LUL

The LUL emote is one of Twitch's most iconic emotes, representing laughter and amusement in chat. It functions similarly to typing "LOL" (laugh out loud) but has become a visual representation of genuine laughter within the Twitch community. The emote displays a man with a beard laughing heartily with his mouth open and hand near his face in a characteristic pose that has become instantly recognizable across the platform.

LUL originated from a photograph of John "TotalBiscuit" Bain, a highly influential gaming YouTuber, critic, and commentator. The original photo was taken during Major League Gaming Anaheim in 2013 and uploaded to Flickr by user itsjustatank on June 23, 2013.

John Bain initially used this image as an exclusive subscriber emote called "cynicalLaugh" on his own Twitch channel in 2014. The emote gained widespread popularity when it was added to BetterTTV (BTTV), a third-party Twitch extension, in 2016, making it accessible across many channels.

Due to a DMCA takedown from the original photographer, the initial version was removed from BTTV. However, an artist's rendition of the original photo was created to replace it, and this version became an official global Twitch emote in September 2017. Following John Bain's passing in 2018 after a battle with cancer, the LUL emote has also taken on significance as a tribute to his legacy in the gaming community.

LUL is commonly used in the following contexts:

• When something genuinely funny happens during a stream
• As a reaction to jokes or humorous comments from streamers
• During awkward or fail moments in gameplay
• Sometimes used sarcastically when something isn't actually funny
• Can be spammed in chat during particularly hilarious moments
• Often combined with other emotes or used in variations like "OMEGALUL" or "LULW" for enhanced effect

The emote has become such a fundamental part of Twitch culture that it's often one of the first emotes new users learn and recognize, serving as a cornerstone of Twitch chat communication.