All FARKed Up
FARK.com is an anomaly on the Internet -- not in the sense that its content is unique and so vastly different than everything else - the exact opposite is closer to the truth, as the brunt of FARK's content consists of simple links to other websites. No, what makes FARK so different from the rest of the Web is that it is jut so damned popular, and the only unique content is contributed exclusively by its tens-of-thousands of visitors.

The basic set-up of FARK (FARK, by the way, doesn't actually mean anything... it's just a polite way of saying another 4-letter word that begins with 'F') is pretty simple: there's a page of links, updated everyday, throughout the day. Each link is accompanied by a topic tag line like 'NEWS', 'HERO', or 'DUMBASS', and then a short, generally humorous comment describing the link. For example, "Doctor acquitted of examining wrong end of woman complaining of sore throat" gets the 'DUMBASS' tag. "Student gets $300 fine, faces assault charge for giving his girlfriend a hickey" is labeled as "AMUSING'. Well, you get the idea... but, wait, there's more!

Next to each link is a bulletin board where you can post your thoughts on the link's content. While many of the postings are rather benign, any article that deals with anything remotely controversial (i.e. religion, politics, Duke basketball) invariably explodes in to an all-out flame war. And there's nothing like watching scores of FARKers (that's what the loyal FARK readers call themselves... they're like dead-heads, but without the lousy music) getting in to an online bloodlust.

Another feature that FARK offers is a regular Photoshop contest. These contests generally involve either a single photograph, and FARKers are asked to manipulate it to something entertaining, like this:

Or a theme is given, and participants are left to find and manipulate whatever images they care to use:

And, that's about all FARK does. Well, there is the AudioEdit feature, which is basically the auditory version of the Photoshop contests, and there are surveys, news updates, and the occasional plug. But, at its roots, FARK is only as good as its readers/contributors, and the overwhelming success of the site is a tribute to how amusing and talented many of these FARKers are.

So, how successful has the FARK website been? Well, it received over 200,000,000 pageviews last year, and that figure should be dwarfed by this year's numbers. It was named one of the Top 50 websites by Time Magazine in 2002. Simply put, it's the 'Net's version of an it girl... but with lots more boobies (yes, there's a 'BOOBIES' tag, too).

While it's taken a legion FARKers to make FARK.com what it is, the site is ultimately the brain-child of 'Net celeb Drew Curtis. Drew started the site in 1999, and used it to post a lovely picture of, well, a squirrel with big nuts.

If you're really interested in learning more about how the site began, you can always go to the FarQ section on the website. But, seeing how it's fairly devoid of details, I decided to ask Drew for a few questions of my own:

Joel:		So, how many hits are you getting these days?
Drew:		About a million visits a day.
Joel:		How many link submissions do you get each day?
Drew:		Around 2,000.
Joel:		Can you make any real money from running a website that is this successful? Any chance you'll retire a millionaire once this is all over?
Drew:		I think you could make real money if you weren't us. Mainstream advertisers don't know what to do with us. Part of the problem is they hire trained monkeys as agents. I swear to god they're some of the most rock stupid people I've ever had to deal with. Right up there with Hollywood types. As far as being a millionaire goes, I'm not holding my breath.
Joel:		More importantly, can you get laid because of your FARK fame?
Drew:		Probably, but I'm married with a kid so it won't do me any good. I used to sluff all the Fark groupies off on Mike but then he got hooked up. Jeff's too nice to take them. So we're kind of stuck.
Joel:		Do you ever get the feeling that many FARKers just don't understand what the word "Ironic" means?
Drew:		Yup.
Joel:		Wheaton vs. Walken in a steel-caged death-match. Who wins?
Drew:		Walken would pound Wheaton into paste. Unless Wil knows some martial arts I'm not aware of, in which case I'd say it'd be a draw at best.
Joel:		Man, those Farkers sure do seem to hate PETA. Have you ever been officially contacted by PETA, either with threats or pleas for mercy?
Drew:		Nope. I honestly think PETA does all this silly crap for the publicity value. Works, too.
Joel:		Speaking of hated groups, who do you think incurs the worst FARKer wrath? PETA? Liberals? The religious right? Duke? Some other random group?
Drew:		PETA's definitely up there. Catholic priests aren't too highly regarded either. Neither is France. And Duke definitely sucks.
Joel:		I've seen a number of posts accusing the FARK moderators of having a political slant (either too far left, or too far right). Do you think your political/social views are reflected by the posted links? Care to reveal where you and/or the other moderators stand on the political spectrum?
Drew:		First off, moderators don't approve links. There are three admin that do it, and when I'm not travelling (and sometimes when I am) I'm doing 95% of it myself. One thing most longtime readers have figured out is that we arbitrarily slant political links one way or the other just for the hell of it. My take on politics is that these people are out for their own personal game, pure and simple. It's hard for me to get excited about people who wrap themselves in viewpoints solely to gain power. They're all assholes.
Joel:		Have you had lots of complaints from websites that have been overrun with hits after a sudden FARK link?
Drew:		Not many. Occasionally we do and I try to help them out however we can. In general people love the traffic.
Joel:		Don't you think it's time we retire the squirrel with the huge nuts?
Drew:		He looks like he's doing fine so far.
Joel:		You get some truly hilarious submissions in the Photoshop contests. Do you keep the best ones? Plan on doing anything with them?
Drew:		I wish I did but no I don't keep the best ones. We have no plans to do anything with them. People keep telling me we should publish a book but I don't really feel as though we should take advantage of this.
Joel:		Unsigned rock bands, small, indy flicks, unpublished writers... how many submissions do you get from artists just trying to use FARK to promote/whore-out their goods?
Drew:		Surprisingly not so many. Which is good because I have barely any time as it is.
Joel:		I'm in an unsigned rock band... how do I get FARK to promote/whore out my goods?
Drew:		Best thing to do is to take out a classified. While the commentors are notoriously scathing towards bad stuff, if your stuff really is actually good you'll get a huge boost out of it.
Joel:		As a Florida resident, I'm a bit resentful of the Florida tag... California is easily as ridiculous as Florida. Any chance we can get a Cali tag?
Drew:		I'm trying to keep new tags to a minimum. I'm sure we'll add more down the road.
Joel:		Boobies, boobies, boobies... ever think of devoting a FARK page exclusively to porn links (sorry, I just had to work the word "boobies" in somehow)?
Drew:		it's been suggested a few times but I'm not really interested. It'd take time away from Fark for one thing
Joel:		Do you have an all-time favorite link or tagline?
Drew:		"Swelling Dongting leans against groaning dike."
Joel:		Do you spend much time in the FARK message boards? There's some great content, in-between the constant flame-war...
Drew:		Actually no, although I've been popping into the TF forums more often lately. Again it's a time-constraints problem
Joel:		Any final thoughts you want to share with your loyal subjects?
Drew:		Fark is nothing without the Farkers. In fact Fark is the distilled humor of all the people who submit links and comments. Any success we have is completely and totally due to the readers. You're a great bunch of folks. Duke sucks.