Rotten Dot Com | Hacker News

Hacker News commenters revisited early shock sites like Rotten.com, recalling how they first encountered graphic content online.

Users shared personal stories about watching gore, disturbing clips, and shock videos, and how those experiences shaped their relationship with the web.

The discussion highlighted how the uncurated early internet encouraged curiosity, desensitization, and a very different kind of browsing culture.

Commenters contrasted that era with today’s more regulated, algorithm-driven internet, where violent content is harder to stumble across.