - Johnsyweb
I dont understand this joke, anyone mind explaining please? - iamserious
19
[+82] [2008-10-08 11:02:48] Codeslayer

Measuring the cable length to fetch your data...


(5) Haha, you could add something like "One inch of cable length. Two inches of cable length. Three inches of..." - Jonta
20
[+77] [2008-10-08 15:12:01] Jeff B
  • Are we there yet?
  • Insert quarter
  • 1,000,000 bottles of beer on the wall...
  • Hang on a sec, I know your data is here somewhere
  • Well, what are you waiting for?
  • Are we there yet?
  • Have you lost weight?
  • Congratulations!
  • Are we there yet?

(3) ++ for the bottles of beer on the wall and hang on a sec - Jonta
(1) +1 for "Insert quater" - Matthew Whited
21
[+69] [2008-10-08 21:15:59] Erik Forbes

"It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue."


22
[+66] [2008-10-08 11:07:14] Unkwntech

"HELP!, I'm being held hostage, and forced to write the stupid lines!"


(27) PS, I got this in a fortune cookie once. - Unkwntech
Yeah, thought I heard this before - Pablo Marambio
(4) Reminds me of Apple's Blue Meanies: "Help! Help! We're being held prisoner in a system software factory!" - LKM
23
[+64] [2008-10-08 11:33:11] BlaM

"Searching for Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything"


Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy eh? I like it. - Noah Goodrich
(29) Count it up to 42 while doing it. - Daddy Warbox
(4) ...or show while waiting an animation of a white mouse in a running wheel ! - Tom Carter
"... please make sure you don't find the question" - Pablo Marambio
or... constantly count up to 41, wait a couple seconds, and then reset to 1. Repeat indefinitely. - Andrew
Don't count up to 42 - use '.'s to make a line that grows to a length of 42: .......................................... - Chris Lutz
42, this question have found it's answer. please don't vote further :) - Omry
24
[+61] [2008-10-08 10:55:19] SpoonMeiser

"The gods contemplate your fate..."


Yes, although the quote might not be 100% accurate. - SpoonMeiser
(3) "The Gods pause for a moment to contemplate your fate." Viva la DosBox! - Ishmaeel
That was a game! - ya23
(1) Was that from Nethack? - johnc
(2) @lagerdalek, it was from Moonstone. - SpoonMeiser
25
[+59] [2008-10-08 11:19:51] Gene
  • Waiting for the system admin to hit enter...
  • Paging for the system admin...
  • Warming up the processors...
  • Reconfiguring the office coffee machine...
  • RE-calibrating the internet...
  • Your underwear has conflicted our DB. Please change daily.

Although not that original I really like this idea. I've been wating for a client that would let me use this kind of "features" for a while now. The possibilities are endless.

Note: not my native language so not sure about the spelling etc.


(15) "Waiting for the system admin to hit enter..." is the best one in this thrad. - Oddmund
26
[+52] [2008-10-13 11:39:38] Goran

I'm up for a code-challange!

create table data
(
    word nvarchar(50) 
    ,type int
)

insert into data select 'recalibrating', 0
insert into data select 'excavating', 0
insert into data select 'finalizing', 0
insert into data select 'acquiring', 0
insert into data select 'locking', 0
insert into data select 'fueling', 0
insert into data select 'extracting', 0
insert into data select 'binding', 0

insert into data select 'flux', 1
insert into data select 'data', 1
insert into data select 'spline', 1
insert into data select 'storage', 1
insert into data select 'plasma', 1
insert into data select 'cache', 1
insert into data select 'laser', 1

insert into data select 'capacitor', 2
insert into data select 'conductor', 2
insert into data select 'assembler', 2
insert into data select 'disk', 2
insert into data select 'detector', 2
insert into data select 'post-processor', 2
insert into data select 'integrator', 2

select  top 1
    v.word as verb
    ,a.word as adjective
    ,n.word as noun
from    data v, data a, data n
where   v.type = 0
    and a.type = 1
    and n.type = 2
order by newid()

(5) I wouldn't do that in SQL! (unless I have thousands of rows in each category) - Osama ALASSIRY
(5) let pick xs = fmap (xs !!) (randomRIO (0, length xs-1)) in mapM pick [ [ "recalibrating", "excavating", "finalizing" ], [ "flux", "data", "spline" ], [ "capacitor", "conductor", "assembler" ] ] - luqui
wasn't this something from BOFH? - Tempus
it needs 'repolorizing' - Jeremy
27
[+52] [2008-10-16 14:59:24] Slapout

"Program loaded. Please enter the square root of 598309209839 to continue."

"Press any key to continue" User presses a key. "NO! Not that key!"


(16) ++ for the second one. - Jonta
(6) I've always preferred something along the lines of "Enter any 11 digit prime to continue:" - Dereleased
(15) 773 504.499, I google everything. - Behrooz
(2) @Dereleased: And increase the 11 for every character the user types. Do not count down for deletions, but make sure you catch pasting. - Christopher Creutzig
28
[+47] [2008-10-08 13:21:57] Carl Seleborg
  • Waiting for Godot...
  • Please don't move...
  • Working... no, just kidding.
  • Working... hey, come back here!
  • Working... So, how are you?
  • Behind you! Ha, ha, gotcha!
  • Please count to 10...
  • Are your shoelaces tied?
  • Exercise: enumerate your shopping list as quickly as possible
  • Working... unlike you!
  • Working... well... you know...
  • Doing something useful...
  • null
  • Oh, yeah, comments! Good idea!

Ok, that's it for this time.


(3) Do you have a bit of rope? - Eric
(1) Up vote for "null" :P - yuudachi
Upvoting for Godot. - Mechanical snail
29
[+42] [2008-10-08 11:09:33] jop
  • Why so serious?
  • Er, there is something on your teeth.
  • Are you ready?
  • Prepare for awesomeness!
  • It's not you. It's me.
  • Ouch! Careful where you point that thing!

(7) Prepare for awesomeness. Hihi - Jonta
(3) +1 "Why so serious?" - Nader Shirazie
30
[+32] [2008-10-12 07:33:29] micahwittman

Loading ... Please Wait Attentively (which is what you agreed to in the Terms and Conditions)


31
[+28] [2009-02-08 21:41:48] ldigas

Loading completed. Press F13 to continue.


Press Any key to continue. uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Any_Key - Eduardo León
(1) I've had a keyboard with a F13. - Loren Pechtel
(1) @Loren - I didn't say there weren't such. But they're relatively sparse nowadays, so I like to use this, and then get people to convince me otherwise ;-) (if I remember the model I had had quite a lot of those function keys, up to, I'm not sure now, F20 ?) - ldigas
shift+F1 is actually F13... - Algorias
@Algorias: on what system? That's not true on Windows boxen, no idea about any others. - Joe White
My Mac keyboard goes up to F19. I use it on my Windows boxen, but it doesn't recognize them, I think. - Nazadus
lol! for some strange reason i looked down on my keyboard! doh! - LnDCobra
@LnDCobra - rofl :))) - ldigas
32
[+28] [2008-10-08 17:03:29] Kip

"Counting backwards from infinity"


33
[+27] [2008-10-08 12:32:56] Tom Carter

QUIET !!! I'm trying to think here !


34
[+27] [2008-10-08 14:29:08] Marius

"Brain the size of a planet and all you want me to do is recite a funny loading message..."


35
[+27] [2009-02-10 16:28:33] JayG

"We apologise for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible have been sacked"


(2) Oh, this is great :) - ldigas
(3) Monty Python is always a good idea! - Flávio Amieiro
36
[+26] [2008-10-15 06:39:06] Raz

from XKCD: [1]

Starting WiFi autoconfig...

searching for WiFi...

Found no open networks. Found secure net SSID "Lenhart Family"

Trying common passwords... Failed.

Checking for WEP Vulnerabilities...None found.

Connecting to Bluetooth phone... Calling local school... Found Lenhart children.

Notifying field agents. Children acquired.

Calling Lenhart parents.

Negotiating for WiFi password...

CTRL-C CTRL-C

[1] http://xkcd.com/416/

(1) Replace Lenhart with the waiter's last name and you have a deal. - Cristián Romo
(1) I didn't understand the Ctrl+C until I read the comic. :) - WTP
37
[+25] [2008-10-08 10:53:27] Sean

"Scanning your hard drive for credit card details. Please be patient..."


(11) I wouldn't use that one due to obvious reasons... - BlaM
i like it most..!!! - Mr.32
38
[+24] [2008-10-08 13:10:06] sammyo

Yes there really are magic elves with an abacus working frantically in here.


39
[+24] [2008-10-08 23:29:08] Zing-

Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?


40
[+23] [2008-10-09 10:29:24] Andrew

Don't panic...


(8) To be written in large friendly letters. - TRiG
(5) I always imagined the large friendly letters to be Comic Sans... - Marius
41
[+21] [2008-12-21 17:03:56] Neil Aitken

World of goo has some of the best loading messages I've seen

testing ozone.

embiggening prototypes.

deterministically simulating the future.

testing for perfection.


(1) "Placating Publishers" is my personal favorite. - Groxx
42
[+17] [2008-10-12 22:08:47] Remou

From an old one:

Water detected on drive C:\, please wait. Spin dry commencing.


(2) +1 for reminding me - benvd
43
[+16] [2008-10-08 17:04:43] Electrons_Ahoy

You are in a maze of twisty loading screens, all alike...


How about "You're waiting on a train..."? - fwielstra
44
[+15] [2008-10-10 08:28:28] deworde

I would go with funny messages but I'd also have a lookup table somewhere in the manual for what stage they actually represent. That way when it crashes on "Initialising Giant Laser...", you know that it's actually reading in the file asdfx.dll.


You don't seriously have a file named asdfx, I hope... - tsilb
(1) It stands for Alternate Storage Disk Format eXecutable - epochwolf
(4) Brilliant! That way the user even has to read the dummy message to you out loud, which will make both feel incredibly awkward! :) - schonarth
45
[+15] [2008-10-10 15:39:59] Chaoley

"So, do you come here often?"


46
[+13] [2008-10-10 03:55:15] Federico Ramponi

A little animated BSOD [1]

alt text

A fatal exception 0E has occurred at 0028:C0011E in VXD VMM(01) +
00010E36...

No, let me think. 00010F24...

Wait a minute. 

Where the hell was that? 

Yeah, found: 00020EFF.

Damn it, we've lost it again. Searching......

Wanna play chess?
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death

well, not exactly suited for a 2 seconds pause... - Federico Ramponi
(2) Your animated BSOD is a JPG... - tsilb
47
[+13] [2008-10-08 14:29:47] Jeff

"You shouldn't have done that."

"Remember, beer and email don't mix."

"I found a typo! Sending..."

"Your time is important to us. Please hold."

"Warning: Do not set yourself on fire."

"Beauty is skin deep. Have a bag."

"Recording IP address... Checking cookies... Scanning browser history... Generating ad content... Enjoy the goats!"

"Loading new loading screen."

"Making you a cookie."

"Stealing bucket."

"Photographing cats... Attaching signs... MEME complete!"


"Loading new loading screen." I've seen that in a Hard Disk Recovery program. - Behrooz
On a web app I am making people actually have to enter a captcha when trying to send a message after 10 PM to prevent them from sending drunk messages. :') - WTP
48
[+13] [2008-10-08 14:55:33] fryguybob

Recalculating PI....


49
[+13] [2008-10-08 11:26:55] Ma99uS

"Adjusting data for your IQ..."
"Generating next funny line..."
"Entertaining you while you wait..."

more...

"Improving your reading skills..."
"Dividing eternity by zero, please be patient..."
"Just stalling to simulate activity..."
"Adding random changes to your data..."
"Waiting for approval from Bill Gates..."


50
[+12] [2008-10-08 10:54:24] Guvante

Creating Time-Loop Inversion Field


or "Field Inversion Loop-Time Creating" - Chris Upchurch
51
[+12] [2008-10-08 13:33:44] Rikalous

"Caching internet locally..."


52
[+12] [2008-10-12 22:00:02] Peter Mounce

"Creating Universe (this may take some time)"

(from a really old game on an Acorn called Star Commander or something like that)


Hehe, that reminded me of making world in FreeBSD :) freebsd.org/doc/en/books/handbook/makeworld.html Always felt good doing that. - Karolis
Reminds me of Reality.sys corrupted. Reboot universe [y/n]? :) - OregonGhost
I'm assuming this error message is for applepie.exe? - Andrew Arnold
53
[+12] [2009-04-25 20:59:20] Jonta

Not sure if this one's suggested:

Commencing infinite loop

alternatively

Commencing infinite loop (this may take some time)


54
[+11] [2009-03-12 07:35:06] ZiG

"I'm quite drunk, loading might take a little more time than the usual! Please be patient!"


Stop shouting already! - canadiancreed
oh man this is the best one! - The WebMacheter
55
[+11] [2009-02-08 21:48:03] Joe

Maybe I'm a bit of a curmudgeon, but users can very quickly lose their sense of humour when a system isn't working as expected. So I'd be very careful and make sure you know who your users are before trying to do this in a real system.


56
[+11] [2008-10-08 15:08:31] akdom

Courtesy of [Insert website here]. Sending you to the future one second at a time since [insert current timestamp].

Or just the trimmed version:

"Transporting you into the future one second at a time..."


Something akin to "Sending you to the future, at one second per second" would indicate the speed.. - Jonta
57
[+10] [2008-10-08 19:21:59] Rodger Cooley

"While you're waiting, why not head over to http://stackoverflow.com?"


58
[+10] [2009-01-06 16:14:48] Oskar Duveborn

Display a random (or sequential per user session) sentence from your EULA - that'll teach'em to read it... uh.. ^^

Or build a database with tips and tricks that aren't related to the app but rather for helping the user be more successful as a person.

Did you know that...

  • exercise makes you smarter?
  • and so on..

...the modern inspirational posters equivalent - any geek will hate it, but most "normal" users will likely take to it a bit (they're hard to understand though, them users ;)


(1) I've seen "Never shake a baby" - CapsicumDreams
59
[+10] [2009-02-02 14:53:48] yx.

The people responsible for the previous please wait messages have been sacked.

Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti...

We apologize again for the fault in the messages. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked.


60
[+10] [2010-02-10 13:12:40] Boldewyn

While you're waiting, how about a little riddle for you? scalar Navier-Stokes equation

Explanation to spoil the party: This is the scalar Navier-Stokes equation, that is related to the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem [1], which in turn is one of the Mathematics' Millenium Prize Problems [2].

The above mentioned 'riddle', however, is nonsense without further explanation.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navier%E2%80%93Stokes_existence_and_smoothness
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Prize_Problems

Pun? It's a joke of some sort, but I wouldn't call it a pun. - TRiG
That's true. I'll update the answer. - Boldewyn
61
[+9] [2010-10-10 18:33:26] Jus12

"Go get a coffee or something. This is going to take a while."


I actually use coffee mug image for this purpose. :) - vishwanath
(1) "please stop staring at the completion bar. It is embarrasing me". - Jus12
62
[+9] [2008-10-13 18:15:46] Daniel

I have a game that gives you tips when loading; there are certainly tips that you could put, unless your application is extremely straightforward. GMail puts tips under the inbox, for example; I'd read them if it put them in the loading messages. Get two things done at once: don't make your users uselessly wait AND make sure they can get things done faster. Now that I think about it, there isn't a single program I can think of that has a loading screen that shouldn't have tips there.


63
[+8] [2008-10-13 15:56:31] Cyberherbalist

"Please wait...time not important; only life important."

Fifth Element


64
[+8] [2008-11-07 08:10:43] chakrit

The internet is full... Please wait...


65
[+8] [2010-02-10 12:44:31] Secko

Just a few ideas:

  • Loading the enchanted bunny...
  • Please wait while this nice progress bar fills to 100%...
  • Let me tell you a joke, two CPUs walk into a bar...
  • Greetings Earthling!
  • I know this is painful to watch, but I have to load this.
  • Go get a cup of coffee or something... (after a while) Did you get it yet!?
  • Go read a book, I'm nearly finished.
  • Oh, no! Loading time...
  • Really sorry, it needs work I know...
  • Buy more RAM...
  • Loading screen... If you can see this then it's already loaded.
  • Starting in 0...1...2...n...
  • Hello!!! Why did you click that button?!
  • Kicking Mort from Madagascar! Please wait...
  • Busing through the motherboard, will arrive soon...
  • Hello this is the CPU: The first core and the second core are working! What!? You got a third core...

66
[+8] [2010-02-10 12:09:27] this. __curious_geek

"Loading the Loading message.."


67
[+8] [2010-01-15 19:12:38] Lord Torgamus

I can't believe that in nine pages of answers, nobody has said

Please be patient. The program should finish loading in six to eight weeks.


68
[+8] [2009-06-26 04:03:44] Kevin Bomberry

Reading GoF, please wait...
Hello Clarice.
Good evening, Clarice.
I just ate your data with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Closer, please. Clo-ser...
I like you. But I need you to be more than just eye candy around here.
Stupidity isn't a virus... but it sure is spreadin' like one!
About your data... I lost it... in a volcano.


User, n. The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot." -- Dave Barry
Jesus saves! The rest of us better make backups. -- Anonymous
"To go forward, you must backup."
"The more I C, the less I see."
"The Internet: where men are men, women are men, and children are FBI agents."
"I'm not anti-social; I'm just not user friendly"
"1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d"
"Like car accidents, most hardware problems are due to driver error."
"It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa."


INITIALIZING UNIX COMMANDS:
unzip...
strip...
touch...
finger...
mount...
fsck...
more...
yes...
unmount...
sleep...
...READY.


hahahaha! +1 for the 1337 - The WebMacheter
69
[+8] [2008-10-08 19:34:55] s t

Checking prime directives...

  • "Serve the public trust"
  • "Protect the innocent"
  • "Uphold the law"
  • (Classified)

+1 (Classified) - epochwolf
70
[+8] [2008-10-09 15:54:07] idean

Rewinding the DVD...


71
[+8] [2008-10-08 12:46:48] aib

The bits in [] are optional. Alternatively, they can show up after some time:

Waking up the AI... [Error: COFFEE_BIT not set]

Starting [sub]pixel analysis...

Loading loading messages...

Trying to give priority back to actual processing from the loading message handler...

This is a haiku
Your content is now loading
Be patient, will you?


only if be pat-i-ent please or be pat-ient puh-lease - johnc
It's hard to do this in a non-phonetic language like English. s/please/will you/ as necessary. - aib
72
[+8] [2008-10-08 11:53:32] community_owned

Cybernet loading self awareness....please be patient;

Starting missile launch sequence in 10, 9...;

Increasing speed to 88.8mph;


73
[+8] [2008-10-08 11:09:22] FryHard

"Communing with nature"

"Spinning the wheel of fortune"

Dare I suggest "I'll be back"

Pick a few more famous movie lines [1]....

[1] http://www.allgreatquotes.com/movies_quotes_lines3.shtml

74
[+7] [2008-10-08 11:05:34] mm2010

Sorry my binaries are swapped, busy re-sorting them now....


75
[+7] [2008-10-08 10:54:56] fmsf

The traditional line: "Loading a virus, please relax while your life's work is being deleted..."


I also wouldn't use that one due to obvious reasons... - BlaM
76
[+7] [2008-10-08 13:03:26] Anders

"Computing chance of success"


77
[+7] [2008-10-09 00:33:48] Leanan

Rolling for initiative...
Attacking the darkness...
Making will save...


Haha, i love it, by far one of the best (if a D&D fan ) - mattlant
78
[+7] [2008-10-09 01:04:44] Chris Latta

Searching for the Amulet of Yendor

Preparing for hyperspace jump

Slaying a Balrog

Going to DEFCON 1

Searching for the... OMG, what the heck is THAT doing there?


+1 for Yendor reference - johnc
79
[+7] [2008-10-08 23:24:53] Zing-

Very funny Scotty. Now beam down my clothes.


80
[+7] [2008-10-08 14:13:50] Steven A. Lowe

Centralizing the processing units...

Randomizing memory access...

I think, therefore I am...loading!

I'm sorry Dave, I can't do that


81
[+7] [2010-01-15 18:31:32] Christian Madsen

99 bottles of beer on the wall

Changes to

99 bottles of beer

Changes to

Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall

Changes to

98 bottles of beer

And so on... Did someone already write this answer? With 9 pages already and too little time, I was too lazy to check.


(1) If you want to see it for yourself, 99-bottles-of-beer.net - t0mm13b
(1) Great. That eases implementation a lot :) - Christian Madsen
How about just changing it to 99 bottles every time? After a while: "(This loading message may be buggy. But the computer is actually computing stuff! Honest! I think...)" - Jonta
82
[+7] [2008-10-13 15:46:20] user27476

"Waiting for magic to happen..."

But a serious question: is one or two seconds enough time to appreciate a funny message? In my highly subjective opinion, a too-short wait with a message that isn't obviously "loading, please wait" makes it look like you're popping up an important message and the user is missing it. I'm not suggesting you increase the wait time for the messages, though that could be an interesting thought experiment (what's better, two seconds+boring message or ten seconds+interesting message)


83
[+6] [2008-10-13 15:39:02] Irwin

Loading: one Mississippi Loading: two Mississippi Loading: three Mississippi


84
[+6] [2008-10-15 21:10:34] roosteronacid

On data-load: "Making stuff up. Please wait...".


85
[+6] [2008-10-13 10:24:30] Oli

Saw this on a stock webapp the other day

Shorting to afford data transmission


86
[+6] [2009-04-25 21:22:51] Brent Baisley
  • Searching for the Any key...
  • Searching for answers...
  • Looking for exact change...
  • Giving it all of got...
  • It's around here somewhere...
  • Stretching first. I don't want to pull a muscle.
  • Paper or plastic?
  • Calculating the odds...
  • Look! Over there -> ->

87
[+6] [2009-05-20 19:11:11] 動靜能量

"Downloading the whole Internet. Please wait..."


88
[+6] [2009-05-26 21:48:32] codymanix
Testing RAM..............OK
Testing CPU..............OK
Testing Primary Disk.....OK
Testing USER IQ........................
Fail: IQ INSUFFICIENT TO RUN THIS PROGRAM
Aborting!

(2) Insulting your user is never a good idea. - Kevin van Zanten
(1) Having users with lack of humour is also a sad thing :) - codymanix
(2) This is just insulting. Not humorous. Testing USER PATIENCE maybe - CodeFusionMobile
89
[+6] [2010-06-04 00:54:28] Andrew

That that exists exists in that that that that exists exists in.


(5) I don't get it... - FerretallicA
(1) I do. +1.......Wherever you go, there you are. - Robert Harvey
Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo. - new123456
90
[+6] [2010-09-23 18:24:31] Nathan L Smith

Just use the BOFH excuse server: http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~ballard/bofh/bofhserver.pl


Yeah, those were really funny; But what was asked for was loading statements - not "unknown error" replacements. But you'll get a +1 from me anyway ;) - Frank
91
[+6] [2011-01-29 00:53:01] Masterofpsi

Not my personal idea, but the sheer number and ridiculousness of the little tidbits here [1] always amazed me.

[1] http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002037

92
[+6] [2008-10-09 03:42:42] Groxx

Computing 6 x 9...


(6) Estimated time to completion: 10 million years. Please wait. - Joe White
93
[+6] [2008-10-09 10:32:37] Andrew

Waiting for more electricity...


94
[+6] [2008-10-10 03:38:54] Federico Ramponi
Ravaging drive C: ......... done.
Ravaging drive D: ......... done.

95
[+6] [2008-10-08 12:25:28] Fake Jim

Accommodating poor back-end SQL query. Please wait...


LOL, funny cause it's likely true. - J c
96
[+6] [2008-10-08 13:59:34] Abyss Knight

Just use a line from Portal's "Still Alive", bonus points for audio:

"This was a triumph

I’m making a note here: huge success

It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction

Aperture Science

We do what we must because we can

For the good of all of us

Except the ones who are dead

But there’s no sense crying over every mistake

You just keep on trying till you run out of cake

And the science gets done and you make a neat gun

For the people who are still alive"

Or the ever wonderful, "Code Monkey" by the same artist, Jonathon Coulton:

"Code Monkey get up get coffee

Code Monkey go to job

have boring meeting with boring manager Rob

Rob say Code Monkey very diligent

but his output stink

his code not functional or elegant

what do Code Monkey think

Code Monkey think maybe manager want to write goddamn login page himself

Code Monkey not say it out loud

Code Monkey not crazy just proud"


97
[+6] [2008-10-08 11:34:27] mattlant

"Please wait while the punch tape loads..."


98
[+5] [2008-10-08 11:11:25] Phill Sacre

Hmmm, on a Futurama style theme, I've always wanted to say something like this:

"Let this abomination unto the Lord begin"


99
[+5] [2008-10-08 11:12:11] mm2010

Just taking the doggy for an urgent walk...please be patient!!


100
[+5] [2008-10-08 11:04:06] Rik

Please pick your your nose and look disinterested at the screen...
Thank you!


101
[+5] [2008-10-08 12:31:49] tloach

To speed up process turn crank attached to computer.


102
[+5] [2008-10-08 13:11:24] sammyo

Press the Any key to continue.

No not that one, the "Any" key.

Ha ha, gotcha again.


103
[+5] [2008-10-08 19:30:06] community_owned

Charging capacitors to 1.21 jiggawatts...
Initializing loading message database...
Entertaining possibility of continuing...


104
[+5] [2008-10-08 21:00:29] community_owned

Some lame ones:

  • The loading screen is a lie.
  • Houston, we have a... oh, hi. All fine here.

105
[+5] [2010-08-27 20:33:53] Klosterf

Are you bored? Me too.

Waiting for something in the server.

Have you considered another ISP?

I'm tired, please be patient.


106
[+5] [2009-10-28 12:00:25] Red Serpent

Please Wait...

Please Wait Some More...

You're Still Waiting, Right?

You still there?...

Hello...

Oh there You are...

Still Waiting... huh

Dum dada dee dum dada...

Am bored, gonna look through your stuff.

hmmm, found Kernel32.dll

scanning kernel32.dll

kernel32.dll is useless. Deleting...

Ta Da... oh wait am not done yet.


+1 for gonna look through your stuff, our client would panic :) - medopal
should add a "Ha! Just kidding!" after that deleting thing :p - Svish
107
[+5] [2009-05-08 00:22:06] Simon Hartcher

World Of Goo [1] has some pretty funny loading statements. Here is some that came up when I loaded just then:

Image: World Of Goo Loading Screen [2]

[1] http://www.worldofgoo.com/
[2] http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/6262/worldofgooloading.jpg

108
[+5] [2009-05-20 06:19:41] David Plumpton

There's always the Unix fortune program


And the -o flag. - new123456
109
[+5] [2009-01-06 13:43:37] Mike Hofer

Insufficient disk space. Reformatting drive C: to allocate space...


110
[+5] [2008-10-10 08:09:05] Yaba

Anno 1701 (a real time strategy game) has some funny messages:

  • Salting Sea Water
  • Hiding Treasures
  • Filling up Mountains
  • Creating Weather Forecast ....

They're rather specific to the game, though. Anno 1404 has some new ones, by the way. - OregonGhost
111
[+5] [2008-10-10 10:21:34] community_owned

"Time is relative.."


112
[+5] [2008-10-22 17:52:59] Cat Plus Plus

"Resistance is futile. Prepare to be assimilated."


113
[+5] [2008-10-24 01:11:30] community_owned

Klingons on the starboard bow.


114
[+4] [2008-10-10 18:06:17] Dynamo

The MMORPG Everquest uses a bunch of these while the game loads up. A few favorites of mine are:

Warning. Half Elves are now 49.99999 Elf....

and this:

Hitting your keyboard won't make this faster....


115
[+4] [2008-10-11 10:24:02] dar7yl
  • histone sequence acetylated
  • chromatin decondensed
  • pol II loaded
  • transcription commencing
  • transcription paused
  • transcription resumed
  • transcription completed
  • post transational editing
  • commencing intron splicing
  • completed messenger export
  • start codon recognized
  • translation and polypeptide synthesis commencing
  • stop codon detected
  • post-transational configuration
  • protein transport
  • enzymic reaction
  • product synthesis
  • product complete

116
[+4] [2009-02-02 14:46:15] mvrak

Oops... I accidentally the whole system.


117
[+4] [2008-12-21 16:53:31] The Alpha Nerd

Firing up the hyperspace quantum overdrive...


118
[+4] [2008-12-02 15:23:39] Kevin Samuel

Could be worse... Hotlines make you pay for it.


119
[+4] [2008-12-02 15:38:35] Martin

"Calculating meaning of life...."

Then at completion flash up 42.


120
[+4] [2008-12-02 15:41:21] Zorantula

I once did something like this for the initial test version of an integration tool which would display its results in XML. The tool would take anywhere from 1 to 5 seconds or more (mostly depending on the speed of the database(s) being connected to) and I would display the following in the results field while the tool was processing:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr:SearchForDoubloons xmlns:Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate">
    <Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr:EatChineseFood>
    	<FoundDoubloons>No</FoundDoubloons>
    	<FoundFortuneCookie>
    		<FortuneSays>That special someone loves to see the light in your eye.</FortuneSays>
    	</FoundFortuneCookie>
    </Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr:EatChineseFood>
</Arrrrrrrrrrrrrr:SearchForDoubloons>

Each time it ran it would draw a different fortune from a list of real fortune cookie fortunes.

This was very well received by everyone, but removed once the tool "matured".


121
[+4] [2009-04-25 21:11:30] Schildmeijer

"Bending the spoon..."


122
[+4] [2009-03-27 02:42:12] Godcode

...main screen turn on

...we get signal

...fpsajfsa;kjfa;ldsfsaf9237497498274sfj;lsafkjakfdsj

...what happen?

...what!

...How are you gentlemen !!

...All your base are belong to us.

...You are on the way to destruction.

...You have no chance to survive make your time.

...You know what you doing.

...Ha ha ha ha....

...Page was beginning...


123
[+4] [2009-03-27 03:17:06] Zan Lynx
  • Loading Data
  • Verifying Data
    • Data checksum verified
    • Unpacking
    • Release the hounds
    • Data found in tree
  • Verifying User
    • Press any key
    • User is paying attention
    • User is sentient
    • User IQ > 80
    • or
    • User IQ < 80
    • Enable vegetable mode

124
[+4] [2010-01-15 19:19:59] Kelly French

Out Of Cheese Error! Mr. Jelly! Mr. Jelly


(2) +++ REDO FROM START +++ - TRiG
125
[+4] [2010-06-08 15:46:57] Paul D. Waite

Not exactly funny, but Stephen Fry’s iPhone/iPad app (‘Fry Paper’ — now that’s funny) presents this text:

Just clearing my throat...

when loading, which seems nicely in keeping with Stephen Fry’s persona.


126
[+4] [2011-01-27 00:28:51] Michael

Creating VB GUI Interface...

Hitting the keyboard may lock up the system... but the printer is fine.

This would go faster if I had opposable thumbs...

I spy something green...

If you need to go to the bathroom, do it now... I don't want to stop later.

Remember back when you smoked? At least you always had something to do.

  • Warning: The internet is a dangerous place.
  • Only about half of its content is true.
  • Proof that Al Gore is the man behind it?
  • We think so.

The series of tubes is a bit congested... the city's got some plumbers working on it right now.

Ah, ah, ah, you didn't say the magic word!

  • PINGING SERVER... SERVER OK!
  • SCANNING FOR VULNERABILITIES...
  • OVERLOADING SERVER RPC STACK...
  • INJECTING ROOTKIT...
  • DOWNLOADING CREDIT CARDS... PLEASE WAIT.
  • CREDIT CARD THEFT SUCCESSFUL.

That first one is not funny, the application I work on has some truth here, in VB6! - benPearce
127
[+4] [2008-10-08 20:34:10] J.J.

"Drink and be merry for tomorrow this site may load"

"Et tu RAM"

"This site is like a box of chocolates, you never know what page is gonna load."

"Don't press back ... pretty please"

"All your web browser are belong to us"


Ohh ya and. "If you load it; they will wait" - J.J.
128
[+4] [2008-10-08 18:17:00] Flupkear

"Baking cake..."

“Look behind you, a Three-Headed Monkey!”


(1) LOL! Great quote from Monkey Island! - Andrea Ambu
129
[+4] [2008-10-08 17:32:53] community_owned

Waking up your lazy processor.

Having a quick byte to eat ...

I'll be with you in a bit ...


130
[+4] [2008-10-09 16:04:13] Mez

"brb, need to pee"


131
[+4] [2008-10-09 05:41:03] MikeJ

Sorry. Our server is a few bytes short of a file...

Don't throw out that cat! Get me some pliers quick...

Waving the rubber chicken over the server. please wait...

This page brough to you by the Letter Q...

Come to Ralph's Wonder Lama Emporium....


132
[+4] [2008-10-09 00:23:59] Mark Stock
  • Preprocessing...
  • Parsing...
  • Compiling...
  • Coffee time!
  • Linking...

(1) If I ever get to write a compiler for something, I think I'll insert this. - OregonGhost
133
[+4] [2008-10-08 12:22:00] Powerlord

Contacting HAL9000 for authorization... I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.


134
[+4] [2008-10-08 13:37:35] plinth
  1. Spinning up gerbil wheel
  2. Mounting a scratch monkey [1]
  3. Counting an infinite number of monkeys
  4. Stretching an owl
  5. Buying the world a Coke
[1] http://edp.org/monkey.htm

135
[+4] [2008-10-08 11:36:16] Anonymous

Nowadays I'd rather frighten users by mentioning RIAA, not viruses :)

Something like "scanning your hard drive for pirated movies"


136
[+3] [2008-10-08 11:53:00] mm2010

Now diluting data to match transmission capacity - please wait.....

The Baby's crying, please change nappies while I am starting up...

I've been wondering lately, don't you get lonesome staring at me?


137
[+3] [2008-10-08 11:18:03] hangy
  • "BRB"
  • "BBIAB"

138
[+3] [2008-10-08 10:58:55] Phil

... we're holding our sausage hostage... please be patient...


139
[+3] [2008-10-08 10:57:53] PintSizedCat

"Computer shutting down in ..."

"Please wait whilst your harddisk is erased ..."

"How did I get sucked in to writing out silly loading lines?"


140
[+3] [2008-10-08 14:01:10] Jaap Coomans

Please wait... Rebooting the Internet

Taking the red pill...


141
[+3] [2008-10-08 15:38:27] community_owned

Locating infinite improbability drive...

Disengaging Genuine People Personalities Protocol for your sanity...


142
[+3] [2008-10-08 16:23:46] Esteban Brenes

For anyone who played Everquest this might be familiar:

"Teaching Snakes to Kick"


143
[+3] [2008-10-08 11:55:18] 999

Please wait a moment, deciphering your intentions...


144
[+3] [2008-10-08 12:55:32] fmsf

Illegal software found on your hard drive! Never mind it's a photo of Chuck Norris...


145
[+3] [2008-10-08 13:28:52] Treb
  • Hey, why did you click this button? You woke me up!!!
  • Let me think about this...
  • Please try to click a little softer, that mouse pointer is pointed!
  • Gotcha, boss! Going right at it!
  • Will do. In the meantime, can you prepare me a cup of tea?

And for the traditionalists: 'Hello, Dave!' HAL9000


146
[+3] [2008-10-09 00:47:57] fatcat1111

Why write your own? Find a good fortune.dat file,

#include "fortune.h"

And take it from there!


147
[+3] [2008-10-09 17:06:24] JayG

From Office Space: "PC Load Letter!? What the $#%& does that mean?"


148
[+3] [2008-10-09 14:09:14] arinte

Press and hold your power button to improve your productivity.


149
[+3] [2008-10-10 03:56:20] community_owned

Dyslexics of the world untie!


150
[+3] [2008-10-08 17:59:52] ykaganovich

alt text


I like animations like this, if loading doesn't take long. There may be copyright issues though on a commercial website. - OregonGhost
151
[+3] [2008-10-08 18:28:08] Ryan Delucchi

Searching for an external observer required to conduct Turing Test ...


152
[+3] [2008-10-08 17:00:00] Kip

"Contemplating the meaning of life"


153
[+3] [2008-10-08 17:06:12] nwahmaet

"The longer it takes me, the better it will be for you"


154
[+3] [2008-10-08 17:22:09] Robert Rouse

"I have experience with [insert random program on system]. I can see [program] from my directory."


155
[+3] [2008-10-08 19:46:05] David

"Gnarfling the Garthok"

"Having fun storming the castle"


Had to give you a +1 for the Princess Bride. - TRiG
156
[+3] [2008-10-08 21:18:14] Seanchán

Sid Meier's Sword of the Samurai anyone:

"Cultivate a stoic calmness"

See http://www.links.net/dox/warez/games/microprose/samurai/pix/interstitialcalmness.gif for how looked it.

There were other koans which I forget.


157
[+3] [2010-06-22 16:25:13] Ben Gartner

Keyboard error. Hit F0 to continue.


Is the joke that any keyboard with an error must have an F0 key? - Josh Lee
It's more like that it's impossible to do, I think. - sparkleshy
F13 might be better. Only some keyboards have them :P - davr
F13 was in my initial draft! Didn't make it past my editor though. :) - Ben Gartner
F13 exists on Mac keyboards. At least this one... - Svish
158
[+3] [2010-01-15 18:16:38] TRiG

TIP OF THE DAY: Keep smiling, it makes people wonder what you're up to.


159
[+3] [2010-06-08 11:27:48] Shyam

I would never put these in a public application for commercial usage (yet I find them funny)

"The President has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad ass enough dude to rescue the president?"

"So Sorry! I feel asleep! Continue?"

"You fool! You gave cheese to a lactose intolerant volcano god!"

"All your base are belong to us" (ha ha ha)

"Sorry, but our princess is in another castle!"

"I am Cornholio, I need TP for my bunghole"

"If you ever had sex with a machine, that's what it's like with me. 'Cause I'm like a sex machine. "

"Snake? SNAAAAAAAAKE!!!"

"A Slime draws near! Command?"

"Promise me something, Pinky. Never breed."

Pinky: "Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?" Brain: "The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world!"

"Utilizing satellite technology and these 2 clamps, we will redirect all global telephone communication into an endless voice mail system. And once a person is on the line, the array and amount of choices will render them occupied, busy, and unable to defend the earth for a full 72 hours - more than enough time for a well-prepared mouse to seize control of the planet."

"Come on little buddy, let's get that crazed surgeon to switch our heads back."

"I challenge you to a game of chess!"

"I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me."

"It's today!" said Piglet. "My favorite day," said Pooh.

"Dear MacGyver, enclosed is a rubber band, a paper clip and a drinking straw, please save my dog."

"What's a cat doing up here?" "Probably asking that same question about four turtles!"


160
[+3] [2009-10-28 13:24:56] Tim Post

Please send towels .. LOTS and LOTS of TOWELS.


161
[+3] [2009-05-08 00:14:06] Paulo

Please wait while the system allocates resources to show the loading screen...


162
[+3] [2009-10-28 11:40:19] danrichardson

prompt("Please enter pi");


163
[+3] [2009-07-06 13:38:43] MSIL

What about this:

ramdomly select some funny dll name (UILoad.dll, PamperUser.dll, MagicMouse.dll, etc)

and display following messages:

PamperUser.dll got hotter than the normal range - temp above X degrees....

cooling down... please wait....
.................

.................

.................

* EMERGENCY * - putting an ice bowl on the CPU could help...


164
[+3] [2009-07-06 13:56:27] Avihu Turzion

"Please wait, while going back in time..."

The malicious thing to then would be to stop the system clock or reset it to the start time on completion, so it would seem the operation took less time.


165
[+3] [2009-08-03 16:40:00] Christian

You're the most lovely person on earth.

You're a great person.

What is your purpose in life?

Your life has meaning.


166
[+3] [2009-10-09 02:51:19] Michael Brown

"The Elders of the Internet are contemplating your request" "Yes, the elders of the Internet know who you are" "Yes, they also know everything you look at" "Yes, they do accept bribes"


167
[+3] [2009-06-20 08:04:33] Vladiat0r

"We're working on making this page load faster"


168
[+3] [2008-12-03 05:57:55] Bill

What we have here... is a failure to communicate.


169
[+3] [2008-12-02 15:26:50] StingyJack

"Reticulating Splines" -the sims


170
[+3] [2008-10-10 17:34:29] Aaron Palmer

The dilithium crystals are fading fast...


171
[+3] [2008-10-10 13:40:19] Rajeshwaran S P

"Lost my way to your desktop...Please Wait..."


172
[+3] [2008-10-09 23:51:27] Saif Khan

Loading.......one sec .....hold on....... ..............a minute or two....... what are you doing?.......here comes


173
[+3] [2008-11-03 11:48:42] Nelson Reis

Please, hold your breath and start praying.


174
[+3] [2008-11-10 16:51:10] kovshenin

"Just a sec, I need coffee, okay?" "Now where the hell's that kitty!?"


175
[+3] [2008-11-24 03:10:20] Jon DellOro

There is the classic advent line:

"Go read a book while I get my act together".


176
[+3] [2008-10-13 11:54:20] darron

Please remove your shoes and belt. Place laptops in a single bin. Camera film will not be affected.

In an alternate dimension you're somebody important.

Screen full. Please shake vigorously.

Summoning the vorpal bunny...


177
[+3] [2008-10-13 14:21:07] Daniel

You might want to make some application-specific ones, like some of the MIT examples. For example, for an email application, you might want something like "Please wait while we scan all your emails into our computer", or the much more sinister "Please wait while we read through all your emails for credit card and social security numbers".


178
[+3] [2008-10-13 15:32:05] Skizz

How about:

Loading data.
Would you like a game of global thermonuclear war while you wait?

Skizz


179
[+2] [2009-06-13 11:51:03] Domchi

I've had the idea of giving user a simple game to play while loading. This has an added bonus that users who wait longer have more time and can thus score higher. And keeping a score would be a hilarious benchmarking of site loading times.

This site [1] is a perfect example of what I had in mind.

[1] http://www.get-out-and-play.com/index.php

Bloody hell! However much stuff are you loading if you can squeeze a quick game in there while it loads?! - Oli
What kind of game could you play during the 1-2 seconds specified in the question? - Joe White
1-2 seconds is not enough time to warrant such loader, but 20 seconds and more is enough for a bit of Arkanoid or fast shooter. :) - Domchi
180
[+2] [2010-10-20 17:08:34] Prince Ashitaka

So what you had for break-fast? [After few seconds] That sounds great! [Just like Dora the explorer] ;)


181
[+2] [2011-01-18 06:37:51] Umer

will be loaded before you find a prime number greater than 3213340251426305445635445323240153125200563544563425133462165205646812473162531431232103456219876514827898324431979570136034631152918765579


Somewhat of an impractical answer, the OP and the high voted answers have messages that can be used in the real world. - gideon
Actually, I plan on stealing it promptly. ;) - Lance May
(4) 32133402514263054456354453232401531252005635445634251334621652056468124731625314‌​31232103456219876514827898324431979570136034631152918765649 - Alix Axel
did you figure out before loading??? - Umer
182
[+2] [2008-10-10 04:33:04] Mark

say the alphabet backwards out loud to continue...


183
[+2] [2008-10-09 14:08:05] arinte

Chazz: Night is a very dark time for me Jimmy: It's dark for everyone, idiot! Chazz: Not for people who live in Alaska. Or people with night-vision goggles

Chazz: Personal philosophy: Clothing optional.

Chazz: It makes my hair shine like the Belt of Orion.

Chazz: My victory in Boston was as sweet as the cream pie from the city it's named after.

Chazz: They laughed at Louie Armstrong when he said he was going to the moon, and now he's laughing at them from up there.


184
[+2] [2008-10-08 14:58:09] Krakkos

a "reticulated spline" is a valid geometrical entity. They're used a lot in terrain modelling. Because you can get non-reticulated splines, someone wiseguy obviously thought it good to start reticulating them.


+1 interesting, -1 not a real answer (so I'm not actually voting) - Lord Torgamus
185
[+2] [2008-10-08 14:30:53] Karl Johan

All your base are soon belong to us ...


186
[+2] [2008-10-08 14:44:42] Jason Miesionczek

Flooding the InterTubes...


187
[+1] [2008-10-08 13:41:21] Mecki

Sorry, I don't know how to help in this situation. Maybe you should try asking a human?


188
[+1] [2008-10-08 13:41:52] Ramesh Soni

Awaking the Computer..


189
[+1] [2008-10-08 13:43:34] Supowski

Lo-lo-lo-lo-loading.... Sorry to stammer, I do it every time when I have to wait for something.


190
[+1] [2008-10-08 13:46:26] Myrrdyn

"Prepare yourself, for the season of the Moonstones is upon you!"


191
[+1] [2008-10-08 13:53:57] Mohit Ranka

"Do you think this page will load?"

"Ahh.... kidding"

"No, seriously"


192
[+1] [2008-10-08 14:10:23] jop

"insert progress message here"

"message intentionally left blank"

"lorem ipsum dolor..."


193
[+1] [2008-10-08 16:32:24] Chris Ballance

"Please stand by, application name is grunting a sculpture"


194
[+1] [2008-10-08 13:26:29] Dana

preparing to format hard drive...


195
[+1] [2008-10-08 13:19:28] Leanan
  • "All your pages are belong to me/us." (pick which you prefer, me or us)
  • "Sending up the codes."

I can't think of many more at the moment, but I'm sure I will later. I know they aren't completely original, but as a gamer, it still amuses me (and some of the music videos people make are funny)


196
[+1] [2008-10-08 12:16:33] Lukas Šalkauskas

This is direct for men audience:

Loading data sequence....

Generating female bitmap..................

Undressing female......

Rendering image....

Preparing to show......

Putting data into ram....

Preparing to draw....

Drawing....


(2) If I were in the US I would mark this as offensive. I'm in Argentina though, so it's fine. - Yar
197
[+1] [2008-10-08 11:27:39] Dynite

"Back in 5..."


198
[+1] [2008-10-08 11:49:30] Dave Sherohman

Although some are too specific to the game for general use, Auto Assault had a good list of loading messages, which has been archived here [1]

[1] http://autoassaultvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guides.Detail&id=4

199
[+1] [2008-10-09 14:23:40] Mamut

Still there?

Yeah, I had a feeling you'd wanna do(click) this

Waiting for that butterfly in the Andes...


200
[+1] [2008-10-09 22:39:00] Daniel W

I would like to program a loading screen that makes you believe that you have a killer behind you. Should of course use the webcam.


201
[+1] [2008-10-09 16:50:19] Oli

Put the kettle on. It's going to take a minute.


202
[+1] [2008-10-10 03:48:38] Nrj
  • Sometime your agony will be over ..

  • How much time do you have ...


203
[+1] [2008-10-10 08:33:45] deworde

Initialising Murphyonic Field...

Corrupting Files...

Burning out microchips...

Tangling Cables...


204
[+1] [2008-10-10 08:51:32] ThatBloke

ummm...
thinks...
yawn
is that the time already?


205
[+1] [2008-10-10 09:36:01] BaLs

"Keep smiling , we found your smiley face cute :) "


206
[+1] [2008-10-10 09:57:58] community_owned

"Reading AUTOEXEC.BAT..."


207
[+1] [2008-10-10 10:09:58] Code Trawler

"Preparing the Matrix"


208
[+1] [2008-10-09 00:52:22] Ronny Brendel

It's not really suited for your problem, but I always liked the dragon ball bodokai 3 loading screen. - Playstation.

With time passing by little, monster came out of the soil.

If you twisted one analog stick, they came quicker and more of them came. If you twist both analog stick and use both controlers you get a very decent rate of aliends digging out. (It also depends on the twisting speed)

The controllers cried for mercy. Yes they did!


209
[+1] [2008-10-09 00:21:45] Mark Stock
  • AjaxApp is starting...
  • AjaxApp is shutting down...
  • Calculating time to load...
  • 99.99% complete...

210
[+1] [2008-10-09 04:13:09] jop

"the Matrix has you, $USERNAME"

"follow the white rabbit"


211
[+1] [2008-10-09 05:34:15] MikeJ

Setting the modulating fibulator to full polarity...


212
[+1] [2008-10-09 05:35:02] MikeJ

this page was crafted from only the finest ascii...


213
[+1] [2008-10-09 10:30:39] Andrew

Unpacking data package...


214
[+1] [2008-10-09 10:31:34] Andrew

Reassembling atoms...


215
[+1] [2008-10-08 21:22:01] AlanR

Loading... Please be patie... OMG! Your dog is on fire!


216
[+1] [2008-10-08 21:28:07] AtliB

"Calculating time to load site..."


217
[+1] [2008-10-08 23:19:05] Zing-

Wouldn't it be nice if there were an Escape key for all of our problems?


218
[+1] [2008-10-08 23:20:05] Zing-

If it's a Macintosh; it's got an excuse.


219
[+1] [2008-10-08 23:20:45] Zing-

Time flies when you don't know what you're doing.


220
[+1] [2008-10-08 20:04:05] Yadyn

(Most should probably begin with "Please wait...")

  • Fixing glitch...
  • Going the distance...
  • Searching for dragons...
  • Hitting your keyboard won't make this faster...
  • Generating 20 Questions...
  • Releasing hamsters...

Also, on a separate but very important note, this post now shows up first in Google when searching for " funny loading messages [1]". Go SO [2]!

[1] http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=funny+loading+messages&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=funny+loading+message
[2] http://stackoverflow.com/

221
[+1] [2008-10-08 21:06:37] Bopp

"Queueing bird songs" "Coloring flowers"

Online image editor Picnik [1] has a bunch of cutesey loading messages like this.

[1] http://picnik.com

Why did anyone downvote this? - Allbite
222
[+1] [2008-10-08 23:25:42] Zing-

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART?


223
[+1] [2008-10-08 17:55:45] ykaganovich

Jeopardy music [1]

[1] http://www.hamienet.com/24928_Jeopardy--Think-Music.mp3

224
[+1] [2011-01-21 05:19:37] Crashdown

Being really sarcastic, just go check Tumblr. Any Tumblr page will give you a bunch. Just remember to refresh every time you need a new one.


225
[+1] [2010-12-12 15:28:09] Zippoxer

You can also put a microgame (< minigame) in the loading screen, if it's long...


226
[+1] [2011-10-11 18:15:12] Poldon

"Waiting for cashier to hit the Credit key..."


227
[+1] [2010-08-27 20:16:27] Huzi--- Javiator

Please wait..while we are going to make you an offer that you can't refuse


228
[+1] [2010-09-04 22:57:28] Allbite
229
[+1] [2009-10-22 20:16:31] JohnFx

"Setting us up the bomb. What you say?"


230
[+1] [2009-09-27 23:56:09] Matt S.
  • Cleaning your room
  • Dusting
  • Loading...
  • Still Loading (with an OK button activated that'll close the loading screen)
  • Starting Refrigerator
  • Doing your homework
  • Waiting....
  • Just hit that damn OK button, it's been there for a while now!!!

231
[+1] [2009-07-21 18:31:32] community_owned
  • Deleting "1984" by George Orwell
  • Deleting "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
  • Purchasing "New Kindle" by Jeff Bezos
  • Accessing "Mastercard Data" by Browser History

232
[+1] [2009-07-01 03:41:37] SpliFF

Please wait... Your data is currently being probed by the CIA, NSA, Mossad, MI5 and Al Queada. Don't go anywhere.


233
[+1] [2009-07-01 04:47:42] Joe White

Stop. Hammertime.

And now it's time for a breakdown.


234
[+1] [2009-11-04 19:44:59] The total Awsomness

Wait wait wait. I'm meant to DO something?!


235
[+1] [2009-11-24 15:19:59] Phillip Ngan
  • Loading ... go potty before you go potty
  • Loading ... haven't you anything better to do than to read absurdly long and boring messages
  • Loading ... do you like cricket
  • Loading ... the information superhighway appears to be gridlocked
  • Loading ... time for a coffee

236
[+1] [2010-03-23 06:39:31] community_owned

Are you still sure you wanted that feature instead of performance?


237
[+1] [2010-03-26 06:46:55] NAVEED

Overloading.....


238
[+1] [2010-02-10 12:30:55] fastcodejava

Google might try this :

Search query initiated, scanning the whole internet for a match, might take a while........................


(1) Google? the results will arrive before you read the second letter. - Zippoxer
239
[+1] [2010-01-12 12:49:47] Jamie Keeling
  • "Loading times too long? Karma for something you've done bad"
  • "Someone put some money in the meter, it's stopped again"

240
[+1] [2010-01-25 19:06:09] Buggieboy

"Suggest putting time until completion to good use. Maybe learn to play the violin?"


241
[+1] [2010-01-25 19:09:04] naivists

How about some questions, like:

  • Do you know where the flies sleep?
  • Do pigs ever have a headache?
  • Why does a bidet not have a lid?
  • Do mice have colour-vision?
  • How many bytes is a petabyte?
  • What's the square root of 256?

242
[+1] [2009-06-26 04:01:03] nightingale2k1

"please wait while scanning your hard drive for movies .... "

lol .. tat will freak out some users :D


243
[+1] [2009-04-25 21:23:00] Jonta

Instead of this [1] one:

Not panicking

[1] http://stackoverflow.com/questions/182112/funny-loading-statements-to-keep-users-amused/186673#186673

244
[+1] [2009-04-10 13:33:01] Peter Perháč

Totally loaded. (I am, you are, but NOT this application...)


245
[+1] [2009-04-17 06:52:55] Prashant

On one of the Formula1 team site http://www.forceindiaf1.com

Fuelling, Please Wait


246
[+1] [2009-03-24 14:50:27] Mike

"Look behind you!"
"...tell me about your mother..."


247
[+1] [2008-10-16 14:09:20] Robin Bennett

Give the users somewhere to enter their own 'funny' text - just make sure you vet them before making them live!

Or download some headlines from DIGG's API


"Vet" do not make sense here.. But it would do in a sentence like "Vet du vad klockan är?" ;) - Frank
248
[+1] [2008-12-29 16:15:11] massimogentilini

Get the World of Goo demo, they do something like this while loading and some messages are really nice


249
[+1] [2009-02-08 20:33:24] tsilb

Right - Freeze ray! [1]

[1] http://drhorrible.com/mushortio.html

250
[+1] [2009-02-08 21:12:07] Andrea Ambu

THE CAKE IS A LIE!
THE CAKE IS A LIE!
THE CAKE IS A LIE!

Adapting the application to your heart frequency

We know you like these, we're sorry they don't last enough.

We're sorry you aren't waiting enough.

Did you know we make you wait so you can see the ads?

Remember to take some food with you.

I'll be right back.

Sorry for the bad smell.


Well, now that I see this, passages from "Still Alive" would make some decent loading messages. :D - Bobby
251
[+1] [2008-10-11 12:02:43] user26918

Coffee time!

Minesweeper time!

User patience ending...

Burning your belly fat...

Connecting to BSA main server...

Making fun of you...

Feature unavalaible. Try again in 30 minutes.

Downloading the Internet... ERROR: puny disk detected.

Scanning the Internet for virus...

Watching TV...

Sending all your porn links to your mom...

Poking a hole in your pants...

Scanning Mars for life signals...


252
[+1] [2008-10-11 17:32:52] Toxygene

Trapped in "Loading..." factory, send help.


253
[+1] [2008-10-13 11:06:36] theaxe

I used to use a DTP program (Caxton Press?) that displayed the following while zooming in...

Please wait while I explode...

Always made me chuckle...


254
[+1] [2008-10-13 05:25:25] MattSmith

Winding up the rubber band...


255
[0] [2010-01-12 12:37:14] Victor Hurdugaci

"Listening to the sound of the human nature"


256
[0] [2010-02-15 15:37:07] ko-dos

Quakelive is over 9000


257
[0] [2009-12-24 09:35:32] this. __curious_geek

Actually Loading... Please wait.


258
[0] [2009-11-23 04:43:37] Kelly French

Out of Cheese Error! Mr. Jelly! Mr. Jelly!


259
[0] [2009-10-30 05:20:43] Prasanna

Quit Explorer and use Firefox!

5secs more.. Still you are here.. Time to change your service provider.

5secs more.. When did you upgrade your hardware last time?

5secs more.. Oh boy, you must be using the OS which was built a decade ago. Try Mac.

5secs more.. I have stopped loading, pls navigate to a site which is compatible with your speed!


260
[0] [2010-12-09 09:58:41] Omeid Herat
  • Ah, I know your tied its boring the wait for loading but wait... you don't know how boring is to load !

  • I know its stupid to wait, but do you have any other idea !? wait.... I got one.... my idea is...leave the idea cause the loading is done.

  • Wait.... please keep wait... You only have to wait... its easy... just keep reading this.... looks like you have lots of time before you can enjoy from this so keep waiting.


261
[0] [2008-10-08 17:57:20] peacedog

I was trying to think of Flight of the Concords lyrics (I love that show too):

This is Bowie to Bowie, do you hear me out there man?

This is Bowie back to Bowie I read you loud and clear, man.


262
[0] [2008-10-08 23:22:27] Zing-

The world is coming to an end. Please log off.


263
[-1] [2008-10-08 20:49:48] Milan Babuškov
  • checking your assets
  • checking your collection
  • ordering XYZ book from Amazon...

264
[-1] [2008-10-09 04:12:35] Jauder Ho

Photophlow has some amusing loading messages. Check it out.


265
[-1] [2009-12-31 07:42:26] Alex
  • CPU on fire? please wait.
  • PC LOAD LETTER. please wait.

266
[-1] [2008-10-10 23:17:37] Oli

Tsss You fancy a beer too?


267
[-1] [2008-10-16 11:07:53] Mafti

"is this the way to amarillo?"

"42"


268
[-2] [2008-10-08 23:36:27] Zing-

Next year the government will start deporting all of the weird old people.

I started crying when I thought of you.

Run, my friend, RUN !!!


269
[-16] [2008-10-08 11:20:58] Suma

In my opinion, you should just use the animated GIF alongside a very plain, very dull "Loading..." message. I prefer to be informed, not entertained. The only exception would be if the page in question would be some kind of funny entertainment page - in that case the light entertaining style would be appropriate as it would fit the overall page style, but in a normal "serious" page I would prefer real information.


(1) It's never that black and white. There are a lot of "serious" apps that people use every day for "mission critical" tasks where a humorous comment here and there would very much improve my day because waiting for data to downloading is a godless task. - Oli
"in a normal "serious" page I would prefer real information" Yes, because everyone reads the tooltips for a product. - Adriano Varoli Piazza
(1) +1 - I wouldn't have posted a response if I'd seen this first. - Joe
(9) -12 for this answer?? sometimes I don't get the abusive downvoting. this guy might have answered incorrectly, but the answer still starts with "in my opinion"... a simple -1 would have been enough... - m_oLogin
(4) This is normal. The most up-voted answer gets most up votes, most down voted one gets most down votes. Moreover, this answer is not "incorrect", it rather questions the whole question. It is very likely people reading this question are those who like the question, therefore it is no surprise they do not agree with me "questioning" the question. As this is community wiki (no rep. impact), there is no difference if this gets -1 or -11. - Suma
Just think of Google, isn't it big? Isn't it good? Have you seen its error messages? Specially on orkut... Like "Bad bad server, you won't get a donnut"... Something like that. - Felipe Fiali
(6) -1 because I was smiling until I saw this boring, political, have-to-express-my-opinion-because-i-disagree-and-dont-add-anything-to-thread-really, while the question asks for creativity/humor with loading lines, which I believe is a fun and personal touch between all the horror in developing an application. I would've voted -100 if I could. - Shyam
@Paul: I am not putting any rules, I have just state my personal opinion and preference (see "In my opinion" or "I prefer"). - Suma
Bravo! That’s alright then. - Paul D. Waite
(4) @m_oLogin: a downvote is just that: a downvote. It may mean wipe this person from my planet or I politely disagree. Apparently, people who don't want to be entertained are not very popular right now :) - peterchen
Maybe he wasn't in the right mood when he wrote that! and even if he mean it, don't kill him for his thoughts. - Zippoxer
270