From WhatPort80

Never gonna let you down

To Rickroll is to intentionally misdirect one to a video of "Never Gonna Give You Up" from one-hit-wonder 80's pop icon Rick Astley. Basically, it's the gayest and most insincere song ever, and we can tell the difference. This tactic gets its name in part from the duckroll through the similar intent of pissing off everyone by deception. Linking to a video of "Never gonna give you up" or some variant thereupon has become the new Goatse. Not to be confused with a Barrel roll.

IMPORTANT: Guides on how to rickroll almost anyone can be found on the below link. Load the website, click 'Domestic Terrorism' and then 'Rickrolling'

• http://www.apoke.com/

Origin

When you're on CNN, NBC and Carson Daly, you are officially old meme

This guy's doing it, why don't you?

No one is safe from the Rickroll, not even in your schools

Not even the professor is safe

The roll part of the name has been apocryphally said to come from a 4chan practice called the "duckroll." This was used the same way as the rickroll, claiming a link was actually interesting and actually linking to a page with an animated GIF of a toy duck rolling across the screen. "Roll" became a universal suffix for similar fake links like Leekspin, and with the advent of the Rickroll found its greatest success.

Rickrolling began on 4chan's /v/ imageboard on the day of Grand Theft Auto 4's official website premier. However, due to heavy traffic on the website, it was impossible to watch the trailer for quite some time, so Anonymous took it upon himself to link everyone to a supposedly leaked trailer hosted on YouTube:

YouTube Link

Rickrolling has become popular outside of 4chan. Many different website communities have claimed they invented Rickrolling, such as GameFAQs, who claim that the Rickroll started on their Halo3 board. World of Warcraft gamers, (WoWfags), have also laid claim to inventing the Rickroll, and have beaten it to old meme death on their game forums twice as fast as 4chan ever could have done. The Washington hometown forum on AK47.net, filled with a bunch of old guys with guns, is also known for having links off to the Rickroll all over the place.

Variations on the Rickroll

ScaryRoll

ButtRoll

Bel-AirRoll

TayRoll

Kiproll

PaintRoller

Lolicatgirls.swf

See the main article at lolicatgirls.swf
lolicatgirls.swf is a meme on 4chan's /f/ that pre-dates rickroll, but is the same concept. It's a loop of some guys dancing in a busy street to rave music, instead of loli catgirls, as the title would suggest.

Sony/BMG Attempts to stop the Rickroll

On Saturday, March 29 2008, SONY/BMG started sending out copyright notices to all YouTube videos that RickRoll people. Videos with obsecure titles such as Ex Girlfriend Stripping have been flagged by Sony/BMG and YouTube in the hopes to collect data about RickRoll, as well as remove certain videos containing RickRoll's. Source

Youtube's EPIC Rickroll

Youtube rickrolled its users on April 1st 2008 by pointing all the featured videos here. As such, rolling is now officially old meme. Goodnight sweet prince.

All the cool kids are wearing it

facepalm

Failure

In addition to being old meme, Rick Roll is now officially "cool". If you see any one wearing one of these shirts, please burn them with fire just kill them.

MetsRoll

New York Mets PR Dept. gets owned by the internet. The only funny thing to come from the end of Rickroll as we know it, except for...

...Rickrolled To Death!

You wake up to the smell of girlfriend gumbo and a police inquest wondering how life could get any worse, then your Dad Rickrolls you on live television. Face it, you'd become an hero too.

In April 2008, English childrens' television presenter and all-round annoying Mark Spate went missing following the launch of a police inquest after he and his girlfriend rendered themselves insensible with a two day coke bender. He passed out, while she sloped off and ran herself a scalding hot bath and passed away in a creepily similar fate to that shared shared by dead scilon Herman Pfaff.

Distraught with worry, his father sent out an impassioned plea for Mark to get in contact, and that his family were "Never going to give him up." Days later he was found dead at Paddington Station, London.

See Also

• Duckroll
• Barrel roll
• Old meme

External Links

• Rick Astley himself shares his thoughts about his song becoming a gigantic joke
• AN ACTUAL INTERVIEW WITH RICK ASTLEY FROM THE LA TIMES! No, srlsy.
• Even the BBC is onto it!
• A website created by Rick Astley's blog with Rickrolling mentioned in it
• Rickroll with popups!

Rickroll is part of a series onMusic

Atlantic Records • BECAUSE MY CAPS LOCK KEY IS LOUD • Emo • I go chop your dollar • Interior Crocodile Alligator • Michael Jackson • NEDM • Rickroll • Tay Zonday • Techno Viking • THE BEST • WHEN I WAS