About

GET refers to a randomly generated event on image boards that is noted when a post's unique ID number consists of rare integer sequences, such as 1,000,000, 123456789 or 55555555. Such events are most prominently celebrated on 4chan, where many users deliberately try to time their posts in order to attain a GET milestone.

Origin

The term "GET" (always spelled in caps) originated from the Japanese textboard community 2channel to denote the first and last possible reply comments within a given thread, as in 2GET and 1000GET, in similar vein to the practice of "FIRST" comments.

Spread

The "GET" concept was subsequently spread to the Japanese imageboard site Futaba Channel and later adopted by 4chan, where its meaning was extended to include other types of unique integer sequences. The first GET on 4chan is said to have taken place on /b/ (random) board in April 2004. With the rapid growth of 4chan's traffic in the following years, the GET tradition soon spread to other popular forums within the community, namely /a/ (anime) and /v/ (video) boards.

Usage

When the post ID number nears a special integer sequence, which occurs more often and unpredictably in sub-boards with fast post cycle, a member may attempt to score the milestone post by exclaiming "GET" in a new thread, along with one's favorite picture. As a result of its widescale participation on 4chan's /b/, it has been observed that the site activities regularly jump as a GET milestone approaches. At one point, GET events were automatically featured on the first page of the site, although they have since been disabled, possibly due the shortening frequency between the events and criticisms from users.

GET Games

The desirability of GETs on /b/ continued to grow as the winning posts began spawning internet memes, such as fsjal, Ninetails and Epic FAIL Guy. This also led to the creation of GET games known as Post Ending in X, wherein the OP (original poster) randomly posts a winning number, usually the last two digits of a post number, with promise of a reward, and whoever replies with a matching post ID number claims it. Another variation of this game known as "rolling" involves a list of one or two-digit combinations, each number paired with a specific order of action, which are then assigned to posters with matching post ID numbers.

FAILGETs

Sometimes, posters who are unaware of the approaching milestone may inadvertently score GETs. These accidental events are typically referred to as FAILGETs or WINGETs, depending on the perceived quality of the post.

8chan Steal GETs

In late 2014, as the site 8chan begun to receive more popularity, as it begun to compete with rival site 4chan. The users, as well as admin Hotwheels, created the board /4get/^[7], a site dedicated for stealing 4chan GETs. Some notable boards with GETs stolen include [s4s], /pol/, /qa/, /asp/, /vg/, and /co/.

Notable Examples

6666 GET on /jp/

Note: Cirno upside-down WINGET

1 Million GET on /b/

Note: Sketch of Sae Sawanoguchi from anime Magic Users Club in sexual bliss. Mods later deleted the post and replaced it with a picture of a 'Bonzai Budgie' jar and renumbering the post as 1000000.

1.6 Million GET on /b/

3333333 GET on /b/

Note: HaruhiGET. User was later banned for post.

4040404 GET on /a/

123456789 GET on /b/

500 Million GET on /b/

Note: On August 15th, 2013, /b/ (Random) passed the mark of 499,990,000th post, triggering a huge spike in submissions ^[1] from people trying to score the 500 millionth GET. The post was submitted at 2:49pm (EST) that day in a thread^[2] about Poland.

Search Interest

External References