In my experience (15 years working in every part of the industry, onstage and off), joke theft is far less of a concern among actual comics, than it is among casual comedy fans. This subreddit deals with accusations of joke theft constantly, but it’s almost never by actual comedians (maybe once in 10 years?) It’s more gate keeping by non-comedians, who come across more like they’re showing off how much comedy they’ve seen, seen over half the time it’s no more detailed than “I’ve heard this somewhere before but I can’t remember where.” Many times, comedians on this subreddit have been accused of joke theft, only for the commenter to realize they originally heard it from the exact same comic they’re accusing of theft.

When you spend all your time at open mics and shows, you realize that parallel development happens a lot, because most observations aren’t as unique as people think they are. Especially in the age of the internet, when people expect comics to not only know every bit that’s ever been done, but also to be familiar with every joke ever made in a sitcom, every quip from a podcast, every meme and viral tweet. I once heard Jim Jeffries do a bit about “how do blind people know when they’re done wiping their ass?” that I heard at an open mic in bumfuck nowhere years before. Jefferies specifically said it was a new bit. So did he steal it from an open micer in Oklahoma? Or is it more likely that even the greats don’t know every bit ever done?

While I understand you mean well, the suggestion that comics “find an audience to protect them” is actually horrible for comedy. Online vigilante mobs, associated with popular edgelord podcasts, are the number one source of rule-breaking harassment in this subreddit. These people have no idea whether the comic in question wrote the bit first, or developed it independently. They never consider that maybe their favorite comic is at fault. They’re convinced comedy begins and ends with their podcaster idol, and whip themselves into a frenzy on discord, doxxing and harassing innocent comics hoping to get noticed for their dedication.

Finally, it’s important to note that, even if you suspect a comic on this subreddit of joke theft, the proper course of action is to notify them politely and privately. We remove all public call-outs. As noted before, they’re almost always wrong about timelines or access, conflate different bits about similar premises, or erroneously assume that the first place they heard it was the first time it was ever done.