I think this is the reason (from TFA): >The site remained on the fringes until 2014, when some supporters of GamerGate — a loose reactionary collection of anti

I think this is the reason (from TFA): >The site remained on the fringes until 2014, when some supporters of GamerGate — a loose reactionary collection of anti-feminist video gamers — flocked to 8chan after being kicked off 4chan. Since GamerGate, 8chan has become a catchall website for internet-based communities whose behavior gets them evicted from more mainstream sites.