Secret Link...again

[Omkey]

Oh my god, I think I may have just set a record for how fast I found the secret link. I was using your honey tree guide to find some munchlax trees for my latest Diamond playthrough and decided to look around the site some. Found the page describing the secret link game and got curious.

That was only five hours ago and I found the page using the clues I could find! The only one I didn't find legitimately was 4, but as I've read here that's pretty much the norm.

I'm really curious how you managed to hide the link like that though. I'm not gonna ask you to give up your secrets, so don't worry about that. No, worry that I'm taking a web development class over the summer and I intend to do my research!

Now to get some sleep before I check out that marquee...

 

[BananaBread127]

I found the secret link by just looking at source code, not knowing what the address was for, my reaction upon seeing the page was somewhere along the lines of "what?", "huh?" or "oh".

Spoiler: Contents of the Secret Page

I then found where the link was using the contents of the Secret Page.

 

[kimbachu]

It's been a while since this thread was active, but I didn't feel like it was necessary to make a *another* thread about The Secret Link, so I guess I'll try and revive this one.

So I found Clue #1 and Clue #5 the legitimate way, and I cheated a bit and used the URL manipulation trick to find the other three. Most people that have solved the mystery seem to suggest that Clue #3's "eighty-eight - and also thirty-one" and Clue #5's "find it more quickly a webmaster will" seem to be the most relevant/useful hints.

I've gone over all of the existing threads about The Secret Link, and have concluded a few things:

First, the link doesn't look like a link.

Also, your cursor won't look like it's hovering over a link when your cursor on the link, so just moving your mouse around won't help you at all. You could randomly click everywhere on the site, and you'll probably eventually find it. Just remember that the link is invisible, so explicitly marked links should be ruled out on sight.

I'm assuming it's completely invisible, or disguised as something else entirely.

Second, even when viewing the site's source code, the link still doesn't look like a link.

The secret link isn't actually a link in the sense that it's not an HTML anchor tag, but it is something you click that takes you to a different page.

the amusing thing about the secret link is that it isn't actually a link anymore.

So from this, I'm assuming that going through the site's source code probably isn't going to help me much, because I don't even know what I'm supposed to be looking for.

Third, the link isn't actually hidden on a specific page; it's hidden on every page.

The Secret Link is not exactly on a particular page.

The secret link is on almost every page of the site, so don't get stuck on trying to find it on a certain page, like I did.

Fourth, the page that the secret link leads to has a filename that is a random string of letters and/or numbers.

Wait, wtf? The url of the secret link is http://dragonflycave.com/ (a bunch of random letters that don't spell a word) .htm

So there's no way to cheat your way to the page by trying to guess what the page's filename is, and typing that in your browser. You gotta find it the hard way.

Clue #3 seems to suggest that the link is disguised as an 88 x 31px button or similar, and I'm getting "view the source code" vibes from Clue #5's "webmaster" hint but I could be completely wrong about that. That's kinda all I have at the moment.

In conclusion, Butterfree is some kind of link-hiding wizard and I have no idea where to even look anymore. Send help.

 

[Sandstone-Shadow]

I'm getting "view the source code" vibes from Clue #5's "webmaster" hint but I could be completely wrong about that. That's kinda all I have at the moment.

This is the wrong vibe to get from Clue #5 :)

(hopefully that helps and isn't too enigmatic haha)

 

[Butterfree]

You've made some great, sound observations otherwise, though!

 

[kimbachu]

Update: I actually found it! It was indeed very cleverly hidden and I was definitely not going to find it by looking at the source code (looking at the source code now, I see how you've managed to disguise it; well done!).

In conclusion, Butterfree is some kind of link-hiding wizard[...].

I stand by this statement.

 

[Bluwiikoon]

It is somehow very wholesome seeing Kimba figure out just where the secret link is from the clues alone :D Congrats!

Back in the day you could find the secret link by highlighting the page, and spoil all of the fun if you didn't realise. I love the clever tricks used to hide it more thoroughly on modern tCoD!

Clue #4 is very cleverly hidden, it's one of my faves. :3

 

[qenya]

I've still never found clue #4... it's one of the great mysteries of TCoD.

 

[Happy]

BLUWIIKOON FOUND CLUE 4????

I was JUST thinking about how I never authentically found clue 4
FEED US BUT A SNIPPET OF YOUR WISDOM!!!!

I feel like I tabbed my way to the secret link... a habit I picked up from watching Homestar Runner... but no clue why I employed that on this site. Maybe I found it first in the source code (but unintentionally!!!! I learnt all my CSS from cross referencing Butterfree's old templates with the site in practice :3 & then the HTML guide & also neopets ) & wanted to find how exactly it was there, yet not there... hehe.

Actually I might crosspost what I just wrote in the guestbook that led me back to this

--

Undertale has had a huge update right now, a really cool (& HILARIOUS) 2000s themed minisite with lots of (not-very-)hidden links to new content… but every gen Zer is calling the infodrop an ARG Even though the site has a little hint page that stresses it's not an ARG
ITS NOT AN ARG YOU KIDS ITS SECRET LINKS YOU WOULD ALL KNOW IF YOU WERE STILL GOING TO THE COOL WEBSITE "THE "CAVE OF DRAGONFLIE'S""!!!!!!!!!!!!

also like it hits like a truck that.. there used to be one million of these but I cant even think of any other examples.. I didnt even realise a generation had never seen it before since everything is now hosted on rigid socmed or a professional portfolio/business site… remember how it even used to say on the site (I think) that Butterfree wanted a secret link hunt cuz everyone had one? Sigh…