
The 20-year-old at heart of web's most anarchic and influential site - nickb
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jul/20/internet.google
======
JayNeely
Creative at what cost? The racism, sexism, and willful callousness of 4chan
doesn't seem to be getting a lot of discussion in the latest round of media
coverage (outside of FOX News "HACKER-PEDOPHILES ON THE INTERNETS" hysteria).

"TITS OR GTFO" (said to anyone presenting themselves as female), "be an hero"
(encouragement to commit suicide)... maybe these could be considered jokes in
bad taste. But the racist pics and rants about "niggers"? The griefing in
Habbo? The spamming webcammers with insults until they cry? The mass
harrassment of people by phone, e-mail, and IM? Encouraging people to abuse
their girlfriends / sisters / women in general?

Is any of that anything but feeding hate? Are communities that allow that (and
make no mistake, 4chan _allows_ anything that won't get it shut down) really
ones we want to glorify? There's a price to pay with anarchy + anonymity. Yes,
4chan has produced, or popularized, things that are hilarious. But it's a bit
like panning for gold in a river of shit.

~~~
vaksel
Personally I don't mind the inappropriate jokes/posts, sure some are racist,
some are sexist, some are just plain disgusting, but that's the whole point,
in the age of political correctness its actually refreshing. Step outside your
comfort bubble.

And hey...if you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to go there. Everyone
likes to talk about freedoms we get in this country, yet these same people who
wave the flag, have no problem with taking away other people's freedoms by
forcing other people to behave in only the ways they approve of.

And yes you should glorify sites like that, they let us keep the whole idea
that you can have complete freedom on the net.

~~~
DaniFong
One cannot simply escape the influence of 4chan by not going there. It is a
cesspool, and the memes that breed there spread elsewhere. Do you think the
players of Habbo wanted the influence of /b? And the violent culture there was
shared by meankids.org when they started to frighten Kathy Sierra -- it was
only a short jump from there to the death threats, and now they've inflicted
harm. She will never be the same.

~~~
vaksel
maybe you should just move to China, I think their bill of rights will suit
you better.

~~~
DaniFong
No, I'm certain it wouldn't.

------
mcu
The truth is, 4Chan is full of some of the best people in the world.

It has changed in the last few years and the change has been even more
dramatic in the last 6 months or so. The long September started last year and
now people are coming to 4Chan expecting nothing more than to cry havoc and
let slip the dogs of war. They have no interest in the history of 4Chan or in
creating new content.

They come because it's trendy.

Just like Usenet, /., Digg, Reddit, and someday HN, the people who matter will
leave and find a new home.

~~~
endlessvoid94
I agree.

This is the price of completely community-driven content. It'll be interesting
to see if we ever tend back towards moderated places or if we continue to
leapfrog from community to community in the frantic hope that we'll eventually
find one that isn't overridden by the masses.

Hmmm. How could I make this into a startup?

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rms
I fear what we may have just unleashed on our simple news site.

------
adrianwaj
4Chan guys think it's cool to promote the Swastika: is it to offend, to shock,
or do they see nothing wrong about the Nazis? Is it both?

Western society has gone awry in many ways, and 4Chan is a manifestation of
this, and a mirror of it.

They've had a dig at Scientology but is there any discretion as to what's cut
down? If none, then it's just vandalism.

It's all in such bad taste. Even its creator in his personal private life has
distanced himself from it.

That all being said, a site like this has a degree of freedom and spirit that
in a different environment, say North Korea or China, could spearhead a
revolution - however for a forum to lead a revolution, even the participants
need to be identified, if not in name then at least persona. Also, what would
the end product of such a revolution result in? I predict self-destruction if
4Chan was the source.

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ALee
The real story is not the influence of 4chan, but rather it's business model.
I read kind of the same article in Time. It seems, the 4chan founder is on a
PR tour (PG's Submarine PR- <http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html>)
because of problems making money.

At the end of the story, he talks about the uphill battle to get ad revenue
and in Time he mentioned wanting to sell to Rupert Murdoch. I think he's
finding himself more like p0rn than digg, what's an obscene site to do?

------
Herring
"His message was signed 'moot', a code name he uses on 4chan for reasons no
one has yet fathomed."

I burst out laughing at that.

------
whacked_new
I'm mildly disappointed that the article mentions nothing of the precursor to
4chan, or futaba, and its cousin 2ch, which holds much more influence, albeit
not in Western internet culture.

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sdurkin
4chan is the internet's septic tank.

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Giorgi
Huh, I knew it was about 4chan

but I disagree that it is most anarchic or influential site, there are lots of
chans and even wikichan.

it's all started in japan

UPDATE:

Oh, here is his photo: <http://www.flickr.com/photos/extraface/2445211563/>

------
mcu
Rules #1 & #2.

------
D1CKS
DICKS EVERYWHERE

~~~
Herring
Ask your doctor to decrease the dosage.

~~~
Giorgi
I think they are trying to invade :D

