Talk:Polandball

Krakow Post

I was reading the Krakow Post the other day, when I came across an interesting article on Polandball.

How Polandball can of taking over the internets

Hope this is useful for improving the article. All the best: Rich Farmbrough, 14:56, 22 May 2015 (UTC).

"Polandball" and Countryballs refer to two different genres; propose splitting.

Polandball deserves its own page and should not be merged with Countryballs as the two genres are very different. For example "upside-down" Poland is required in Polandball, but in Countryballs there is no such requirement, and Poland is often depicted normally. The same is true about a variety of other Polandball rules found in the official Polandball tutorial. Countryballs may be depicted with hands and mouthes sometimes, which are both disallowed under Polandball rules.

Countryballs refers to a superset of comics and content that may or may not be considered a parent of "Polandball" which is a more specific niche genre. Most "Countryball" content is not considered "Polandball" content though. Dazzling4 (talk) 03:45, 27 October 2025 (UTC)

Literally what would be different between these hypothetical articles (?), they're the same genre. Countryballs and Polandball refer to the same thing, and even if they didn't, the two articles would be largely the same. Thegoofhere (talk) 04:25, 27 October 2025 (UTC)

It’s the same art, same rules, different names. From my understanding, Polandball is just Countryballs with Poland, while Countryballs is any art in the format, and they’re used interchangeably. I know people who make some of their own, and they use either term. PhilDaBirdMan (Talk |WikiProject Socialism | Current Incubator Initiative) 11:52, 27 October 2025 (UTC)

• Oppose - they're the same thing. Andy Dingley (talk) 12:21, 27 October 2025 (UTC)

  not exactly. Jq 💬 contributions 21:36, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

  they are Thegoofhere (talk) 21:43, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

  They AREN'T BigWill8185 (talk) 11:18, 27 March 2026 (UTC)

  Same art style, same characters, same rules. Even if they're different, they have the same community, and according to WP:Notability, there's probably not enough differences to warrant separate articles PhilDaBirdMan (Talk |WikiProject Socialism | Current Incubator Initiative) 21:59, 3 January 2026 (UTC)

  The name "Countryballs" originated out of a misunderstanding about the name "Polandball," which is not the name of a character, but rather the name of the medium/genre of comics that originated on Krautchan in 2009; today, "Polandball" refers to online content that generally adheres to the rules outlined in the Official Polandball Tutorial, while "Countryballs" is a broader term to refer to the fandom and to Polandball content created without strict artistic guidelines. I wouldn't recommend two different articles, but rather renaming the article to "Polandball" and including a section discussing the name of the genre/medium of comics. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 21:53, 7 March 2026 (UTC)

  From what I understand, the only difference between both topics is that Polandball has rules about specific things (like Poland for example) to be a specific way, as well as inside jokes, while countryballs are more flexible and only mean putting a flag in a circle with eyes. Although they're not the same thing, they are very connected. PFSV-UY (talk) 00:40, 8 April 2026 (UTC)

As noted below, countryballs have weak notability. It's best to discuss all in one article. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 04:35, 8 March 2026 (UTC)

The correct term is countryball. ~2026-27607-26 (talk) 01:49, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

WP:BLOWITUP

I have been working on a complete rewrite of this article. I have used a little bit of what was already present in the existing article (mostly just the section referring to the "Europe vs. Italy" animated segment), but rest of what is in my sandbox is my own writing. I have extensively reviewed the sources list, and much of this research confirms what I know about the medium after 13 years of intimate involvement, but I have been careful in this draft to only include information that is supported by reliable sources. Any guidance/feedback would be greatly appreciated. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 03:51, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

Please do not edit my sandbox. I would prefer feedback to be contained on this page, or my personal talk page. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 03:52, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

I blew it up. I'm very confident that I have improved the quality of this article, but I would also very much appreciate constructive criticism/feedback from experienced editors. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 16:34, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

Old image

could we like revert the lead image back to File:Polandballsvg.svg since it's transparent and higher quality? Thegoofhere (talk) 14:49, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

The point of having a png with more jagged-looking lines is to provide a better example of the "crude" drawing style associated with Polandball comics. If I'm outvoted on this, I'm outvoted, but I think the svg sends the wrong message. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 16:56, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

I'm not really seeing how the svg image sends readers the wrong message especially since the article contains comics with a more "typical" Polandball artstyle Thegoofhere (talk) 20:50, 10 May 2026 (UTC)

I just think the lead image carries a lot of weight and sets the tone for the article. Polandball comics aren't supposed to look nearly as polished as the average svg file. If somebody could create an svg file that still retains somewhat of a pixelated edge look, I'd be okay with that, but generally I feel like svg files for Polandball are missing the whole point. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 11:40, 11 May 2026 (UTC)

Adding an image

Can someone please add this image to the page? https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COUNTRYVERSE.jpg#mw-jump-to-license}} also sorry if im not using the template right im not particularly practical with these types of templates 😅 MarcoJump13 (talk) 10:26, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

Again, we have no use for this image. I have answered this before. Finnfrog99 (talk) 10:54, 17 May 2026 (UTC)

I am not asking you! Another person suggested adding an edit request, okay?! MarcoJump13 (talk) 17:14, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

You cant choose who answers your edit request, if you have a genuine reason for the image to be on the page that the images already on the page do not satisfy, it will be added, but you are yet to do so.

Have a good day Finnfrog99 (talk) 17:27, 19 May 2026 (UTC)

Okay. I'm just not too familiar with Wikipedia... I was just requesting. MarcoJump13 (talk) 06:06, 20 May 2026 (UTC)

okay, so that image is useless, @MarcoJump13, please do not request any more to add images like that. AmeriCanSandWitch (talk) 09:18, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

I'm sorry MarcoJump13 (talk) 15:33, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

its fine, everyone makes mistakes Finnfrog99 (talk) 15:35, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

Y'know, I'm more familiar with other sites like Fandom or Miraheze. MarcoJump13 (talk) 15:36, 23 May 2026 (UTC)

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Polandball/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Finnfrog99 (talk · contribs) and ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk · contribs) 16:53, 7 May 2026 (UTC)

Reviewer: TheBritinator (talk · contribs) 20:27, 1 August 2026 (UTC)

Hi, I will review this. Doing as part of a QPQ. TheBritinator (talk) 20:27, 1 August 2026 (UTC)

@Finnfrog99 Hi, done most of the review. TheBritinator (talk) 15:26, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for taking the time to review this.

Regarding the note about the interchangeability of the terms, there was a spirited 90+ comment debate regarding the move from "Countryballs" back to "Polandball" (the discussion about the move to Countryballs was less intense, ironically enough), but a Google search of either term will return almost all the same links, and the usage of these terms within the community is generally understood to mean the same thing.

One of the academic sources references this debate, but prefers the term "Countryballs" for the purposes of their research; that said, it's generally accepted that the WP:COMMONNAME is "Polandball," but again, it is usually understood that "Polandball" refers to the genre of comics employing "Countryballs" and vice versa.

I originally considered including a section dealing entirely with the name; based on this review, I feel more confident including that debate within this article.

I'm actually quite excited to fix the other issues raised by this review to bring this article up to GA status, so thank you so much again for this review! ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 15:39, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

Indeed, I feel like the article would benefit from establishing the distinction, assuming there is sufficient RS to support it. TheBritinator (talk) 15:43, 3 August 2026 (UTC)

@Finnfrog99 @ChickenScuttleMonkey Unfortunately I am going to have to fail this, its been almost a month and the sourcing issues have not been addressed. Please use this review to address the remaining problems before renominating. Also, I would highly encourage a minor rework to the sourcing to use sfns, as it would make reviewing much easier for the theoretical next reviewer. Thank you for your effort. TheBritinator (talk) 15:34, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

Lead/infobox

• Is there a reason we're using WP:LEADCITE? A lot of it for that matter.

No longer leadcites Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 11:53, 16 August 2026 (UTC)

• Link Krautchan?

 DoneFroglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:08, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• The terms "Polandball" and "Countryballs" are widely considered interchangeable when referring to the genre. Reference for this? Or is it stated elsewhere?

Background history

• Just "background" or "origins" would be a better header. Probably the latter.

Changed to "Background" Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:09, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• What are Polish netizens? What are these sites?
• What does "took over" mean? Did the site get a lot of traffic from such users or was it something else? The next sentence says it was a "raid" but I don't think the preceding context establishes what is going on here.
• Eventually, hackers attacked NK.pl and Wykop.pl on 18 August Again, what are these sites? Social media, forums?
• Again, link Krautchan.

 DoneFroglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:09, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

Platforms

• I would establish some consistency whether you use "Krautchan" or "krautchan.net". I would prefer the latter since its linkable, but its up to you.
• Why is mapping in quotes? Is there a relevant link by any chance?
• Rest seems fine.

Characteristics and themes

• such as Poland's common appearance in the comics as a poorly-educated, low-income immigrant speaking broken English The country, the ball, or both? Maybe I'm overthinking that.

I dont think the distinction is important in this case, I think the text is fine as is Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:14, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• "Memes and Graphic Novels as Public History" Italics instead of quotes.

 Done Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:14, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• understand Polandball memes,... the brevity of the format Remove the comma.

fixed Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:14, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• favor of unnuanced simplifications – from which a measure I believe this is the wrong kind of dash.

changed to — Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:14, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• The role of satire in Polandball comics is debated By who?
• it is also believed that traditional politicking is unlikely Again, by who?
• Don't need to link the United States and United Kingdom here.

Removed Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:14, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• Link Flag of Nepal?

Done Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:14, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

• Broken English is also sometimes used when communicating in comments sections Is this relevant?

cut Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 19:14, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

References/Bibliography

• Source 6 needs its title in its original language and in letter case. It also needs a language parameter.
• Source 18 also needs a language parameteter. Why does it say (PDF) but there isn't any PDF linked?
• As with 18, sources 10, 11, & 16 do not have any links when it looks like they should (says there's an archived link when there isn't).
• Using source 4 as an example, not using sfn or similar as references makes it considerably harder to verify individual claims. 31 pages is a large range for 5 different instances. Its not required for GA, but not doing it does produce quite a messy sourcing structure and it would definitely make people's life's a lot easier if you did.
• Why such long non-English red links? What are they supposed to be linking to? Are they notable?
• Several of the sources in bibliography seem to be missing language parameters. Please double check that all non-English sources have one.

Spotcheck

• ? Source 3 checks out for the most part, but I don't see anywhere that asserts that countryballs are "clearly racist". Just seems to be a quote that doesn't even mention them specifically. I cannot find where this mentions entities being represented by billiard balls either.
• Y Source 8 (The Shortlisted) checks out.
• ? Please give me the relevant quotes for source 1 ((Tilburg Papers in Culture Studies ed.). Some relevant page numbers for each time its used would make this so much easier to check.
• ? Relevant quotes for source 10 (Komentarze) please. There is no link here despite it looking like it should.

Link added

• ? Source 13 (Signs and Society) says that it has been a major hub, but I don't think it specifies that it was among the first to be one. Rest is fine, but the relevant pages seem to be on only a few pages, and not 30 (373, 375–378).

Changed to earliest

• Y Source 17 (Political Geography) checks out.
• Y Source 19 (Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media) checks out, I think.

@Finnfrog99: @ChickenScuttleMonkey: has the sourcing issues been addressed? TheBritinator (talk) 11:44, 16 August 2026 (UTC)

I should be able to address these most likely tomorrow. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 13:33, 16 August 2026 (UTC)

@ChickenScuttleMonkey I will have to fail the review if these issues aren't addressed soon. Its been over three weeks. TheBritinator (talk) 14:05, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

Apologies, I'm a teacher and my school year recently started so I've been busy. I will try to address the outstanding citation issues today. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 15:38, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

I completely understand, but I'm afraid I cannot wait forever. TheBritinator (talk) 16:12, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

If you cant work on it, I think we should withdraw (this is a co-nomination, to any onlookers) Do you agree? Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 16:21, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

If I can't get to this today, the nomination can be withdrawn. I'd still love to get this up to GA status someday, so I'll still plan on addressing the points brought up in this review even if the nomination is withdrawn. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 16:28, 24 August 2026 (UTC)

Scope

• Y I'll assume that this covers all the bases, but with all this sourcing I would have expected some commentary how they've been received. Guess not.

Neutrality

• Y All prose is appears neutral and without bias.

Stability

• Y No sign of active edit wars.

Illustration

I will point out that there is a lot of images here, but they're all used and structured in a way that is relevant.

• Y File:Poland as a countryball.png Own work.
• Y File:Italy VS Europe" by Bruno Bozzetto.jpeg Fair use with valid rationale. I could very well be wrong, but I would think that this would fall under PD-Geometry, as it only uses basic colours and shapes.
• Y File:New tutorial Polandball.png Own work.
• Y File:Polandball comic about democracy.png Own work.
• Y File:Poland can into Wikipedia (retouched).jpg Own work with VRT? Bit strange but sure.
• Y File:Jewish Physics.png Own work.
• Y File:Ikea can into meatballs (version 1).png CC0 1.0
• Y File:Countryballs exceptions.png Own work.
• Y File:Engrish example.png Own work.

• Drive-by comment: I am concerned about File:Jewish Physics.png. This comic is clearly a derivative work of the original "Jewish physics" comment, which would make it a copyright violation.
  I also think there's just too many comics here; this makes it hard to read without providing more information about Polandball. My personal preference would be to only include File:Polandball comic about democracy.png, which is easy to read as it only has a few words, and also easy to understand. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 18:30, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

I want to show variety in artstyles, but the individual comics dont matter much to me. Many of the polandball comics on commons are copyvio, but it would take ages to check them so I havent really done anything about it Froglord (Finnfrog99) (talk) 18:37, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

> My personal preference would be to only include File:Polandball comic about democracy.png, which is easy to read as it only has a few words, and also easy to understand.

I agree with this suggestion; I think it's clear from the other images in the article that Polandball comics have a diverse range of art styles, and we don't need to clutter up this section with too many images. ChickenScuttleMonkey (talk) 18:54, 12 August 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.