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"Most terrible things at least some people love. That doesn't mean they're not terrible." 4chan, as a website, is far more varied than you think at first glanc

"Most terrible things at least some people love. That doesn't mean they're not terrible." 4chan, as a website, is far more varied than you think at first glance. Most people only hear about 4chan when "something happens", and with the news cycle, that's pretty much always bad things. For example, an anonymous 4chan post solved a 25-year-old math problem[0]. It's unfair to paint a whole popular website by the activities of some of its users on one or two of its discussion boards. There are some boards dedicated to sharing anime porn. Others, discussing technology. There's one for discussing favorite toys, one for wrestling, and another for the Hasbro show My Little Pony. [0] https://www.wired.com/story/how-an-anonymous-4chan-post-helped-solve-a-25-year-old-math-puzzle/ https://www.wired.com/story/how-an-anonymous-4chan-post-help...

mind-blight 4y ago
I think that's a fair challenge. There are a bunch of sub-communities. I'll admit that one of my biases, either for our against a site, is how thoughtful the people in charge are. Even though the communities grow organically, they're inevitably influenced by the controls put into place by the site owner. When the professed attitude is"I don't give a shit, pay me", I don't think the owner will effectively respond to the extreme cases
constGard 4y ago
I think this is true, but the balance has shifted dramatically and will likely continue to do so indefinitely. It used to be that the broad range of opinions and personalities balanced out /pol/ when you were visiting other boards, but it really is getting to the point where every board I visit is skewed by at least some amount of antisemitism, conspiratorial thinking, christian fundamentalism, or pro-nazi thinking. The most amusing thing to happen lately on /pol/ has been their struggle to cohere a consensus opinion around the war in Ukraine. It might be the first broad division I've seen there in a while.

mind-blight 4y ago

I think that's a fair challenge. There are a bunch of sub-communities. I'll admit that one of my biases, either for our against a site, is how thoughtful the people in charge are. Even though the communities grow organically, they're inevitably influenced by the controls put into place by the site owner. When the professed attitude is"I don't give a shit, pay me", I don't think the owner will effectively respond to the extreme cases

constGard 4y ago

I think this is true, but the balance has shifted dramatically and will likely continue to do so indefinitely. It used to be that the broad range of opinions and personalities balanced out /pol/ when you were visiting other boards, but it really is getting to the point where every board I visit is skewed by at least some amount of antisemitism, conspiratorial thinking, christian fundamentalism, or pro-nazi thinking. The most amusing thing to happen lately on /pol/ has been their struggle to cohere a consensus opinion around the war in Ukraine. It might be the first broad division I've seen there in a while.