Rickrolling

What Does Rickrolling Mean?

Rickrolling is an internet meme that involves duping a person into clicking a URL or watching a spliced video that contains the 1987 Rick Astley song “Never Gonna Give You Up.” This internet meme primarly ran its course between 2007 and 2009.

Techopedia Explains Rickrolling

The victim who clicks a rickroll link is said to of been rickrolled (rickroll’d).

Reactions to Rickrolling originally varied between amusement and outrage. However, now that the fad has passed, being Rickrolled is viewed with a sense of nostalgia. This highlights the rapid pace at which internet memes are spread and then exhausted.

Related Reading

A Beginner’s Guide to Internet Memes

Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…

All Posts by Margaret Rouse