Shitposting is a somewhat nebulous form of online participation that has expanded from a niche form of internet humor to a wholehearted (and genuinely terrifying) political strategy , as well as a painfully cringey style of internet presence favored by corporations like Burger King and Dunkin . But one place where it has not only flourished, but remained overwhelmingly wholesome, is on Facebook.

The 21-year-old is one of 2,000 members in (Sandy) Alex G 666posting , a group for posting about the Philly indie visionary (Sandy) Alex G that operates like many others of its ilk. Its feed is filled with memes and inside jokes about Alex G's music and fanbase, but that's just a portion of what goes down in there. People post photos they took with him at concerts, stories about how important his music is to them, pictures of merch (both homemade and official), covers of his songs, rankings of his catalog, comments on news items about him, fan theories, recommendations of comparable artists, and messages of gratitude for the camaraderie they've found in the group itself.

So it's not particularly surprising that there's a vibrant ecosystem of Facebook shitposting groups comprised of indie music fans. But many of them, which are usually dedicated to one artist/band in particular, involve a lot more than just goofy memery. Within these spaces that were initially conceived for lols is a vibrant culture of intimate social interaction that's created a unique genre of internet fandom.

For one, many of these groups are private. Prospective members have to request to join and then their admittance relies on a mod "accepting" their membership. Some groups even require users to answer a question or two in order to prove their understanding of the group's content. For instance, one has to type their favorite Snail Mail song when they request to join the 'Snailposting' group, and '666posting' makes people fill in the blank to an iconic Alex G lyric. This creates a level of exclusivity that doesn't exist on a subreddit, where literally anyone can browse and anyone with an account can post.

A similar combination of unabashed shitposting and earnest fandom takes place in groups like Snail Mail Snailposting (a group for the indie artist Snail Mail), Modern Baseball Hiatusposting (a group for the now-inactive emo band Modern Baseball), and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Fan Page (a group for the Australian psych-rock band that doesn't have "shitposting" in its title but "shitposting, it certainly is," according to one of its mods). None of what gets posted in these groups is necessarily exclusive to Facebook. Similar content can be found in subreddits, discord servers, traditional message boards, and in a more disassembled way via Twitter and Instagram. However, there are a few distinguishing characteristics that make these Facebook groups feel like a totally different environment.

Another common thread between these groups, which bolsters their welcomeness to marginalized voices, is the stated rules. Usually, people have to "agree" to guidelines when they request to join, and the rules are always laid out in either the "About" section of the page or pinned to the top of the feed. '666posting' and 'Snailposting' forbid hate speech and any form of racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc., and require members not to bully one another, or else they'll be banned. That sort of nasty trolling is pervasive on platforms like Reddit, 4chan, and Twitter, and many users find the enforcement of those rules to be one of the most appealing aspects of these meme-centric communities.

"Surprisingly, the most common issue we have is people joining thinking the group is for actual snail mail and people wanting to find pen pals," said Mary Patterson, a 27-year-old mod in the group. Patterson said the primary function of the group's closed status is for providing a protected space for its members to share highly personal information. "We've had some people discuss relationships, trauma, and openly discuss LGBT+ issues, with Lindsey [Jordan] being an openly queer artist," they say. "So it allows for privacy and safety."

"I feel safe here, too, as a female," 22-year-old '666posting' member Amanda Miserocchi said. "No one will send me creepy DMs. Everybody just wants to have some good, clean, Alex G-related fun."

"I think we are much nicer than the [Alex G] subreddit," said 23-year-old '666posting' mod Isabelle Janssen, referring to a recent kerfuffle in which audience members repeatedly talked over Tomberlin, the quiet opening act on Alex G's latest tour, which eventually prompted a rare Tweet from G himself asking his fans to pipe down. "A vocal minority on the subreddit just seemed incredibly sexist over the ordeal. Some called [Tomberlin] a bitch. It was just embarrassing," Janssen added.

Although Facebook is by far the most popular social media site in existence at over 2.4 billion active users, the prevailing narrative is that Facebook isn't cool for young millennials and Gen-Z teens. But according to data provided to VICE by group mods, the age range their members skews young. Forty percent of the 27,000 members in the King Gizzard fan page are 18-24 years old, which is the same distribution for '666posting.' That's also the average age range for 'Snailposting.'

"I honestly find Facebook to be something I'm on out of obligation," Miserocchi said. "It's where I find out about events and people's birthdays. This shitposting group is the sole thing I will post on and read for fun on Facebook."

Facebook is a much more intimate form of social media than Instagram or Twitter, and it contains not just a profile picture, but information about where you live, where you went to high school, where you work, who you're dating, and what your interests are. A stranger can glean a lot more about someone from their Facebook profile than from a faceless Reddit account, so communication in these groups feels a lot more lifelike than in other places on the internet—even if the vibe is extremely "online" and the tone is inherently memey.