No matter how much the internet may change over the years, there are at least two constants: absurd flame wars, and the wildly specific message boards from which they’re wrought. Perhaps the greatest of these virtual cesspools is Clown-Forum.com, a forum for clowns.

It was June 2009. The Glee cast's rendition of "Don't Stop Believing" was the most popular single in America. Swine flu was raging worldwide. The tax day protests that launched the Tea Party began popping up across the U.S. months before. Unbeknownst to all but a handful of devoted Pokémon fans, against that backdrop unspooled a message board thread that ranks among the most perfect in internet history.