4chan

4chan.org is a forum-based website where posters can have completely anonymous conversations. The different boards are usually denoted with / and a letter. Many people enjoy these boards because social inhibitions of people judging you or your ideas are removed—you only identify yourself if you want to. In fact, when you post something, the “Name” field is automatically filled with “anonymous,” which can be changed if one so desires, but rarely is. Thus people talk about things or ask questions in ways they normally would not if their identities were linked to the post.

Board topics range from anime/manga (/a), cosplay (/cgl), video games (/v), sports (/sp), photography (/p), music (/mu), and random (/b). Some of the most creative, and also disturbing, things on the internet have come from 4chan. Occasionally insightful comments or threads pop up, but it’s not as common as the disturbing stuff. People on 4chan, /b in particular, can be incredibly offensive, racist, and hurtful. Everything can be turned into a joke or a meme, whether it is actually funny or not. 4chan popularized lolcats, rickrolling, and Pedobear. However, 4chan also promotes incorrect, incredibly harmful things. In middle school, my roommate’s best friend killed himself, and /b made him a meme, saying he did so over losing his iPod (which is completely ridiculous and false). So 4chan (/b in particular) contains both hilarious and harassing material, so visit at your own risk.