laughterscale.com

An independent laboratory for comedic performance. Jokes measured 0–11, certified by the Joke Regulation Authority, Inspectorate of Satire (fictitious, satirical).

Structure

File	Role
jokes.json	The corpus. The only file you edit to publish a joke.
build.mjs	Generates index.html from jokes.json. No dependencies.
index.html	Generated output. Committed, so the folder deploys as-is.
styles.css	Hand-written, no build step.

Publishing a joke

Add an entry to jokes.json, then rebuild:

node build.mjs

The final score is computed by the build — additive bonuses first, then multipliers, i.e. (base + adds) × mults. Don't store the total in the data; it would drift.

{
  "id": "008",
  "title": "Short title",
  "text": "The joke itself.",
  "submittedBy": "Attribution",
  "base": 5,
  "baseLabel": "Laugh",
  "bonuses": [
    { "label": "Originality", "value": "+1", "why": "One line defending the bonus." },
    { "label": "Repeat Value", "value": "x2", "why": "Multipliers use x, not +." }
  ],
  "note": "Inspector's note. The editorial voice lives here."
}

Valid bonuses: Unexpected +1, Relatable +1, Timing +1, Originality +1, Visual Aid +1, Audience Amplifier x2, Repeat Value x2, Legendary x3.

Specimens are sorted by score at build time — id is a permanent catalogue number, not a position.

House rules

• Position 11 stays vacant. The empty top of the scale is a load-bearing joke. Filling it costs more than it earns.
• Specimen 002 (the chicken) never moves. It is the calibration standard. Its score is 1 by design, not by oversight.
• Scores are honest. The bureaucratic voice is a bit; the judgment underneath isn't. A register of straight 8s measures nothing.

Preview

python3 -m http.server 8000

Deploy

Static — no server needed. Point the domain at the folder via Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, Vercel, or GitHub Pages. Build command node build.mjs, output directory ..

Not currently a git repository. git init before wiring up a host.