View source for Encyclopedia Dramatica

{{Imported}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{short description|Parody-themed wiki website}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox website
| name           = Encyclopedia Dramatica
| logo           = File:Encyclopedia Dramatica (logo).png
| logo_size      = 160px
| screenshot     = EncyclopediaDramatica.png
| caption        = Encyclopedia Dramatica's front page on August 6, 2019.
| collapsible    = yes
| url            = <nowiki>https://encyclopediadramatica.wiki</nowiki><br /><nowiki>https://encyclopediadramatica.online</nowiki>
| current_status = Online
| commercial     = No
| type           = Wiki, forums and parody
| registration   = Optional (required to edit pages: need to be promoted to EDitor status manually)
| language       = English
| owner          = .com: Sherrod DeGrippo & [[weev|Andrew Auernheimer]]<ref name=JNS /><br />
.ch: Ryan Cleary<br />
.se: Garrett Moore & Brian Zaiger<ref>[https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-zaiger-63902554 LinkedIn profile] - [https://www.scamexposure.com/scam-report/brian-richard-zaiger-srsvps-aka-encyclopedia-dramatica-c136387.html Article 1] - [https://www.dailydot.com/debug/encyclopedia-dramatica-copyright-lawsuit/ Article 2]</ref><br />
.rs: Conrad Rockenhaus & Brian Zaiger<br />
.wiki: Jacob Stellmach<ref name="Stellmach">{{Cite web|title=Encyclopedia Dramatica LLC :: Nevada (US)|url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_nv/E4292822020-1|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-16|website=[[OpenCorporates]]|via=[[Nevada Secretary of State]]'s Office}}</ref><br />
.online: Unknown<br />
| creator        = Sherrod DeGrippo<ref name="ed:about" /> & Andrew Auernheimer<ref name=JNS/><br />
| revenue        = Advertising and donations
| launch_date    = .com: {{Start date and age|2004|12|10}}<ref name="ed:about">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://edpublic.rockenhaus.com/ED:About |title=About Encyclopedia Dramatica |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Dramatica |access-date=January 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106065038/https://edpublic.rockenhaus.com/ED:About |archive-date=January 6, 2018 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all |quote=Encyclopædia Dramatica was created December 8-10th 2004 while girlvinyl was impatiently awaiting the delivery of her new [[iBook|ibook]] {{sic}}}}</ref><ref name="EDdotComWhois">{{cite web |website=[[DomainTools.com]] |url=http://whois.domaintools.com/encyclopediadramatica.com |title=EncyclopediaDramatica.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools |access-date=25 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106142104/http://whois.domaintools.com/encyclopediadramatica.com |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |url-status=dead |quote=Creation Date: 2004-12-08T18:01:34+00:00}} using [[WHOIS]] function</ref><br />
.ch: April 2011<br />
.se: March 2012<br />
.es: September 2013<br />
.rs: March 2017<br />
'''.wiki: January 2020'''<br />
.fyi: April 2020<br />
.xyz: September 2020<br />
'''.online: December 2020'''<br />
}}
'''Encyclopedia Dramatica''' ('''ED''';<ref name="mar09_2010_ninemsn_article">{{cite news |last=Paget |first=Henri |title=Interview: Encyclopedia Dramatica moderator | url=http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1025127/interview-with-top-encyclopedia-dramatica-moderator |work= ninemsn |date = March 9, 2010 |access-date=March 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001175054/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1025127/interview-with-top-encyclopedia-dramatica-moderator |archive-date=October 1, 2012 }}</ref> also spelled '''Encyclopædia Dramatica'''; or referred to otherwise by the standalone [[Ligature (typography)|ligature]] '''[[æ]]'''<ref group="note">In e.g. [[Danish language|Danish]], ''æ'' is a letter, but in archaic English spellings of words it is a ligature of "ae".</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Jardin|first=Xeni|author-link=Xeni Jardin|date=2012-06-02|title=Canadian politician: My internet spying bill would help us catch serial killers like Luka Magnotta|url=https://boingboing.net/2012/06/02/canadian-politician-my-intern.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-16|website=[[Boing Boing]]|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Merrill|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/23562|title=Tradition in the Twenty-First Century: Locating the Role of the Past in the Present|date=2013|publisher=Utah State University Press|isbn=978-0-87421-900-5|editor-last=Howard|editor-first=Robert Glenn|location=Logan|pages=143–144, 148|chapter=Curation and Tradition on Web 2.0|oclc=851156855|quote=æ: Encyclopedia Dramatica.|chapter-url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/41687270/Curation_and_Tradition.pdf}}</ref> prominently featured in its logo) is an [[online community]] centered around a [[wiki]]<ref name="West">{{cite journal|url=https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1731&context=cis_papers|date=January 2012|title=Trust in collaborative web applications|volume=28|issue=8|journal=Future Generation Computer Systems|last1=West|first1=Andrew G|last2=Chang|first2=Jian|last3=Venkatasubramanian|first3=Krishna|last4=Lee|first4=Insup|page=1245 (7)|doi=10.1016/j.future.2011.02.007}}</ref> that acts as a "troll archive".<ref name="schwartz"/> It first opened under the [[domain name]] '''encyclopediadramatica.com''' on December 10, 2004.<ref name="EDdotComWhois"/>

Its articles [[Parody|lampoon]] topics and [[current events]] related or relevant to contemporary [[internet culture]] in an encyclopedic fashion. It often serves as a repository of information and a means of discussion for the internet [[subculture]] known as [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]].<ref name=9news/> Encyclopedia Dramatica celebrates a [[Counterculture|subversive]] "[[Not safe for work|NSFW]]" "[[Troll (Internet)|trolling]] [[Internet culture|culture]]"<ref name="assclown" /><ref name="Citron2014">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/hatecri_cit_2014_00_5746|url-access=registration|title=Hate Crimes in Cyberspace|author=Danielle Keats Citron|date=22 September 2014|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-36829-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/hatecri_cit_2014_00_5746/page/54 54]-55|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> and documents [[internet memes]], events such as mass organized pranks—trolling events called "raids", large-scale failures of [[internet security]], and criticism by those within its subculture of other [[internet communities]] which are accused of [[self-censorship]] in order to (in their view cynically) garner positive coverage from traditional and [[Old media|established media outlets]]. The site also hosts numerous [[pornographic]] images, along with content that is "[[Misogyny|misogynistic]], [[racist]], and [[homophobic]]".<ref name="Click2019">{{cite book|author=Melissa Click|title=Anti-Fandom: Dislike and Hate in the Digital Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Er11DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA50|date=8 January 2019|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-1-4798-5104-1|pages=49–50|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

[[Julian Dibbell]], in ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'', described Encyclopedia Dramatica as the site "where the vast parallel universe of Anonymous in-jokes, catchphrases, and obsessions is lovingly annotated, and you will discover an elaborate trolling culture: [[Flaming (Internet)|flamingly]] [[Racism|racist]], [[homophobia|homophobic]] and [[Misogyny|misogynistic]] content lurks throughout, all of it calculated to offend."<ref name="assclown">{{citation
 |last         = Dibbell
 |first        = Julian
 |title        = The Assclown Offensive: How to Enrage the Church of Scientology
 |url          = https://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/17-10/mf_chanology?currentPage=all
 |publisher    = Wired Magazine
 |access-date   = November 27, 2009
 |date         = September 21, 2009
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20091207205117/http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/17-10/mf_chanology?currentPage=all
 |archive-date = December 7, 2009
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> The site is also known for its pervasive [[clickbait]] advertisements, in addition to its having almost none of the [[Netiquete|rules]] expected on other similar communities. [[Ninemsn]] described Encyclopedia Dramatica as:

<blockquote>[[Wikipedia]]'s evil twin. It's a site where almost every article is biased, offensive, unsourced, and without the faintest trace of [[political correctness]]. A search through its archives will reveal animated images of people committing suicide, articles glorifying extreme racism and sexism, and a seemingly endless supply of twisted, shocking views on just about every major human tragedy in [[history]].<ref name="mar09_2010_ninemsn_article" /></blockquote>

On April 14, 2011, the original URL of the site was redirected to a new website named "'''Oh Internet'''" that bore little resemblance to Encyclopedia Dramatica. Parts of the ED community harshly criticized the changes.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite news|last=Popkin|first=Helen A.S.|title=Notorious NSFW website cleans up its act|url=http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/18/6489864-notorious-nsfw-website-cleans-up-its-act|newspaper=Digital Life on MSNBC|date=April 18, 2011|access-date=April 19, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101152109/http://digitallife.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/18/6489864-notorious-nsfw-website-cleans-up-its-act|archive-date=November 1, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> On the night of the Encyclopedia Dramatica shutdown, regular ED visitors bombarded the 'Oh Internet' [[Facebook]] wall with hate messages.<ref name="gos">{{cite web | url=http://www.geekosystem.com/encyclopedia-dramatica-ohinternet/ | first=Robert | last=Quigley | title=Encyclopedia Dramatica Becomes OhInternet | work=Geekosystem | date=April 15, 2011 | access-date=April 15, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110417011425/http://www.geekosystem.com/encyclopedia-dramatica-ohinternet/ | archive-date=April 17, 2011 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all}}</ref> The Web Ecology Project published a downloadable archive of Encyclopedia Dramatica content's the next day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.webecologyproject.org/2011/04/archiving-internet-subculture-encyclopedia-dramatica/ |title=Archiving Internet Subculture: Encyclopedia Dramatica |first=Alex |last=Leavitt |date=April 15, 2011 |work=Web Ecology Project |access-date=September 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020124102/http://www.webecologyproject.org/2011/04/archiving-internet-subculture-encyclopedia-dramatica/ |archive-date=October 20, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=155}} Besides this archive, [[Fan (person)|fan]]-made [[torrent file|torrents]] and several [[mirror website|mirrors]] of the original site were subsequently generated.<ref name="digitaltrends">{{cite web|url=http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/encyclopedia-dramatica-evolving/|title=What? Encyclopedia Dramatica is evolving!|first=Jeff|last=Hughes|publisher=Digital Trends|date=April 19, 2011|access-date=April 26, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426135924/http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/encyclopedia-dramatica-evolving/|archive-date=April 26, 2011|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Based on these archives, the site has repeatedly gone offline and come back under new domain names. As of April 2021, versions of the website are hosted at both '''encyclopediadramatica.online''' and '''encyclopediadramatica.wiki'''. Between 2013 and 2019, the website was hosted under various [[top level domains]]: [[.rs]], [[.ch]], [[.es]], and [[.se]],<ref name=":0">{{Citation|last=Mitchell|first=Liam|title="Because none of us are as cruel as all of us": Anonymity and Subjectivation|date=24 April 2013|url=https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ctheory/article/download/14794/5668?inline=1#_edn1|work=[[CTheory]]|volume=Theory Beyond the Codes|editor-last=Kroker|editor-first=Arthur|type=eJournal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701234006/http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=720|publisher=Pacific Centre for Technology and Culture|id=tbc051|access-date=16 April 2021|archive-date=1 July 2013|editor2-last=Kroker|editor2-first=Marilouise}}</ref> with each domain bearing the [[second-level domain]] "encyclopediadramatica".<ref name="thedailydot1" /><ref name="gawkerinterview" />

==History==
===DeGrippo (.com)===
[[File:Encyclopedia Dramatica historical logo (2005–2010).png|thumb|right|Encyclopedia Dramatica's historical logo (2005–2010))]]
Encyclopedia Dramatica was founded in 2004 by Sherrod DeGrippo, also known by the online [[pseudonym]] "Girlvinyl".<ref name="ed:about" /><ref name="schwartz">{{cite news |last= Schwartz |first= Mattathias |title= Malwebolence |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?pagewanted=all |work= The New York Times Magazine |date= August 3, 2008 |access-date= August 1, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090418133749/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date= April 18, 2009 |url-status= live |df= mdy-all }}</ref> DeGrippo joined [[LiveJournal]] in 2000 and became enthralled by the behavior of some of its members:

<blockquote>People were accessible and it was bidirectional. Voyeurs and exhibitionists were able to interact in a way that was normalized. That’s why I started ED. It was mostly just personalities that were just so nuts and fascinating.{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=137–139}}</blockquote>

She became involved in the LJdrama community, which covered stories on LiveJournal gossip. When the community was banned from LiveJournal, they created their own website. In 2002, two LiveJournal users, Joshua Williams (aka mediacrat) and Andrewpants, became intimately involved with each other. After they broke off their relationship, LJdrama decided to document the resulting drama. Unflattering photographs of Williams were spread on the web, and Williams considered this to be harassment. He threatened legal action, traveled to Portland, Oregon, in order to speak to LiveJournal's abuse team, and reported the alleged harassment to a local TV news station.{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=137-139}} DeGrippo created Encyclopedia Dramatica in order to "house some information from livejournal and some drama about hackers [[Theo de Raadt|Theo DeRaadt]] and Darren Reed."<ref name="gawkerinterview">{{cite web |last=Read |first=Max |title=What Happened to Encyclopedia Dramatica? |url=http://gawker.com/5792738/what-happened-to-encyclopedia-dramatica |publisher=Gawker |date=April 16, 2011 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514145854/http://gawker.com/5792738/what-happened-to-encyclopedia-dramatica |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref>

Encyclopedia Dramatica characterized itself as being "In the spirit of [[Ambrose Bierce]]'s ''[[The Devil's Dictionary]]''."<ref name="ed:about" /> ''[[The New York Times Magazine]]'' recognized the wiki as "an online compendium of troll humor and troll lore"<ref name="schwartz" /> that it labeled a "troll archive".<ref name="schwartz" /> ''[[C't]]'', a European magazine for [[Information technology|IT]] professionals, noted the site's role in introducing newcomers to the culture of [[4chan#/b/ imageboard|4chan's /b/]], a notorious Internet imageboard.<ref name="himmelein" /> Encyclopedia Dramatica defines trolling in terms of doing things "for the ''[[lulz]]''" (for laughs),<ref name="tsosis" /> a phrase that it qualifies as "a catchall explanation for any trolling you do."<ref name="tsosis">{{citation
 |last         = Tsotsis
 |first        = Alexia
 |title        = My Date With Anonymous: A Rare Interview With the Elusive Internet Troublemakers
 |url          = http://www.laweekly.com/2009-02-05/columns/my-date-with-anonymous-a-rare-interview-with-the-illusive-internet-troublemakers/
 |periodical   = LA Weekly
 |access-date   = August 11, 2009
 |date         = February 4, 2009
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090612031524/http://www.laweekly.com/2009-02-05/columns/my-date-with-anonymous-a-rare-interview-with-the-illusive-internet-troublemakers/
 |archive-date = June 12, 2009
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref>

The targets of this trolling come from "every pocket of the Web",<ref name="dibbell">{{citation
 |last         = Dibbell
 |first        = Julian
 |date         = January 18, 2008
 |access-date   = August 11, 2009
 |title        = Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World
 |periodical   = Wired
 |volume = 16
 |issue        = 2
 |url          = https://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090512194229/http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all
 |archive-date = May 12, 2009
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> to include not only the non-[[wikt:corporeal|corporeal]] aspects of [[List of Internet phenomena|Internet phenomena]], (e.g. online catchphrases, fan pages, forums, and [[Viral phenomenon|viral phenomena]]), but also real people (e.g. amateur celebrities, identifiable [[internet drama]] participants and even Encyclopedia Dramatica's own forum members).<ref name="dibbell" /><ref name="dee" /> These are derided in a manner described variously as "coarse", "offensive", "obscene",<ref name="mitchell" /><ref>{{citation
| author = Staff Writer<!-- *assumed*. Citation was incomplete -->
| title = 2 Do: Monday, December 26
| periodical = Chicago Tribune RedEye Edition
| page = 2
| date = December 16, 2005}}.</ref> "irreverent, obtuse, [[political correctness|politically incorrect]]",<ref name="davies" /> "crude but hilarious",<ref name="dibbell" /> and "crude and abusive".<ref name="peckham">{{citation
 |first        = Charles H.
 |last         = Peckham
 |title        = Encyclopedia Dramatica
 |url          = http://www.newsreview.com/chico/encyclopedia-dramatica/content?oid=620760
 |periodical   = Chico News & Review
 |date         = February 7, 2008
 |access-date   = May 16, 2008
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141206010824/http://www.newsreview.com/chico/encyclopedia-dramatica/content?oid=620760
 |archive-date = December 6, 2014
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> The material is presented to appear comprehensive, with extensive use of [[shock value|shock-value]] prose, drawings, photographs, and the like. The emotional responses are then added to the articles, often in similarly derogatory or inflammatory manner, with the purpose of provoking [[further]] emotional response. Adherents of the practice assert that visitors to the website "shouldn't take anything said on Dramatica seriously."<ref name="davies" />

Articles at Encyclopedia Dramatica are particularly critical of [[MySpace]]<ref name="mitchell">{{citation
| last = Mitchell | first = John
| title = Megabits and Pieces: The Latest Teen Hangout
| periodical = North Adams Transcript
| date = May 20, 2006}}.</ref> as well as users on [[YouTube]], LiveJournal, [[DeviantART]], [[Tumblr]], and Wikipedia. In ''The New York Times Magazine'', journalist Jonathan Dee described it as a "[[wikt:snarky|snarky]] Wikipedia anti-fansite".<ref name="dee">{{citation
 |first        = Jonathan
 |last         = Dee
 |title        = All the News That's Fit to Print Out
 |url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/magazine/01WIKIPEDIA-t.html?pagewanted=5
 |periodical   = The New York Times Magazine
 |page         = 5
 |access-date   = August 11, 2009
 |date         = July 1, 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141206011023/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/01/magazine/01WIKIPEDIA-t.html?pagewanted=5
 |archive-date = December 6, 2014
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> Shaun Davies of Australia's ''[[Nine Network]]'' called it "Wikipedia's bastard child, a compendium of internet trends and culture which lampoons every subject it touches."<ref name="davies">{{citation
 |url          = http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/459249/critics-point-finger-at-satirical-website
 |title        = Critics point finger at satirical website
 |periodical   = 9-News
 |last         = Davies
 |first        = Shaun
 |access-date   = August 11, 2009
 |date         = May 8, 2008
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605124923/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/459249/critics-point-finger-at-satirical-website
 |archive-date = June 5, 2011
 |url-status     = dead
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> The site "is run like Wikipedia, but its style is the opposite; most of its information is biased and opinionated, not to mention racist, homophobic, and spiteful, but on the upside its snide attitude makes it spot-on about most Internet memes it covers."<ref name="douglas">{{citation
 |url=http://gawker.com/346385/what-the-hell-are-4chan-ed-something-awful-and-b
 |title=What The Hell Are 4chan, ED, Something Awful, And 'b'?
 |periodical=ValleyWag
 |access-date=August 25, 2008
 |last=Douglas
 |first=Nick
 |date=January 18, 2008
 |publisher=gawker.com
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724081826/http://gawker.com/346385/what-the-hell-are-4chan-ed-something-awful-and-b
 |archive-date=July 24, 2008
 |df=mdy
}}.</ref> This coverage of [[Internet jargon]] and memes had been acknowledged in the ''[[New Statesman]]'',<ref>{{citation
 |url          = http://www.newstatesman.com/scitech/2008/06/cat-pidgin-language-hai
 |title        = A lesson in hai culture
 |last         = Hogge
 |first        = Betty
 |date         = June 5, 2008
 |access-date   = June 11, 2008
 |periodical   = The New Statesman
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080612165551/http://www.newstatesman.com/scitech/2008/06/cat-pidgin-language-hai
 |archive-date = June 12, 2008
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> on [[Language Log]],<ref>{{citation
 |url          = http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004508.html
 |contribution = Lol-lexicography
 |title        = Language Log
 |access-date   = August 25, 2008
 |last         = Zimmer
 |first        = Benjamin
 |date         = May 18, 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080610060846/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/004508.html
 |archive-date = June 10, 2008
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> in ''[[C't]]'' magazine,<ref name="himmelein">{{citation
| last = Himmelein
| first = Gerald
| title = Das Trollparadies
| periodical = C't
| pages = 100–101
| date = February 28, 2008}} [http://epicwins.blogspot.com/2008/03/trolls-paradise.html online copy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529152810/http://epicwins.blogspot.com/2008/03/trolls-paradise.html |date=May 29, 2010 }}.</ref> and in [[Wired (magazine)|''Wired'']] magazine.<ref name="dibbell" />

According to Sherrod DeGrippo,

<blockquote>As long as something wasn’t submitted as illegal or an abuse complaint, I didn’t even see it. Wikis are something that you either closely, closely monitor and manage, or you just let it go.{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=140}}</blockquote>

Predating sites like the former [[Cheezburger Network]] (now known as [[Know Your Meme]]) by several years, Encyclopedia Dramatica was the first encyclopedia dedicated to the memes and "mean-spirited trolling"{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=¶12.30}} of 4chan culture.{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=¶12.11|ps=For several years, Encyclopedia Dramatica was the only place to go to read about 4chan culture.}}

===2010 ownership by Evers===
In March 2010, a "Joseph Evers" was recognized as the owner by ABC News, reporting on the site being blacklisted by the [[Australian Communications and Media Authority]].<ref>{{cite news |work=ABC |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-03-18/dramatica-owner-refuses-to-remove-racist-content/370030 |date=18 March 2010 |title=Dramatica owner refuses to remove 'racist' content |quote=The site's owner, Joseph Evers, has blogged that Encyclopedia Dramatica will "never be censored in any way". Mr Evers says the site's owners "laughed" when they discovered they were on the Australian Communications and Media Authority's list of websites to be banned under the Government's planned internet filter.}}</ref>

The [[Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission]] (aka [[HREOC]]) contacted Evers threatening him with charges under Australian law.<ref name=9news>
{{cite news |work=[[9news]] |url=https://www.9news.com.au/technology/dramatica-owner-could-face-charges/f62bc3d3-cfa2-4a4c-a856-301371817b7a |title=Dramatica owner could face charges |date=16 March 2010}}<br>
{{citation
| title = Dramatica owner could face charges
| publisher = ninemsn
| first = Henri
| last = Paget
| url = http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1028037/encyclopedia-dramatica-owner-could-face-charges
| date = March 16, 2010
| access-date = March 16, 2010
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100322191406/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/technology/1028037/encyclopedia-dramatica-owner-could-face-charges
| archive-date=March 22, 2010 }}.</ref>

On December 8, 2010, Encyclopedia Dramatica deleted its article on [[Operation Payback]].<ref name="gawkernoose">{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5709789/noose-closes-around-pro+wikileaks-vigilantes |title=Noose Closes Around Pro-Wikileaks Vigilantes |first=Ryan |last=Tate |date=December 8, 2010 |work=Gawker |access-date=July 30, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812065510/http://gawker.com/5709789/noose-closes-around-pro+wikileaks-vigilantes |archive-date=August 12, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref> On the same day, Facebook deleted its Operation Payback page, and Twitter suspended Operation Payback's account.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeisaac/2010/12/08/facebook-and-twitter-suspend-operation-payback-accounts/ |title=Facebook and Twitter Suspend Operation Payback Accounts |first=Mike |last=Isaac |date=December 8, 2010 |work=Forbes |access-date=July 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814131955/http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeisaac/2010/12/08/facebook-and-twitter-suspend-operation-payback-accounts/ |archive-date=August 14, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> An anonymous source told [[Gawker]] that the Encyclopedia Dramatica article was deleted as the result of court orders.<ref name="gawkernoose" />

In June 2020 it was reported by [[Canary Mission]] that [[Andrew "weev" Auernheimer]] is both the "{{Mono|weev}}" who "[[Zoombombed]]" a March 2020 chat for Jewish teens, and the "Joseph Evers" who owned and co-created the 2010 instance of ED and who has been wanted by the [[Australian Human Rights Commission]] since.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 March 2021|title=Andrew Auernheimer|url=https://canarymission.org/individual/Andrew_Auernheimer|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-16|website=[[Canary Mission]]}}</ref><ref name="JNS">{{cite news|date=8 June 2020|title=New evidence links white supremacist 'Zoombomber' to man wanted in Australia|work=Jewish News Syndicate|url=https://www.jns.org/australia-commission-aims-to-ban-white-supremacist-who-disrupted-teen-webinar/|quote=New evidence uncovered by the Canary Mission, an anti-Semitism watchdog site, has revealed that Auernhaimer has another pseudonym, “Joseph Evers,” who was listed as the owner and creator of a racist website and Wikipedia parody site called Encyclopedia Dramatica created in 2010. Since 2010, Evers has been wanted by Australia’s Human Rights Commission for violating the country’s Racial Discrimination Act in connection to his creation of the racist website.}}</ref>

===2011 establishment of Oh Internet===
{{anchor|ohinternet}}<!-- Non-changing non-breaking anchor for external link -->
[[File:Oh Internet homepage screenshot.png|thumb|Oh Internet main page]]

DeGrippo reportedly "came to hate" Encyclopedia Dramatica.{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=142}} She had hoped that ED would return to its roots and focus on LiveJournal drama.{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=141}} Furthermore, according to her, Encyclopedia Dramatica never turned a profit during the time she owned it due to its content which put off advertisers.{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=¶12.31}}

On April 14, 2011, the [[URL]] encyclopediadramatica.com was redirected to "Oh Internet",<ref name="msnbc" /> an entirely different [[safe-for-work]] website that DeGrippo had created.<ref name="msnbc" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inquisitr.com/104161/encyclopedia-dramatica-gone-for-good/ |title=Encyclopedia Dramatica gone for good |first=Kim |last=LaCapria |date=April 15, 2011 |work=The Inquisitr |access-date=May 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110419190246/http://www.inquisitr.com/104161/encyclopedia-dramatica-gone-for-good/ |archive-date=April 19, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The name "Oh Internet" is meant to convey "Oh, Internet, you are so crazy!"{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=142}} DeGrippo stated that "Shock for shock's sake is old at this point [...] ." Some regular users of Encyclopedia Dramatica were displeased by the change and attacked the website's official [[Facebook]] fan page<ref name="gos" /> with "hate messages and pornography".<ref name="msnbc" />

In a question and answer session at the [[ROFLCon]] summit in October 2011, DeGrippo was asked why Encyclopedia Dramatica was closed and replaced with Oh Internet. She replied: "We were unable to stop the degradation of the content. It just kept getting longer and longer and dumber and dumber and less and less coherent over time."<ref>{{cite AV media | date =November 11, 2011 | title =ROFLCon Summit – Internet Underground – Part 2 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfQBN9oGAxI | access-date = November 16, 2011 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160504061239/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfQBN9oGAxI| time = 1:47  | archive-date =May 4, 2016 | publisher = ROFLCONsummit | via = [[YouTube]]}} {{Dead link|date=February 2020}}</ref> She also explained why she had not released the site as an archive, saying that she "didn't want to", and suggesting that this would have made her personally responsible for any [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act|DMCA]] and privacy violations that it contained.<ref>{{cite AV media | date =November 11, 2011 | title =ROFLCon Summit – Internet Underground – Part 3 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhjtocipcRU | access-date = November 16, 2011 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160522085723/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhjtocipcRU | archive-date =May 22, 2016 | publisher = ROFLCONsummit | time =4:41 | via = [[YouTube]]}} {{Dead link|date=February 2020}}</ref> She also stated that hosting Encyclopedia Dramatica caused her to have troubles involving the [[FBI]].<ref>{{cite AV media | date =November 11, 2011 | title =ROFLCon Summit – Internet Underground – Part 4 | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R_xl2onS24 | access-date = February 18, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120811141330/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R_xl2onS24 | archive-date =August 11, 2012 | publisher = ROFLCONsummit | time = 0:31  | via = [[YouTube]]}} {{Dead link|date=February 2020}}</ref>

===Cleary (.ch)===
Since April 2011<ref>https://archive.is/WkQrd/</ref> Ryan Cleary hosted a [[Fork (software development)|fork]] of Encyclopedia Dramatica at encyclopediadramatica.ch.<ref name="thedailydot1" /><ref name="crncomau">{{cite news |title=Anonymous DDoSed by mutineer |first=Darren |last=Pauli |url=http://www.crn.com.au/News/257022,anonymous-ddosed-by-mutineer.aspx |newspaper=[[CRN Magazine]] |date=May 10, 2011 |access-date=June 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513083151/http://www.crn.com.au/News/257022,anonymous-ddosed-by-mutineer.aspx |archive-date=May 13, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Members of this project gathered text and images from [[Google cache|Google's web cache]] and other backups, and a script was created to upload cached information.<ref name="thedailydot1" /> On June 21, 2011, [[Scotland Yard]] arrested Ryan Cleary based on alleged connections to online attacks on [[Sony]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13859868 |title=Teenager arrested on suspicion of hacking |date=July 21, 2011 |work=BBC News |access-date=July 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726141348/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13859868 |archive-date=July 26, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="cnn1">{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-22/world/uk.sony.hack.arrest_1_group-tweeted-denial-of-service-attacks-hacker |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119093823/http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-22/world/uk.sony.hack.arrest_1_group-tweeted-denial-of-service-attacks-hacker |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |title=Hacker group LulzSec downplays arrest, claims Brazil attack |first=Richard Allen |last=Greene |date=June 22, 2011 |work=CNN |access-date=February 4, 2012 }}</ref> The arrest temporarily disrupted operation of the wiki, but other members were able to resume Cleary's duties.<ref name="thedailydot1" />

===Moore (.se)===
Garrett E. Moore later became the fork's owner.<ref name="thedailydot1" /> Moore reported difficulties in securing a host for the website.<ref name="thedailydot1" /><ref name="thedailydot2" />

On March 19, 2012, encyclopediadramatica.ch was shut down for a short time due to a "[[Domain Name System|DNS]] block". On March 21, 2012, the site moved to a Swedish domain name, at encyclopediadramatica.se, instead of a domain in Switzerland as before. The site's Facebook account later addressed the block, stating that it was because "we didn't keep up our end of the nic.ch user agreement contract stating that we had to keep a mailing address and phone number in Switzerland."<ref>{{cite news |title=Encyclopedia Dramatica suffers minor outage |author=Fruzsina Eördögh |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/encyclopedia-dramatica-suffers-minor-outage/ |newspaper=[[The Daily Dot]] |date=March 21, 2012 |access-date=March 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225025001/http://www.dailydot.com/news/encyclopedia-dramatica-suffers-minor-outage/ |archive-date=February 25, 2013 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Moore told an interviewer for ''[[The Daily Dot]]'' in July 2011:
<blockquote>People take themselves too seriously, they can't laugh at anything. We make fun of everything. I make fun of skinny white computer nerds, but I am one.<ref name="thedailydot1">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailydot.com/culture/encyclopedia-dramatica-returns/ |title=Encyclopedia Dramatica's seething satire is back |first=Fruzsina |last=Eordogh |date=July 26, 2011 |work=The Daily Dot |access-date=July 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425034336/http://www.dailydot.com/culture/encyclopedia-dramatica-returns/ |archive-date=April 25, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref></blockquote>

When asked about "abusive content", Moore stated that he removes it when he sees it, then further explained:
<blockquote>I'm not going to leave a 14-year-old girl's address up on a page cause some dipshit got mad at her and made an article. But if you dress up like a fox and wear diapers and then take pictures of it? That's fair game, sir.<ref name="thedailydot1" /></blockquote>

In a September 2011interview with ''The Daily Dot'', Moore defended his community's belief in [[free speech]].<ref name="thedailydot2">{{cite web |url=http://www.dailydot.com/news/encyclopedia-dramatica-outage/ |title=Encyclopedia Dramatica is back up but still experiencing drama |first=Fruzsina |last=Eordogh |date=September 6, 2011 |work=The Daily Dot |access-date=September 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331085427/http://www.dailydot.com/news/encyclopedia-dramatica-outage/ |archive-date=March 31, 2012 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

===Gizmo games===
In January 2013, a video game created by user "gizmo01942" came to the attention of the media. The game, ''Bullet to the Head of the NRA'', was controversial because the player could take aim and shoot at members of the [[National Rifle Association]].<ref name="Kotaku BTHOTNRA">{{cite web|last=Schreier|first=Jason|url=http://kotaku.com/5976372/someone-made-a-game-in-which-you-shoot-the-head-of-the-nra|title=Someone Made A Game In Which You Shoot The Head Of The NRA|website=[[Kotaku]]|date=January 16, 2013|access-date=October 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160824080711/http://kotaku.com/5976372/someone-made-a-game-in-which-you-shoot-the-head-of-the-nra|archive-date=August 24, 2016|url-status=live|df=mdy-all |quote=A member of the Encyclopedia Dramatica forums has created a game called Bullet to the Head of the NRA, a rudimentary first-person shooter that lets you shoot NRA boss Wayne LaPierre. Released yesterday, Bullet to the Head of the NRA seems to have been designed just to piss people off. "Share this everywhere, especially gun-nut and anti-game websites," creator and forum user gizmo01942 writes. "Also see if you can't send it in to the NRA somehow, like through the feedback on their website or something." ED forum user gizmo01942 is also developing a game based on the Sandy Hook shooting, he says, in which you'd go into the Connecticut school and shoot kids. This NRA game is a demo, he writes. It will be a bonus level in the Sandy Hook shooter.}}</ref> In February 2015, ''Muhammad Sex Simulator 2015'', another video game by the same user, attracted further controversy because of the recent [[Charlie Hebdo shooting|''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting]].<ref name="Vice MSS2015">{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/an-idiot-made-a-game-called-muhammad-sex-simulator|title=An Idiot Made a Game Called 'Muhammad Sex Simulator|last=Akers|first=Royce|website=vice.com|location=United Kingdom|date=February 9, 2015|access-date=April 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418054210/http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/an-idiot-made-a-game-called-muhammad-sex-simulator|archive-date=April 18, 2015|url-status=live|df=mdy-all |quote=Is Muhammad Sex Simulator 2015 the same sort of "satire"? In a statement on internet forum Encyclopedia Dramatica, gizmo01942 took responsibility for the game}}</ref>

===2013–2020 revivals (.es, .rs, .se)===
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2021}}

* In September 2013, the site changed its domain to a [[.es|Spanish domain name]], encyclopediadramatica.es.{{fact|date=December 2020}}

* In October 2014, the site returned to the [[.se]] domain.{{fact|date=December 2020}}

* In January 2018, the site changed its domain to a [[.rs|Serbian domain name]], encyclopediadramatica.rs.{{fact|date=December 2020}}

*In October 2019,{{when|date=December 2020}} the official Twitter page{{where|date=December 2020}}{{According to whom|date=April 2021}} announced that the site had once again returned to the .se domain.{{fact|date=December 2020}}

*In December 2020, the site changed it's domain to a [[.online| generic domain name]] {{fact|date=December 2020}}
==Reception==
The website received mainstream media attention after Jason Fortuny used Encyclopedia Dramatica to post photographs, e-mails and phone numbers from 176 responses to a [[Craigslist]] advertisement he posted in 2006, in which he posed as a woman seeking sexual encounters with dominant men.<ref name="neva">{{citation
 |first        = Neva
 |last         = Chonin
 |title        = Sex and the City
 |url          = http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Sex-and-the-City-2551618.php
 |periodical   = San Francisco Chronicle
 |page         = 20
 |access-date   = August 11, 2009
 |date         = September 17, 2006
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20120918192604/http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Sex-and-the-City-2551618.php
 |archive-date = September 18, 2012
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref><ref name="schwartz" /><!-- Hopelessly incomplete citation: {{cite news | title = Privacy | work = Warren's Washington Internet Daily | date = September 12, 2006}}</ref>--> The incident was addressed in a [[blog]] hosted at ''[[Wired News]]'', where the [[blog]]ger proposes that Encyclopedia Dramatica may be the "world's lamest wiki".<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Wired.com |url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2006/09/craigslist/ |title=Craigslist |date=September 8, 2006 |access-date=January 12, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111042246/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2006/09/craigslist |archive-date=January 11, 2010 |df=mdy }}</ref>

In 2006, "a well-known band of trolls"<ref name="schwartz" /> emailed Encyclopedia Dramatica's creator, DeGrippo, demanding edits to the protected (i.e. locked) article describing them. After she refused to do so, the trolls ordered taxis, pizzas, escort services and sent death threats and threats of rape to DeGrippo's apartment.<ref name="schwartz" />

Encyclopedia Dramatica became a "favourite target for critics, who accuse Anonymous of propagating hate,"<ref name="davies" /> for allowing alleged members of the group to sometimes use the website as a [[Platformism|platform]]. Through this association, Encyclopedia Dramatica received incidental coverage when actions by members of Anonymous led to the arrest of an alleged pedophile,<ref>{{citation
 |last         = Kim
 |first        = Gus
 |title        = Anonymous operation leads to arrest of alleged pedophile
 |url          = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHohvluf3mc
 |periodical   = Global Television Network News
 |date         = July 12, 2007
 |access-date   = May 14, 2011
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110222075802/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHohvluf3mc
 |archive-date = February 22, 2011
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> when they demonstrated against [[Scientology]] in London;<ref name="whipple">{{citation
| last = Whipple | first = Tom
| title = Scientology: the Anonymous protestors
| url = http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article4173635.ece
| periodical = The Times
| access-date= May 14, 2011
| date = June 20, 2008
| location=London
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615182345/http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article4173635.ece
|archive-date=June 15, 2011 }}.</ref><ref>{{citation
 |last         = Lee
 |first        = Joe
 |date         = February 11, 2008
 |title        = Anonymous Protests Outside Scientology Sites
 |url          = http://londonist.com/2008/02/they_came_they.php
 |periodical   = Londonist
 |access-date   = August 25, 2008
 |publisher    = londonist.com
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080401054452/http://londonist.com/2008/02/they_came_they.php
 |archive-date = April 1, 2008
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> when a member of the group broke into the e-mail account of former [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] vice-presidential nominee [[Sarah Palin]],<ref name="singel">{{citation
 |last         = Singel
 |first        = Ryan <!--| author-link = Ryan Singel-->
 |date         = September 19, 2008
 |title        = Palin Hacker Group's All-Time Greatest Hits
 |url          = https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/09/palin-hacker-gr/
 |periodical   = Wired
 |access-date   = August 25, 2008
 |publisher    = blog.wired.com
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090502034437/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/09/palin-hacker-gr
 |archive-date = May 2, 2009
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> and when a member of Anonymous claimed credit for an attack on the virtual ''[[Second Life]]'' headquarters of former presidential candidate [[John Edwards]].<ref name="cassel">{{citation
| last = Cabron | first = Lou
| date = March 8, 2007
| title = John Edwards' Virtual Attackers Unmasked
| url = http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/48989/
| periodical = AlterNet
| access-date = May 14, 2011
| publisher = alternet.org
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629141202/http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/48989/
| archive-date = June 29, 2011}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/03/05/john-edwards-virtual-attackers-unmasked/ |title=John Edwards' Virtual Attackers Unmasked |first=Lou |last=Cabron |date=March 5, 2007 |publisher=10 Zen Monkeys |access-date=November 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120050942/http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2007/03/05/john-edwards-virtual-attackers-unmasked/ |archive-date=November 20, 2011 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The convergence of Encyclopedia Dramatica with the anti-Scientology campaign of [[Project Chanology]] was noted<!--(Project Chanology "mention" begins approximately 27:45 minutes into the presentation)--> by technology journalist Julian Dibbell.<ref>{{citation
 |first       = Julian
 |last        = Dibbell
 |date        = July 11, 2008
 |chapter     = Sympathy for the Griefer: MOOrape, Lulz Cubes, and Other Lessons From the First 2 Decades of Online Sociopathy
 |title       = GLS Conference 4.0
 |publisher   = Games, Learning and Society Group
 |location    = Madison, Wisconsin
 |chapter-url         = http://hosted4.mediasite.com/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=9d1cf257-52ff-4704-9cb5-37de2ecca35b
 |access-date  = November 7, 2008
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714064724/http://hosted4.mediasite.com/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=9d1cf257-52ff-4704-9cb5-37de2ecca35b
 |archive-date = July 14, 2011
 |df          = mdy-all
}}.</ref>

The celebration and archival of the "raids" organized on [[/b/]] on Encyclopedia Dramatica, which acted as a "troll [[hall of fame]]" when used this way,{{sfn|Stryker|2011|p=¶12.28}} has been seen by some scholars, among them Liam Mitchell of [[Trent University]], as acting as a way to assuage the guilt that trolls feel for harming their victims and being confronted with evidence of this harm. By celebrating on Encyclopedia Dramatica, and archiving that which would make an individual member guilty, trolls collectively engage in a type of [[mob mentality]] where the idea that "none of us is as cruel as all of us" minimizes the actions they take individually: "[[Crowd psychology|One cannot reason with a multitude]], let alone [[Appeal to emotion|appeal to its conscience]]. If any of its members are not susceptible to [[reason]] or [[conscience]]{{Em dash}}the province of the [[ego ideal]], and therefore of the divide that characterizes [[subjectivity]]{{Em dash}}then the trolling will proceed."<ref name=":0" />

On December 16, 2008, Encyclopedia Dramatica won the ''People's Choice Winners'' category for favorite wiki in [[Mashable]]'s 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, with [[wikiHow]] as the runner-up and Wikipedia coming in 3rd.<ref>{{citation
 |last         = Cashmore
 |first        = Pete
 |chapter-url          = http://mashable.com/2008/12/16/open-web-awards-2-winners/
 |chapter      = People's Choice Winners
 |title        = Open Web Awards Winners
 |date         = December 16, 2008
 |access-date   = August 11, 2009
 |publisher    = mashable.com
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090826092048/http://mashable.com/2008/12/16/open-web-awards-2-winners/
 |archive-date = August 26, 2009
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref>

In December 2008, a message on Encyclopedia Dramatica asked for donations and claimed that the website was under attack and had lost its advertisers.<ref name="thestandardshutdown">{{cite news |last= Golson |first= Jordan |title= Briefly: Encyclopedia Dramatica threatens shutdown | url=http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/08/11/briefly-encyclopedia-dramatica-threatens-shutdown |work= [[The Industry Standard]] |date = November 8, 2008 |access-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515143019/http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/08/11/briefly-encyclopedia-dramatica-threatens-shutdown |archive-date=May 15, 2009 }}</ref>

In January 2010, the Encyclopedia Dramatica article ''Aboriginal'' was removed from the search engine results of [[Google Search|Google Australia]], after a lawyer filed a complaint with the [[Australian Human Rights Commission]] saying its content was racist.<ref>{{citation
 |title        = Google agrees to take down racist site
 |publisher    = [[Sydney Morning Herald]]
 |url          = http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/google-agrees-to-take-down-racist-site-20100115-maxd.html
 |access-date   = May 14, 2011
 |date         = January 15, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605030457/http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/google-agrees-to-take-down-racist-site-20100115-maxd.html
 |archive-date = June 5, 2011
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> A search on terms related to the article produced a message that one of the results has been removed after a legal request relating to Australia's [[Racial Discrimination Act 1975|Racial Discrimination Act (RDA)]].<ref>{{citation
 |title        = Aus Media Gets Encyclopedia Dramatica Story Wrong, Only Some Search Links Removed
 |publisher    = The Inquisitr
 |first        = Duncan
 |last         = Riley
 |url          = http://www.inquisitr.com/57105/aus-media-gets-ed-story-wrong/
 |date         = January 14, 2010
 |access-date   = January 15, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100119021719/http://www.inquisitr.com/57105/aus-media-gets-ed-story-wrong/
 |archive-date = January 19, 2010
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref><ref>{{citation
 |title        = Australian Anti Discrimination Act Complaint
 |publisher    = [[Chilling Effects (group)|Chilling Effects]]
 |url          = http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=17460
 |access-date   = January 15, 2010
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20100118084049/http://www.chillingeffects.org/notice.cgi?sID=17460
 |archive-date = January 18, 2010
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}.</ref> The publicity surrounding this served to [[Streisand effect|raise the profile of the site]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/hungrybeast/stories/google-australia-censors-search-results-wtf/ |title=Google Australia censors search results. WTF? |first=Elmo |last=Keep |date=January 18, 2011 |work=Hungry Beast |publisher=ABC |access-date=May 28, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626042430/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/hungrybeast/stories/google-australia-censors-search-results-wtf/ |archive-date=June 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> In March 2010, it was reported that the Australian Human Rights Commission had notified the site by e-mail that according to Australian law, the article ''Aboriginal'' could be in breach of Sections 18C and 18D of its RDA.<ref name=9news />

== Lawsuits ==
In 2016, a [[United Kingdom]] court determined an ED user must pay £10,000 in [[English defamation law|libel]] damages for making false statements about  Samuel Collingwood Smith, a former Labour councillor.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/29/encyclopedia_dramatica_dynastia_likeicare_samuel_smith_10k_libel_case/ |website=[[theregister.co.uk]] |title=Encyclopedia Dramatica user hit with £10k damages after calling ex-councillor a 'paedo' |date=July 29, 2016 |first=Gareth |last=Corfield |access-date=November 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043312/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/29/encyclopedia_dramatica_dynastia_likeicare_samuel_smith_10k_libel_case/ |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
 
In 2017, a suit was launched against the website seeking US$750,000 for alleged [[copyright infringement]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/encyclopedia-dramatica-copyright-lawsuit/ |website=[[dailydot.com]] |first=David |last=Gilmour |title=The lawsuit that could kill Encyclopedia Dramatica |date=July 5, 2017 |quote=Monsarrat is now suing Encyclopedia Dramatica for alleged copyright infringement and seeking a total of $750,000 in damages. |access-date=November 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171002191141/https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/encyclopedia-dramatica-copyright-lawsuit/ |archive-date=October 2, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The "life-threatening"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theoutline.com/post/2369/everipedia-is-the-wikipedia-for-being-wrong |website=[[theoutline.com]] |date=October 4, 2017 |first=Jon |last=Christian |title=Everipedia is the Wikipedia for being wrong |quote=Encyclopedia Dramatica, which is currently facing a life-threatening copyright lawsuit, is an ad-supported cesspool of surreal troll humor founded by online provocateur Sherrod DeGrippo in 2004. |access-date=November 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102012909/https://theoutline.com/post/2369/everipedia-is-the-wikipedia-for-being-wrong |archive-date=January 2, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> suit is by millionaire Jonathan Monsarrat.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abovethelaw.com/2017/10/the-pedobear-motion-practice-youve-been-waiting-for/ |website=[[abovethelaw.com]] |title=The Pedobear Motion Practice You've Been Waiting For |first=Elie |last=Mystal |date=October 25, 2017 |quote=Out there in meme-culture, a major lawsuit is happening. Encyclopedia Dramatica, "Wikipedia’s evil twin," is being sued by Jonathan Monsarrat, an eccentric millionaire. |access-date=November 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171201071720/https://abovethelaw.com/2017/10/the-pedobear-motion-practice-youve-been-waiting-for/ |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Monsarrat's suit was dismissed in December 2017, with the judge ruling that the three-year statute of limitations for copyright infringement had expired before the lawsuit was filed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Judge rules man waited too long to sue Web site that transformed a photo of him as a beaver into a photo of him as a pedobear |url=https://www.universalhub.com/2017/judge-rules-man-waited-too-long-sue-web-site |website=Universal Hub |access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Internet|Comedy}}
* [[4chan]]
* [[Internet meme]]
* [[Kiwi Farms]]
* [[List of Internet phenomena]]
* [[Lurkmore.ru]]
* [[Uncyclopedia]]

== Footnotes ==
=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|group=note}}
=== References ===
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |title=Epic Win for Anonymous: How 4chan's Army Conquered the Web |last= Stryker|first= Cole|year=2011|publisher=[[Overlook Press]] |location=New York |isbn=978-1590207109|ref={{sfnRef|Stryker|2011}}}}

== External links ==
* {{Commonscatinline}}
*{{wikiquote-inline}}
{{Anonymous and the Internet}}

[[Category:Internet]]