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[Valhelm]

For a decade or more, 4chan has been one of the most controversial sites on the internet. Despite being tiny when compared to social aggregate sites like Reddit or Tumblr, it manages to exert a huge influence of internet culture and politics. I know that a lot of Gaffers browse or have browsed 4chan.

What do you think of the site? Is it a worthwhile community, or just one giant circlejerk of teenage boys trying to be as edgy as possible? Is 4chan a legitimate forum? How does it compare to Reddit, tumblr, or NeoGaf?

Personally, I think 4chan is a pretty interesting idea. It's often terrible in practice, but the novelty of a giant, mostly anonymous community is actually pretty cool. Most of the boards are pretty awful, and the nothing-to-lose nature encourages a lot of bigotry, but on a good day 4chan manages to be a really great place for discussion. I think a traditional forum is better for anything serious, but the anonymity and lack of reputation adds honesty and shit-posting of a flavor that's rarely seen elsewhere. I just wish /b/ was not seen as the face of the website, given that it represents all the worst aspects of 4chan and none of its charm: /b/ manages to be more bigoted than reddit and just as hyperbolic as tumblr. However, boards like /mu/ or even /tv/ allow for a kind of brainstorming and collective analysis that can't really happen anywhere else. I'll be surprised if the next Game of Thrones book contains any big twist that /tv/ hasn't predicted yet.

No GamerGate discussion, please.

 

[blame space]

4chan sucks there's no accountability because everyone is anonymous so no one puts any thought into any of their posts

 

[SolVanderlyn]

They can be hilarious or extremely cruel, and are a good source for desktop wallpapers.

 

[Einbroch]

Million times better than Reddit, at least. How debate can take place on a site where you can simply down vote things you disagree with so no one ever sees them is incredibly stupid.

 

[Korosenai]

I love ylyl threads. Though now they're full of that fucking banana every other picture.

 

[D3RANG3D]

They can be hilarious or extremely cruel, and are a good source for desktop wallpapers.

And reaction images.

 

[Poetic.Injustice]

4chan sucks there's no accountability because everyone is anonymous so no one puts any thought into any of their posts

 

[Htown]

Million times better than Reddit, at least. How debate can take place on a site where you can simply down vote things you disagree with so no one ever sees them is incredibly stupid.

"debate"

 

[collige]

Great or awful, depending on the board and the thread. I've met some amazing people through there though

 

[pupcoffee]

Jaded young people who can't take any moral or value very seriously have a decent home there.

The unrelenting nihilism is the draw for me. And because nobody has an identity (or is part of a bigger identity which is Anon) nobody has an ego either.

 

[Eighty Deuce]

All things begin and end on 4chan

 

[JordanN]

It's not great. Too many n-words and f-words are used in every sentence makes it incredibly annoying to read.

They're also obsessed with conspiracy theories though to be fair, I guess other websites are like that too.

 

[wonzo]

its a shithole

 

[Cyber6x]

I used to visit /v/ a couple of years ago, and it took me a couple of months to realize the bitterness and constant aggression that runs rampant there.
There's the occasional hilarity that you'll see get screenshot and spread around but there's way too much stuff that proves why some say gamers can be some of the worst people at times.

Honestly, the smaller boards are way better. /vg/ and /wg/ are two of my favorite boards and the only ones I visit nowadays. Smaller communities have less pressure to conform and less chance of interaction with some of the worst users.

 

[Stopmotionkai]

I enjoy when they actually discuss the topics they create. Following alot of those threads even helped me get into new stuff like in my avatar pic, but all of the terrible shitposting threads, ESPECIALLY after the star wars trailer is what puts me off from going there too often,

 

[Qblivion]

Awful vile place where racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and more are glorified and encouraged.

 

[Bo Knows GAF]

I avoid it at all costs honestly.

 

[PerezDeCorcho]

It's a cesspool.

 

[SmithnCo]

Depends on the thead. Some are great, some are awful.

 

[Siegcram]

Unreadable. And so is reddit.

 

[HUELEN10]

4chan is a place where a legitimate, vibrant, intelligent community can be found, and there is really nothing like it. To compare it to say, GAF, Tumblr, or Reddit, would be flawed as in they are totally different things. Some of the best people I have talked to I've met on the threads of some of 4chan's boards. Some of them might be on 4chan+ or ∞chan now, but to many out there, it all started on Moot's board (sorry something awful).


I know there is a lot of shit there, but on that site, communities and generals can and do flourish.

 

[Valhelm]

Million times better than Reddit, at least. How debate can take place on a site where you can simply down vote things you disagree with so no one ever sees them is incredibly stupid.

Yeah. Adequate discussion really only works on a tightly-controlled subreddit like AskHistorians, where posts are encouraged to be voted-on by their quality and not their popularity.

The voting format encourages a hivemind mentality in almost every other circumstances.

 

[Angry Puppy]

its like reddit, but they embrace the fact that they are a disgusting cesspool instead of denying it.

 

[Princess Viola]

i like it, although i only ever read (and occasionally post) in /x/

 

[Kinsei]

Awful vile place where racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and more are glorified and encouraged.

This sums up my thoughts on it.

 

[Cronox]

Basically an experimentation ground for memes. Many reap the benefit without having ever gone to or heard of 4chan. I don't go there that often, but I'm glad it exists.

 

[Dead]

It got old 5 years ago

 

[Dai101]

Both brilliant and awful.

 

[pupcoffee]

Awful vile place where racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and more are glorified and encouraged.

Thing is, barely any of the racism, sexism or homophobia is actually sincere. They act like that to push people's buttons. They just look at whatever is considered offensive/backwards and run with it. That people don't really get this is what makes /b/ laugh.

 

[Jitters]

Awful vile place where racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and more are glorified and encouraged.

Absolutely. It is without a doubt a shit hole. Yet, I keep going back.

 

[Kinsei]

Thing is, barely any of the racism, sexism or homophobia is actually sincere. They act like that to push people's buttons. They just look at whatever is considered offensive/backwards and run with it. That people don't really get this is what makes them laugh.

That doesn't make it any better.

 

[watatatow]

It's shit.

 

[SmithnCo]

i like it, although i only ever read (and occasionally post) in /x/

I miss old /x/

 

[Qblivion]

Thing is, barely any of the racism, sexism or homophobia is actually sincere. They act like that to push people's buttons. They just look at whatever is considered offensive/backwards and run with it. That people don't really get this is what makes /b/ laugh.

That somehow makes it ok?

 

[Isotope]

I like it.

Spoiler

I have it open in another tab right now

 

[Riposte]

The culture that surrounds /a/ amuses me to no end. Makes reaching manga like Bleach worthwhile.

Anyway, I only like the site more now I don't post on it and just browse once in awhile.

 

[Coreda]

It receives a lot of justified criticism, and a lot of sweeping judgments. The BS is there, yet occasionally some great things make it out of the non-PC culture.

Not a poster or regular but have had some of the best laughs from the content that comes from the site (greentext, video game musicals, memes, etc). The Elliot Rodger vocaroos were some of the best things to come of that otherwise terrible tragedy.

 

[Zoolader]

I like my gaf, shaken not stirred. Sites like Reddit and 4chan are just too outdated for me to browse comfortably, those other forum layouts are just atrocious. Looking at my track record I'm also usually only involved with just one online community at a time, 4chan has never appealed to me.

 

[Qvoth]

i still browse /v/



and /gif/ :3

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

Thing is, barely any of the racism, sexism or homophobia is actually sincere. They act like that to push people's buttons. They just look at whatever is considered offensive/backwards and run with it. That people don't really get this is what makes /b/ laugh.

I don't know if organizing a campaign to send pictures of mutilated dead bodies to trans women can be done ironically.

At least /pol/ was shut down?

 

[toxicgonzo]

Some of the funniest stuff on the internet originated on 4chan. It's not a site I visit at all really because it can be pretty vile at times.

 

[entremet]

I find it very hard to read and aesthetically disgusting. Reminds of Internet circa 95 with the default basic fonts.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

I'm partial to those images where you like...design characters or have a certain amount of points to spend on a house or stuff like that. Not sure what the word for them is.

EDIT: Like this

I only need 26 points.

 

[LordJim]

4chan is still an effective boogeyman.
Even if you do not go to a place like /b/ or /pol/, people assume you are a cyber terrorist.

Still finding nice images

 

[HUELEN10]

I find it very hard to read and aesthetically disgusting. Reminds of Internet circa 95 with the default basic fonts.

You can use themes and custom CSS, and you can pay Moot 20 bucks a year to not enjoy Google's Capcha botnet.

Not gonna lie, where else are you gonna find shit like this?

 

[Tagyhag]

Some boards are absolute shit, others are really damn good for being an anonymous board.

 

[Toxi]

It's hard to go there. There are boards that aren't nearly as bad as /v/, but they have their own issues, and garbage from /pol/ or /b/ has a habit of leaking into every board when the mods are asleep. I can't imagine actually enjoying /v/.

Also, fuck the ink blot captchas.

 

[collige]

I don't know if organizing a campaign to send pictures of mutilated dead bodies to trans women can be done ironically.

At least /pol/ was shut down?

/pol/ hasn't been shut down for many years. Ironically enough, their shit ends up in /lgbt/ fairly often.

 

[BeforeU]

its a shithole

.

 

[Deadbeat]

That somehow makes it ok?

You can always go to opposite land where everyone is offended by everything at Tumblr.