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4chan: Beyond one billion

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Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#71

Post by dnpfwfyuta »

nsmartt wrote: post #34
simias wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Rage comics are just "MS paint comics" with recurring characters and a set format- which makes sense given that reddit is a less chaotic alternative to 4chan. Of course, the chaotic nature of 4chan is not a bad thing. Also, the memes that originate elsewhere are still made popular due to 4chan's influence. e.g. "trollface" apparently comes from deviantart but is commonly used in rage comics (I think).

Just like the 'lolwut pear'.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#72

Post by borlak »

Swizec wrote: 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…

scientology

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#73

Post by dnpfwfyuta »

nsmartt wrote: post #31
nateberkopec wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Aren't most of those boards invaded pretty regularly? Also, some of the boards are full of people who can be described as insane- despite not having porn/gore/etc. For example, /g/. I don't agree that it's inaccurate to say 4chan is vile in general, and I certainly agree with the sentiment that 4chan is the best and worst of the internet- or at least the social part of the internet.

> Also, some of the boards are full of people who can be described as insane- despite not having porn/gore/etc. For example, /g/.

Yes, and Facebook is full of strong black women who don't need no man.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#74

Post by illuminate »

enko wrote: post #66
RollAHardSix wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)…

I can't believe I'm saying this but it's almost offensive to me that you're comparing 4chan to celebrity news. 4chan is friggin' high art compared to that shit. Celebrity news is the lowest of the low; nothing but easy-to-read brain candy for bored, boring housewives. And I think 4chan has a huge influence. It is a very powerful site in tech culture, which is pretty large I think. Tech culture might be smaller by num…

TBH, much of 4chan IS "nothing but easy-to-read brain candy for bored, boring" nerds. There's more to it, but there's a ton of boring people and boring memesploitation in lieu of actual thought or humor.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#75

Post by binxbolling »

RollAHardSix wrote: post #35
Swizec wrote: 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)…

Assuming, like you, that by "the 1% movement" we're talking about Occupy, then it should be pointed out that it was birthed by Adbusters. 4Chan had nothing to do with it, except in a very peripheral sense that could also be claimed by hundreds of other sites/groups/organizations.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#76

Post by Agart »

nsmartt wrote: post #34
simias wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Rage comics are just "MS paint comics" with recurring characters and a set format- which makes sense given that reddit is a less chaotic alternative to 4chan. Of course, the chaotic nature of 4chan is not a bad thing. Also, the memes that originate elsewhere are still made popular due to 4chan's influence. e.g. "trollface" apparently comes from deviantart but is commonly used in rage comics (I think).

The trollface is from a 4chan comic. The creator posted it to DeviantART too, but it's not really "from" there. http://whynne.deviantart.com/art/Comic-Trolls-98357844

There are a few similar comic artists. Notably 3-Angled-Blue, who drew some amazing MS Paint comics that are slowly being made into rage comic templates.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#77

Post by dnpfwfyuta »

jeffool wrote: post #11

The thing that strikes me is how... Ubiquitous as it is, and at the same time, unknown to so many more. "Browsing 4chan" truly is the "reading Rolling Stone magazine" of its day. And somehow, it retains that while being huge. I say this as someone fired for visiting it[1], and finding it impossible to get a job in the news industry a year later. Now, the news industry is hardly considered cutting edge, but people hea…

Did you get fired for browsing it at work, or because they found out you browse it at home?

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#78

Post by jmduke »

enko wrote: post #66
RollAHardSix wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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)…

I can't believe I'm saying this but it's almost offensive to me that you're comparing 4chan to celebrity news. 4chan is friggin' high art compared to that shit. Celebrity news is the lowest of the low; nothing but easy-to-read brain candy for bored, boring housewives. And I think 4chan has a huge influence. It is a very powerful site in tech culture, which is pretty large I think. Tech culture might be smaller by num…

The argument isn't that 4chan doesn't have its own identity, its refuting this:

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?

I think 4chan definitely has a huge influence on the tech sector, but in terms of straight-up 'influence' vastly more people follow celebrity gossip than memes. That might change (it probably won't -- we're prone to hero-worship, whether or not its movie stars or tech icons).

Celebrity news is the lowest of the low; nothing but easy-to-read brain candy for bored, boring housewives.

I don't really read celebrity news, but I have read rage comics and memes back when Reddit had them frontpaged, and if you think they're more than easy-to-read brain candy, I think you're mistaken.

Re: 4chan: Beyond one billion

#80

Post by cochese »

mej10 wrote: post #55
Swizec wrote: 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.

The RickRoll'D Youtube video has over 63 million views, an incredible feat for an artist whose career all but died in the late 80s.
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