What is 4chan?

Is 4chan a wretched hive of scum and villainy on the Internet buzzing with hate speech, perversion, and downright mean-spirited interactions between immature trolls? Or is it a friendly community of geeks posting amusing pictures and observations on a multitude of their favorite nerdy hobbies? The answer is quite clearly yes. Depending on which of the 4Chan boards you are reading and when, the answer can be either one of these but is more often both at once, depending on which thread you decide to read.

4chan is an anonymous image board, which focuses on Japanese animation and comic related topics but also includes boards related to video games and origami. People can post comments and images on a variety of interconnected boards. You do not have to log in or use a username to place a picture or a comment on any board, which means that you are as anonymous as you wish to be. This anonymity can lead to freer discussions but also to unparalleled viciousness.

Nowhere is this truer than in the random board known as /b/. Since users are allowed to post whatever they wish, it has led to some of the most bizarre and vulgar threads on the Internet. Posters on /b/ frequently try to post the most oscene things they can in a "humorous manner" to top their fellow posters. This board is responsible for a great many Internet memes that have either originated or become popular on the site before becoming commonplace elsewhere on the Internet.

4chan is a fickle beast with ideas, jokes, and posts often vanishing as quickly as they are put up. Depending on who is on the board at the time, posts that would be consider hysterical at one time will be mocked out of existence at another. It is all about the posters ability to judge what his fellow users will like and having just a little bit of luck and wit. Posts can also become long-lived jokes that even spill out into the real world. Anyone who has had their Facebook page hacked due to Anonymous; seen people shouting out Harry Potter spoilers while wearing Guy Fawkes masks; or found themselves listening to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" due carelessly clicking the wrong link, will attest to 4chan's bleed over into the real world. Whether you love it or hate it does not matter. It has probably affected you in some way or another.

moot - founder of 4chan

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[via Reverse Thieves]