Poll: Should 4chan be "hunted" down?

[Regular Guy]

So much misinformation. Allow me to enlighten you newfags.

/b/ is basically a collection of people from all different places, backgrounds, ages, ect. with one goal in mind. Post pictures, make each-other laugh, and talk about shit. That's all it is.

Sure, they occasionally ruin lives, but those people deserve it.

 

[PoliceBox63]

It's a waste of effort trying to do anything as they'd set up a new website and start again just as we would if the Escapist were shut down.

 

[Aerodyamic]

Those guys are too savvy to be "hunted down." Most of them are behind seven proxies.

I'd rather be behind 7 Boxxi's.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

Whether 4chan is ultimately a force of good or evil is really a non-issue, because it can't be stopped either way. Like many elements of the Internet, it's largely composed of anonymous members who could very easily pack up and move elsewhere, if the need arose. If the US government were to become involved, it's possible the website could be taken down, but at this point, the concept of 4chan has spread so far that any number of impersonator and/or replacement sites could spring up over night.

And that's assuming it's even possible for the government to intervene. I've never dug into 4chan's terms of service, but there's likely a clause protecting the proprietors of the site against the more morally questionable acts of the userbase. In the same way YouTube isn't responsible when someone occasionally uploads porn or something, 4chan likely isn't responsible when its users do something crazy.

In short, as long as the Internet remains largely unregulated (and it's in everyone's best interest that it does), sites like 4chan are going to continue to exist, and there's really nothing anyone can do about it.

then our tax dollars would be wasted on a "war on e-terrorism"

like we dont waste it enough on "the war on drugs" and "the war on terror" and "the war against young people"

So much misinformation. Allow me to enlighten you newfags.

/b/ is basically a collection of people from all different places, backgrounds, ages, ect. with one goal in mind. Post pictures, make each-other laugh, and talk about shit. That's all it is.

Sure, they occasionally ruin lives, but those people deserve it.

who are you (or they) to decide who deserves it and who doesnt? humans have terribly subjective judgment...

 

[crudus]

Why does it matter? They don't really do anything terrible. Besides the best way to beat them is to ignore them. You don't announce when they hack things, you don't talk about them, and you don't declare war on them. People have an easier time declaring war on moss.

 

[Communist partisan]

I don't care I don't wisit 4chan or encyclopedia dramatica so I don't care or know much about the 4chanérs or anon

 

[Snarky Username]

You assume that if 4chan was hunted down it would stop anything. The people would probably just find a new place to go. People were dicks on the internet long before 4chan.

 

[Mr.Petey]

So much misinformation. Allow me to enlighten you newfags.

/b/ is basically a collection of people from all different places, backgrounds, ages, ect. with one goal in mind. Post pictures, make each-other laugh, and talk about shit. That's all it is.

Sure, they occasionally ruin lives, but those people deserve it.

Sometimes I feel that resolve to ruin the lives of others who apparently deserve it can itself be delivered from shaky grounds.

OT however I believe that those who break the law, answer to the law. The means do not justify the ends and if some believe it's their "right alone to bring these perps to justice" then do it the legal way without stooping to whatever antics they seem fit to bestow on their victim of choice. I just feel that a few incidents leading to revenge tend to get out of hand, as will most situations that have a mob mentality.

Now I'd like to point out that a lot of people deserved to be named and shamed (the cat in a bin incident) and that some issues of other abuse weather human or animal will always deserve to be highlighted by those who feel there is a great wrong happening. But really, it's best if left to the proper notification of the authorities of said incident. The law is there to contain the dregs of society as protection of the innocent and to set an example.

Plus some of their antics with the excuse of "doing it for the lulz" leaves a lot to be desired really, especially the more indecent ones

 

[Dyp100]

I don't think anyone who talks about 4chan has ever seen it at more than a glance.

And no, spending half an hour on /b/ does not mean you know what it's like to post on the site.

Please Escapist, go look at it yourself instead of making bloody threads every other day.

Anyway, I'm gonna go back to /tg/ now, sometimes I feel that board has more intellect than this one.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

No 4chan should not be shut down. It has its good and bad points but if it were to be shut down its user base will just go somewhere else as a power vacuum will be created. You cannot stop 4chan and others like it no more than you can stop social networking no matter how much you want it disappear.

 

[Steppin Razor]

Herp derp, knee-jerk reaction by someone that doesn't even go to the site. How pathetic and amusing I find you and your ignorance.

As for your question as to whether it should be annihilated? No, I don't think so. The "bad things" that happen on the internet are not all that common, and getting rid of 4chan won't stop them from happening. 4chan is merely the de facto gathering point for the people that engage in that sort of activity, but if you get rid of it they will just organise everything on a different site. And the times that various people on 4chan aren't engaged in "cyber terrorism", the place is a completely normal image board that just so happens to factor in virtually every persons different fetishes. It is also the safe haven of the so-called "freaks". In fact, I was discussing this just the other day and another user, who shall remain unnamed unless he's alright with everyone knowing his views on this, posted up a reply that fits the reaction most people have to the "sick shit" on 4chan and the "sick" people that go there:

As an aside, did you know that a number of the 4chan boards are more welcoming and friendly than this site? I'm aware that it's a hard concept to grasp when you've spent so long being told that 4chan is the worst thing in existence, but their various boards filled with the so-called freaks are far and away less judgemental than sites filled with "normal" people.

Exactly. The "freaks" are welcoming and non-judgemental. The "normals" spend all their time condemning me as a sicko. I know which ones I find nicer to be around.

What really gets me is that half the people who think like this are simultaneously busy slapping themselves on the back about how tolerant they are of homosexuals or other races or whatever. But when they come across something they haven't been instructed to be self-consciously tolerant of, well, that's right out. Not that open-mindedness and tolerance aren't lovely, but that's not what I see. I just see a lot of people who aren't really any more enlightened than they were a century ago being smug about believing what they're told. It's hypocrisy of the worst kind and it makes me sick(er than I already was).

In conclusion - I think 4chan is a pretty cool guy. Eh makes up this shitty meme and doesn't afraid of anything.

 

[hem dazon 90]

4-Chan is one of the last places on the internet that isn't a pussified corporate owned shithole so hell no!

 

[Trevor L. Cooper]

Sure, they occasionally ruin lives, but those people deserve it.

Really? Think about what you've just said there as a human being... not an anon on the web!
No one deserves to have their life destroyed because of something they did.
This is exactly the kind of attitude that sparks conversations such as the hunting of 4chan in the first place.
Let's be honest, people do horrible things every day, because the world as a whole tends to be a horrible place.
But seeking revenge on a person because of their actions, or because they made a stupid mistake is no way to punish them.
90% of the time the person in question isn't even going to learn anything from it anyway, much like me telling you all this isn't going to change your opinion is it?

Side note: calling someone a newfag is also not a good way to get others to side with your beliefs.

-Trodo (Trevor) Baggins

P.S. People should be held accountable for their own actions, be it the girl who drowned puppies, or the people on 4chan who hunt others down! But not for revenge, for justice.

EDIT: And when I say justice I mean by the law not by cyber-terrorism.

 

[hem dazon 90]

Those guys are too savvy to be "hunted down." Most of them are behind seven proxies.

SEVEN? God damn.....we'll have to buy a dog.

A cat is fine too.

 

[fozzy360]

Most of the infamy of 4chan actually originates from /b/, and even then, they don't spend the entire day planning on who to hack or attack next. They post gore, porn, and memes like there's no tomorrow, but I feel they're just held as a scapegoat. /b/ is a pretty...interesting place, but I don't think they should be hunted down. That just sounds like it would lead to a bad end.

I dunno. I frequent /v/, and I have grown fond of the insanity of it, so take my opinion for what you will. e

 

[SimuLord]

Hunted? No. It should be treated like any other child that acts out---ignored until it goes away. Giving it attention encourages it.

 

[Sacman]

You can't stop 4chan... They are the law!

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Why is this place suddenly able to start accusing people of being assholes.

Saying stuff like "OP is a ******" is enough to get you suspended on this site.
I appreciate the fact that places like 4Chan exist, but if we're discussing it within a separate forum, we need to use a modicum of respect when doing so.

 

[Kittenmauler]

Sure, they occasionally ruin lives, but those people deserve it.

Really? Think about what you've just said there as a human being... not an anon on the web!
No one deserves to have their life destroyed because of something they did.
This is exactly the kind of attitude that sparks conversations such as the hunting of 4chan in the first place.
Let's be honest, people do horrible things every day, because the world as a whole tends to be a horrible place.
But seeking revenge on a person because of their actions, or because they made a stupid mistake is no way to punish them.
90% of the time the person in question isn't even going to learn anything from it anyway, much like me telling you all this isn't going to change your opinion is it?

Side note: calling someone a newfag is also not a good way to get others to side with your beliefs.

-Trodo (Trevor) Baggins

P.S. People should be held accountable for their own actions, be it the girl who drowned puppies, or the people on 4chan who hunt others down! But not for revenge, for justice.

What difference does it make how they are hunted down, can't justice and revenge happen together? People should be punished if they do something wrong, and and "they probably won't learn anything anyway" is a lousy argument against punishment. Some people do deserve to have their lives destroyed for something they did (murder?), you think people that do horrible things should be allowed to keep on doing them? How does that make the world a better place.

 

[Regular Guy]

Why is this place suddenly able to start accusing people of being assholes.

Saying stuff like "OP is a ******" is enough to get you suspended on this site.
I appreciate the fact that places like 4Chan exist, but if we're discussing it within a separate forum, we need to use a modicum of respect when doing so.

>implying OP isn't a ******

I'm sorry, I'm just having too much fun with this.