It’s one of the most controversial platforms out there, and now, the infamous 4chan website was sold to 2channel founder for an undisclosed sum that has not been commented on by either owner. Both message boards have started out with innocent intentions, but one of them could be said that it has diverted a bit from the original plan.
- 2channel was founded in 1999 and served as inspiration for 4chan
- 4chan was then founded in 2003
- After 12 years, 4chan was sold to 2channel for an undisclosed sum
- 4 chan is reaching 2 billion posts on its 12th anniversary
Back in 1999, Hiroyuko Nishimura founded 2channel as a Japanese message board with the purpose in mind to discus anime and popular Japanese cartoons. Chris Poole took after his example and then founded 4chan four years later, in 2003. It was first meant to tackle the same type of discussions for English-speaking users, but has faltered in its course.
In fact, it strayed so far that the section for anime discussion is not even close to the center of attention. For the past 12 years, the message board 4chan has become what is often called “the armpit”, or worse, “the cesspool of the internet”, where anonymous users gather to post on questionable topics and discuss controversial issues, with highly graphic content.
Essentially, it is where notorious opinions are expressed under the cloak of anonymity, with a well achieved promised of not tracking its users no matter the nature of their posts. Rules are there, but hardly applied, with the ability for users to enjoy boundless content that might perk the brows and spark outrage in others.
The barely regulated limits are child pornography and zoophilia, though even that is not too well controlled. The website has been the spark of many discussions on controversial issues, even being credited with last year’s leak of celebrity nude photos of multiple Hollywood actresses who had their phones hacked, including Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence and model Kate Upton.
If Google is the internet’s search engine, and Reddit is the front page news, then 4chan is the magazine stuffed in the back behind a curtain. One that has a reported 22 million unique users each month.
Now, the message board has been sold to 2channel founder, Nishimura, who befriended 4chan-owner Poole back in 2011.
It’s unclear what changes this would bring to the website, but Poole has stated that there is no one else he would trust more with the future of 4chan. Given that both founders bonded over their passions of internet anonymous services years ago, they have now reached a settlement in which 2channel-owner takes his place.
According to Poole, 4chan is on the brink of a great achievement, reaching its 2 billionth post and its 12th anniversary, now fully confident that Nishimura’s experience will benefit the message board with questionable content. It’s highly unlikely that it will get cleaned up, which is good news for its users.
Image source: dailydot.com
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