Goatse.cx: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:10, 23 May 2004

Latest revision as of 23:47, 10 June 2025

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{{Short description|Internet shock site}}

'''''Warning:''' Some links and content may be offensive to some readers.''

{{Redirect2|Goatse|Goatsex|the computer hacker group|Goatse Security|sex among goats|Goat#Reproduction}}

{{Use American English |date=February 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}

{{lowercase title}}

{{Infobox website

| name = goatse.cx

| alexa =

| commercial = No

| type = [[Shock site]]

| language = English

| registration = None

| launch_date = 1999

| current_status = Defunct (but has mirrors)

| revenue =

| screenshot =

| caption =

}}

'''goatse.cx''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|t|s|i|_|d|ɒ|t|_|ˌ|s|iː|_|ˈ|ɛ|k|s|audio=en-us-goatse.cx.oga}} {{respell|GOHT|see|dot|see|EKS}}, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|t|ˌ|s|ɛ|k|s|audio=en-us-goatse.cx2.oga}}; "goat sex"), often spelled without the [[.cx]] [[top-level ___domain]] as '''Goatse''', is an [[internet ___domain]] that originally housed an Internet [[shock site]]. Its front page featured a picture entitled {{mono|hello.jpg}}, showing an image of a hunched-over naked man using both hands to stretch open his [[human anus|anus]] and expose his red [[rectum]] lit by the [[camera flash]].

The photo became an [[Internet meme]], and has been used in [[bait-and-switch]] [[pranks]], prevention of [[hot-linking]] in a hostile manner, and [[Website defacement|defacement of websites]], in order to [[Troll (slang)|provoke extreme reactions]]. Even though the image from the site was taken down in January 2004, mirror websites are widespread.

'''Goatse.cx''' is one of the most widely known [[Internet]] [[shock site]]s. Its front page contains an explicit picture, <tt>hello.jpg</tt>, featuring a man wearing a gold ring on his left hand (and nothing else) manually stretching his [[anus]] and [[rectum]] to a diameter roughly equal to the width of his hand. Below the anus is the man's erect, dangling [[penis]]. The site is commonly linked to by [[Internet troll]]s in order to shock unsuspecting users with the image.

As of [[January 16]], [[2004]] the ___domain Goatse.cx is no longer online, however many [[mirror (computing)|mirror]]s of the site are still available (see the [[#Alternative_Locations|alternative locations section]]) and the image itself has been posted at many other web sites.

==Etymology==

The intended meaning of the site's name is not known for certain. It is commonly interpreted as a [[word play]] on the phrase "[[goat]] [[sex]]", although no goats are involved anywhere on the site. An entry on [[Urbandictionary.com]] proposes the acronym "Guy Opens Ass To Show Everyone", but this seems likely to be a [[backronym]].

==Identity of the "Goatse Man"==

Despite widespread speculation, the identity of the man featured in hello.jpg is not definitely known. All that is known for certain is that the picture belongs to a series featuring the man demonstrating his anal stretching ability, probably created for [[pornography|pornographic]] purposes. Some have claimed that "he" is actually a [[hermaphrodite]], and he is actually pulling open his vagina. The developer of this theory later admitted that the theory was false.

According to some sources the man is an [[Italy|Italian]] who has been practicing [[anal stretching]] for years as a hobby. Others contend he is one Yam Sthruss, based on an email in the Feedback section from a person with this name claiming that <tt>hello.jpg</tt> is of him and asking for its removal.

While his real name is unknown, he has been given many [[nickname]]s by various Internet communities. These include "Bob Goatse", "The Goatse Man", "The Receiver", "Stinger", and "Gatasa".

Most recently it has been claimed that the Goatse man is a man named Kirk Johnson, another well known practitioner of anal stretching. This assumption is based on the position of a large [[mole (skin marking)|mole]] directly above the Goatse man's anus; the mole is visible in the same ___location in some of Kirk Johnson's photographs (see link below). One of his photographs commonly used as a shock site is <tt>Lensman.jpg</tt>, in which he is posing in a similar manner to the Goatse.cx photo. It was found by users of the [[internet forum|forum]]s at [[Penny Arcade]].

==History==

The original photograph depicts Kirk Johnson, a pornographic model who participates in extreme penetration, which is the practice of inserting large objects into the anus. The image began to spread in pornographic [[Usenet]] groups around 1997.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Adrian |author-link=Adrian Chen |date=2012-04-10 |title=Finding Goatse: The mystery man behind the most disturbing Internet meme in history |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222014628/https://gawker.com/finding-goatse-the-mystery-man-behind-the-most-disturb-5899787 |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Gawker |language=en-US}}</ref> Soon after, a hacker group known as the Hick Crew found the image and began to [[Spamming|spam]] it in Christian chatrooms as entertainment.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Chen |first=Adrian |author-link=Adrian Chen |date=2013-04-16 |title=Goatse and the Rise of the Web's Gross-Out Culture |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/04/goatse/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |volume=21 |issue=5 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> In 1999, a member of the Hick Crew using the handle "Merl1n" established the goatse.cx website to host the image so as to facilitate its spread.<ref name=":0"/>

The website gained popularity as a shock site, being described as a "[[hazing]] ritual" for the Internet in the 2000s.<ref name=":1"/> Following the success and popularity of goatse.cx, several other shock sites were created to mimic it, such as lemonparty.org, meatspin.com and tubgirl.com, each having a single shocking pornographic image.<ref name=":1"/>

According to the [[Internet Archive]], hello.jpg was given the caption "stinger". From [[June]] to [[July]] [[2000]], the site was replaced for that period with the text "What are you doing here?". The title at the time was "ten seconds down".

For Halloween 2003, the picture was changed to an image of the picture carved into a pumpkin. The other sections (and the mirror sites) weren't altered.

Goatse.cx once had an [[Internet Relay Chat|IRC]] server located at irc.goatse.cx, which showed the [[ASCII art|ASCII]] <tt>hello.jpg</tt> in the [[MOTD]]. The server was part of the IRC network [[Evolnet]].

After complaints to NIC.CX (the regulation authority of .cx domains) by an office worker named Rhonda Clarke of Christmas Island, the site goatse.cx was taken down [[Friday]], [[January 16]], [[2004]]. (Goat.cx and Hick.org/Goat remain active.)

A petition has even been launched to bring goatse.cx back. The suspension of goatse.cx was discussed in detail on [[Kuro5hin]]. And on [[StileProject]], a RIP Goatse cartoon was posted.

For a period in [[February]] [[2004]], the website Goat.cx displayed the message "This site has been shutdown temporarily due to a spam that references it. The spam was not sent out by the sites owner but the site is being shut down in order to help prevent profit from the spam." Directly linking to hello.jpg showed a red picture of a red background with the text in black, "This site is temporairly down". Below it was text in blue that read, "Do not click any links".

When one goes to the mirror hick.org/goat/, he or she will see the text,<br> "ALERT<br>

The CX Registry has shut off the goatse.cx ___domain suddenly and without warning.<br>

They have cowardly cited a section of their AUP with allows them to remove sites at their discretion.<br>

Please e-mail [e-mail] with your opinion of this matter." Below that is a link labeled "Original page", which leads to the original "Receiver" section.

sc

==Alternative locations==

'''WARNING!''' All of these addresses lead directly to the pornographic image described above.

On January 14, 2004, the [[___domain name]] ''goatse.cx'' was suspended<ref name="CXAUPviol">{{cite web | first=Garth | last=Miller | url=http://www.nic.cx/complaints/goatse.cx/aup.noticeofcomplaint.pdf | title=Notice Regarding AUP Complaint Version 1.1 (redacted)| publisher=Christmas Island Internet Administration | date=January 12, 2004 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040531080510/http://www.nic.cx/complaints/goatse.cx/aup.noticeofcomplaint.pdf | archive-date=May 31, 2004}}</ref> by [[Christmas Island Internet Administration]] due to [[Acceptable use policy|acceptable-use-policy]] violations in response to a complaint.<ref>[http://cocca.cx/index.php/aup-complaints/cx-aup.html .cx&nbsp;– Christmas Island (.cx ccTLD) Acceptable Use Policy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519030617/http://cocca.cx/index.php/aup-complaints/cx-aup.html |date=May 19, 2011 }}. Council of Country Code Administrators. Retrieved June 15, 2010.</ref> A [[Christmas Island]] resident filed the complaint that resulted in the suspension of goatse.cx's ___domain name.<ref name="scotsman"/>

The website is available from at least five other locations, all of which are still up:

==Legacy==

* <nowiki>http://hick.org/goat/ also http://198.247.175.96/goat/</nowiki>

Because many Internet users have been tricked into viewing the site or a mirror of the site at one time or another,<ref name="zug">{{Cite web | last=Johnson | first=Bob | title=The Goatse Prank | work=[[zug.com]] |publisher=Media Shower Inc. |date=December 2, 2004 | url=http://www.zug.com/gab/index.cgi?func=view_thread&thread_id=49351 | access-date=June 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041217213145/http://www.zug.com/gab/index.cgi?func=view_thread&thread_id=49351|archive-date=December 17, 2004}}</ref> it has become an Internet meme.<ref name="scotsman">{{Cite web |title=Notice Regarding AUP Complaint Version 1.1 |url=http://www.nic.cx/complaints/goatse.cx/aup.noticeofcomplaint.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040531080510/http://www.nic.cx/complaints/goatse.cx/aup.noticeofcomplaint.pdf |archive-date=May 31, 2004 |access-date=2024-11-14}}</ref>

* <nowiki>http://retropay.com/goatse/goatse.cx/</nowiki>

On November 24, 2000, the Goatse page was posted to the official online [[Oprah Winfrey]] Message Boards in the ''Soul Stories'' board. Trystan T. Cotten and Kimberly Springer, authors of ''Stories of Oprah: the Oprahfication of American Culture'', said that this "seemingly considerable male intrusion drove many of the women elsewhere, and the board was retired shortly afterwards".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ElswmhzTc8cC&pg=PA59 |title=Stories of Oprah: the Oprahfication of American culture |author1=Cotten, Trystan T. |author2=Springer, Kimberly |year=2009 |publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]] |pages=59–60, 63 |isbn=978-1-60473-407-2 |access-date=December 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428024840/https://books.google.com/books?id=ElswmhzTc8cC&pg=PA59#v=onepage&f=false |archive-date=April 28, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Slashdot]] altered its threaded discussion forum display software because "users made a sport out of tricking unsuspecting readers into visiting <nowiki>[goatse.cx]</nowiki>".<ref name="PHP">{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lVXnmsCCd3wC&q=goatse&pg=PA274 |title=Pro PHP Security |last2=Southwell |first2=Michael |publisher=[[Apress]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59059-508-4 |page=274 |access-date=July 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013011205/http://books.google.com/books?id=lVXnmsCCd3wC&lpg=PA274&dq=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2Fgoatse.cx&pg=PA274#v=snippet&q=goatse&f=false |archive-date=October 13, 2013 |url-status=live |name-list-style=and}}</ref>

* <nowiki>http://web.archive.org/web/20030623201150/http://goatse.cx/</nowiki>

* <nowiki>http://synflood.at/mirrors/goatse.cx/</nowiki>

* <nowiki>http://rokbom.com/</nowiki>

* <nowiki>http://goatse.cc/</nowiki>

These sites have the same contents as Goatse.cx before it went down. Another mirror, apparently from an older version of the site, is available at <nowiki>http://goat.cx/</nowiki>.

The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' [[Wikitorial]] was introduced on June 17,&nbsp;2005, to be a publicly accessible method of directly responding to the paper's editorials; Wikipedia co-founder [[Jimmy Wales]] had consulted on the project, and on its first day contributed a "forking" of the page to accommodate opposing opinions.<ref name="Glaister">Glaister, Dan (June 22, 2005). [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/jun/22/media.pressandpublishing "LA Times 'wikitorial' gives editors red faces] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506040456/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/jun/22/media.pressandpublishing |date=May 6, 2017 }}." ''[[The Guardian]]''. Retrieved September 17, 2010.</ref> Prior to the feature's introduction, ''L.A. Times'' [[editorial]] and opinion editor [[Michael Kinsley]] stated that "Wikitorials may be one of those things that within six months will be standard. It's the ultimate in reader participation".<ref>{{cite news |last=Shepard |first=Alicia |date=June 13, 2005 |title=Upheaval on Los Angeles Times Editorial Pages |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/13/business/media/13lat.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424210848/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/13/business/media/13lat.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=April 24, 2013 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The wiki was closed two days later on June 19,&nbsp;2005, because, ''The Guardian'' reported, "explicit images known as Goatses appeared on [it]".<ref name="Glaister"/>

==Organization==

The practice of using goatse.cx as a "fake" link to shock friends became popular, according to [[ROFLcon]] organizer Tim Hwang in an interview on [[NPR]], because

Goatse.cx has four sections, three of which have images of questionable taste:

<blockquote>it's ... the spectacle of the thing, right? You really want to be there when the person is seeing it. To the extent that there's all these sites online of sort of people taking pictures of their friends and showing them Goatse... [In photos online,] It's like thousands and thousands of people looking really shocked or disgusted. It's really great.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Hwang |first=Tim |interviewer=[[Alison Stewart]] |title=Rick-Rolling: An Action Primer for the Uninitiated |type=Interview: Transcript |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89265949 |access-date=September 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122211528/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89265949 |archive-date=January 22, 2012 |url-status=live |work=[[The Bryant Park Project]], [[National Public Radio|NPR]] |___location=New York, New York |date=April 1, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref></blockquote>The goatse.cx image has been used by website authors to discourage other sites from [[hot-linking]] to them. By replacing the hot-linked image with an embarrassing image when hot-linking has been discovered, an unsubtle message is sent to the offending website's operators, visible to all who view the web page in question.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Powers |first=Shelley |url=https://archive.org/details/paintingweb00shel |title=Painting the Web |publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-596-51509-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/paintingweb00shel/page/49 49] |access-date=September 15, 2010 |url-access=registration}}</ref> In 2007, [[Wired.com]] hot-linked to another site in an article about the "sexiest geeks of 2007"; the site subsequently swapped the hot-linked image with one from goatse.cx.<ref>{{Cite web |title=One Step Backward: Playboy Asks Which Female Blogger You'd Like To See Sans Clothing |first=Michael |last=Arrington |work=TechCrunch.com |date=July 9, 2008 |via=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070901983.html |access-date=September 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111112627/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/09/AR2008070901983.html |archive-date=November 11, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

*The ''"Receiver"'' section, showing the aforementioned hello.jpg. Before the picture is the text in [[black]], "The goatse.cx lawyer has informed us that we need a warning! So.. if you are [[Minor (law)|under the age of 18]] or find this [[photograph]] offensive, please don't look at it. Thank you!" It also has links to <nowiki>http://www.dolphinsex.org/</nowiki> and <nowiki>http://www.urinalpoop.org/</nowiki>. It once had a link to <nowiki>http://www.biganal.com/</nowiki>. The text below hello.jpg reads, "IMPORTANT NOTE: There are many merchandising attempts for goatse.cx around the web-- none of them are real, none of them are official. Do not buy this gimmick merchandise. The official goatse.cx merchandise is coming soon!" The title of this page is "Eh".

*The ''"Giver"'' section, showing a picture (<tt>giver.jpg</tt>) of a man on a boat, which has been artificially altered (with [[XV_(program)|XV]] according to the XCREATOR tag within the [[JPEG]] itself) to appear that he has an oversized [[penis]]. The title of this page is "Whoa". The whole website contains an [[anal sex]] [[joke]] - that the Giver will be able to stick his oversized penis into the Receiver, and therefore, bring on highly pleasurable [[sexual intercourse]] for the two men.

*The ''"Feedback"'' section, where e-mails are exhibited.

*The ''"Contrib"'' section showcasing visitor contributions to the site. Contrib has additional variations of <tt>hello.jpg</tt> and <tt>giver.jpg</tt>, as well as other images and files. The title of this page is "Contributed Work". '''Warning:''' The page begins with an [[ASCII art|ASCII]] version of <tt>hello.jpg</tt>.

** <tt>bush.jpg</tt> is a picture of [[United States President]] [[George W. Bush]], calling someone on a [[telephone]] in his office, with <tt>hello.jpg</tt> displayed on a [[laptop]] [[computer]] on his desk.

** <tt>collage-holyzoo.jpg</tt> is a [[collage]] of faces of different people affiliated with holyzoo.com and thinkattack.com, and a closeup on the gaping anus of the man in <tt>hello.jpg</tt>. The image contains the text "Special Thanks for being there for a laugh. From your friends at http://holyzoo.com and... [http://THINKATTACK.com http://THINKATTACK.com]"

** <tt>goatse-wwii.jpg</tt> is a picture of a large snowball, with "goatse.cx" written on the side, chasing [[Adolf Hitler]], [[Benito Mussolini]], and [[Hideki Tojo]].

** <tt>giver2.jpg</tt> is a picture of the Goatse giver holding his oversized penis.

** <tt>magiceye.jpg</tt> is a [[Magic Eye]] picture. After about 16 seconds, the image changes to that of a 256 color version of <tt>hello.jpg</tt>. It attempts to fool viewers by exploiting the fact that, although the server sends a [[MIME]] type stating the filename is a [[JPEG]] image, the image is in fact an animated [[GIF]].

** <tt>warning.jpg</tt> is a warning sign picture telling people not to go to goatse.cx

** <tt>goatsex.swf</tt> is a [[Macromedia Flash|Flash]] Movie, set to the hook from "MMMBop" by [[Hanson]]. The movie shows a large dildo being stuck into the anus of the man posing in hello.jpg. The background is from another gap.zip picture, gap8.jpg.

** <tt>Goatman.mp3</tt> is an [[mp3]] Music file. It takes up 518 KB.

** <tt>Foxy_goatse.mp3</tt> is another [[mp3]] music file, a parody of the [[Jimi Hendrix]] song Foxy Lady. It takes up 1061 KB.

** <tt>goatsecx-winamp.zip</tt> is a [[Zip (file format)|ZIP]] file containing a [[Winamp]] skin, depicting hello.jpg. It takes up 313 KB.

In his book ''[[The Long Tail (book)|The Long Tail]]'' (2008), Chris Anderson wrote that goatse.cx is well known only to a relatively small Internet-using "subcultural tribe" who reference it as a "shared context joke" or "secret membership code". Anderson cited a photo accompanying an "otherwise innocuous article" about Google in the June 2, 2005 ''[[The New York Times]]'', in which [[Anil Dash]] wore a T-shirt emblazoned with stylized hands stretching out the word "Goatse".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More |first=Chris |last=Anderson |publisher=Hyperion |year=2008 |page=[https://archive.org/details/longtailwhyfutur0000ande/page/182 182] |url=https://archive.org/details/longtailwhyfutur0000ande |url-access=registration |isbn=978-1-4013-0966-4 |access-date=September 16, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Loosing Google's Lock on the Past |first=Stephanie |last=Rosenbloom |date=June 2, 2005 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/02/fashion/thursdaystyles/02GOOGLE.html |access-date=September 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129121500/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/02/fashion/thursdaystyles/02GOOGLE.html |archive-date=November 29, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{As of|2010|9|10|df=US}} the NYT archives index the article by keyword [https://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=goatse&more=date_all "goatse"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303221517/http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch?query=goatse&more=date_all|date=March 3, 2012}}.</ref>

People sometimes link to goatse.cx images not shown on the actual webpages, such as <tt>loopback.jpg</tt>, a picture of a man looping his penis into his anus. There are also numerous other files in the directory http://www.goatse.cx/contrib/.

In June 2007, a proposed sketch of the [[2012 Summer Olympics#Logo and graphics|2012 Summer Olympics logo]] appeared on the [[BBC News 24]] broadcast and website<ref name="Reg">{{cite web |last=Orlowski |first=Andrew |date=June 4, 2007 |title=No goat sex at the Olympics, rules BBC |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/04/bbc_olympics_cx/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607073304/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/04/bbc_olympics_cx/ |archive-date=June 7, 2010 |access-date=July 7, 2010 |work=Bootnotes |publisher=[[The Register]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="CollegeHumorBBCGoatse">{{cite web|url=http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1762625 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100505075147/http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1762625 |archive-date=May 5, 2010 |title=Goatse on BBC |format=Video |time=1:01 |work=[[CollegeHumor]] |date=June 6, 2007 |access-date=October 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }} (requires Flash; archive URL may or may not work)</ref><ref name="BBCimg">{{cite web | url=http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43006000/jpg/_43006883_sean_stayte_416.jpg | title=2012 Olympics logo sketch | format=image | work=[[BBC News]] | date=June 6, 2007 | access-date=February 23, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029030019/http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43006000/jpg/_43006883_sean_stayte_416.jpg | archive-date=October 29, 2008 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref> as one of the 12 best viewer-submitted alternatives to the official logo. In it, two hands stretched the "0" wide in "2012", as the submitter wrote, "to reveal the Olympics".<ref name="Reg"/> The sketch was later shown as part of a gallery of viewers logos on [[BBC London News]] and BBC News 24, and was subsequently removed from the website. The editor of the BBC News website acknowledged the mistake in his blog, saying his team "simply didn't spot it".<ref name="Herrmann">{{cite web |last=Herrmann |first=Steve |date=June 5, 2007 |title=Shock tactics |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2007/06/shock_tactics.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213181154/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2007/06/shock_tactics.html |archive-date=February 13, 2009 |access-date=February 23, 2009 |work=[[BBC]] blogs |publisher=[[BBC]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The image <tt>hello.jpg</tt> originates from a set of 40 images depicting the man performing various anal sexual acts. In those images, the man used [[dildo|dildos]] and [[butt plug|butt plugs]] to stretch his anus. The images were located by the ''[[Stile Project]]'' and are also available from the "Contrib" section of the goatse.cx website under the filename <tt>gap.zip</tt>. <tt>hello.jpg</tt> is the third file in the archive, <tt>gap3.jpg</tt>.

In June 2010, a group of computer experts known as [[Goatse Security]] exposed a flaw in [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]]'s security which allowed the e-mail addresses of [[iPad]] users to be revealed.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |last=Ante |first=Spencer E. |last2=Worthen |first2=Ben |name-list-style=and |date=June 11, 2010 |title=FBI Opens Probe of iPad Breach |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704312104575299111189853840?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116005855/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704312104575299111189853840?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection |archive-date=January 16, 2018 |access-date=June 15, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Andrew Auernheimer (alias ''[[weev]]''), a member of the group, was interviewed by the media and discussed the group's name, among other things.<ref name="CNET">{{cite news |title=Hacker defends going public with AT&T's iPad data breach (Q&A) |first=Elinor |last=Mills |newspaper=CNET News |date=June 10, 2010 |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20007407-245.html |access-date=June 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728162316/http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20007407-245.html |archive-date=July 28, 2010 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Geographic ___location==

On September 20, 2013, the [[United States Department of Justice]] filed a response brief<ref>Response Brief for US v Auernheimer [https://www.eff.org/node/75759] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718064310/https://www.eff.org/node/75759|date=July 18, 2014}} [https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/gov_opp_brief_weev.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606210150/https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/filenode/gov_opp_brief_weev.pdf|date=June 6, 2014}} retrieved on 30 September</ref> in the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit]] in ''[[United States v. Auernheimer]]'', an appeal in a criminal case from the [[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]], which involved the access of AT&T customers' email addresses by Goatse Security.<ref>Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) review of US v Auernheimer [https://www.eff.org/cases/us-v-auernheimer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703090003/https://www.eff.org/cases/us-v-auernheimer|date=July 3, 2014}} retrieved on 30 September</ref> The brief explains on page three that "The firm's name is a reference to a notoriously obscene internet shock site" and includes a footnote which reads "For a more graphic description, see <nowiki>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goatse</nowiki>."

The site uses the .cx country code, which is the [[top-level ___domain]] of [[Christmas Island]], whose operators will not disclose registrants' personal information. The actual server of Goatse.cx is not located on Christmas Island, but in the [[United States]] and is owned by Hick.org, which is a website about computer programming. The Hick.org ___domain was registered by [[Matt Miller]] in [[Overland Park, Kansas]]. Both Goatse.cx and Hick.org originate from the same IP address; the server is located in the [[Kansas City, Missouri]] metro-region. Goat.cx, a mirror of Goatse.cx, is located in the [[Houston, Texas]] metro-region.

==See also==

==Parodies and tributes==

{{Portal|Internet}}

*[[Rickrolling]]

Because nearly every frequent Internet user has been tricked into viewing the site at one time or another, it has become something of an Internet-wide [[in joke]]. As such, hello.jpg and the other images on the site are common subjects of parodies and tributes.

*[[List of Internet phenomena]]

==References==

* The following three parodies are hosted on [[Yahoo!]] [[Geocities]].

{{Reflist|30em}}

** http://www.geocities.com/bobmaloogakathy/frogsecx/receiver.html - The "Receiver" <tt>hello.jpg</tt> here is a [[Kermit the Frog]] doll with an anus stuck on it. The "giver" <tt>giver.jpg</tt> shows a man taking off his [[pants]] and exposing his [[pubic hair]]. "Feedback" leads to http://hanniballecter.blogspot.com/ and "Contrib" leads to [http://darko.blogspot.com/ http://darko.blogspot.com/].

** http://www.geocities.com/electabuzz2002/lite.htm - Was originally like the Goatse.cx receiver section, but with <tt>hello.jpg</tt> replaced by the ASCII version found in the "Contrib" section of Goatse.cx. It has since been changed so that the "Receiver" and "Giver" are replaced by crude line drawings.

** http://www.geocities.com/internetgoat/ - This website has the Goatse warning, and fake links, as well as a link to this webpage, with the worda "Thanks for the hits!"

* The following parodies all originate from the same IP address, hosted in the Houston, Texas metro-region:

** [http://oralse.cx/ Oralse.cx] - The "Pussy" <tt>hello.jpg</tt> is that of a [[kitten]], and the "Wiener" <tt>giver.jpg</tt> is that of a [[dachshund]]. Oralse.cx also has a "Contrib" section of more shots of the cat and the dog, as well as modified versions of the aforementioned pictures. It also had a "Feedback" section with its own letters.

** <nowiki>http://analse.cx/</nowiki> - This site has <tt>bunny.gif</tt>, which is a picture of bunch of [[cartoon]] [[rabbit]]s, each with a pancake on its head, whom open their anuses in imitation of <tt>hello.jpg</tt>. The title of the page is "GoatsePancakeBunnyDance". A song called "bunny.mid" plays on the site. The string "Now this is something I just don't get. - Matthew 11:42" is seen in the source code. This site is also a spoof of [[Hampsterdance]].

* [http://throatse.cx Throatse.cx], another parody. For the "Receiver" <tt>hello.jpg</tt>, it showed a wide open [[mouth]], and for the "Giver" <tt>giver.jpg</tt>, it showed an [[ice cream]]. The "Contrib" section had an [[ASCII]] version of the Throatse <tt>hello.jpg</tt>, and two flavors of the "Throatman", a takeoff of the "Goatman" MP3 song. Throatse also had a "Feedback" section. The site has since been taken down due to lease expiring.

* In the tradition of oralse.cx and throatse.cx ''("anti-shock" sites that imitate shock/curiosity websites but do not feature objectionable content)'' is an [[Internet troll | Internet trolling]] phenomenon where people advertise non-shock sites as containing pornographic or shocking matter. Commonly, the actual website linked-to is an image of a family pet, a recipe for sugar cookies, [http://mary-kateandashley.com the Olsen twins' website].

* [http://trollse.cx Trollse.cx] - a parody of the front page of goatse.cx, replacing the original picture with a picture of [[JYA]] figure [[Eric S. Raymond]]. The giver section has a cartoon of two men, a still frame from [[JeffK|Jeff K]]'s animated parody of [[UserFriendly]][http://www.somethingawful.com/features/usarfreindley/]. One of them is clothed and sitting down in a chair. His oversized penis is bulging through the crotch of his red pants. In the background are pictures of Something Awful characters Cliff Yablonski and JeffK. The "contrib" only has an ascii picture of Raymond. This website is hosted in the [[Washington, DC]] metro-region. The site links to [[Slashdot]] and [[Slashnet]].

* [http://xbo.cx/ Xbo.cx], which had the Goatse.cx image altered so that it looks as if the man is covering his anus with a [[Microsoft]] [[Xbox]], and with a Xbox controller covering his penis and testicles. The page is titled "The Butcher". Others were "The Baker", which was "The Butcher" but with an [[Atari 2600]] in place of the Xbox, and "The Candlestick Maker", which had the Goatse.cx giver with a [[joystick]] in place of the oversized penis. The "feedback" button leads to a mailto to [e-mail]. "Hate" leads to a "What would [[Santa Claus|Santa]] do?" thread on the r33t.org [[internet forums]]. And the r33t.org link links to the said website, which has a "[[Communist]]" theme. The website has been taken down due to the lease expiring, and was hosted in the [[Auckland, New Zealand]] metro-region. The Xbox picture (though not the Atari 2600 or the joystick) can be viewed at http://web.archive.org/web/20020526122729/http://www.xbo.cx/ .

* <nowiki>http://www.goatse.org/</nowiki> - an illustration of [[Mario (Nintendo character)|Mario]] from the video game ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' bending over, with the hello.jpg anus doctored onto the already doctored picture to show an anus to the viewer (The filename of the picture is mariotse.jpg).

* http://members.lycos.co.uk/ferreousx/goats.gif - A modified [[Penny_Arcade]] comic strip that contains a extremly pixilated version of goatse.

* <nowiki>http://www.pleaseeat.us/</nowiki> - Shows a naked old woman in place of the hello.jpg picture.

* http://sam.zoy.org/fun/goatse/ - A gallery of Goatse parody pictures

* <nowiki>http://www.massivewang.com/prime</nowiki> and <nowiki>http://www.penguinhosting.net/~jpeck/prime/</nowiki> - The Prime Number Shitting Goatse.cx Man - a parody of the [[Prime Number Shitting Bear]], with the widely-known <tt>hello.jpg</tt> image replacing the bear.

* http://brentai.pyoko.org/ - "God is goatse-ing us" - an astral image whose details have apparently been modified to resemble goatse.cx

* http://conese.ath.cx/ - A re-enactment of <tt>hello.jpg</tt> using an ordinary traffic cone. Non-pornographic.

* [http://bartse.cx/ Bartse.cx] - For the "Receiver" page, it has a tatoo of [[Bart Simpson]] from [[The Simpsons]], placed around a man's belly button to resemble <tt>hello.jpg</tt>. The "Giver" is a picture of a [[bat]] with a penis. The "Contrib" section shows the original hello.jpg ascii, but with the text "bartsex" replacing "goatsex".

* <nowiki>http://www.goatse.fi/</nowiki> - This shows a picture of <tt>hello.jpg</tt> doctored onto a pack of [[Liggette & Myers]] [[cigarette]]s (The picture's filename is aski.jpg) with a caption in [[Finnish language|Finnish]]: "Irvistä elämälle, tupakkayhtiöt kiittävät. #work @ IRCNet" which means "Grimace at life, the [[tobacco]] [[company|companies]] thank you. #work @ [[IRCNet]]"

* http://forge.evula.net/fc/fc_goatse.jpg - An altered [[Family Circus]] comic

* http://www.redcoat.net/pics/couldsecx.jpg - A picture of the sky pulling a <tt>hello.jpg</tt>

* http://www.digitaldfw.com/uberzine/hax.asp?clip=32 - A modified video showing a man named "Goatse" being elected as the mayor of [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]], [[Texas]]

* <nowiki>http://www.thinkattack.com/userFiles/replies/16899.jpg</nowiki> - A picture of [[Saddam Hussein]] stuck inside the Goatse man in an altered hello.jpg. The person who altered the picture commented about the picture on the Thinkattack.com [[message board]] "They found Saddam in a dark hole..."

* <nowiki>http://www.thinkattack.com/userFiles/replies/16900.jpg</nowiki> - A modified picture of Saddam Hussein having his mouth checked, replacing his mouth with the hello.jpg anus and two hands stretching it.

* <nowiki>http://www.klerck.org/dance.swf</nowiki> - The Goatse.cx dance [[Macromedia]] [[Macromedia Flash|Flash]] program. The program first shows two stick figures dancing on a red highly pixelated "floor". Then, the music stops, and the picture zooms out to reveal hello.jpg. Also accessible at http://www.milkandcookies.com/links/5433/

* <nowiki>http://www.cadaverine.net/misc/hello.jpg</nowiki> - An altered hello.jpg, showing the face of cartoon [[european dragon|dragon]] blocking the man's anus

* <nowiki>http://www.cellosoft.com/nash/garbage/photos/simonb-goatse.jpg</nowiki> - A picture of a teenage boy doing a Goatse pose. The photo has the goatse anus doctored onto the seat of the boy's pants.

* <nowiki>http://ftso.org/cobweb/Images/Artsy/goatsex01.gif</nowiki> - An altered hello.jpg, with two green, straight lines intersecting at the man's right leg, to the left of the anus. The text in [[green]], "Ask no questions Give no answers Pass it along... dat iz all" was added.

* <nowiki>http://www.tworetards.com/issues/030123_13/images/iraqse-or.jpeg</nowiki> - A doctored photograph of George Bush at the podium, modified to show him holding a piece of paper, with hello.jpg on it and the words "[[Iraq]]" below the hello.jpg picture

* http://isol8.org/index.php?topic=General&page=2 - A watercolor painting that has been deemed a spinoff of hello.jpg

* <nowiki>http://web.archive.org/web/20010305142500/http://www.conhugeco.org/goatse.cx</nowiki> - Neo Goatse.cx, which has two sections - The Effect, which shows a picture of a man with a [[prolapse|prolapsed]] rectum, and The Cause, which shows a pair of gap.zip pictures, the first depicting the Goatse man sitting on a large butt plug, the second with a pair of dildos inserted into his anus.

* http://goat.se/cx - features a photograph (pic.jpg) of a [[cat]] with its tail raised, showing its anus. There are no further pictures or links. The [[URL]] of this site is one of two possible URLs contain only the text of the original goatse.cx, the other URL being the unavailable <nowiki>http://go.at/secx</nowiki>.

* <nowiki>http://analcock.tk/</nowiki> - The front page features a picture (ninja.gif) of a crudely drawn man with a wand in his hand, and a penis sticking out of his buttocks, ejaculating. The text "ANAL COCK" written on him. Instead of "the giver", there is "The Gordon" page, which shows a picture (Gordon.jpg, with the caption "stoko") of a teenager. The feedback section leads to the text "CLOCK". The contrib section contains the text "Nothing yet :(".

*http://www.xcesta.org - features an reversed version of hello.jpg (looking out from the man's anus instead of into it) and backwards text in the various sections.

==External links==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040109213953/http://www.goatse.cx/ goatse.cx], archive of original site at the [[Internet Archive]] [[Wayback Machine]]<!--Do not change to a specific date --- Keep the star in, please. Thanks.-->

* [https://www.scotsman.com/news/lazy-guide-to-net-culture-nsfw-2507085 "Lazy Guide to Net Culture: NSFW"]&nbsp;– ''[[The Scotsman]]''

<!-- article is not about mirrors -->

* [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/goatse Goatse] at [[Know Your Meme]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goatse.Cx}}

* http://goatse.cx/ - Leads to the notice of the ___domain suspension.

[[Category:1990s photographs]]

* <nowiki>http://hick.org/goat/index-orig.html</nowiki> - The Goatse page at a new ___location. '''WARNING''' - This leads to the picture described above.

[[Category:Color photographs]]

** http://www.hick.org/goat/mail.html - "Feedback" subsection with reader email selections. This page does not contain pornographic images.

[[Category:Defunct websites]]

** <nowiki>http://www.hick.org/goat/contrib/gap.zip</nowiki> and <nowiki> http://www.exet.nu/html/bildarkiv/goatse.shtml</nowiki> - Links to gap.zip

[[Category:Domain hacks]]

** <nowiki>http://www.hick.org/goat/loopback.jpg</nowiki> - The loopback.jpg picture. '''WARNING''' - This leads to pornographic material

[[Category:Internet memes introduced in 1999]]

* <nowiki>http://www.roflmao.com/hatejob</nowiki> - A redirect to Goat.cx

[[Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2004]]

* <nowiki>http://www.stileproject.com/</nowiki> - located the complete image set. '''WARNING!''' This site contains pornographic and potentially offensive materials.

[[Category:Internet properties established in 1999]]

* http://www.fc-uk.org.uk/goatse/index.html - A satirical fictional interview with Bob Goatse.

[[Category:Internet services shut down by a legal challenge]]

* <nowiki>http://www.bmezine.com/news/people/A20210/plp56/</nowiki> - Another interview, this one with a French man who some have claimed to be the Goatse Man. '''WARNING!''' This page contains altered gap.zip pictures, which are pornographic!

[[Category:Shock sites]]

* http://mjt.nysv.org/ - has a goatse tribute section.

[[Category:Gay male pornography websites]]

* http://sam.zoy.org/fun/goatse/ - has a comprehensive goatse tribute section with many well-known (and many lesser-known) photoshoppings of the images from the site

* <nowiki>http://adult.pornparks.com/rosebutt/kirk/001/index.htm</nowiki> - Photographs of a man named Kirk Johnson, who some claim to be the Goatse man. '''WARNING!''' This page contains pornographic material similar to that at Goatse.cx.

* <nowiki>http://www.detroithardcore.com/lensman.jpg</nowiki> - Kirk Johnson's "Lensman" photograph. It was originally able to be seen from the detroithardcore.com main page.

*See [http://www.nic.cx/complaints/goatse.cx/goatse.cx11.01.2004.pdf the official complaint (PDF)] by an individual named Rhonda Clarke [http://web.archive.org/web/20030214010757/%68ttp://training.edu.cx/rhonda.html], [http://www.nic.cx/complaints/goatse.cx/aup.noticeofcomplaint.pdf the official note (PDF)] to the ___domain's registrant and [http://www.nic.cx/whois.jsp the current state] of the goatse.cx whois entry.

*[http://www.petitiononline.com/Goatse/petition.html Petition launched to bring goatse.cx back].

*The suspension of goatse.cx was [http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/1/16/03540/4020 discussed in detail] on [[Kuro5hin]].

*<nowiki>http://static.stileproject.com/rnd/fp/ripgoatse.gif</nowiki> - "RIP Goatse" cartoon

*http://linux.is.analdeluxe.de/ - The pumpkin picture