But this adage doesn't apply in every situation. The only thing that elementary school teachers in Computer Class loved to do more than correct your hand placement over the keyboard was to remind you that "the internet is forever." The phrase was meant to be a warning against making an inappropriate AIM status, out of fear that prospective jobs or colleges would one day see it. The internet doesn't always last forever. The history and mythology surrounding the site was proof that it was more than a game. The rumor prompted users to constantly flood the chat with demands to work together and "tip the iceberg." Like all good folklore, it didn't matter if it was true or false. After Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, protests broke out on the island, with penguins letting out text-based chants of "not my president" and "my body my choice" on the snow-covered streets.Ī longstanding in-game conspiracy theory was that an iceberg in the corner of the map would flip over, only if enough penguins stood on one side. Club Penguin created its own ecosystem of inside jokes, traditions, and memes, at a time where the latter was mostly limited photos of an animal and two lines of Impact font. Like Neopets and Habbo Hotel, the site helped show digital-natives the impact that virtual worlds can have on our own. In the post, the owners gave users until the end of March to get their affairs and igloos in order.įor the younger generation, the shutdown was the end of an era. The shutdown wouldn't be immediate, allowing users to continue waddling, dancing, and throwing snowballs as sentient penguins. After accumulating hundreds of millions of users over its 11 years, the party was finally over. A little over two years ago, on January 30, 2017, Club Penguin published a blog post announcing that the game and social networking site would be shut down.