I have had the same experience and question. I don't know why there is so much of it, but have found that blocking any community that is named or references "196" seems to take care of it.
I decided that I was never really going to devote the time to get in on the joke and there was way too much of it anyway.
There really isn't a joke to get, it's just a silly community, so if you weren't enjoying the posts you're not missing out. I hope you can rest easy now, friend.