What's with the copyright symbol?

A copyright that's been registered by Sourceforge ;)

I don't see how the phrase 'Bad Thing' alone is a copyrightable work. And even if it was (say, it was typeset in a particular fashion, or part of a greater work), registration would be unnecessary.

Sarcastic use of the trademark (™) and registered trademark (®) symbols is a common rhetorical device, but copyright doesn't make much sense. The "intellectual property" propagandists do their best to confuse people into thinking that copyright, trademarks and patents are the same thing, perhaps that's why you're confusing the two?

By which you mean a trademark?

You both are putting a heck of a lot of effort into nitpicking a single character used for humorous effect :/

It's worth nitpicking about, for several reasons.

It would be a shame if a young entrepreneur thought their trademark was protected by the Berne convention and someone came and took it. It would be a shame if the Mickey Mouse lobby went completely unopposed because people can't think critically about what they don't know. It would be a shame if a large corporation could grab the trademark of a small free software charity because people don't think it's "a big deal".