# What website was YOUR FIRST for finding viral videos and the like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 18, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387 "2016-03-18T13:15:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/1 "2016-03-18T13:15:08Z")
Long before [https://www.youtube.com/](https://www.youtube.com/) there were other pacesetters who presented videos of the “lookee here” variety. I’m not certain which was actually first but among the first _for me_ was [Ebaum’s World](http://www.ebaumsworld.com/) which is still going strong. There were others in the pre-YouTube era, but I’ve lost track of them. What are some others worth investigating or just recalling as fun sites to visit in your “down time.” **This thread doesn’t have to be about just videos, but could include anything in the “early internet” period that’s nostalgic or memorable and worth sharing.** ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/2 "2016-03-18T14:50:52Z")
One of the first such sites I remember visiting was Mirsky’s Worst of the Web. It was a lot like Fark is today, but it pointed out ridiculous websites instead of just ridiculous news items. At that time, most web pages were personal rather than corporate, and the extra traffic that resulted from a mention on Mirsky’s was sometimes enough to bring a site down for a while. And of course rotten dot com and the stile project, which apparently is now a porn site. Used to have all kinds of off-the-wall pics and videos. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/3 "2016-03-18T15:13:48Z")
goofball .com newgrounds .com These were my first introduction to the wacky world of Flash animation videos and silly interactive time wasters. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/4 "2016-03-18T15:16:01Z")
Rotten and Stile, for sure. I remember one of the very first viral things I saw was that creepy dancing baby (“hooked on a feelin’”) But there was no way in hell anyone watched it streaming online - I’m sure my friend’s mom got it sent to her AOL account and we watched it on their computer. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/5 "2016-03-18T16:37:55Z")
If it’s a viral video, why would I need to expend any energy finding it? If it’s viral it will find ME, and I probably won’t even be able to avoid it! ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/6 "2016-03-18T21:59:25Z")
[College Humor](http://www.collegehumor.com/) Even back in the day, people complained about Ebaumsworld ripping off other people’s content. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/7 "2016-03-19T01:22:24Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > [College Humor](http://www.collegehumor.com/) > > Even back in the day, people complained about Ebaumsworld ripping off other people’s content. Do you know the sites that were ripped off then? Are any of them still around? ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/8 "2016-03-19T01:26:37Z")
I want to say Consumption Junction, but that doesn’t seem old enough. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/9 "2016-03-19T02:58:07Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Do you know the sites that were ripped off then? Are any of them still around? From [Wikipedia:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebaums_world#Copyright_infringement_and_controversy) > [@](#): > > eBaum’s World has garnered controversy in different Internet communities over the years due to numerous incidents of content being taken from other sites (such as YTMND, Something Awful, Albino Blacksheep, 4chan, Olde English, Weebl’s Stuff and Newgrounds) without attribution. Companies such as Viacom have claimed that the Baumans have infringed on their copyrights as well. […] As early as 2003, Eric Bauman had been threatened by legal action by corporations, citing unauthorized use of trademarked names or copyrighted material. One notable case involved the “soundboards” and the audio used within them. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2016, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-website-was-your-first-for-finding-viral-videos-and-the-like/749387/10 "2016-03-19T03:22:14Z")
Thanks for those details, **buddha\_david**.