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This is a deep misunderstanding of 4chan, enough so that I find it difficult to believe you've even seen any board on the site you are discussing. The abuse is

This is a deep misunderstanding of 4chan, enough so that I find it difficult to believe you've even seen any board on the site you are discussing. The abuse is directed at everyone; no matter what opinion you share, no matter who you are, you will be verbally abused in a variety of ways. Totally innocuous opinions that you would be lauded for or totally ignored for on another site are just cause for being berated and harassed on 4chan, though the extent of it is largely governed by the culture of the particular board. I think this is what OP meant by "egalitarian" (though I certainly wouldn't have chosen that word) -- equal opportunity abuse. This shared constant toxicity plus no karma/upvotes and no attachment to an online persona through anonymity mean that the playing ground is perhaps uniquely level.

bmarquez 3y ago
> The abuse is directed at everyone; no matter what opinion you share, no matter who you are, you will be verbally abused in a variety of ways. Yeah, this is what people misunderstand about 4chan. Obviously my race gets a lot of flak, but I've even seen racial slurs about white Europeans I've never heard anywhere else. I'm not saying it's morally right, but it feels more of a hazing tactic than legitimate hatred. Once you pass that filter you have access to some interesting information.
- AbrahamParangi 3y ago
  4chan has the most egalitarian slur ecosystem I've ever seen, it's incredible.
UncleMeat 3y ago
But it is absolutely not the case that the abuse is the same magnitude at everyone.
- buggyipadmettoo 3y ago
  And? Imagine, for example, a comedian who pokes fun at all groups exactly equally. There are infinite types of people, he wouldn’t be able to say a word. Different things are different and that’s not inherently wrong.
giraffe_lady 3y ago
They're not misunderstanding it they just don't accept your model of its value. No matter what your ethnicity someone on 4chan will make a joke about genociding you. The difference is that some people in the world actually are doing genocides. And someone from one of those groups, knowing that, is going to experience those jokes differently. 4chan, (and to a serious degree, HN) places the duty and the transgression on the person who has the bad experience with the genocide joke. But a completely valid model is actually that no, the genocide joke is the transgression and the one making it the transgressor. 4chan is not separate from the world it is part of it. And by fostering this environment you're providing cover for atrocities. Because not everyone is there just to have a fun time saying slurs! Some of them really do want us to die, and 4chan isn't just a diversion it is an actual site of conversion and radicalization towards their goals.
- eindiran 3y ago
  > And by fostering this environment you're providing cover for atrocities. To be clear, I am not "fostering [an] environment" or defending 4chan here at all, I am just pointing out that this is a misunderstanding of what the culture of 4chan is. Like the person I was replying to, I somehow doubt you have spent any time there. Where on the site are you even talking about? /g/? /lgbt/? /k/? /mu/? /pol/? /bant/? /sci/? /b/? Even though they share the cultural features I was talking about, they are quite distinct otherwise. Many people read threads on a topical board like /mu/ or /g/ and haven't spent any time on the more offensive or stomach-churning parts of the site like /pol/ or /b/. > Because not everyone is there just to have a fun time saying slurs I resent this implication that merely because I suggest people understand the things they are talking about that I am on 4chan using slurs. This style of argumentation would be right at home on the worst boards of 4chan... > it is an actual site of conversion and radicalization towards their goals 4chan is not a person, it doesn't have "goals" or opinions any more than heterogenous online communities like eg HN or Reddit do. I would agree that 4chan as a community does house more polarized opinions than most online communities, though that seems to be largely a function of not having upvotes and allowing anonymous posting. To your overall point, that this is a value difference between myself and the GP, I fully disagree. I am making a factual (and not value-centric) claim that toxicity towards anyone posting on the site is an integral part of the culture there.

bmarquez 3y ago

> The abuse is directed at everyone; no matter what opinion you share, no matter who you are, you will be verbally abused in a variety of ways. Yeah, this is what people misunderstand about 4chan. Obviously my race gets a lot of flak, but I've even seen racial slurs about white Europeans I've never heard anywhere else. I'm not saying it's morally right, but it feels more of a hazing tactic than legitimate hatred. Once you pass that filter you have access to some interesting information.

AbrahamParangi 3y ago
4chan has the most egalitarian slur ecosystem I've ever seen, it's incredible.

UncleMeat 3y ago

But it is absolutely not the case that the abuse is the same magnitude at everyone.

buggyipadmettoo 3y ago
And? Imagine, for example, a comedian who pokes fun at all groups exactly equally. There are infinite types of people, he wouldn’t be able to say a word. Different things are different and that’s not inherently wrong.

giraffe_lady 3y ago

They're not misunderstanding it they just don't accept your model of its value. No matter what your ethnicity someone on 4chan will make a joke about genociding you. The difference is that some people in the world actually are doing genocides. And someone from one of those groups, knowing that, is going to experience those jokes differently. 4chan, (and to a serious degree, HN) places the duty and the transgression on the person who has the bad experience with the genocide joke. But a completely valid model is actually that no, the genocide joke is the transgression and the one making it the transgressor. 4chan is not separate from the world it is part of it. And by fostering this environment you're providing cover for atrocities. Because not everyone is there just to have a fun time saying slurs! Some of them really do want us to die, and 4chan isn't just a diversion it is an actual site of conversion and radicalization towards their goals.

eindiran 3y ago
> And by fostering this environment you're providing cover for atrocities. To be clear, I am not "fostering [an] environment" or defending 4chan here at all, I am just pointing out that this is a misunderstanding of what the culture of 4chan is. Like the person I was replying to, I somehow doubt you have spent any time there. Where on the site are you even talking about? /g/? /lgbt/? /k/? /mu/? /pol/? /bant/? /sci/? /b/? Even though they share the cultural features I was talking about, they are quite distinct otherwise. Many people read threads on a topical board like /mu/ or /g/ and haven't spent any time on the more offensive or stomach-churning parts of the site like /pol/ or /b/. > Because not everyone is there just to have a fun time saying slurs I resent this implication that merely because I suggest people understand the things they are talking about that I am on 4chan using slurs. This style of argumentation would be right at home on the worst boards of 4chan... > it is an actual site of conversion and radicalization towards their goals 4chan is not a person, it doesn't have "goals" or opinions any more than heterogenous online communities like eg HN or Reddit do. I would agree that 4chan as a community does house more polarized opinions than most online communities, though that seems to be largely a function of not having upvotes and allowing anonymous posting. To your overall point, that this is a value difference between myself and the GP, I fully disagree. I am making a factual (and not value-centric) claim that toxicity towards anyone posting on the site is an integral part of the culture there.