4chan. The happiest place on Earth

[AsurasEyes]

Well, Escapist, I've found it. After years of searching, I've found a website where I can truly be at home. A board for every mood, a community of people who are simultaneously hateful and loving, toxic and dynamic, behaving like absolute idiots and yet possessing a glimmering self-awareness. Of course, the traditional games board is best, having made a number of it's own Pen and Paper RPGs, it has provided lulz and truly grand times to me for several years now.

But whenever i bring it up, people stare at me. People look like I've just said "Hitler did nothing wrong", and most of the guys in my gaming group will shake their heads at the idea that 4chan could be a wonderful and amazing place. This got me thinking, are all my friends just stupid, or have i just become warped by my exposure to that place?

So tell me, Escapists. What is your experience with the glorious den of scum and villainy known as 4chan?

 

[Barbas]

I occasionally hear about the exploits of some of their more politically active members on the news, but that has been the extent of it.

I did so enjoy reading about their raid on Habbo hotel. Well, there have been several, haven't there? It is so terribly hard to pick a favourite moment...

They don't control themselves particularly well, though. Wildfires tend to spread with alarming speed on such land. Such things are always easier to start up than to stamp out.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Mostly negative. Though occasionally I laugh at screen-capped buffoonery from there, I've seen far more people just being outrageously racist, sexist and hateful.

Also I don't like the format of the boards so I've never bothered posting. I prefer this community.

But to each their own. I just don't have the patience to put up with all the crap to find the gold buried in that site.

 

[Weaver]

I really like 4chan. I started going in 2005, but I've tailed off in more recent years.
It's a fun, brutally honest, surprisingly creative, and impressively diverse group of boards.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

I see their shenanigans through r/4chan, so I couldn't tell you how the actual site is...

But its given me laughs, so it can't be all bad!

 

[Pink Gregory]

Well, if it were all bad, nobody would stick around there.

 

[Qwurty2.0]

Well, if it were all bad, nobody would stick around there.

Your standards are much higher than the average denizen of 4chan. :/

 

[Foolery]

Only browsed through 4chan a couple of times. Not really my kind of place. I also hate the page layout. It's a clusterfuck to the eyes.

 

[Auberon]

You know, /b/ is only one board. Fat/tg/uys have provided me with many laughs of their escapades.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I enjoy the /tg/ board, because they have the awesome 1d4chan spinoff wiki.

 

[Muspelheim]

It's alright, I suppose. It's like Japan, in all. Nowhere near as weird and insane as you would think, save some particular parts at certain times.

I also feel their best days are well behind them, these days. 4chan and all that entails have left its mark in internet history, but I doubt it'll ever have the same sort of impact or influence as it did. Regretably or thankfully depending entirely on your point of view.

 

[hazabaza1]

I used to check out /v/ on occasion, but I decided against it. Now I go onto /tg/ a couple times a week. You can get some nice discussion and the big stories are always fun but god forbid you play game for the story/for the gameplay/with a group/by yourself or for spoiler]fun.[/spoiler]

Also holy fuck that are anti-diversity. If anything close to positive gets said about someone not white and straight or someone has an idea for a similarly based character/campaign you'll get maybe 1/100 repeating the positive statement, the rest will be insulting the post.

 

[Rolaoi]

It's an insular community that you'll probably find frustrating if you go in and expect people to accept your opinion just because you have an opinion.

 

[JoJo]

I've browsed 4chan a few times and haven't really been impressed, the layout seems unintuitive, most of the discussions were just filled with boring one liners and the site seemed seemed to be overflowing with porn, and also lots of gore in /b/. Nothing really pulls me back, even if they have the odd funny conservation every now and again.

 

[Esotera]

Viewing screenshots or gaining an opinion of 4chan from 3rd party sources just doesn't work, you have to experience it for yourself. It also differs wildly by the board you pick, places like /b/ & /v/ are complete cancer that should generally be avoided at all cost, whereas you can actually have a vaguely interesting conversation on the slower boards. There are also a hell of a lot of in-jokes that might seem strange to an outsider but they're not being serious.

Basically, it's an awesome website because you can be completely anonymous and share your viewpoints with strangers without being prejudiced based on whether you know them or don't like their credentials/race/gender/politics/whatever. There's a lot of fuckwaddery but there are also a decent amount of intelligent conversations (that tend to be tongue in cheek). Imageboards as a concept try and use anonymity as a benefit & that's not restricted to 4chan.

 

[Genocidicles]

It's a good counterpoint against this sudden surge of everyone trying to make the internet more politically correct.

 

[Wraith]

I only go for the porn, really.

Every one seems to like the diversity. Me on the other hand, I hate how they show it. You can tell a person you disagree with their opinion without getting uppity and racist about it.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I love that place. A lot of conversations there are hilarious, from actual funny comments or just blatant out of place slurs that make me laugh anyway.

I tend to stay away from the more popular boards. /v/ is conversations I don't want to read about games I've never played, /co/, /a/, /mu/ and /tv/ are way out of my league, I'm nowhere near in tune to the many international relations and stereotypes to appreciate /pol/ and /int/, /b/ is... /b/, and /x/ is overwhelmingly not scary and a waste of time.

I like /fit/ for the stories and everyone there is a raging homosexual, /k/ for everything, and /d/ because you know why.