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4chan: Beyond one billion

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51–60 of 133 posts

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#51
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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: http://…

If the allegations in the screenshot you posted are true (tl;dr: since 2008, the /b/ board is run by law enforcement as a sting operation), several prosecutions would have already run their course in the four years since the alleged start of the sting operation. Court decisions being open and including the details of the sting, we would have heard about it, wouldn't we? I think the press would have had a field day with that.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#52
post #29
post #23

While 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 (4…

They were made infamous by reddit, due to them starting to beat that dead horse a year after 4chan got bored of it.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#54
post #23

While 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…

Influence on Western Culture? Why don't you go read the news, the Patterson break-up has had more of an effect on Western culture then 4Chan could ever hope to succeed. Some people spend way too much time on the internet; I can guarantee you that 99% of America, has no clue what 4Chan, Rage Comics, lolcats is. Anonymous and the 1% movement (but you may have to say Occupy Wall Street to the 3 million remaining people)…

While I get your point, I think much more than 1% of America is aware of the entity that is rage comics/lolcats/image macros. Pretty much every kid on the Internet these days knows what those things are or has seen them and is thus aware of them. The number will only increase.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#55
post #23

While 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…

[citation needed] on 4chan producing memes that are more than comics and cat pictures. Anonymous, sure. 1% movement? Ehh I need some proof.

"And come on, it's where all the memes are born." It is not where all of the memes are born, much less the useful ones. If you claim otherwise, please tell me what I am missing.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#56
post #23

While 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…

4chan doesn't create stuff any more, maybe back in ~2004 when it was the "primary" location to find "internet culture" that was true, but nowadays it's spread out all across the internet. Even the majority of things credited to 4chan didn't "start" at 4chan.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#57
post #23

While 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.

But why would I go out of my way to visit a place that has that stuff on it in the first place? So I can be associated with sociopaths? I'll pass and get my content elsewhere.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#59
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably not the same, but it's the closest thing we've got.

Even Justin Bieber is probably bigger and more known than internet memes.

That's not the same generation of consumers though. About a decade or so apart in age I reckon.

I bet hippies weren't too big or popular with the 12 year old crowd either when they were at their peak.

And BTW, Justin Bieber IS an internet meme. He was made famous through a youtube video clip that got him the attention of big producers, a contract and eventually "real" fame.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#60
post #55
post #23

While 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…

[citation needed] on 4chan producing memes that are more than comics and cat pictures. Anonymous, sure. 1% movement? Ehh I need some proof. "And come on, it's where all the memes are born." It is not where all of the memes are born, much less the useful ones. If you claim otherwise, please tell me what I am missing.

You yourself admitted that they produced more than comics and cat pictures.

Don't forget the Anonymous cracking outfit.

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