4chan
The 4chan homepage on December 26, 2015
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Type of site
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Imageboard |
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| Available in | English |
| Owner | Hiroyuki Nishimura |
| Created by | Christopher Poole |
| Website | www |
| Alexa rank |
 581 (October 2016[update]) |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | None available |
| Launched | October 1, 2003 |
4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Users generally post anonymously, with the most recent posts appearing above the rest. 4chan is split into various boards with their own specific content and guidelines. Registration is not required, nor is it possible (except for staff).
Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for posting pictures and discussing manga and anime, as the site was modeled on Japanese imageboards, particularly 2chan. The site quickly became popular and expanded, though much of 4chan's content still features otaku, anime, and other Japanese cultural influences.
The site has been linked to Internet subcultures and activism, most notably Anonymous, the alt-right and Project Chanology. 4chan users have been responsible for the formation or popularization of Internet memes such as lolcats, Rickrolling, "Chocolate Rain", Pedobear and many others. The site's "Random" board, also known as "/b/", was one of the site's first forums, and is the one that receives the most traffic. As its name suggests, the Random board has minimal rules on posted content. Gawker once jokingly claimed that "reading /b/ will melt your brain". The site's anonymous community and culture have often provoked media attention. For media planners, this enterprise is "further proof that creativity is everywhere and new media is less accessible" to advertisement agencies.
4chan users have been instrumental in pranks such as hijacking Internet destinations to cause images of Rick Astley to appear in place of their content, coordinating attacks against other websites and Internet users, and posting threats of violence in order to elicit individual and public reactions. The Guardian once summarized the 4chan community as "lunatic, juvenile [...] brilliant, ridiculous and alarming."
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