Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why the 4chan hate? It is what it is, doesn't pretend to be anything else, and there's a place for it. At its best, 4chan can be great. You can't compare that to YouTube comments at all. 4chan's about lulz, not pure unadulterated stupidity. They're not the same at all.
I'm from the old guard, used to be real thrilled with Usenet. Trolls are The Great Enemy, and 4chan is real big on trolling.
And anyway - not all "trolling" is created equal, IMO. Smart, organised, (dare I say) funny trolling beats random hate and idiocy anyday. I haven't noticed 4chan moving with any particular malicious intent; they just try to amuse themselves, and the causes are as often defensible (Scientology, Sarah Palin mails) as not.
We're always going to have trolls. If 4chan sets the standard for trolling I think we've done pretty well actually. At least they're intelligent.