This meme is true–those who grew up in the 1990s will recall Rotten.com .. the website grew in popularity fast back when the entire web was the dark web–and on the heels of the Faces of Death video that kids in the 80s that was real (well that one bit in the movie was..)
While you may not have surveyed the content on a regular basis on Rotten back in the day, it was one of the most popular ‘underground’ sites of the early internet..
One video that sticks out was the Bud Dwyer suicide video–he was a legislator from Pennsylvania and while under investigation, called a news conference in which he shot himself at the end. On live TV.
Rotten was also known well in for publishing photos of Chris Farley’s body after he was found dead–this and other ‘rotten’ moments were captured for some reason by the site.
While the content of Rotten was, well, rotten, there was something to be said for early pioneers online who did not allow a regulated internet to stop their creative HTMLing.. There were debates about the existence of the site, with many arguing that despite the awful nature of the site, it was a first amendment issue to permit it exist.. That was then.
For better or worse, the TMNT meme of people gathering around an old computer to see Rotten.com was just about true…
All in all, it was a crude and gross site. But at that time, things like this happened. It is tough to explain that to the current internet crowd that is cloaked in social media terms of services..
