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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.4chan.org/ 4chan]
*[http://www.4chan.org/ 4chan]
*[http://www.petitiononline.com/4chanzor/ Return 4chan petition (12/15/08)]


[[Category:Community websites]]
[[Category:Community websites]]

Revision as of 22:47, 15 December 2007

4chan
Official 4chan logo
File:4chan121507.jpg
4chan's main page as of 2007-12-15
Type of site
Imageboard/TextBBS
Available inEnglish, Japanese
Owner"moot"
Created by"moot"
URL4chan.org
CommercialNo
RegistrationNo

4chan was an English language imageboard based on the Japanese imageboard Futaba Channel. This imageboard was based primarily around the posting of pictures (generally related to anime, manga, and popular culture) and their discussion. 4chan celebrated its 4th "birthday" on October 1, 2007.

History

4chan was founded as a project by "moot", a member of the Something Awful forums[1][2]. His website soon attracted anime fans from around the world and has grown greatly since its creation,[3] eventually surpassing Futaba Channel in traffic, currently ranking 352 amongst other websites (according to Alexa Internet).[4]

Sometime in 2005, the lolcats internet meme was started on 4chan as "Caturday", Saturdays where users posted pictures of cats, eventually adding image macros to them.[5][6]

Layout

The activity of 4chan takes place on discussion boards, image and upload boards, and drawing boards. Currently, there are thirty-five different image boards, covering topics ranging from anime, weapons, and photography to real and animated pornography. Eight of these were "trial boards" until January 9, 2007, when all of them except the sports board were upgraded to permanent boards; the sports board was discarded.[7] On February 15, 2007 the site added two new trial boards called Paranormal and Traditional Games.[8]

Other boards include an oekaki board, an Artwork/Critique board, an upload board which is used for the uploading and discussion of Flash movies, and nineteen text-based discussion boards. The discussion boards were once hosted on a separate site called "world4ch" (pronounced world four channel) as an homage to the defunct world2ch, which itself was a website intending to be an earlier attempt to create an English version of 2channel, until they moved to the subdomain dis.4chan.org.

Because 4chan is provided to its users free of charge and consumes a large amount of bandwidth, its financing often becomes problematic. To avoid long periods of downtime caused by a severe lack of funds, such as the four "deaths" that plagued the site during its first year of existence, the 4chan staff regularly requests donations.[7] However, there have been numerous problems relating to the use of several different online payment services,[7] including PayPal, YowCow, and the Authorize.net payment gateway. The pornographic content hosted on 4chan violated the terms of services of various payment receiving services and so they refused to allow 4chan to use their services.[7]

/b/

The "random" board /b/, based on the Nijiura board of Futaba Channel, is by far 4chan's most popular board. This was confirmed by statistics released by 4chan staff, as well as the post count; As of September 20, 2007, /b/'s post count has surpassed 40,000,000 posts whereas most of the other boards have yet to break 250,000. Only five other boards (/a/, /co/, /v/, /r/, and /s/) have accumulated more than 1,000,000 posts (/a/ and /v/ having over 4,000,000). After /b/'s 31,000,000th post was made on June 16, 2007, it took only 9 days to accumulate another 1,000,000 posts on /b/, meaning /b/'s posting rate has now attained an average of more than 111,000 posts per day. Certain post numbers, such as 12345678 and 22222222, and the aforemented milestones, are sought after, with a large amount of posting taking place to "get" the number.[9]

The humor of /b/'s many users, who refer to themselves as "/b/tards,"[10] is frequently characterized by intricate inside-jokes and black comedy. As a result, newcomers and outsiders often find posts incomprehensible. In addition, /b/ is known to officially have a "No rules" policy, save for a ban on certain illegal content, such as child pornography and invasions of other websites, both of which are restricted by site-wide rules that also apply to /b/.[11]

Anonymity

4chan is an anonymous BBS which does not require the user to supply any personal information, such as a name or email address, before being able to post messages. Unlike most web forums, 4chan does not have any kind of registration system. While the /b/ board currently forces all users to be anonymous, on the other boards the poster can use any nickname to his or her liking, making it possible to post under the name of someone else by simply entering his or her name into the posting form. Nonetheless, most users post anonymously. In place of registration, 4chan has provided tripcodes as an optional form of authenticating a poster's identity.[12] As the concept of anonymous posting is a defining feature of Futaba-like imageboards, the use of tripcodes generates controversy among 4chan users. Many posters who use them risk being singled out and ridiculed, often with the use of derogatory terms such as "tripfag." As anonymous posting causes posts to be attributed to "Anonymous," a running gag on 4chan is the idea that Anonymous is in fact a single person or the true name of the posters.

Moderators will generally post without a name even when banning users or posting information. In this case, the post is attributed to "Anonymous ## Mod" (though even mods are sometimes known to simply post as "Anonymous"). The primary exception is when 4chan's founder "moot" posts information relating to changes in the site.

Controversy

Blocks in the UK

Access to /b/ was blocked to customers of NTL, BT Broadband and UK Online in early June 2006.[13] For some users, access to /r/, /s/, and /t/ was also affected. While moderators attempt to remove instances of illegal content as soon as possible, as well as ban the individuals responsible for them, the prevalence of such content has led systems like Cleanfeed to blacklist the site. The 4chan TOS and FAQ also state that illegal material (e.g. child pornography, posting of personal information, invasions of other Internet communities, etc.) will not be tolerated, and will be punished appropriately.[11][12] Moderators have also recently taken stronger measures against illicit content. For example, on July 12, 2006, a reporting system was implemented on all of 4chan's image, upload, and oekaki boards, allowing any user to 'report' a post that contains illegal material, or material that violates 4chan's terms of use. On August 23, 2006, the moderators of /b/ began enforcing previously neglected rules regarding sexually suggestive pictures of under-age teenagers, invasions of other websites, and posting of personal information. Infractions would now result in bans applied to the original poster and anyone posting in the thread, whether he or she supported the content or not. Many users of /b/ responded by attacking /b/ with automatic floods and spam.

Some suspect that the blocks are related to the efforts of the Internet Watch Foundation; however, the "IWF-led block" theory has several discrepancies. Firstly, the Internet service providers (ISP) that continue to block /b/ are BT Internet and NTL, with UKOnline appearing to have removed its restriction after a few weeks. Secondly, the IWF themselves confirmed that "no part of the URL for the site 4chan.org is included in our live database."[14] Investigations by 4chan users have revealed that BT's support teams claim to have no knowledge of a block on any part of the URL 4chan.org.[15] Finally, the BT block on /b/ has evolved, with new workarounds redirected to the ban page or a nondescript 404 within mere hours of being discovered.[16] These blocks also have an erratic nature, apparently having been suddenly lifted, but reinstated days later, only to be lifted again within an equally short time period.[13] However, some of the perceived inconsistencies in this theory are directly contradicted by claims made by 4chan's staff and other sources. For example, on August 5, 2006, while being filmed during a 4chan panel at Otakon in which he was fielding questions from the audience, moot, the owner of 4chan, stated that the blockings of /b/ and some of the other boards have indeed been a result of the Cleanfeed system. /b/'s front page has also been removed from Google search results due to a notice sent by the IWF to Google.[17][18]

NFL bomb threat hoax

File:Jakebrahmthread.jpg
The original threat posted on September 18, 2006 by Brahm.

On October 18, 2006 the Department of Homeland Security warned NFL officials in Miami, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, and Cleveland about a possible threat involving the simultaneous use of dirty bombs at stadiums in those cities.[19] The threat claimed that the attack would be carried out on October 22, the final day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.[20] Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security expressed doubt concerning the credibility of the threats, but still warned the relevant organizations as a precaution. The games proceeded as planned but under a higher level of security awareness.

The threats came to light in the national media after they were reposted on 4chan's /b/ more than forty times by Jake Brahm between September 18 and October 19 of 2006.[21] The threat was originally posted on The Friend Society. The site crashed due to a high volume of traffic incurred after CNN posted a link to it, and it was reposted on 4chan and soon became associated with that site. [22]

On October 20, 2006, Brahm turned himself in to federal authorities. He was charged with fabricating a fake terrorist threat and was taken into custody by police.[23] If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.[24]

Hal Turner

In December 2006 and January 2007, individuals who identified themselves as /b/tards "raided" white nationalist Hal Turner, taking his site offline, and costing thousands of dollars of bandwidth bills according to Turner. Turner retaliated by sending a "formal legal notice of criminal activity in violation of several federal laws" by email to 7chan, multacom, and multicom, as well as redirecting his domain to 420chan.org causing that site to take a bandwidth hit as well.[10][25] [26] He also sued 4chan, 7chan, and other websites in court over copyright infringement; however, he lost his plea for an injunction and failed to receive letters from the court.[27]

False claims of responsibility

Immediately following widely publicised killings, particularly school shootings, false claims of responsibility have surfaced on 4chan - supported by fake and back-dated screenshots of the killer writing that he is about to commit murder/suicide at the location. For example, while news of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre was breaking, some news sources reported that the killer had posted about his plans on 4chan. Most such news reports were quietly removed once it became clear that the post was a hoax, but several months later some such reports still remained posted without retraction.[28]

KTTV Fox 11 News report

On July 26, 2007, KTTV Fox 11 News based in Los Angeles, California aired a report on "Anonymous," calling users of *chan imageboards a group of "hackers on steroids" and "domestic terrorists". The report covered an attack on a MySpace user, who claimed to have had his MySpace account hacked into by "Anonymous", and plastered with gay pornography images uploaded by the hackers. The MySpace user also claimed a virus written by "Anonymous" hackers was sent to him and to ninety friends on his MySpace contact list, crashing thirty-two computers. The report also featured an anonymous former "hacker" who had fallen out with "Anonymous" and explained his view of the imageboards.[29]

In addition, the report also mentioned "raids" on Habbo Hotel, a "national campaign to spoil the new Harry Potter book ending", and the previously mentioned NFL bomb threat hoax. Footage of an exploding yellow van appeared several times during the report, marked with the tiny word 'demonstration'.[29]

It is most likely the report is directed towards users of 4chan, 7chan and 420chan, due to a high level of involvement by those websites in activities shown in the video.[29] Although Fox does not explicitly mention 4chan, it does implicate similar sites.[30] The news piece made reference to "secret websites", whereas 4chan and similar imageboards (420chan's Invasion board /i/ is clearly shown) are not private and are available to view publicly.

Pflugerville High School terrorist threat

Around midnight on September 11, 2007, a student made a terrorist threat against his Pflugerville, Texas high school. People on 4chan[31] helped track him down by finding the perpetrator's father's name in the Exif data of a photograph he took, and contacted the police. He was arrested before school began that day.[32][33][34][35]

Melbourne gun threat

On December 8, 2007, Australian Jarrad Willis was arrested for posting a threat on 4chan to "shoot and kill as many people as I can until... I am incapacitated or killed by the police". Police investigated a possible connection to the Westroads Mall shooting, which had happened hours before, but there was no indication that Willis was in any way connected to the shooting.[36][37]

See also

References

  1. ^ "4chan News Archive". 4chan. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
  2. ^ http://www.thestar.com/living/article/257955
  3. ^ "Alexa traffic rankings". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  4. ^ "Alexa traffic rankings". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
  5. ^ "Lolcats' demented captions create a new Web language", Tamara Ikenberg, The News Journal, 9 July 2007
  6. ^ "Iz not cats everywhere? Online trend spreads across campus". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  7. ^ a b c d "4chan News Archive". 4chan. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
  8. ^ "4chan Blotter". 4chan. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  9. ^ "4chan FAQ on GETs". 4chan. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
  10. ^ a b Winston, Ali (2007-01-08). "'Hate Host' is hacked". Jersey Journal, The. Retrieved 2007-01-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b "4chan's Rules". 4chan. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  12. ^ a b "4chan FAQ". 4chan. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  13. ^ a b "BT / NTL /b/ Block - Stuff we know". 4chan. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  14. ^ "BT / NTL /b/ Block - Stuff we know.-Reply #86". 4chan. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  15. ^ "BT / NTL /b/ Block - Stuff we know.-Reply #127". 4chan. Retrieved 2006-08-18.
  16. ^ "BT / NTL /b/ Block - Stuff we know.-Reply #126". 4chan. Retrieved 2006-08-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  17. ^ "http://img.4chan.org/b/imgboard.htm - Google Search". Google Search. Retrieved 2006-10-14. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  18. ^ "Child pornography complaint concerning Google search". Chilling Effects Clearinghouse. Retrieved 2006-10-13.
  19. ^ "Man charged with stadium bomb threat hoax". ABC News. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  20. ^ "Man Charged in Internet Bomb Threats". InternetNews.com. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  21. ^ "Wisconsin Man Is Charged in Fake NFL Stadium Threats". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  22. ^ "New Attack on America, Be Afraid". CBS News. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  23. ^ Smothers, Ronald (2006-10-20). "Man, 20, Arrested in Stadium Threat Hoax". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  24. ^ "Knucklehead Nabbed In "Dirty Bomb" Hoax". thesmokinggun.com. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  25. ^ "Cyber foes find ways to silence hate-talk radio host". freep.com. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  26. ^ "Hal Turner Retaliates For Attack On Radio Show". Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  27. ^ "Harold C. "Hal" Turner v. 4chan.org". Justia. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  28. ^ Gunnar Johansson and Åsa Asplid (2007-04-18). ""I dag ska jag döda"". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2007-06-10.
  29. ^ a b c "FOX 11 Investigates: 'Anonymous'". Fox Television Stations, Inc. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
  30. ^ "Miang", CmdrTaco (ed.) (2007-07-28). "AC = Domestic Terrorists?" (News summary). Slashdot. Retrieved 2007-07-30. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ This is the 4chan archive thread of the original post Here are just more related threads http://4chanarchive.org/brchive/dspl_thread.php5?thread_id=39103157 http://4chanarchive.org/brchive/dspl_thread.php5?thread_id=39148206 http://4chanarchive.org/brchive/dspl_thread.php5?thread_id=39168208 http://4chanarchive.org/brchive/dspl_thread.php5?thread_id=39189537
  32. ^ Pflugerville Student Arrested After Posting Bomb Threats
  33. ^ Police Investigate Bomb Threat at Pflugerville High School
  34. ^ Teen arrested for threatening to blow up school
  35. ^ Juvenile arrested in Pflugerville H.S. bomb threat
  36. ^ "Net shooting threat: Australian man held". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  37. ^ "Student faces jail over online joke". Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 2006-12-14.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=4chan&oldid=178177358"