It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world...
Ray Davies
It is indeed and one of the people leading the charge in that direction is a guy who may, or may not be named, Christopher Poole. In 2003, Poole, working out of a bedroom in his parent's house, came up with the idea of 4Chan. The imageboard site was actually based on the Japanese imageboard, 2Chan. Like 2Chan, Poole's original purpose was to feature examples of and discussions about the Japanese art form known as Anime and comic books which roughly translate as Manga. To this day it still has message boards which focus on the medium.
Beyond Japanese art work there were some other things Chris Poole was passionate about. One was privacy. Even though he was the creator and started out as the head administrator of 4Chan he was known only as, "moot." It wasn't until 2008 The Wall Street Journal revealed to the world, moot, was in fact Christopher Poole. Others, including The Washington Post, weren't so sure. The Post reported the name Christopher Poole, "could be a big hoax, a gotcha."
Whatever his name, moot's obsessive desire for privacy migrated directly to 4Chan itself. On the site everyone was anonymous. Moot was also all in favor of users employing multiple identities when posting--a concept which has spread far and wide across the internet.
He was also a, "free speech," advocate. In short, you could say, or post anything you wanted on a 4Chan message board. Whether he really understood what some people considered free speech, or not is up to debate. The site quickly became riddled with photos, GIFs, and videos of hard core porn. So much so, moot, who was still living at home with Mom and Dad, didn't let them know what he was up to for several years.
The porn, however, was just the start of the depravity. 4Chan also became a nesting place for all manner of the politically insane. Nazis, other white supremacists, and wild eyed conspiracy aficionados found a it a safe home for their bat shit crazy rants and vile racism.
It still wan't enough for some. In 2013, a programmer named Fredrick Brennan, came to the conclusion 4Chan was sinking into the abyss of, "authoritarianism," while the rest of the internet was increasingly being censored by government and corporate interests. To battle these insidious threats he came up with 8Chan.
In 2014, during the height of what came to be known as, "gamergate," Poole seemingly proved Brennan right when 4Chan banned all mention of the ugly affair. Briefly, gamergate was a rebellion of internet game players who were pissed at a female computer game designer. They charged she and her supporters were trying to feminize the testosterone infused and highly sexist world of internet gaming. In order to stop this creeping girlification of their fantasy life they bombarded the designer's social media accounts with brutal threats including rape and murder. During the evil nonsense her home address and phone were published on line, as were those of others who backed her.
As a result of 4Chan's action radical misogynists and others neck deep in the dark swamp of lunacy swarmed Brennan's site like locusts. In their minds 4Chan had become a place for wimps. Besides the usual racist slugs and porn mongers another class of free speakers came along. Let's just describe them as admirers of children. That's right, at the same time some 8Chan users were raving about run amok democratic and Hollywood elite pedophiles all they had to do was switch to another message board, or link on the site to find down loadable images of child pornography.
When questioned about the site's political and, anatomical, content Brennan stated that while he found some of it reprehensible he would always stand behind his users right to post their opinions and predilections.
Poole bailed on 4Chan in early 2015. He handed over administration of his imageboard to three anonymous users. In September of that year the site was sold to Hiroyuki Nishimura who also controls Japan's 2Chan. It is still up and running and remains chock full of ultra right wing bullshit and porn, which, if you think about it, are pretty much the same thing.
Brennan sold 8Chan in 2015, but continued to work there until 2018. After three different mass murderers posted their, "manifestos," on the site in 2019 it suffered a much deserved death. If it does exist you have to get to, "the dark web," to find it. Proving everyone can have a change of heart, especially if there is the possibility of criminal charges, Fredrick Brennan issued a statement afterward saying he was glad his creation was gone.
The internet might be the greatest invention in the history of the world. The trouble is too many of us, when hiding behind the mask of anonymity, go all Mr. Hyde, turning corners of this incredible source of news and information into so much rancid, sometimes deadly, muck.
And, honestly, you don't need a message board to figure that out. Simply log on and go to the social media site of your choice.
9-18-19
Big thanks for bringing all this into the light. Indeed, it's amazing what people will say and do if they don't have to use their real names, when courage and culpability aren't even factors. The Internet may indeed be the greatest invention in the history of the world, but it's damn sure made the world meaner and uglier. Very good job on the blog, both historically and philosophically.
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