I heard that.
It used to be that when ever things got a little heated in "A Geocaching Forum" of all places I would post teapots in all the threads. It was / is basically a way to say:
"Sit down and have a nice cup of tea and relax a little. It's only a game! Nobody is going to die because only 15% of cachers give a dam that you didn't use undercoat to camo you cache. Stop taking it so personal".
So if you see a teapot it generally nothing you have done. I'm either bored or somewhere in the forum someone is holding on a little to tight and should have a nice hot cup of tea, a bex and a little lie down.
So the teacups have come from there which basically represent the community in which we are a part of. They a just a nonsensical poke of fun stemming from the teapots.
A lot of new forum members don't generally notice the teapots or even ask why. In fact I think this is the first time I have really explained it.
Oh, the other time is if the forum is going tediously slow and nobody is posting anything, or what is posted generally has little or no value to the group. It a way of stirring the pot a little and getting the place alive again.
Bronze.