Just days after the release of the Bitcoin-based Ordinals protocol, the creator of the protocol faced their first shocking incident. A pornographic image, known as “goatse,” was inscribed into the blockchain via the Ordinals protocol. The image appeared as inscription 668 and was publicly displayed on the Ordinals’ front page for about 30 minutes before being taken down. Although the image still exists on the blockchain, it cannot be accessed through the Ordinals website.
Casey Rodarmor, the creator of Ordinals, acted swiftly to remove the image from the website. However, he acknowledged that preventing future instances like this is challenging due to the nature of the protocol. Nevertheless, Rodarmor is actively working on finding a solution to prevent such images from appearing on the Ordinals website in the future.
For now, there is no automated way to hide specific inscriptions on the Ordinals’ website. Rodarmor explained that they have a configuration file for the explorer that can be used to hide certain inscriptions. In the case of the “goatse” image, they added it to the config file, so the server no longer displays that content.
The “goatse” image, infamous for its shock value, depicts a man manipulating his anus and is often used to deceive internet users. Rodarmor mentioned that while Ordinals currently allows for the inscription of pornographic images, he plans to implement a content policy to censor them until a solution is found to automatically keep them off the front page. This could involve creating a separate space on the website specifically for such content.
Recent inscriptions on the Ordinals site have included images of Pepe the Frog, a popular internet meme. Critics of blockchain technology have raised concerns about its immutability, fearing that it could perpetually host illegal or grotesque media. However, others argue that its resistance to censorship is a fundamental feature.
When asked about the potential criticism Ordinals may face for censoring certain images, Rodarmor emphasized that his site is just one instance of the block explorer. He hopes that others will create their own explorers with moderation policies that align with their preferences.
Rodarmor noted that this is only the second time he has had to censor a pornographic image. He believes that the technical difficulty and cost associated with inscribing images onto the BTC network have reduced the frequency of such trolling attempts.
Ordinals was launched on January 21 and immediately sparked debates within the crypto community about its impact on the Bitcoin ecosystem. The protocol allows users to inscribe satoshis, the native currency of the Bitcoin network, with various content, including images, creating NFT-like structures that can be transferred. Inscribing a satoshi can be considerably more expensive than regular network transactions, costing tens of dollars compared to a few cents to a few dollars.