Goatse: Difference between revisions

'''Goatse.cx''' ([[wikipedia:Wikipedia:IPA|/ˈɡoʊtsi dɒt ˌsiː ˈɛks/ GOHT-see-dot-see-EKS, /ˈɡoʊtˌsɛks/]]; "goat sex") also known as '''Goatse,''' was a [[shock site]] registered in 1999. The website featured an image, as displayed in the center, titled "''Hello.jpg''", showing a man stretching his anus with both of his hands. Because of its shock value, it was the first image to ever be used in bait-and-switch pranks, where the user "baits" another user into clicking a link. The site used the [[wikipedia:.cx|.cx]] domain because its pronunciation is similar to the word "sex", but it was filed by [[wikipedia:Christmas Island|Christmas Island]] to shut down the website.

The image used on the site was originally named "gap3.jpg" from the Gap.zip file, a collection of shock images depicting the man, who was revealed to be gay porn star Kirk Johnson, "''using dildos and butt plugs to stretch his anus."'' Gap.zip might have been posted by Johnson himself, but it also may have been originated "''in emails FTP servers, etc.''"<ref><nowiki>https://www.gawker.com/finding-goatse-the-mystery-man-behind-the-most-disturb-5899787</nowiki></ref>

The full website, as mentioned, shows the "hello.jpg" image under the "the receiver" section. It also has a section named, "the giver", that shows a man with a large penis reaching up to his chest. The names suggest that a man is about to insert his huge penis into another man's anus. It also has dead links to websites like urinalpoop.org and dolphinsex.org, while older ones link to biganal.com.

=== Website's history===

In 1999, the website was in its original state. Until June next year, it had the text "''What are you doing here?''" at the center before redirecting to ''index2.html'' after 10 seconds. The website goes back again with 2 other links to ''feedback.html'' and ''contrib.html'' and websites links to urinalpoop.org and dolphinsex.org, all of which are supposedly made by the original owner. In 2003, the website's owner added a note that there "are many merchandising attempts for goatse.cx", and "none of them are real." He then said, "The official goatse.cx merchandise is coming soon."

On January 14, 2004, ''Goatse.cx'' was suspended by Christmas Island "''for AUP violations in response to a complaint''" after its residents filed a complaint to shut down the site, until Christmas Island put the domain in the available domain pool in January 2007.

[[File:Goatse.jpg|thumb|293x293px|Hackers successfully hijack a billboard to display the dreaded image.]]

In early December 2012, the site planned to launch its own e-mail system, named Goatse Mail. However, the e-mail system has not been launched since. The website was then put back, after a new owner purchased the website for 8,000 euros in 2008, and is now planning to be a subdomain service on which you can host your own website. There were also plans for a cryptocurrency called ''Goatse Coin'', but there doesn't seem to be any progress.<ref>Pearson, Jordan; Koebler, Jason (2017-10-17). "The Current Owner of the 'Goatse' Website Wants It to Be a Household Name". Motherboard. Retrieved 2018-12-15. <nowiki>https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evpj8a/owner-of-goatse-coin-website-wants-it-to-be-a-household-name-meme</nowiki></ref>

Website owners have used the goatse.cx image to discourage other sites from hotlinking to them. Images on the site, such as hello.jpg, have inspired parodies, mirrors, and tributes. Goatse was only well-known to a small Internet-using "subcultural tribe" who referred to it as a "shared context joke" or "secret membership code." In November 2000, A link to ''giver.html'' was added to "Stories of Oprah: The Oprahfication of American Culture" book, one of Oprah Winfrey's online message boards, but was shut down after. In that year, an unknown hacker hacked Yankees.com to display the Goatse image after the Yankees won the World Series in 2000.

The [[wikipedia:Gay Nigger Association of America|Gay Nigger Association of America]], the known creators of [[Last Measure]], created a group called "Goatse Security", which derives from the site's name, in December 2009. Goatse Security became known for leaking 114,000 unsecured iPad email addresses. The group also used the image as a way to troll, such as adding the image to [[Last Measure]], a supposed "leaked" operating system that booted the image, and more.

*<s>goatse.cx</s>