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Nobel Peace PrizeRecently the internet was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, alongside Chinese activists and human rights crusaders Chen Guangcheng, Gao Zhisheng, and Liu Xiaobo. No, this really happened. Hey, it's probably done more for bringing nations together than Barack Obama amIright?! But as we all know, not everything -- or everyone -- on the internet is created equally. And there is one category of Internet subculture that deserves this prize way more than any one website or entity. So here's our nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in Internet:

Drum roll please...

THE MODS
The mods - a nerd with a cop hat
Yes, there is no one on the internet as deserving of this award than forum moderators, especially those from SomethingAwful, 4Chan, or any political website. Not only do these fine men and women dedicate their time to keeping the internet safe for all the n00bs, but they do the thankless job of separating the trolls from the actual fanatics and maintaining the fine line between LOLs and full out flame wars. The Nobel Peace Prize was originally meant for those who "have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." If the 21st century translation doesn't apply to these overworked, peace-keeping "moderators" of some of the most volatile sites on the web, than who does it apply to?

And like most diplomats, mods never get noticed until something goes wrong and then they become the scapegoat, all ill-will foisted upon their small, anonymous shoulders. Do mods ever get thanked for their hard work? Do they get paid to routinely issue out warnings, guide first-timers towards the Beginners F.A.Q. (which they compiled, btw), and generally keep the internet from exploding into naked pictures of tentacle porn? Absolutely not. So to you mods, we give this hat tip and the Nobel Peace Prize of the internet.