[deleted]
I'm sure the guy regularly used Google too...
4chan: Beyond one billion
21–30 of 133 posts
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#22I would be surprised if there wasn't an overlap between HN and 4chan (same as with SA). Being run in diametrically opposed way it fills its role rather well, I think. There is no reputation system, no limits, no censorship, etc.. This means it produces many utterly vile posts - but all of them are true expressions of people as they are, not as they pretend to be. I think people often don't appreciate this. It's not j…
I read somewhere that sociologists are fascinated by 4chan.
... and monkeys flinging poo.
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#23While I no longer visit 4chan regularly, I love its extensive influence on human society.
* lolcats
* rage comics
* anonymous
* a lot of the 1% movement
* getting random people in jail because they think animal cruelty is funny
* making Moot TIME's person of the year and getting him a TED talk -> http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_m00t_poole_the_case_for...
While most of what goes on there hinges somewhere between vile and horrible. 4chan has a lot of good in it, plenty of times there can be surprisingly good and high quality debates.
And come on, it's where all the memes are born. That's profound. What other startup can claim to be such a big influence on western society?
PS: 4chan has also invented a clever sorting algorithm - http://dis.4chan.org/read/prog/1295544154
PPS: sometimes they even manage to count to 10. I think the record was 100.
edit: when I say meme, I mean "A meme ( /ˈmiːm/; meem)[1] is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."[2] A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena." ... I don't mean, "funny picture".
A lot of responders misunderstood this, I think.
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#24Anyone know 4chans main revenue streams? How's he paying for all that hosting? Donations?
i would say government at a guess
The site owner recently revealed he pushes 3500000 GB per month. My lowball estimate puts that at roughly $77,000 per month, just under a million dollars per year to keep the site running. There are no ads on /b/, which is the main board, representing I'd guess 95% of the entire site's traffic.
That, combined with the plausibility of the following, leads me to believe he receives massive government subsidies:
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#25While I no longer visit 4chan regularly, I love its extensive influence on human society. * lolcats * rage comics * anonymous * a lot of the 1% movement * getting random people in jail because they think animal cruelty is funny * making Moot TIME's person of the year and getting him a TED talk -> http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_m00t_poole_the_case_for... While most of what goes on there hinges somewhere between…
I like your post so this is a real question, not a sarcastic remark: Can you elaborate about why you consider memes profound?
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#26[deleted]
4Chan is known for this: it has the best and the worst of the Internet.
After some time lurking, your brain acquires the skill of filtering threads that it thinks are worthless, without even polling your consciousness. As you develop this ability, you learn to appreciate the best in 4Chan, and it's really good.
I don't know anyone else from there but as far as I'm concerned, I am a normal person in everyday life and I never mention it. I just want to have a good time when I am bored, like many users there.
So it's important to try to filter the content. This site is rather unique for letting users do almost whatever they want without consequences. Some people abuse it but they won't waste it for me: the dogs bark and the caravan goes on.
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#27I would be surprised if there wasn't an overlap between HN and 4chan (same as with SA). Being run in diametrically opposed way it fills its role rather well, I think. There is no reputation system, no limits, no censorship, etc.. This means it produces many utterly vile posts - but all of them are true expressions of people as they are, not as they pretend to be. I think people often don't appreciate this. It's not j…
Sorry, voted you down on accident and can't undo it.
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#28While I no longer visit 4chan regularly, I love its extensive influence on human society. * lolcats * rage comics * anonymous * a lot of the 1% movement * getting random people in jail because they think animal cruelty is funny * making Moot TIME's person of the year and getting him a TED talk -> http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_m00t_poole_the_case_for... While most of what goes on there hinges somewhere between…
This whole "4chan is vile and horrible" thing is getting old. 4chan is not /b/, and vice versa. There are a lot of boards on 4chan that are perfectly normal, with no gore threads/porn/etc.
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#29While I no longer visit 4chan regularly, I love its extensive influence on human society. * lolcats * rage comics * anonymous * a lot of the 1% movement * getting random people in jail because they think animal cruelty is funny * making Moot TIME's person of the year and getting him a TED talk -> http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_m00t_poole_the_case_for... While most of what goes on there hinges somewhere between…
I think you (and probably many others) are conflating 4chan with its /b/ board. There are several communities with their own "ecosystem" within 4chan, even if there's some overlap of course.
Also, it wouldn't be fair to attribute all the things you've cited to 4chan only. Something Aweful contributed to the birth of many "early" memes for instance. And I think the rage comics were infamously made popular by reddit (4chan had "MS paint comics" and such).
Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Much of it Adult, too, since it is, well, 4chan.
4chan is not only /b/ and porn, there are surprisingly good SFW boards too. Well, maybe "SFW" is pushing it a bit, since the tone is still 4-chaney, but then look around the technology, cooking, or traditionnal games boards: you'll be surprised.
/sp/ is honestly one of the funniest places on the internet.