Um... who wants to press the shiny red button?

Jason Tandro · Sat Feb 27, 2010 3:27 am

Okay while surfing I found this link:

DO NOT CLICK!!!

"http://xxx.lanl.gov/seek-and-destroy"

The page I found this on warned that you should NOT visit this site and NOT click on that link...

What does this do? Does anybody know?

Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 4:53 am Post subject:

From what I'm gathering, it doesn't like searchbots like googlebot or indexing bots... well, indexing a certain page, so that website is what the bot gets directed to and it shuts it down. So my guess is that it would screw with your internet and browser. I'm not stupid enough to click it, so I have no idea what it would actually do.

Edit: from here (safe to click

):

The lanl.arxiv.org math and scientific preprint service (formerly known as xxx.lanl.gov) has a strict policy against bots that ignore its robots.txt, Robots Beware. On that page, the have a link labelled with "Click here to initiate automated 'seek-and-destroy' against your site", which is forbidden by their robots.txt but presumably badly behaved robots will follow it, and reap the consequences. The question, what are the actual consequences? I have never had the guts to actually click on that link to see what it does. What can they be doing that is both effective and legal?

Yet One More Idiot · Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:01 am Post subject:

I actually input the address in my browser and visited it....there's nothing there, I just got a "404 file not found" page.

Kinda a let-down really.... :p

SoulBlazerFan · Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 9:24 am Post subject:

Yomi's Evil Twin Intern wrote:I actually input the address in my browser and visited it....there's nothing there, I just got a "404 file not found" page.

Kinda a let-down really.... :p

According to raini's post, it's been changed from .gov to a .org, so I surmise it wouldn't have worked anyway.

Still not going to risk it on my end.

Mantaray · Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 10:25 am Post subject:

It's just a page that stays open for the heck of it. Fun xD

Miss Prime Blue · Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:46 pm Post subject:

I want to press a red button, but only if it's super-shiny.

The shininess makes it moar fun.

Yet One More Idiot · Posted: Sat Feb 27, 2010 8:42 pm Post subject:

Miss Prime Blue wrote:I want to press a red button, but only if it's super-shiny.

The shininess makes it moar fun.

And it should also preferably have some sort of label or other sign saying something along the lines of "Do not press The Red Button under any circumstances".

Ocie Denver · Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 1:24 pm Post subject:

Deathpit: Oh, what is that shiny thing?

Deathpit pressed a shiny thing!

Computer voice: The planet's self-destruction is now start. Countdown time is 10 minutes and there is no abandon option. Any tampering with self-destructing device will set itself off earlier than default countdown time.

Deathpit: Oh crap. At least this planet is just a pile of stink' crap. Scotty, beam me up instantly!

*Deathpit disappeared into a thin air*

Yet One More Idiot · Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 2:30 pm Post subject:

Deathpit wrote:Deathpit: Oh, what is that shiny thing?

Deathpit pressed a shiny thing!

Computer voice: The planet's self-destruction is now start. Countdown time is 10 minutes and there is no abandon option. Any tampering with self-destructing device will set itself off earlier than default countdown time.

Deathpit: Oh crap. At least this planet is just a pile of stink' crap. Scotty, beam me up instantly!

*Deathpit disappeared into a thin air*

Deathpit's transporter malfunctioned!

O Noes!

Deathpit rematerialises on the planet's surface, split into a good copy and an evil copy of himself.

tay120n64 · Posted: Mon Mar 01, 2010 3:15 pm Post subject:

Yomi's Evil Twin Intern wrote:
Deathpit wrote:Deathpit: Oh, what is that shiny thing?

Deathpit pressed a shiny thing!

Computer voice: The planet's self-destruction is now start. Countdown time is 10 minutes and there is no abandon option. Any tampering with self-destructing device will set itself off earlier than default countdown time.

Deathpit: Oh crap. At least this planet is just a pile of stink' crap. Scotty, beam me up instantly!

*Deathpit disappeared into a thin air*
Deathpit's transporter malfunctioned!

O Noes!

Deathpit rematerialises on the planet's surface, split into a good copy and an evil copy of himself.

*The good copy withered away due to its near-non-existence.*