International Holiday Scares People

Today, September 19, is the International Talk Like a Pirate day. I had no idea about this 'special day', until someone called me. I was working on a piece of news when my mobile rang and a friend asked me what I knew about the Flickr hack and what has happened to them. My instant reaction was: "What?! Flickr got hacked?!" The voice at the other end of the line seemed terrified that hackers stole her photos and who knows what they're up to now. So, I asked her how did she figure out that Flickr got hacked. She told me that she visited the site and a skull and crossbones was overlay on their logo and that she feared that was a hacker signature.

I didn't believe that Flickr got hacked, but I decided to investigate the matter anyway. I visited their page, and it was true - they really had a pirate flag overlaid on their logo. Could this be the work of hackers? I didn't know what to think, so I Google searched the words "flickr pirate flag logo" to see if anyone else noticed this and how they reacted to it. Then, I stumbled upon a discussion on Flickr, where other people were searching for info too, some confessing that this situation scares them. Then, I learned that this is the International Talk Like a Pirate day, and that's why Flickr posted that little pirate flag.

So, there is nothing to worry about, Flickr did not get hacked, and certainly this 'special day' has nothing to do with cyber-pirates. You can click this link to see what Wikipedia has to say about it. I guess the flag will be gone by tomorrow so even if you don't like it, it'll soon go away. And don't worry, if Flickr gets hacked, the subject will hit the news really fast!