The website's domain was originally registered in 1999, the early form of the site only consisted of two pages, both of which had images noted for their shock value. Even though the image from the site was taken down in January 2004, mirror websites are widespread. The photo became an Internet meme, and has been used in bait-and-switch pranks, prevention of hot-linking in a hostile manner, and defacement of websites, in order to provoke extreme reactions. Its front page featured a picture entitled hello.jpg, showing a close-up of a hunched-over naked man using both hands to stretch open his anus and expose his rectum, which was lit red by the camera flash.

cx top-level domain as Goatse, was an internet domain that originally housed an Internet shock site.

Goatse.cx ( / ˈ ɡ oʊ t s i d ɒ t ˌ s iː ˈ ɛ k s/ GOHT-see-dot-see- EKS, / ˈ ɡ oʊ t ˌ s ɛ k s/ 'goat sex'), often spelled without the.