Pirates vs. Ninja is a comedic Internet and gaming meme regarding a theoretical conflict between archetypal Western pirates and Japanese ninjas, generally including arbitrary "debate" over which side would win in a fight. The meme is sometimes referred to as PvN and has a long history on the Internet. Humorist Jake Kalish writes (in the pro-ninja column) that the reason for the popularity of the meme is that "pirates and ninjas are both cool, but kind of opposite, see, because one is loud and the other ... never mind."Several competitive web sites and games based upon the ninjas vs. pirates theme appeared later, including Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball.