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{{Short description|Shock website (1996–2012)}} | {{Short description|Shock website (1996–2012)}} | ||
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} | |||
{{Infobox website | {{Infobox website | ||
| name = rotten.com | | name = rotten.com | ||
| logo = | | logo = | ||
| logo_size = <!-- default 250px --> | | logo_size = <!-- default 250px --> | ||
| logo_caption = <!-- or: | logocaption = --> | | logo_caption = <!-- or: | logocaption = --> | ||
| logo_alt = | | logo_alt = | ||
| screenshot = Rotten-screenshot.png | | screenshot = Rotten-screenshot.png | ||
| screenshot_size = <!-- default 300px --> | | screenshot_size = <!-- default 300px --> | ||
| caption = Screenshot from March 18, 2010 | | caption = Screenshot from March 18, 2010 | ||
| screenshot_alt = on March 18, 2010 | | screenshot_alt = Screenshot of the Rotten.com homepage on March 18, 2010 | ||
| collapsible = <!-- set as "on", "y", etc, otherwise omit/leave blank --> | | collapsible = <!-- set as "on", "y", etc, otherwise omit/leave blank --> | ||
| collapsetext = <!-- collapsible area's heading (default "Screenshot"); omit/leave blank if collapsible not set --> | | collapsetext = <!-- collapsible area's heading (default "Screenshot"); omit/leave blank if collapsible not set --> | ||
| commercial = No{{dubious|date=October 2024}} | | commercial = No{{dubious|date=October 2024}} | ||
| type = [[Shock site]] | | type = [[Shock site]] | ||
| registration = No | | registration = No | ||
| language = English | | language = English | ||
| num_users = | | num_users = | ||
| content_license = <!-- or: | content_licence = --> | | content_license = <!-- or: | content_licence = --> | ||
| owner = <!-- or: | owners = --> | | owner = <!-- or: | owners = --> | ||
| author = <!-- or: creator / authors / creators --> | | author = <!-- or: creator / authors / creators --> | ||
| editor = <!-- or: | editors = --> | | editor = <!-- or: | editors = --> | ||
| launch_date = 1996 | | launch_date = 1996 | ||
| revenue = | | revenue = | ||
| current_status = Defunct | | current_status = Defunct | ||
| footnotes = | | footnotes = | ||
| background = <!-- for collapsetext heading; default grey (gainsboro) --> | | background = <!-- for collapsetext heading; default grey (gainsboro) --> | ||
| programming_language = | | programming_language = | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Rotten.com''' was an American | '''Rotten.com''' was an American photographic sharing [[shock site]], promoting morbid curiosity and death, active from 1996 to 2012, known for hosting macabre images of blood and gore, death and decomposition, and [[graphic violence]]. Founded in 1996, it was run by a developer known as [[NNDB|Soylent Communications]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=The Internet's public enema No. 1 |url=https://www.salon.com/2001/03/05/rotten_2/ |website=salon.com |date=6 March 2001 |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405210425/https://www.salon.com/2001/03/05/rotten_2/ |archive-date=5 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Site updates slowed in 2009, with the final update in February 2012.<ref name=Kernel>{{cite web |title=The legacy of Rotten.com |author=Audra Schroeder |url=https://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/10700/rotten-history-shock-site/ |website=kernelmag.dailydot.com |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191005094145/https://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/10700/rotten-history-shock-site/ |archive-date=5 October 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The website's front page was last archived in February 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-10 |title=rotten.com |url=http://www3.rotten.com:80/ |access-date=2021-12-12 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180210075929/http://www3.rotten.com:80/ |archive-date=10 February 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
In late 1996, Soylent wrote a program that identified unregistered Internet [[domain name]]s consisting of one word with a corresponding dictionary entry. "Rotten" was one of the unclaimed words, and Soylent went on to register Rotten.com in the same year.<ref name="FAQ @ rotten dot com">{{cite web |title=FAQ @ rotten dot com |url=http://www.rotten.com/FAQ/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050516235424/http://www.rotten.com/FAQ/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2005 |access-date=26 October 2019}}</ref> Rotten.com presented itself as a bastion of online [[free speech]], in an era when censorship rules in some countries had begun to restrict internet access.<ref name=Kernel/> | In late 1996, Soylent wrote a program that identified unregistered Internet [[domain name]]s consisting of one word with a corresponding dictionary entry. "Rotten" was one of the unclaimed words, and Soylent went on to register Rotten.com in the same year.<ref name="FAQ @ rotten dot com">{{cite web |title=FAQ @ rotten dot com |url=http://www.rotten.com/FAQ/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050516235424/http://www.rotten.com/FAQ/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 May 2005 |access-date=26 October 2019}}</ref> Rotten.com presented itself as a bastion of online [[free speech]], in an era when censorship rules in some countries had begun to restrict internet access.<ref name=Kernel/> | ||
Rotten.com had a sparse layout; no [[thumbnail image]]s were present next to links, and the links had one-line descriptions couched in [[morbid humor]], often carrying no hints at their content. Content consisted of user-submitted images, with developers rarely posting content themselves. Though submissions were marked as "real", often they were misattributed; in one instance, a file submitted as "motorcycle.jpg" was given the description of depicting a [[Motorcycle crash|motorbike crash]] but the developers | Rotten.com had a sparse layout; no [[thumbnail image]]s were present next to links, and the links had one-line descriptions couched in [[morbid humor]], often carrying no hints at their content. Content consisted of user-submitted images, with developers rarely posting content themselves. Though submissions were marked as "real", often they were misattributed; in one instance, a file submitted as "motorcycle.jpg" was given the description of depicting a [[Motorcycle crash|motorbike crash]], but the developers said it was probably an attempted [[shotgun]] [[suicide]].<ref name="FAQ @ rotten dot com"/> The website's logo was a [[Personifications of death|personification of death]] painted by [[Jean Colombe]] for a 15th-century [[book of hours]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://ica.themorgan.org/manuscript/page/96/77067 |title=Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts |website=[[Morgan Library & Museum]] |access-date=September 29, 2025}}</ref> | ||
Rotten.com | Rotten.com received an alleged image of medical personnel recovering [[Princess Diana]]'s body [[Death of Diana, Princess of Wales|from a car crash]], though this was later confirmed as fake. However, due to wide interest in the crash, the image was posted anyway, resulting in a large traffic spike.<ref>{{cite web |title=diana fallout @ rotten dot com |url=http://www.rotten.com/about/press.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317050619/http://www.rotten.com/about/press.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 March 2015 |access-date=26 October 2019}}</ref> The website was also one of the first to publish images of the [[September 11 attacks|September 11]] jumpers from the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|Twin Towers]], under the title "Swan Dive".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Awful Forums - the World Trade Center is on fire |url=http://www.truegamer.net/SA_911/911%20SATHREAD/wtc16.html |website=truegamer.net |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007152712/http://www.truegamer.net/SA_911/911%20SATHREAD/wtc16.html |archive-date=7 October 2019 |url-status=live |quote=Soylent from Rotten.Com has posted a series called 'Swan Dive.' These are people jumping from the burning World Trade Center, floor 60 and above. I have seen Stile's kitten video. I have seen videos of castrations. I have seen 'Train Girl.' And these three blurry, still photographs are the most horrible things I've ever witnessed. Soylent also claims that the fourth airliner, which crashed in rural Pennsylvania, was shot down by a military jet. That, so far, is unconfirmed by the BBC.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Falling Man |first=Tom |last=Junod |date=Sep 9, 2016 |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a48031/the-falling-man-tom-junod/ |website=esquire.com |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026023204/https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a48031/the-falling-man-tom-junod/ |archive-date=26 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
Rotten.com also hosted [[autopsy]] videos and [[Forensic photography|forensic]] case and crime scene [[video]]s taken by coroners and forensic services worldwide. Users could submit material via email or request that developers post images or videos that were not publicly available. Rotten.com was one of the earliest adult/graphic content websites to feature pornography (both fake and real), violence, gore, decomposition, and the promotion of death and morbid curiosity. | |||
Rotten.com | |||
On June 24, 2005, [[Alberto Gonzales]], [[US Attorney General | On June 24, 2005, [[Alberto Gonzales]], then [[US Attorney General]], ordered the removal of the "Fuck of the Month" section along with content from several ancillary sites.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jardin |first=Xeni |date=2005-06-22 |title=Rotten.com: our gapingmaw.com and other sites shut in anticipation of 2257 |url=https://boingboing.net/2005/06/22/rottencom-our-gaping.html |access-date=2021-12-14 |website=Boing Boing |language=en-US}}</ref> In response, the site's moderator posted a removal notice criticizing supporters of both Gonzales and the [[George W. Bush administration]] for enabling censorship.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=2005-06-25 |title=The Gaping Maw - rotten.com Editorial |url=http://www.gapingmaw.com/ |access-date=2021-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050625014303/http://www.gapingmaw.com/ |archive-date=25 June 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> | ||
==Ancillary sites== | ==Ancillary sites== | ||
=== ''The Daily Rotten'' === | === ''The Daily Rotten'' === | ||
In late 1999, ''The Daily Rotten'' was started by Thomas E. Dell,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyrotten.com/articles/archive/index15.html |title=Daily Rotten legal |access-date=2006-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210050413/http://www.dailyrotten.com/articles/archive/index15.html |archive-date=2006-02-10 |url-status=dead}}</ref> which published [[news]] stories on a daily basis, focusing mostly on [[terrorism]], [[murder]], [[suicide]], [[abuse]] and [[fecal matter|excrement]] | In late 1999, ''The Daily Rotten'' was started by Thomas E. Dell,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailyrotten.com/articles/archive/index15.html |title=Daily Rotten legal |access-date=2006-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060210050413/http://www.dailyrotten.com/articles/archive/index15.html |archive-date=2006-02-10 |url-status=dead}}</ref> which published [[news]] stories on a daily basis, focusing mostly on [[terrorism]], [[murder]], [[suicide]], [[abuse]] and [[fecal matter|excrement]]. | ||
=== ''The Gaping Maw'' === | === ''The Gaping Maw'' === | ||
In 2000, '''''The Gaping Maw''''' – an [[editorial]]/commentary archive – was founded. Most of the articles were written by cartoonist [[Tristan A. Farnon|Tristan Farnon]] under the alias "Spigot" (from ''[[Leisure Town]]'') or by other webmasters. The pages contained news, [[satire]], and commentary on modern society. Along with the ''Rotten Library'', this improved Rotten.com's standing in many communities since it introduced a humane and intellectual aspect to the website. On June 22, 2005, ''The Gaping Maw'' went dark to comply with new government bookkeeping requirements regarding the distribution of [[pornography]], specifically governmental age-verification of models, under {{usc|18|2257}}. All articles were taken down, and the site's title page was replaced with a statement lamenting the passage of the laws, headed by the banner, "CENSORED BY US GOVERNMENT!".<ref name=":0" /> In January 2006, ''The Gaping Maw'' came back online with some articles heavily edited. | In 2000, '''''The Gaping Maw''''' – an [[editorial]]/commentary archive – was founded. Most of the articles were written by cartoonist [[Tristan A. Farnon|Tristan Farnon]] under the alias "Spigot" (from ''[[Leisure Town]]'') or by other webmasters. The pages contained news, [[satire]], and commentary on modern society. Along with the ''Rotten Library'', this improved Rotten.com's standing in many communities since it introduced a humane and intellectual aspect to the website. On June 22, 2005, ''The Gaping Maw'' went dark to comply with new government bookkeeping requirements regarding the distribution of [[pornography]], specifically governmental age-verification of models, under {{usc|18|2257}}. All articles were taken down, and the site's title page was replaced with a statement lamenting the passage of the laws, headed by the banner, "CENSORED BY US GOVERNMENT!".<ref name=":0" /> In January 2006, ''The Gaping Maw'' came back online with some articles heavily edited. | ||
=== Bonsai Kitten === | |||
[[Bonsai Kitten]] was a [[black comedy]] website started in December 2000 by a [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] graduate student. It purported to grow and sell "bonsai kittens", [[Cat|cats]] that were kept in glass bottles from early ages, causing their bones to mold to the bottle's shape. The site drew ire from [[animal rights]] and [[Animal welfare|welfare]] organizations, and was investigated by the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] two months after its creation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mccullagh |first=Declan |date=9 February 2001 |title=FBI Goes After Bonsaikitten.com |url=https://www.wired.com/2001/02/fbi-goes-after-bonsaikitten-com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516071922/https://www.wired.com/2001/02/fbi-goes-after-bonsaikitten-com/ |archive-date=16 May 2018 |website=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref> After being dropped from eleven different servers,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Andrew |date=10 February 2001 |title=FBI Goes Bonsai Kitten Hunting |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/02/10/fbi_goes_bonsai_kitten_hunting/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810131404/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/02/10/fbi_goes_bonsai_kitten_hunting/ |archive-date=10 August 2017 |website=[[The Register]]}}</ref> the site was eventually acquired by Rotten, a move that its initial creator believed generated positive publicity for both himself and Soylent.<ref name=":1" /> | |||
=== Rotten Dead Pool === | === Rotten Dead Pool === | ||
In November 2003, the Rotten [[Dead Pool]] was launched.<ref> | In November 2003, the Rotten [[Dead Pool]] was launched.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ROTTEN DEAD POOL |url=http://deadpool.rotten.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051104015355/http://deadpool.rotten.com/ |archive-date=2005-11-04 |access-date=2025-12-09 |website=deadpool.rotten.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rotten Dead Pool - Rules |url=http://deadpool.rotten.com/rules.html# |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604051549/http://deadpool.rotten.com/rules.html# |archive-date=2009-06-04 |access-date=2025-12-09 |website=deadpool.rotten.com}}</ref> The Dead Pool was a community game in which players picked ten people they believed would die over the course of the next 12 months. A point was awarded to a player for each of their correct picks.<ref>{{citation |url = http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080201_143436_5540|title = Who's in your celebrity dead pool?|first = Kathleen|last = Kennedy|publisher = Maclean|date = February 1, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140112063126/http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080201_143436_5540|archive-date = 12 January 2014}}</ref> | ||
=== NNDB === | === NNDB === | ||
In mid-2002, Rotten.com launched [[NNDB]], an [[online database]]. NNDB is a steadily-updated website that contained information about thousands of notable people. The news section ceased updating on January 16, 2016,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nndb.com/ |title=NNDB: Tracking the entire world |access-date=2019-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014010549/https://nndb.com/ |archive-date=2019-10-14 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the celebrity deaths section last updated on December 31, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Died in 2021 |url=https://www.nndb.com/lists/386/000408159/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213233232/https://www.nndb.com/lists/386/000408159/ |archive-date=2022-02-13 |access-date=2022-03-11}}</ref> The website itself is still live. | In mid-2002, Rotten.com launched [[NNDB]], an [[online database]]. NNDB is a steadily-updated website that contained information about thousands of notable people. The news section ceased updating on January 16, 2016,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nndb.com/ |title=NNDB: Tracking the entire world |access-date=2019-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014010549/https://nndb.com/ |archive-date=2019-10-14 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the celebrity deaths section last updated on December 31, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Died in 2021 |url=https://www.nndb.com/lists/386/000408159/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213233232/https://www.nndb.com/lists/386/000408159/ |archive-date=2022-02-13 |access-date=2022-03-11}}</ref> The website itself is still live. | ||
== Publications == | == Publications == | ||
| Line 89: | Line 78: | ||
[[Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2017]] | [[Category:Internet properties disestablished in 2017]] | ||
[[Category:Online obscenity controversies]] | [[Category:Online obscenity controversies]] | ||
[[Category:American black comedy websites]] | |||
Latest revision as of 13:07, 11 December 2025
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Rotten.com was an American photographic sharing shock site, promoting morbid curiosity and death, active from 1996 to 2012, known for hosting macabre images of blood and gore, death and decomposition, and graphic violence. Founded in 1996, it was run by a developer known as Soylent Communications.[1] Site updates slowed in 2009, with the final update in February 2012.[2] The website's front page was last archived in February 2018.[3]
History
In late 1996, Soylent wrote a program that identified unregistered Internet domain names consisting of one word with a corresponding dictionary entry. "Rotten" was one of the unclaimed words, and Soylent went on to register Rotten.com in the same year.[4] Rotten.com presented itself as a bastion of online free speech, in an era when censorship rules in some countries had begun to restrict internet access.[2]
Rotten.com had a sparse layout; no thumbnail images were present next to links, and the links had one-line descriptions couched in morbid humor, often carrying no hints at their content. Content consisted of user-submitted images, with developers rarely posting content themselves. Though submissions were marked as "real", often they were misattributed; in one instance, a file submitted as "motorcycle.jpg" was given the description of depicting a motorbike crash, but the developers said it was probably an attempted shotgun suicide.[4] The website's logo was a personification of death painted by Jean Colombe for a 15th-century book of hours.[5]
Rotten.com received an alleged image of medical personnel recovering Princess Diana's body from a car crash, though this was later confirmed as fake. However, due to wide interest in the crash, the image was posted anyway, resulting in a large traffic spike.[6] The website was also one of the first to publish images of the September 11 jumpers from the Twin Towers, under the title "Swan Dive".[7][8]
Rotten.com also hosted autopsy videos and forensic case and crime scene videos taken by coroners and forensic services worldwide. Users could submit material via email or request that developers post images or videos that were not publicly available. Rotten.com was one of the earliest adult/graphic content websites to feature pornography (both fake and real), violence, gore, decomposition, and the promotion of death and morbid curiosity.
On June 24, 2005, Alberto Gonzales, then US Attorney General, ordered the removal of the "Fuck of the Month" section along with content from several ancillary sites.[9] In response, the site's moderator posted a removal notice criticizing supporters of both Gonzales and the George W. Bush administration for enabling censorship.[10]
Ancillary sites
The Daily Rotten
In late 1999, The Daily Rotten was started by Thomas E. Dell,[11] which published news stories on a daily basis, focusing mostly on terrorism, murder, suicide, abuse and excrement.
The Gaping Maw
In 2000, The Gaping Maw – an editorial/commentary archive – was founded. Most of the articles were written by cartoonist Tristan Farnon under the alias "Spigot" (from Leisure Town) or by other webmasters. The pages contained news, satire, and commentary on modern society. Along with the Rotten Library, this improved Rotten.com's standing in many communities since it introduced a humane and intellectual aspect to the website. On June 22, 2005, The Gaping Maw went dark to comply with new government bookkeeping requirements regarding the distribution of pornography, specifically governmental age-verification of models, under 18 U.S.C. § 2257. All articles were taken down, and the site's title page was replaced with a statement lamenting the passage of the laws, headed by the banner, "CENSORED BY US GOVERNMENT!".[10] In January 2006, The Gaping Maw came back online with some articles heavily edited.
Bonsai Kitten
Bonsai Kitten was a black comedy website started in December 2000 by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate student. It purported to grow and sell "bonsai kittens", cats that were kept in glass bottles from early ages, causing their bones to mold to the bottle's shape. The site drew ire from animal rights and welfare organizations, and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation two months after its creation.[12] After being dropped from eleven different servers,[13] the site was eventually acquired by Rotten, a move that its initial creator believed generated positive publicity for both himself and Soylent.[1]
Rotten Dead Pool
In November 2003, the Rotten Dead Pool was launched.[14][15] The Dead Pool was a community game in which players picked ten people they believed would die over the course of the next 12 months. A point was awarded to a player for each of their correct picks.[16]
NNDB
In mid-2002, Rotten.com launched NNDB, an online database. NNDB is a steadily-updated website that contained information about thousands of notable people. The news section ceased updating on January 16, 2016,[17] and the celebrity deaths section last updated on December 31, 2021.[18] The website itself is still live.
Publications
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". (pp. 194–204 consists of the Rotten Library entry for John Ashcroft)
References
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External links
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- Original Source Code/Mirror