Beware the Rick Roll, the Web 2.0 equivalent of getting punk'd.

For those in the dark, getting Rick Rolled happens when you click a juicy link — say, a secret clip of a movie or videogame — only to end up at YouTube with Rick Astley shimmying to his late '80s hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” (Insert shudder here.)

The prank sure sticks online, if not in people's heads. RickRoll.org and YouGotRickRolled.com each welcome visitors with a ginormous clip of Astley's pop tune. Further proof the misery has company: “RickRoll'D” clocks in at more than 2 million views at YouTube — neck-in-neck with YouGotRickRolled's 2 million-plus YouTube views.

Guess it's never gonna let up anytime soon.

“It has been one of the longer Internet phenomena that we've seen,” said Michael Parker, media relations manager at eBaum's World, a humor and entertainment site that specializes in viral media.

“I guess it's so easy to do,” said Jason Sanchez, creator of YouGotRickRolled.com. “And you get so many people at once. And you just want to see so many reactions.”

Ah, reactions. The more than 6,400 comments to Sanchez's YouTube clip alone run the gamut from goodhearted LOLs to the choicest four-letter words — the kind of perverse pleasure and utter despair only an Astley tune could muster.

But the Net isn't the only place for Astley antics. You might recall a “Family Guy” episode that featured the family dog Brian crooning the Astley tune in a “Back to the Future” parody. (The clip's at RickRoll.org.) Then there's a radio DJ who Parker says kept teasing a caller requesting hip-hopper Akon with the Astley song instead. (Also at RickRoll.org.)

Parker says when a joke goes this far it's definitely got legs. So watch out for online jokers trying to pull yours.

René A. Guzman | 210SA contributor