Wow, I had no idea 4chan is so irrelevant. Someone should tell them.
Wow, I had no idea 4chan is so irrelevant. Someone should tell them.
In that sense, yes, 4chan is absolutely a perfect example.
I know you're the creator of 4chan, and are necessarily going to see it "at its best", but surely even you must agree that many parts of it (especially /b/) behave badly?
More anonymity = discussion tends towards thought provoking, creative, honest, offensive
How is 4chan culturally relevant? If it is, is it more or less relevant than reddit? How about twitter? What cultural artifacts has it produced that could not have been created elsewhere? Are these cultural artifacts timeless or ephemeral? Can it produce something beyond culture? Could a work of literature or science emerge from 4chan? What would we lose if it didn't exist? How does anonymity help? Does it help teenagers forge an identity? Adults? Or does it help foster a group bond between like minded folks? Does the anonymity and lack of an account history allow one to experiment with ideas without being beholden to a past identity? Is it similar to a videogame in that respect, where one can do and say what one wants without consequences? Can such a world coexist with a service like Facebook or Google Plus? Does this allow people who are or believe they are marginalized by society to thrive or is this a place where privileged bullies wear masks and sharpen their taunts? If it were possible, would Facebook or Google Plus benefit from a /b/ mode? What would it look like? How does all this relate to Secret? Would Secret be used as a therapy session? A way to attack enemies? A way to spread knowledge? Or pure entertainment?
I don't have much of an opinion on 4chan or Secret, but find anonymity and privacy fascinating. I think the point you and moot are raising is a great addition to what Sam wrote, and look forward to reading what moot is going to write. In the meant time, I would love that the discussion went beyond sarcasm and two word rebuttals.