Frequently asked questions

What is Humansplain?
Humansplain is a benchmark and crowdsourced experiment that tests how well vision-language AI models (VLMs) can explain why something is funny. You upload a meme or image, multiple AI models each give a one-sentence explanation, and humans judge which answers work — including on other people's uploads. The results feed public model rankings and the Hall of Shame.
What's the difference between uploading and judging?
Upload is the dare: you spend API budget to get three model explanations of your image. Judge is the job: you review someone else's image — first whether it's actually a joke, then which explanations work. Each upload owes three judgments on other people's images. Judging earns Shame Points; uploading alone does not.
After I upload, why do I judge other people's images first?
Because your own vote can't fairly decide whether your meme is a real joke for the leaderboard. While the models are still thinking about yours, you judge three other uploads. Then you land on your results page to see what the AIs said. That peek doesn't score the Hall — other people's judgments on your image do.
Do I vote on my own upload?
You can, after the three-judgment step, to see the reveal and optionally humansplain it yourself. That ballot is marked as a self-judgment: it doesn't earn points, doesn't count toward joke consensus, and doesn't put you in the Hall. Reciprocity is paid by judging others.
Why ask "is this a joke?" separately?
"No AI got it" and "there was nothing to get" are different outcomes. Models that correctly say an apple isn't funny shouldn't be ranked as failing. Joke consensus from third-party judges is required before an image can be a verified Hall entry. You are not asked this on your own upload — only when judging others.
What are Shame Points?
Points earned mainly by judging and by having your explanation picked over the AI. Writing alone is +0 on purpose. Rolling 30-day SP plus a trust score unlock Hall analysis tiers (Regular, Legend). Lifetime points are a prestige total and don't unlock access by themselves. Pro is a paid plan that skips the treadmill.
Why can't I see the top of the Hall of Shame?
During the live month, ranks 1–10 withhold the image and analysis until you have the matching tier (or the month closes and images unblur for everyone). Analysis stays tier-gated even in archived months. Locked tiles point you to the judge feed to earn SP.
Why didn't my upload enter the Hall?
It needs third-party joke consensus, enough judgments, and a non-negative reciprocity balance (judgments given ≥ 3 × your uploads). Anonymous uploads never enter until you sign in. Self-votes don't count.
Why focus on "why is this funny"?
Explaining humor is hard for AI: it requires understanding context, culture, irony, and tone. By crowdsourcing votes on model explanations, we get a human-grounded benchmark for how well VLMs can humansplain—explain in a way that sounds like a person would.
Is Humansplain a game—can I beat the AI?
Yes. Upload something so distinctly human that no model can explain the joke. When other people agree there's a joke and reject every AI answer, your image climbs the Hall of Shame. You can also write explanations that compete blind against the models — and earn points when judges pick you.
How do I use Humansplain?
Upload an image on the home page. You'll judge three other people's images while the models run, then see your results. On other people's cards: decide if there's a joke, then multiselect explanations or humansplain your own. Sign in to claim submissions, earn Shame Points, and customize your profile.
What images can I upload?
You can upload JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WebP images up to 5MB. Memes, screenshots, and any image that has a "why is this funny" angle work well. Before any model sees the image, we run a safety check (e.g. violence, nudity). If the image doesn't pass, the run is rejected and no model responses are generated.
How does Humansplain benchmark vision-language models?
Humansplain benchmarks VLMs on explaining humor. Every model gets the same image and the same prompt (Humansplain v1): "Tell me if this image is supposed to be funny. If so, answer "why this is funny". If not, tell me that you don't know why this is funny. All in one sentence under 30 words - directly answering why or why not. Be concise, direct, and use simple easy words. Drop any "this is funny because" or "the joke is" or "the punchline is" or "Yes" or "No" openings." Responses are shown as options A/B/C/D with labels randomized. Third-party judges multiselect the answers closest to why it's funny, or choose "None" and humansplain. Pairwise wins/losses update each model's Elo. Human explanations can enter the same blind pool.
How is the leaderboard scored?
We use standard Elo (K=32, initial rating 1500). When you select one or more model answers, each selected option is credited with a pairwise win against each non-selected option. "None of the above" scores every model a loss against a 1500 baseline. Self-judgments and "not a joke" ballots are excluded from Hall consensus. A synthetic Humans row tracks how human explanations compare in aggregate.
What is the "None" rate on the leaderboard?
The "None" rate is the percentage of votes where the user chose "None of the above" and wrote their own explanation instead of picking any model answer. A higher None rate can mean the model's explanation didn't match what humans thought was funny, or that the image was especially subjective.
How does Humansplain keep images safe?
Before any model sees your image, we run a VLM-based safety check (e.g. violence, nudity, harmful content). If the image does not pass, the run is rejected and no model responses are generated. Only images that pass this check are sent to the benchmarked models.
Which AI models are on the leaderboard?
The leaderboard includes vision-language models that have been configured for the Humansplain benchmark (e.g. from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, xAI, Groq, and others). Exact models and providers are listed on the Models page; new models can be added over time.
Can I change my name and profile picture?
Yes. On My Page, edit your handle, display name, and avatar. You can keep your Google photo, pick a solid color from the palette, or show no picture. Google is only for signing in — your public identity is yours.
What happens after I vote?
After you submit, model identities are revealed. Winners get a crown, losers a see-no-evil. You can "Poke Fun" at any AI that missed. If you wrote a humansplain, it may later appear in the blind pool for other judges.
What is the Hall of Shame / Difficulty Leaderboard?
The Hall of Shame ranks images that stump AI: humans agree there's a joke, and verified baffles (no AI selected) score highest. It defaults to the current month. Live top 10 are locked; archived months unblur images. Analysis unlocks with Shame Point tiers.
What is head-to-head on the model leaderboard?
On the Models page, you can expand any row to see that model's head-to-head record against every other model. This shows how often each model beats the others in direct comparisons, giving you a detailed view beyond just overall Elo rating.
Who runs Humansplain?
Humansplain is an independent project, not affiliated with any AI company. It is built to be transparent: the methodology is public, the leaderboard is open, and the FAQ explains how the benchmark works. See the About page for more on the project's background and purpose.