A pastebin or text storage site is a type of online content-hosting service where users can store
plain text
In computing, plain text is a loose term for data (e.g. file contents) that represent only characters of readable material but not its graphical representation nor other objects ( floating-point numbers, images, etc.). It may also include a lim ...
(e.g.
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer.
Since a computer, at base, only ...
snippets for
code review
Code review (sometimes referred to as peer review) is a software quality assurance activity in which one or more people examine the source code of a computer program, either after implementation or during the development process. The persons perf ...
via
Internet Relay Chat
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for Many-to-many, group communication in discussion forums, called ''#Channels, channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via instant mess ...
(IRC)). The most famous pastebin is the eponymous
pastebin.com. Other sites with the same functionality have appeared, and several
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
pastebin scripts are available. Pastebins may allow commenting where readers can post feedback directly on the page.
GitHub
GitHub () is a Proprietary software, proprietary developer platform that allows developers to create, store, manage, and share their code. It uses Git to provide distributed version control and GitHub itself provides access control, bug trackin ...
Gists are a type of pastebin with
version control
Version control (also known as revision control, source control, and source code management) is the software engineering practice of controlling, organizing, and tracking different versions in history of computer files; primarily source code t ...
.
History
Pastebin was developed in the late 1990s to facilitate IRC chatrooms devoted to
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, hardware and softw ...
, where users naturally need to share large blocks of computer input or output in a line-oriented medium. In such chatrooms, sending messages containing large blocks of computer data can disrupt conversations, which can be closely interleaved. When users send such messages, they are often warned to instead use pastebins or risk being banned from the service. Contrarily, a reference to a pastebin entry is a one-line hyperlink.
A new class of
IRC bot
409px, An IRC bot performing a simple task.An IRC bot is a set of scripts or an independent program that connects to Internet Relay Chat as a client, and so appears to other IRC users as another user. An IRC bot differs from a regular client in ...
has evolved. In a chatroom that is largely oriented around a few pastebins, nothing more needs to be done after a post at its pastebin. The receiving party then awaits a
bot
Bot or BOT may refer to:
Sciences
Computing and technology
* Chatbot, a computer program that converses in natural language
* Internet bot, a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet
**Spambot, an internet bot ...
announcing the expected posting by the known user.
After the use of the pastebin.pl pastebin for a
data breach
A data breach, also known as data leakage, is "the unauthorized exposure, disclosure, or loss of personal information".
Attackers have a variety of motives, from financial gain to political activism, political repression, and espionage. There ...
, Pastebin started monitoring the site for illegally pasted data and information, leading to a backlash from
Anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anonym ...
. Hacktivists teamed up with an organization calling itself the People's Liberation Front, launching an alternative called AnonPaste.
See also
*
Doxbin (clearnet)
*
Netiquette
Etiquette in technology, colloquially referred to as netiquette, is a term used to refer to the unofficial code of policies that encourage good behavior on the Internet which is used to regulate respect and polite behavior on social media platforms ...
*
PrivateBin
*
Snippet (programming)
Snippet is a programming term for a small region of re-usable source code, machine code, or text. Ordinarily, these are formally defined operative units to incorporate into larger programming modules. Snippet management is a feature of some tex ...
*
Text file
A text file (sometimes spelled textfile; an old alternative name is flat file) is a kind of computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines of electronic text. A text file exists stored as data within a computer file system.
In ope ...
*
Wiki
A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...
References
File sharing
File sharing services
Web applications
Web hosting
Text
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