4chan: What the hell is it?

[ShaneHaughey]

What the f*ck is 4chan? I've never been there, never been linked there, and no one has ever brought it up in a conversation unless we are discussing internet memes. The name doesn't give any clues. Four-chan? Like, a girl named four? Or is it four girls? Or is it saying, "For Chan, my dearest love." and is therefore just being a f*cktard?
I mean, why four? Is there a 3chan and, if so, how is 4chan improved? Better lasers? Larger and more effective sexual organs?

And why has every meme started there? Is there a Meme Popularity Commission that oversees the popularity of internet memes and is based at 4chan?

It has me doubting the very nature of my existence because I am starting to believe that I myself am a meme created by 4chan, the Great God of the intrawebs.

[Mr. Hat_DX27]

Put them research skills of yours to use...Google's your friend!

I haven't been to 4chan a lot myself, I know Schan has though. He or Baggage (who nobody here knows cause he doesn't post here) would know best.

[ShaneHaughey]

I refuse to google the bastard because I know it will either disgust or bore me and I'd rather sit here playing my DS. Besides, I need something to talk about as I try to stay up for six more hours.

[Big-Will]

4chan (4 channel) is an imageboard (message board dedicated to images) created by moot, a member of Something Awful's message board. He doesn't post at SA anymore, probably because his board now has more members than SA does. 4chan is an English version of 2ch (2 channel), a Japanese imageboard. 4chan has forums for just about anything, including a Shockwave forum. Threads there don't last more than a day, so if you go and decide to save some images you like, save them quick, 'cause they'll be gone the next day. Its most famous forum is /b/, the random forum or off-topic forum. Lolcat began there. You can post anonymously there, so you'll find almost every thread is started by... Anonymous. Does that ring a bell to anyone?

And yes, some of the images you'll find there are disgusting.

[ShaneHaughey]

So it is like Photobucket meets the universe?

[Mr. Hat_DX27]

A friend of mine in my programing class is pretty obsessed with 4chan, and uploads a bunch of images from it into a groupwork folder for all to see. Some of the images there are actually pretty hilarious. I guess if one knows how the site works, he or she can avoid the disturbing content, at least for the most part.

[coffeeguy9]

4chan is the secret club of the internet that everybody knows about. See avatar for more details.

[Cerisa_Roz]

Ah, the afroman, indeed XD

Yep, 4chan's quite big...on the internet that is. Though if you go to anime cons, you tend to find some "ANONYMOUS" that know what you're talking about, heh. Of course, on the internet, the ANONYMOUS are a lot less restrained and you get the stuff like you see on /b/.

I remember first going there, after learning someone got some funny animated gifs from there, seeing /b/ and being all "O__O". "Random" indeed.

I haven't gone there in a while (it seems that some ANONYMOUS have sucked the fun out of places there), but /a/'s my usual hangout. /cgl/ and /co/ are two others, but tend to get filled with annoying drama, because we all know that there can be no other options than DC and Marvel in the "WAAH, DC SUX MARVEL IS BETTAR/WAAH, MARVEL SUX DC ROX" wars, and /cgl/'s a hive of "OMG JELOUS FATTIE!!11" "OMG KIPI" "ALISA-CHAN EEW" stuff. Oh, and "Boner Robin", eep. Someone spammed /cgl/ with him a while back and 'b0rked' it.

Back when Death Note was hotter, /a/ had quite the amusing threads of it, as well as ones for Gurren Lagann. There was a constant Lucky Star war, too, between the fans and haters.

One thing of 4chan is definitely the memes like "Longcat", "Pedobear", etc. which one can see name-dropped and brought up in places like cons in RL as well.

Though there are rules at 4chan, the Random board is pretty much the "Anything Goes" one, so you're bound to find some disturbing things there. Some people post explicit stuff outside of /b/ and the hentai ones, but they tend to get banned (remembers this disturbing pic of a woman with Homer Simpson's face tattooed across their *cough* and buttcrack, among other oddities).

You may also have heard about 4chan memes at places like Encyclopedia Dramatica, which is freaky in its own right.

[Jay C]

I haven't been to 4chan a lot myself, I know Schan has though. He or Baggage (who nobody here knows cause he doesn't post here) would know best.

*ahem*

I think I'm the only 4chan poster in my entire city. There's been numerous instances where, due to boredome and the fact I'm in a very crowded place, I've shouted out things like; "LEGION", "Mudkips!", "We do not forgive", ect. Nobody's replied. I remember reading a story where some guy yelled 'Mudkips!' in a Wal*Mart and like, 5 guys started spouting memes. I'd die if that happened here.

f*cking britfags. D:

[Mr. Hat_DX27]

I haven't been to 4chan a lot myself, I know Schan has though. He or Baggage (who nobody here knows cause he doesn't post here) would know best.

*ahem*

Sorry James...it's just you keep dying...they don't. XD

You're still just as awesome though!

[Kaixx]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan

Wikipedia can tell you everything you want to know.

Short version: It's an English imageboard, mainly meant for popular culture, anime and manga pictures. But since it's been growing a lot of stuff has been added.

JESUS CHRIST IT'S A LION GET IN THE CAR!

[anon420]

Lurk moar.

Wikipedia can answer all your dumb questions.

There you will find that it is the in charge of malaysia and the Internet hate machine.

[Anoneemoose]

4chan (4 channel) is an imageboard (message board dedicated to images) created by moot, a member of Something Awful's message board. He doesn't post at SA anymore, probably because his board now has more members than SA does. 4chan is an English version of 2ch (2 channel), a Japanese imageboard. 4chan has forums for just about anything, including a Shockwave forum. Threads there don't last more than a day, so if you go and decide to save some images you like, save them quick, 'cause they'll be gone the next day. Its most famous forum is /b/, the random forum or off-topic forum. Lolcat began there. You can post anonymously there, so you'll find almost every thread is started by... Anonymous. Does that ring a bell to anyone?

And yes, some of the images you'll find there are disgusting.

Weak man. f*cking weak. Rule number one.

[UNITINU]

Jesus f*ck this is so goddamn fail.

[EbaumsMaster]

You know what 4chan isnt? It isnt your friend and it isnt something you should be posting about.