They say it’s not the intent but the impact that matters. They mean this in the cases of people getting their feelings hurt by something you did or said. You may not have meant it maliciously, but it was taken that way, so you have to cop to it. Same with jokes. You might have meant for something to be funny, but if nobody laughed at it… sorry bud, it’s impact, not intent. 

Telling a joke that flops in front of your friends (or worse, in front of a crowd) is one of the worst feelings in the world. It’s immediately demoralizing. But it’s possible to dig yourself out of the hole by acknowledging how bad your joke was. People will accept a fool who knows he is a fool. Self-deprecation almost always works. But if you need a laugh on the fly and there’s no one around to give it to you, it’s time to turn to the memes. These memes. With the best of intentions.