I know there are a lot of imageboards and textboards out there and I was wondering if it is possible to get away from the "*chan" culture. There are too many "*chans", and most of them have the same jokes, content, "macros/memes", etc.
I think there is a lot of potential associated to imageboard system and anonimity that can be used in the west, but do you think that it can be separated from all the "chan" mess and takeoff as another option in the west? Can we start over? What do you think?
Isn't this what moot plans to do with his Canvas Networks project?
Really it's just 711chan/7chan/and a bunch of other kusaba imageboards run by 12 year olds. Other places are pretty serious.
The most active "serious" imageboard I can think of is 420chan, which has a nice community. Memes are never really spread around, only in /b/. There are also small communities like 1chan's /rail/ or the various iichan boards that are pretty cool.
But what would that really entail? Making accounts, becoming like MySpace or Facebook, or what? I'm interested to see how he does this.
>>5
There are plenty of references, in-jokes and memes.
They just aren't blatantly labeled as HURR MEEM!!11oneone
I'm kindly saying you don't really know what you are on about.
I like to post on Tohno-chan once in a while. It moves at a slow, but steady pace. The users are generally alright, and it isn't filled with people spouting the same memes over and over again. I think it'd be pretty hard to get completely away from the chan-like culture that you're talking about though.
I understand what OP is trying to say.
But I ask him, is there such thing as a non-chan image board? I think there are several image boards that match his criteria already.
Of course there are in-jokes and memes. But compare 420chan to 711chan. 711chan is FULL of retarded memes and there are barely any serious discussions. 420chan is usually a helpful and friendly place with lots of interesting boards. So yeah, 420chan has inside jokes like DICKS EVERYWHERE, "Specia", feem etc, but that's just part of the whole experience. I've seen most users get openly mocked simply because they use a 4chan meme.
i was permabanned from 420chan for saying something bad about obama on one of the politics board QQ, its not a cool place at all, it only is if you're willing to fit in with their ideas of what is good, (obeying social constructs is very meme like, just not funny) anyway the vast majority of the anons who are against "memes" are so humorless that they get pissed off at anyone's attempt at humor be it original or not.
west imageboard culture was created years ago, but the people who currently dominate it are not the creators and it has stagnated as a result. there are the odd good boards around, i'd love it if i could mention them here, but i wouldn't risk it except to generally say the some of the non-english language boards have a lot more free-thinking and creativity than sites like the commonly mentioned 4chan spinoffs.
Perhaps something like the website "Dollars" from the light novel/anime Durarara!! would be a good idea. One could go further than anonymity and create a website that's exclusive and send passwords to random people within a certain area: Los Angeles, New York, or London- big cities. Only people who know the password to the website would have access and since the website is exclusive to certain areas people would relate more to each other's topics. Rather than talking about international issues people could talk about things that are happening in the city. There would also be a sense of community knowing that most members are from the same area... Gah, I don't know. It has its limitations, but perhaps there's some potential in creating websites that are widely known, yet completely exclusive?
A good idea would be to make a site with family members/friends/college classmates and just post about things there interested in like Video Games and Anime I'd start with one bored and use Kareha+2chi mode and let the blossom bloom from there.
>>18
Good to know that the idea didn't work for you. I guess it takes a certain type of person to like imageboards/textboards I myself prefer them over social networking sites. You would've had to made these sites back in 1990's or back in the early 2000's. Like the Futaba Channel and 4Chan.
>>20
You're sadly right.
I had a long argument with someone about the benefits of anonymity, long story short is that they saw no point to it at all and viewed it as cowardice, and that the only reason anyone wouldn't want to attach their complete personal contact information (including their home address and phone number) would obviously be to cause problems for others. I am not kidding.
Later they even made the suggestion that online anonymity was a horrible thing that leads to people being raped and killed.
For some people there's just no hope. :(
I don't know. I know it's not a good example in this thread but look at the success of 4chan, or look at all the people who post on 4-ch, SaoVQ, iichan, 420chan, etc.
There is a lot of meaningful and fun discussion on those sites (except for the first) and people who understand anonymity, even now in year 2010. I know it can't be a success like Facebook or Twitter, since most people is plainly retarded, but it's not an impossible task to at least have a fun site running. You just need to find good ways to advertise to attract people who may like anonymity for good purposes.
>>22
The larger question, though, is how do you get across to people that the concept is a good one and not solely for pedophiles and assholes trying to raid people? Especially since that's the general mass-media-forced perception of imageboards, which certainly doesn't help anything.
I think this is a bad idea.
Maybe this isn't the right thread to post this in, but it kind of addresses >>18-24
Lately I've been wondering if anonymity is all it's cracked up to be. I was a staunch believer before, but I feel like I might be growing out of it.
Fully anonymous posting is basically perfect altruism, because you don't get anything in return, not even "reputation." Perhaps that aspect drives out the most intelligent and qualified people, because they could be doing something mutually beneficial instead.
Contrast that with pseudonyms, you get most (but not all) of the benefits, but with the major bonus that you can benefit from your work as well. (FWIW, I've never used a tripcode.)
So perhaps the solution to "chan culture" is to get rid of the anonymity. But people would probably call that a cure worse than the disease.
>>26
I'm actually writing a paper on that now.
So far I've determined one thing: pseudonyms are the worst of both worlds. Ideally, a board should present two choices, post fully anonymously, or accept a globally recognized identity. Facebook Connect or OpenID or whatever, something that is consistent from one site to the next.
Tripcodes almost work, but the barrier of entry is just too much for a lot of people -- it's sort of a password but sort of not, it's a weird entry form, the junk letters after the name are confusing and meaningless, etc. To contrast, put in a little blue 'f' or Yahoo or Google icon, and practically anyone will recognize and understand it.
The problem with the pseudonym is that it affords the drawbacks of anonymity, particularly impersonation and trolling, without the primary advantage of promoting content over persona. Also, the pseudonym does not allow for the sense of true community that proper names provide, which makes talking to someone feel very alien in comparison to in-person contact. This sense of detachment is the driving force behind the vicious hatred and trolling that is so pervasive on internet communities.
>>27
My experience with this is based on a particular online community that uses pseudonyms. In that community, it is normal (expected, even) to meet strangers (who you might not even know very well online) offline with basically complete trust. That community is old (older than 4chan), huge (not as big as 4chan, but what is?), and thriving (nobody is accusing it of declining quality).
There are probably many other communities that are similar.
(The site itself is grotesque technically, running on phpBB and full of giant avatars and miles of signatures on every post. But that has nothing to do with pseudonyms or the site's success.)
I wonder if the reasoning behind anonymity is a little bit like the reasoning behind modern art. "The old way had problems, so we are going to tear down the entire system in order to make it impossible for those problems to occur." For anonymity, you can summarize it as "you can't trust anyone or anything on the internet, therefore you shouldn't try."
To be clear, most of the disadvantages of pseudonyms are real. Most of the arguments against them are valid. But perhaps the importance of those arguments is overblown, and the tradeoffs are worthwhile, at least in some cases.
For what it's worth, it's pretty amusing to meet someone in real life, and continue using their pseudonym from the internet. It's not entirely dissimilar to the Anonymous rallies and meetups, although the level of interaction is probably quite different (greater, in the case of pseudonyms).
>>28
Anonymous discussion has roots far earlier than those PHPBB forums or even the computer. The normative use of a separate pseudonym for every discussion group one participates in, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure is fairly new.
>>30
I wasn't trying to say it's the oldest thing ever, because I don't see how it matters.
It's been around long enough that if the community was going to implode, it probably already would have.
Bumping this because it got lost when some tardbot came by to spam Timberlands.
The best way to get away from the chan culture is to inspire a sense of community. best way is to encourage names. Melding the real and virtual worlds is a good way too. irc, voice and video chats, gaming groups, even real life meetups are all great ways to foster a tight knit community that makes users feel at home.
see: http://operatorchan.org http://operator.wikia.com/wiki/Tripfags
Mysterious conversation has origins far previously than those PHPBB boards or even the computer. The normative use of a individual pseudonym for every conversation team one takes part in, however, I'm fairly sure is quite new.