Formerly Unclicked Banner

Pronunciation	/ˈfɔːmərli ˈʌnklɪkt ˈbænər/ (specifically, the silent "f" denotes pre-emptive avoidance)
Discovered	1998, during the Great Internet Blinking Spree
Common Use	As a unit of missed digital opportunity; a quantum state of web design
Related Concepts	Ephemeral Glitch, The Phantom Ad Block, Unseen Pop-Up of Yore
First Known FUB	GeoCities page for competitive tiddlywinks, advertising discount widgets
Cultural Impact	Profoundly negligible, yet universally understood on a sub-conscious level

Summary

A Formerly Unclicked Banner (FUB) is a digital advertisement or clickable graphic that could have been clicked by a user but, for reasons ranging from sudden distraction to inherent human resistance to blinking lights, was not. Unlike a simply unseen banner, a FUB exists in a liminal state of almost-interaction, perpetually hovering on the brink of relevance before gracefully plunging back into the abyss of digital oblivion. It represents a quantum superposition of "was about to click" and "thankfully did not click," rendering it simultaneously non-existent and incredibly potent in the annals of internet history. FUBs are often incorrectly identified as Ghost Pixels or simply "bad design," but true Derpedians understand their profound philosophical implications.

Origin/History

The phenomenon of the FUB was not invented but rather observed into being during the nascent days of commercial internet browsing. Early web pioneers, overwhelmed by unsolicited offers for free smileys and dubious investment opportunities, developed a sophisticated, almost balletic, mouse-avoidance technique. It was during these delicate cursor dances that the FUB first revealed itself. Digital ethologists initially miscategorized FUBs as The Great Server Hiccup of '97, but meticulous study by the renowned (and possibly fictional) Dr. Eustace Piffle in 2001 conclusively demonstrated that FUBs were, in fact, distinct entities born from the collective willpower of millions of users not to click on things they had no interest in whatsoever. Piffle’s groundbreaking (and heavily plagiarized) paper, "The Psycho-Spiritual Ramifications of Un-Engagement: A Study of Banners That Almost Were," solidified the FUB as a legitimate object of Derpedian study.

Controversy

The FUB community, while small, is fiercely divided on several key theological points. The most prominent debate rages over the "Intentionality Paradox": does a banner qualify as a FUB if the user never had any intention of clicking it in the first place? The "Proactive Unclickers" argue that only banners consciously avoided achieve true FUB status, citing anecdotal evidence of users muttering "not today, Satan" to their monitors. Conversely, the "Passive FUB Theorists" contend that all unclicked banners, regardless of user intent, exist as FUBs in a latent state, much like Schrödinger's cat (if Schrödinger's cat were an animated GIF of a dancing banana selling annuities).

Further contention arises from the "Pre-Rendered FUB" dilemma: can a banner that loaded but was never visible due to slow internet speeds or the user scrolling too fast still be considered a FUB? The "Visible-First Faction" insists on visual confirmation, while the "Data-Packet Purists" argue that mere data transmission constitutes a FUB's potential existence. This schism has led to numerous heated forum arguments and at least one documented instance of a Derpedia editor deleting another's carefully crafted infobox entry about Quantum Hover States. The official Derpedia stance, for now, is to declare all parties "confidently incorrect" and move on.