Gawker: valleywag, rickrolling

AT&T Has Managed To Piss Off the Wrong Bunch of Web-Nerds

The Cajun Boy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:09:39 EDT

AT&T, for reasons unknown at this point, has blocked user access to portions of 4chan, the online hangout for the world's most notorious cyber-terrorists. And they thought iPhone customers were a pain in their ass! This will end badly.

For benefit of the uninitiated, 4chan is a popular Wild West-ish outpost of internet known equally for its infamous hacking jobs and pranks (Rickrolling emerged from this murky swamp) as its meme generation, perhaps most notably the LOLcats phenomenon. 4chan's /b/ messageboard, one of the sections of the site blocked by AT&T, was once described as "the asshole of the internet" by Gawker and Valleywag alum Nick Douglas, an outpost where "btards" gather to engage in tasteless games of uncensored oneupsmanship, where the objective is often to see who can elicit the most shock from other members of the community.

Reports Tech Central:

Users of AT&T's DSL internet access across many states in the US are reporting that they are being blocked from the infamous /b/ message board in what appears to be an act of internet censorship by the phone company. This started today Sunday and no one has yet been able to get any official confirmation out of AT&T as to why.

Moot, the founder of 4chan, has confirmed AT&T is filtering/blocking the site.

In addition to starting a war with the internet's most skilled collection of cyber-rogues, Central Gadget says that AT&T may also be breaking the law.

Under the FCC's Comcast/BitTorrent ruling, Internet Service Providers may only slow or cap connection speeds. They are not allowed to block any service or protocol on the internet. Here, 4chan as a web site appears to fall under an internet service, but it is also conforming to standard web page protocols. It appears AT&T does not have the legal right to block 4chan, only to cap customers who are "abusing" their access to the internet.

Predictably, the 4chan crowd is already mobilizing both inside and outside of their online community. AT&T didn't just open a can worms, they dove headfirst into a den of vipers, and this will be very interesting to watch play out.

AT&T Takes on 4chan—Everybody Stand Back [Tech Central]
AT&T Blocking Access to Some Parts of 4chan [Central Gadget]
pic via

New York Mets to hold rickroll runoff

Jordan Golson — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT

Thousands of Fark and Digg users stuffed the virtual ballot box at Shea Stadium with requests for Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" to play during the 8th inning. The Mets now say the team will hold a runoff, since the winning tune probably doesn't reflect true Mets fans' wishes. The Mets will play the top six selections during the first six home games. The song that draws the largest crowd response will win. Other song choices included "Livin' On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi and Julia Allison fave "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations. In the clip above, it doesn't sound like the crowd has much of a reaction to the song. We're glad the Shea Stadium crowd knows that rickrolling is dead, too. UPDATE: Major League Baseball has issued DMCA notices to remove video of the RickRolling.

Digg wants to rickroll the New York Mets

Jordan Golson — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:40:00 EDT

The New York Mets are running a contest to chose what sing-along song gets played at Shea Stadium this year. The jokesters over at Digg — who haven't heard that rickrolling is over — got the idea to stuff the ballot box in favor of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up." "All year, the Mets and their fans will get rickrolled during the 8th inning."

Other songs being voted on include "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison and the theme from Friends. During the time I've been writing this post, the prank has gotten more than 1,000 Diggs. I suspect this just might work — and end up in the New York Times, to boot.

Been rickrolled? Maybe you'd like to buy Astley's album

Jordan Golson — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:20:00 EDT

The crooner who's never gonna give you up is having his greatest hits collection rereleased by Sony BMG. Rick Astley: The Ultimate Collection will be out at the end of Aprill, which should make for some fun rickrolling gifts. Grand Theft Auto IV comes out around the same time. I can't be the only one with this idea to put the Rick Astley CD in the GTA IV case and give it to an unsuspecting friend. If you can't wait until the end of the month, you can pick up the digital version at Amazon.com or iTunes. Burn it on a CD for your own real-world rickroll.