I just discovered something in my WordPress blog that literally scared the *&%#* out of me. With two administrators on our site, we occasionally overlap. WordPress is great in letting us know when a post has a newer version autosaved. It shows as a pinkish box at the top of the page.
The Authosave is a handy little feature especially if you accidentally delete information unintentionally. Each rendition of the post is saved (date and time) at the bottom of the work area of the post and you can revert back to an older version easily.
Shock…
I was working on an old post, and noticed it had a newer version saved. Instead of comparing manually the autosaved version with the version on the site, I selected the two versions I wanted and opted for WordPress to Compare Versions.
Before my eyes, it looked as though my blog was being hacked. My stomach immediately clenched. I was shocked and dumbfounded. I had been hit with the Matrix Easter Egg.
The screen went black and read:
Danger !
Self-comparison detected.
Initiating infinite loop eschewal protocol.
Self destruct in… 3
2
1
Wake up, UnrulyGals…
The Matrix has you…
Don’t let this happen again. Go Back.
…And Relief
Do not adjust your dial. There is nothing wrong with your screen….
Imagine my delight and anger to find out this was just a humorous little joke. A quick search on the internet for this mysterious Matrix Easter Egg resulted in curbing my anxiety. It appears, when two revisions are identical, it trips the “Matrix Easter Egg Hunt” program.
This little delight is at least 3 years old, yet I just discovered it today. What I found unnerving is how many people are unaware of this little “gem.” While I feel more at ease with it hidden in my WordPress programming code it wouldn’t be funny to my panicked and non-technical clients.
View It
It is quite clever. But if you don’t want to try it on your own blog, you can view it online here in a video created by Donncha O Caoimh.
To remove or not remove…
I am all for fun and games. But to be unaware of this trick, especially with all the hackers and virus’ floating around is rather unnerving. It would be great if it had an on/off switch – so we can decide if we want it or not.
If you think this should be removed, then make a comment on the WordPress.org site.
