/lit/ - Literature

[Catposter No.8294142]

What made 4chan appealing to you when you first started browsing? I can understand the appeal of Tumblr and the current trends that pushes for "redistribution of sociopolitical power" (think redistribution of wealth, but with sociopolitical power). I understand the appeal of communism, of socialism and of any movement that claims to be fighting social constraints, prejudice by propping constraints of their own and spreading prejudice amongst their own people.

What I can't exactly identify is the appeal that 4chan has. It's not like I or many of the people I know enjoy 4chan. I'm afraid that we are here forever, soullessly shuffling about post to post looking for quality content - a slight hit if dopamine to your brain.

What's the appeal to 4chan?

[Anonymous No.8294146]

You can say nigger

[Anonymous No.8294147]

>>8294142
I'm just here to vent my frustrations anonymously, I rarely even read other posts

[Anonymous No.8294164]

>>8294142
The dry dark humor mostly.

[Anonymous No.8294165]

Threads like this: >>8292883

[Anonymous No.8294167]

>>8294146
>>8294147
Pretty much this

[Anonymous No.8294168]

No, you have
porn + lolz + free speech + fights + news

>sociopolitical power
The anglo-Marxist atmosphere is only the undercurrent to what's this leading to. Let's go back.
UK under Blair was wanting this war and we did drag other countries into it and instead of it being a simple 6months blast in the sand it turned into a 10+ year clusterfuck. The US took all the blame even though Bush did not really want to go in.

Iraq has crumbled to the terrorists because we killed a dictator which hammered everyone who was a threat to his power.

Afghan was never a threat but with Iraq being open to terrorists and the west fucking about it gave them a reason to go in and fuck shit up.
Libya and Syria was a consequence of the arab spring in which 'democracy' spread across the land and instead of democracy they got terrorists in which the UK and French bombed for 'freedom' while the US gave weapons to ISIS because they thought the 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' when it was the enemy the whole time.
With Libya gone to the terrorists and the middle east being fucked with no leaders or dictators to keep things in line people ran and with Libya next to Europe that is where they went because why move to Turkey or some other shithole.

With Europe being under the thumb of Merkel and Germanys Nazi past the power to do good and help people actually ended up hurting more people on both sides and changing countries for the worse. Add in that the populations of these countries seem to want more immigrants and celebrate it means that for months terrorists and criminal scum were welcomed because no one knows what a background check is or how to work a fence.

Only now are things possibly changing, Brexit has shown it is not racist to say no to more immigration even though liberals keep screaming 'racist'. France keeps getting attacked and the right is rising, several easteran countries of the EU have put up fences and have had enough.
If anything left wing goverments and the rise of social media are to blame at the end of the day i believe.

You see in the end the left and the right get's twisted and 4chan is ever absorbing their opponents.

[Anonymous No.8294170]

anime

[Anonymous No.8294179]

Anonimity here is embraced and never questioned. You just get in and start shitposting. You listen to other peoples opinion who are similar to you in their tastes of humor and memes. Its pretty comfy in here, anonimity and individuality glorified.

[Anonymous No.8294183]

>>8294146
*... and you don't need to.

[Anonymous No.8294184]

To develop a thicker skin, honestly. You see some of the worst shit on here, but sometimes it's still hilarious.

And obviously to anonymously shitpost about history and literature with both the educated and the pseuds.

[Anonymous No.8294187]

>>8294165
And this >>8293418

[Anonymous No.8294189]

>>8294184
Where are these educated people?

[Anonymous No.8294199]

>>8294142
like 8 or 9 years ago I only got on /b/ because the memes were dank and I didn't really have friends.
now i only get on /lit/ for the reccs and discussions. and to talk shit to newfags.

anonymity is the appeal.
this discussion has been had on every board a hundred times a year.

I like 4chan because it's like a sharktank that chews away bullshit. I have a tumblr and I HATE the way some people rationalize their stupidity. Tumblr is like a bunch of teens feeling their way around a dark room, yelling little nuggets of wisdom to each other as they attempt to navigate their environment
>friendly reminder to-!
>please don't use words like-!
>remember to ask someone's pronouns!
>this is so important!
>destroy the idea that-!
It's like a goddamn daycare over there

[Anonymous No.8294201]

Around 2009 I was on cheezburger reading the latest memes. That was when the anonymous guy was pretty big. Googled 4chan and made the mistake of going onto /b/ and immediately saw a rekt thread and I felt scarred for life and left.
But I came back for the porn of /s/ and then later discovered /v/. Fast forward to today and now I'm a twink loving faggot on /lit/ and sometimes /mu/

[Anonymous No.8294205]

>>8294189
you will literally never see an academic discussion during the summer.

if you're wondering why, you're part of the problem.

[Anonymous No.8294207]

>>8294142
Memes on /pol/. They are idiots, but their meme game is top.
Reliable place to discover things to read here. It's honestly the only place I know that isn't ran over by plebs. Even the fantasy general used to be a decent place, until the reddit invasion.

[Anonymous No.8294212]

>>8294142
unapologetic and true to human nature without all the niceties and hypocrisy that political correctness brings. Though it sounds extremely edgy, it is true that 4chan prefers (traditionally) to rather be a lone wolf than a sheep following the herd. 4chan tends to move away from slave mentality though some boards share this trait more than others.
It used to be better though, 4chan is becoming more of an echo chamber than it ever was. But that is probably due to the 'culture war' that we're currently invested in.

[Anonymous No.8294213]

>>8294184
the first part of my post leads me to believe that you need to go back.

[Anonymous No.8294232]

I was madly obsessed with Neutral Milk Hotel and thought I was the only one, then I found /mu/. Now I mostly lurk /lit/ for new recs and shill Knausgård.

[Anonymous No.8294289]

I had more-or-less unrestricted access to the internet since I was ~10 years old and an interest in anime/cartoons, video games, and comic books, so it was inevitable I'd eventually discover this site. As I found myself on ytmnd and various video game forums filled with /b/ crossposters, I'd become acclimated to this site's memes and culture by 12/13, though it took me a few years to venture here on my own, largely out of a paranoia that the FBI was keeping tabs on all 4chan users. In retrospect that paranoia likely served me well- I was way too impressionable a 12 year old to be on /b/ regularly.

It was actually the mass amounts of freely-available copywrited material that encourages me to finally take the plunge, around when I was 15. An e-friend showed me /rs/ and I was impressed with the amount of comics and albums. From there I quickly ventured to /co/ and /mu/ and the rest is history.

What appealed to me about this place then what still keeps me here: the commitment to open culture/file-sharing, the black humor/memes in general (even if I find the latter increasingly less amusing), the contrarianism (I think it's supremely valuable to question prevailing narratives, and we have tons of that here), its status as a platform for unrestricted expression, the ability to discuss my interests with people who share them. I fucking love this place and everyone on it.

23 now btw

[Anonymous No.8294313]

>>8294289
we love you too, pal

[Anonymous No.8294325]

the (You)s you get. thats what we are all here for.

[Anonymous No.8294344]

>>8294289
faggot

[Anonymous No.8294364]

Anonymity, dark humor, open culture, constant communication (not usually high standard I admit)

I've honestly expanded my cultural horizons more browsing /lit/ /mu/ /tv/ more than on the real world. The good discussions are rare but they happen you get quite a lot out of them.

[Anonymous No.8294369]

Place was really unusual. Stayed for the interesting worldview. I got really sick of this place and quit for a long time. Since the bigger boards are horrible places filled with degenerates I started browsing the smaller boards.

[Anonymous No.8294377]

>>8294142
I have no friends and being anonymous is the only way I can have something close to a social interaction.

You all would be disgusted if you knew me in real life.

[Anonymous No.8294382]

>>8294377
What makes you so disgusting?

[Anonymous No.8294384]

>>8294313
>>8294344
: -)

[Anonymous No.8294385]

>>8294377
Most people on 4chan have rotten and disgusting personalities. I wouldn't want to meet any of you fags to be honest.

[Anonymous No.8294399]

>>8294142
It's the only place where I am really free to be myself. I don't need to be polite if I don't want to, I don't need to police what I say out of fear of being ostracized. In fact, I may even find another person who shares my fucked up opinion. This is like the only place outside of my own mind where I can let my id run wild.

Also
>>8294377
This. I am incredibly uninteresting and unlikeable. No one would wanna be friends with me irl. 4chan is the only place where my opinion has ever been taken seriously.

[Anonymous No.8294413]

>>8294142
the /fit/ sticky and the TED talk desu. Also no moderation, I truly hate self-described internet emperors

>>8294189
Mid autumn at 10am EST sitting at your laptop with a coffee in a goodreads or share/recommendation thread is truly a peaceful enlightening experience.

[Anonymous No.8294420]

>>8294413
>goodreads or share/recommendation thread

absolute cancer

[Anonymous No.8294434]

>>8294420
If not them, then this board is irredeemable.

[Catposter No.8294438]

>>8294399
I can resonate with this. I find myself quiet for a much longer time than I'm comfortable with irl. The only 2 times I've completely lost my shit in a classroom discussion is when this dumb bitch was praising Bernie's free college proposal and yapping on about a vague "they", "them" that wanted to keep everybody else down with college fees. I'm no fan of sophism, I believe a college education in America is inflated beyond belief especially for international students and it has been made into an enterprise. I could have agreed with her on some grounds but the sheer stupidity that seem to drip from her mouth like a retard drooling really flicked my switch.

Needless to say, people don't like me very much in class. I have one female friend irl who I can't even express my true self to. I'm just grateful that I won the lottery by marrying a by-God decent human being from 4chan. We actually met on /fit/.

[Anonymous No.8294445]

>>8294420
>readers reading
>cancer

[Anonymous No.8294450]

>>8294445
>comparing quantity of books read
>retarded socializing
>blogging

just go to facebook and the goodreads forums

[Anonymous No.8294454]

Im socially autistic and this concept of anonymous posting is nice, I can get btfo and just close the tab and move on


People are still circlejerkey here but I can still state controversial opinions without getting "down voted" or banned

I learned to love this place when I stopped being so mad. Some people are irreversibly fucking stupid here and once i learned to ignore them and not take the time out of my day to reply and call them out and say why they're wrong and call them faggots, my experience got more enjoyable

Some boards though are just too insufferable like /g/ so I just don't use them. Though I forgive /g/ because their board population is mostly underage kids and once you accept that things make a little more sense

/lit/ is a subject im interested in and I can tolerate what subjective shittyness I do come across

[Anonymous No.8294456]

>>8294438
I always feel bad when I realize I browse this board among spergs like you.

[Anonymous No.8294518]

>>8294377
>The Feels
I had friends, but I was always told I acted older than I was...and I feel like my "friends" picked up on it too. I got pissed at a dude in my circle of friends for being a faggot and constantly trying to fuck with people or steal shit (We were 25 at the time).

That created a rift in the circle, and slowly I stopped getting text about the shit they were doing but would constantly see Facebook update with the pictures of the shit. Time went on and I just stopped getting texts altogether. So fuck em, Sorry if I think trying to steal shit from a Casino in Vegas is a dumb thing to do.

I'm also really quiet in person, and I think a lot of them took that for me not enjoying myself...which put them on edge. Who knows.

[Anonymous No.8294544]

I'd say the usual way is that you come to /b/ for the memes and dark humour, also porn (as mentioned above). Then you grow up and graduate from /b/ and find your niche on any of the other boards. It's probably the only acceptable way, you have to wade through the sea of shit before you can settle down on the other boards.

[Anonymous No.8294548]

>>8294518
>I was always told I acted older than I was...
That's what people tell me
My mother say l behave like an old man, but I think she happens to have a childish man. Without wanting to sound pretentious, she isn't educated beyond elementary school, and for some reason I find the way she thinks similar to younger people back in highschool.

[Anonymous No.8294563]

>>8294518
>I'm also really quiet in person, and I think a lot of them took that for me not enjoying myself
Yeah, I have this exact problem. However, it is obvious that people try to talk to me and mix me in with the ongoing conversation, but seemingly I'm just not good at holding up a conversation.

The odd thing is however, that when there's a certain established subject of conversation I (can) do quite well. I mostly have trouble being arbitrary at things I suppose, which creates conversation most of the time.

[Anonymous No.8294573]

This wasn't an invitation for you fags to let your feelings out. Get over to /r9k/ if you want to talk about being a sperg.

[Anonymous No.8294578]

The anonimity strips the bullshit of normal social interaction. Idendified posters on normal forums knowingly or unknowingly are ascribed a certain respect or deferrence in their posts, even if it's rubbish. Here each post is treated individualually, each judged on its own merits, there is no call for consistency or anything else we use to pepper our actions and reactions

[Anonymous No.8294583]

being anonymous and the anarchic nature it brings, i think people can be more honest with each other when the need for politeness is removed, i know i can be at least

also cool recommendations on music/books/movies, though you might stumble upon things that turns out to be absolute absolute garbage (everything everything/house of leaves/detachment), you mostly get something that's good

and news and videos and images from happenings are instantaneous

the dangers of toxic mindsets can be underestimated though, i was a big robot which i think damaged me more than anything, growing up with internet is weird, but maybe growing up has always been weird, life is strange etc.

t.25 year old boy

[Anonymous No.8294593]

>>8294573
Sorry bro, my bad.

I originally came on 4chan so I could call people like you a faggot.

[Anonymous No.8294602]

>>8294583
Toxic mindsets come with Internet itself, I guess. You could probably join a gardening forum and end up as a khmer rouge of tulip growing.

[Anonymous No.8294604]

>>8294450
>>retarded socializing
>I'm autistic so everyone else has to be
>pushing yourself to read more is a bad thing

you are the cancer

[Anonymous No.8294611]

>>8294593
Who would have thought that the socially retarded sperg is also an anime fan? Seriously surprised me there, mate.

[Anonymous No.8294617]

>>8294602
yeah, extremes are more exciting and easier to be swept away by

[Anonymous No.8294622]

>>8294573
*SIIIIIIGGHH* idk guys maybe it's because I never got on well with my father. maybe I'm looking for literary father figures to fill that void. to teach me valuable lessons to take on life, to be a man among men, sharp and healthy and productive and capable.
I've never been in love but I find myself reading about it often and I always wonder if maybe I'm missing something that the author is trying to make me understand because I simply lack the faculty; I've never felt the emotions that they're trying to appeal to, something that would make the prose "click" and really speak to me.
Maybe I'm full of shit in the first place. I've never been academically inclined like my friends are or like my parents wanted me to be and I want to prove that just because I never earned an engineering degree that I'm still intelligent, that i can pull my weight in a discussion, that my opinions matter. or maybe that I'm just not stupid.
hug me bby

[Anonymous No.8294631]

Annoying ass kids on other internet pages referencing 4chan with contempt. I thought, something these kids don't like must be good.

And this >>8294146 made me stay

[Anonymous No.8294662]

>>8294142
I started using the site because of anonymity. Other forums tend to turn into shitfests because everyone has a name and a reputation to defend. On this site, you are a grey blob without a name, race, age, sex, etc. until you bring that shit up for attention. It's kind of nice.

[Anonymous No.8294663]

>>8294518
Kind of the same. I like that people here have the same problems. For example
>Be around 18 senior year of high school
>Been friends with these 3/6 of these guys since I was old enough to make friends
>All they want to do is smoke weed since we tried it in freshman year
>Me and this one kid's parents are really fucked up, like they do too much drugs and don't take care of us, so i'm not really enjoying all the weed
>They don't stop, but I have no one else to hang out with. I keep hanging out with them, because we still have fun.
>Eventually just start fighting over stuff
>Doing sketchy things to each other
>Stop caring
>Stop getting texts... things like that

>6 years later and still haven't made any strong friendships
People grow apart

[Anonymous No.8294669]

It's kind of sunny sometimes.

[Anonymous No.8294674]

>>8294669
I meant funny.

[Anonymous No.8294678]

>>8294611
Is that seriously still a thing on 4chan? I thought the whole "LOL You have anime pictures on your computer faggot" thing stopped being used a few years ago, since it wasn't even ironically funny or insulting.

Learn something new everyday.

[Anonymous No.8294681]

>>8294678
What?

[Anonymous No.8294688]

>>8294142
Pictures of cats talking poorly.

[Anonymous No.8294690]

>>8294678
Calm yourself, my cow loving friend. I think it's pretty cool to be an anime pro.

[Anonymous No.8294707]

>>8294681
btfo scrub

This is what I live for!

[Anonymous No.8294708]

>>8294663
I can feel the same forces in my current friend group. Every summer I come home, I find I have less and less in common with them.
They're content with their menial jobs, playing pokemon, and smoking weed.

[Anonymous No.8294712]

I started on /b/ which I mostly liked for the humor. 4chan has this unique thing where it's easy to get on the inside of inside jokes, and then you feel like you're part of a community when you start to understand the memes which get posted over and over. I jumped from board to board as my interests changed, but there's a tight sense of community wherever you go.

/lit/ is actually lower than average on the "sense of community" thing, but I guess now I mostly use 4chan for honest arguments/discussions. Egos don't get in the way as much, here.

[Anonymous No.8294719]

>>8294146
first post always best post

[Anonymous No.8294725]

>>8294544
This. I consider /b/ the birth canal of 4chan

[Anonymous No.8294728]

>>8294663
I used to have good friends. The high school came around and It was a bad environment, nothing gained there. Then I got into the military and I was among the popular functional ones there. Right after that. Nothing. No friends, just distant relation contacts who all disappeared one after another. One of them even commited suicide a couple of days before last Christmas eve.

[Anonymous No.8294737]

Do you guys plan to graduate 4chan someday or do you feel like you're gonna be here forever?

[Anonymous No.8294738]

>>8294142
>What's the appeal to 4chan?
It fosters great sincerity/irony.

[Anonymous No.8294745]

>>8294737
Where would I go?

[Anonymous No.8294752]

>>8294737
What else is there? I don't really see a point in joining a forum where you have to come up with a clever username and be careful what you say because anyone can look up your old post and hold some shit against you that you said years ago. And I don't want to be nice just because people expect me to. Fuck, I'm usually nice enough as it is on 4chan, I don't need a place with rules that tell me what to say and how to say it.

[Anonymous No.8294759]

>>8294745
>>8294752
Guess the question is only relevant to people who think they waste their time on here.

[Anonymous No.8294761]

>>8294737
I'm here till it gets shut down. Traditional forums are dying out and the ones still around suffer from problems already outlined itt, I dislike reddit's interface, and other imageboards are too slow.

[Anonymous No.8294766]

Relatively fast-paced discussion plus anonymity. Too bad 4chan is awful nowadays.

>>8294737
Yeah I've been gradually using it less and less as my interests change. I used to be huge into anime and vidya, then music and fashion, and finally literature. 4chan is great as a gateway to hobbies but after that it's kinda useless shit being regurgitated daily. I don't go on /a/ or /mu/ for recs, nor do I go on /fa/ for inspo.

[Anonymous No.8294771]

>>8294759
Any time on the internet is wasted time. But at least this place is funnier than the rest.

[Anonymous No.8294774]

i leik pancake astronaughts thats why

[Anonymous No.8294775]

>>8294737
Nah. During busy periods, I find myself gone for weeks at a time. But whenever I have a few days off I find myself back here.

4chan is an ugly and beautiful place.

[Anonymous No.8294776]

>>8294771
>Any time on the internet is wasted time.

Yes, like watching lectures, downloading ebooks etc, they all are wasted as fuck.

[Anonymous No.8294781]

>>8294752
I think he meant, graduating into rl, a happy rl.

Yes I think I will. :)

[Anonymous No.8294783]

>>8294771
The internet is the greatest tool for mankind if you can use it, infinite knowledge is there for you for free.

[Anonymous No.8294792]

>>8294771
The internet is a tool. All libraries in the world combined are no match for the internet. A sheer endless amount of information for every subject you can imagine. Even the best tool can become useless in the hands of a failure.

The internet is not a waste of time only because you use it only as a gateway to the bamberian dunkey milking illustration company.

[Anonymous No.8294813]

>>8294783
>>8294776
I'm aware of the advantages and possibilities that the internet has to offer. But let's be honest, just very few people actually use these possibilities fully and don't let themselves get distractedby porn, memes and other bullshit. Most people even only visit a very small amount of websites on a regular basis.

[Anonymous No.8294823]

>>8294792
An average public library offer more information than you could possibly remember. What good is access to information if you can't use it? Because it's just too much? Never mind blatant misinformation.

[Anonymous No.8294836]

>>8294823
Yes but I can't get any information on a whim in the library.

[Anonymous No.8294849]

>>8294737
"You're here forever"

I go months without coming here, but sometimes I'm bored and I check it once, soon enough the habit of checking the board daily is back.
I only browse lit.

[Anonymous No.8294851]

>>8294823
With the internet you not only have endless information you also have the means called search engines to search information generally and specifically. I know, an absolute mad combination if you think about it.

Misinformation can be easily avoided trough checking multiple sources which is no problem at all on the internet.

The internet single handedly killed elitism. In the past only very privileged people could even become great as information was just limited to those kind of people. Nowadays even some third world shitter can experience mastery just because the information is avaiable for everyone.

In the information age it's so easy to get distracted but as you mature you get less and less distracted and follow your goal to achieve mastery. I myself needed to redo 2 years in highschool and was a NEET for another 2 years. I couldn't even get access to advanced schools because of my bad grades. I live in germany and here they take this kind of shit very serious.

There was no hope for me. My grades too bad for a half decent job and too bad to go to advanced schools. In a single year I learned all the information that is worth 3 years in advanced schools on the internet. I took a non-student exam and graduated the advanced school that in a single year instead of 3 which gave me access to decent jobs and more importantly, it allowed me access to university.

Hell with the internet you have endless possibilities if you put in the work.

[Anonymous No.8294854]

>>8294836
>he doesn't hang out in the library all day like a homeless person

[Anonymous No.8294901]

>>8294851
Again, I see the advantages and of course, the internet can be a useful tool. But no offense, your story isn't a very good example. You could've gotten all the information you needed from a library and yiou wouldn't have spent more money on it than you pay for your internet access. Of course you would've had to leave your house but that's about it.
Trotzdem Glückwunsch und viel Glück für die Zukunft, Anon!

[Anonymous No.8294921]

>>8294737
I tried going to 4+4chan once, but that place is fucking shit. So I just came back here.

[Anonymous No.8294966]

>>8294901
The point is not only the availability of information. The quality, the speed, the format and no arbitrary physical obstacles make it just a much superior platform to learn. Instead of asking the library whore where I can find certain books, find the book, open the book up, notice that the book is unclear or badly written in general, get frustrated, search for another book, notice that the library doesn't offer decent resources for certain subject etc.

In the internet I can be extremely selective. Picking up the best resources which tons of other people have checked and recommended. On the fly even checking videos or websites that gamify the entire boring learning experience into something enjoyable. I have total control and complete organization over all my subjects. If I feel down I can find something to motivate me. I can easily find people which I can share my problems with, which will help me quickly out. I completely direct the learning pace.

[Anonymous No.8294994]

Ponies.

[Anonymous No.8294997]

>>8294712
>Egos don't get in the way as much, here.

[Anonymous No.8295002]

>>8294142
I could discuss sports and talk trash about other teams and their fans without being banned.

[Anonymous No.8295017]

>>8294142
Kindness forced by authority is cruelty in disguise. Here, you can take people at face value. Also, people share my mindset here more than anywhere else (which is saying something, as hardly anyone here shares my mindset). And it produces content at a very high rate, so it's hard to get bored.

[Anonymous No.8295021]

I'm a cuckold and this is the only place on the internet where I feel I'm with good company.

[Anonymous No.8295094]

>>8294142
1. You can say whatever you like - which includes a lot of pointless edge like >>8294146, but also meaningful opinions - with no consequence or filter

2. You lot are really good at getting your hands on information, whether that's pirated media, weird porn, leaked news about something, or just super-obscure interests and hobbies

3. Memes are fun, as is shitposting so long as it's kept below a certain level

4. There's a certain "freakshow" aspect of morbid fascination that comes when looking at a thread full of neonazis, guys who wank onto Nintendo figurines, or basically anything from /x/ and /d/.

5. Posting requires zero effort anyway

The only downside is if you let yourself get too affected by it or assimilate the robot/poltard culture, it seems some people really get fucked in the head.

[Anonymous No.8295148]

In the end I think it boils down to a shared cynicism. A cynic circlejerk.

[Anonymous No.8295158]

>>8294849
Same, this site is like crack cocaine. I wasn't here for a full year then the summer came and... now it's all I do again.
inb4 summerfag, have been here for literally a decade

[Anonymous No.8295165]

I liked the dark humour, then I liked the culture-jamming, then I liked the idea that hey, we could really do some actual good with this burgeoning movement by fucking with scientology, then I liked pissing off the moralfags while getting lucky with cumdumpsters, now I just like the nostalgia for the culture-jamming and the whole concept of remaining anonymous and having some freedom of speech.

[Anonymous No.8295172]

Genuine equality and freedom.

[Anonymous No.8295187]

>>8295172
Hi
I'm a girl btw

[Anonymous No.8295192]

>>8294142
Found my tribe. The autistic manchildren.

[Anonymous No.8295213]

When I first started browsing? I was a teenager, I liked video games, Japanese cartoons and edgy humor. I (I'm ashamed) even liked some of that "raid" shit on habbo hotel and whatnot. My friends also browsed image boards back then.

My very first experience was browsing a smaller image board while there was a school shooting going on in my country. It was fascinating in a shocking way, how everyone joked about it and so on. Then it kinda went from there, I got on 4chan and here I still am, almost 10 years later, though the way I use this site has changed dramatically (I only use /lit/ and /p/ much nowadays, both slow boards).

[Anonymous No.8295237]

In 2005, as a 13 year-old, I came for /d/ and /u/. I really liked monster-on-girl hentai especially.

[Anonymous No.8295239]

>>8294325
Here you go, senpai.

[Anonymous No.8295257]

>>8294737
> not combining 4chan with reddit

Pleb

[Anonymous No.8295284]

Can't even remember why I started posting here
Hadn't browsed regularly since like late 2014 until a few weeks ago, I've relapsed
help me lads

[Anonymous No.8295288]

>>8294325
>>8295239
I don't understand this new (You) meme. Help an old man

And also, why the fuck did the desu thing pop up again? It was a thing like, 2010 or something, but it died out and now it's all desu this and desu that.

[Anonymous No.8295294]

>>8295288 (You)
And try to type "t b h" without spaces

[Anonymous No.8295306]

>>8295294
Yeah I get where the (You) comes from but why is it spouted like a meme? I don't get what it's supposed to mean. I see people just writing (You) in posts and nothing else.

Aha, old autocorrect huh
Asian moot also did it to f a m, senpai desu

[Anonymous No.8295311]

>>8294737
I'm on 8ch /pol/ because 4chan /pol/ is too tame thanks to all the reddit fags.

[Anonymous No.8295317]

>>8295311
OH MY GOD YOU ARE CUTTING ME WITH ALL YOUR EDGE

RACE WAR NOW

[Anonymous No.8295326]

>>8295306
kek get with the times gramps B^)

[Anonymous No.8295327]

>>8295317
I know, 4chan /pol/ actually believes in civic nationalism can you believe that?

[Anonymous No.8295331]

>>8294142

/lit/ was amazing when I first came here. It was an eye-opener in terms of world lit, contemporary lit, lit theory and criticism, you name it.

[Anonymous No.8295335]

>>8294146
As someone who hasn't said nigger in a long time, I still agree

The great thing about 4chan is that people will say anything. There's no risk of embarrassment or punishment

I don't mean that people speak more truly or more honestly, because there is something true and honest about restraining yourself from expressing half-assed and ugly thoughts in your everyday life. But here you get every side of a man, even if that includes the things that his better judgment wouldn't let him say anywhere else. The most pathetic and yearning, the most mystical and incomprehensible, the most hideous and apathetic, the most flustered and bombastic—every kind of thing we're ashamed to say in our own name is perfect for posting here.

I think the surprising thing would be to find how respectable and not-retarded many of the posters here would seem if you met them in normal social situations. And if you met one that way you'd miss out on the ridiculous and ugly but just maybe likable idiot inside of him

[Anonymous No.8295350]

>>8295288
>>8295306
(You) is when someone is saying some stupid shit and practically begging for a reply. That's how I take it, at least.

Whenever you post "t b h" "s m h" and "f a m", without the spaces, it gets turned into baka, desu, and senpai. Don't know why.

[Anonymous No.8295358]

>>8295350
>Whenever you post "t b h" "s m h" and "f a m", without the spaces, it gets turned into baka, desu, and senpai. Don't know why.

It's been that way since October 31st 2015. Are there people this new here?

[Anonymous No.8295390]

>>8295358
We don't all shitpost american slang. I've been here since 2005, son.

[Anonymous No.8295392]

/lit/ and /mu/ have both helped me to expand my tastes in the arts. Bands like Can and The Microphones would probably still be nonexistent for me if not for /mu/. And while I knew who Joyce was I don't think I would have gotten into him this early in my life without the recommendations of /lit/, so ultimately I appreciate 4chan, but I won't deny that a lot of it is total trash fought over by children and idiots.

[Anonymous No.8295509]

>>8295288
>>8295306
Now, pay attention, Anon. >>8295358 is where you would use (You).

[Anonymous No.8295544]

>>8295509
To imply HE is the new one?

[Anonymous No.8295558]

>>8294142
I started browsing /b/ in 8th grade, moving to /v/, /a/, /mu/, /fit/, /g/, and now /lit/ over 6 years. Now I can't tell if I'm well-rounded, or I have become a living meme for letting this website affect me more than any of my friends have growing up.

[Anonymous No.8295659]

Dank charts of book suggestions

[Anonymous No.8295687]

>>8294142
I was 13 when i first came across the site and I was thoroughly confused and offended by the imagery and words that I beheld. I've always been a curious and persistent fellow, so I sort of just checked in periodically to try and figure out why people would enjoy such stupid shit.

Fast forward 7 years and I still come here for the same reason, just go to different boards. My own experience seriously makes me question the age group of 4chan browsers though. Most of my friends were browsing when they were in their early teens, albeit just /b/ and /a/.

[Anonymous No.8295706]

>>8295687
A fair amount of my high school classmates frequented /b/. However by that time I'd already moved onto other boards so I looked down upon them as meme-spouting faggots. Good times

[Anonymous No.8295733]

Zero consequences for being offensive or defying public opinion. People will call you a faggot and they might gang up on you to give you a bunch of (you)'s but this only counts as harassment to the thinnest skinned pussies of the millennial generation. A minute later and you can be in a different thread with nobody the wiser. Eventually the thread you posted in will be pruned and it's like it never happened. Anonymity + impermanence.

In the past, I would have also listed irreverence among the main draws to this site, but that hasn't been true for the better part of a decade. Time was, 4chan was a place that didn't care about anything. The internet was a separate realm, taking it seriously made you a fool. Ever since chanology though we've been invaded by people with causes. In the modern age of /pol/, the internet has tragically become serious business. But for real this time, not as a joke.

[Anonymous No.8295762]

>>8294142
I don't have to register to view or post anything.
Aside from that, porn.

[Anonymous No.8295786]

>>8295544
No. To imply he was just shitposting and baiting for a response. Come on, gramps.

[Anonymous No.8295797]

>>8295786
I'm getting too fucking old for this place
You new kids and your complicated memes

Back in my days, memes were simpler and more straightforward. We just drew funny pictures in MS Paint, it was no fuzz.
You kids...

[Anonymous No.8295802]

>>8295797
>We just drew funny pictures in MS Paint, it was no fuzz.
We still do that. It's our way of being political when we don't actually have any arguments.

[Anonymous No.8295807]

>>8295802
I guess some things are eternal.

[Anonymous No.8295808]

Chaos

[Anonymous No.8295816]

>>8294164
This. Came for the edge, stayed for the anonymity

[Anonymous No.8295838]

>>8295816
>>8294199
>>8294364
>>8294662
>>8294766
>>8295733
>Anonymity

Will Team Anonymity ever win? How long until you log into the Internet with your social security number?

[Anonymous No.8295878]

>>8295797
I know you mean, man. I started coming here at the tail end of the desu meme era. So many memes come and gone.

[Anonymous No.8295911]

The honesty.

The different points of view.

New cool things that you didn't know about before.

Inside jokes.

The great variety of content.

The ability to post anonymously.

The lack of focus on "karma" or rewarding people for their posts, which makes things more authentic and relaxed.

The equal treatment of all posts and lack of rankings, which allows to browse without bias and greatly facilitates serendipity.

[Anonymous No.8295919]

>>8295878
Though looking back in my old folder it's sad to realize most of the memes back then are what we today consider complete Reddit-shit (e.g. trollface, gentlemon, motivationals...)
Though I guess in our defense we were young and memes were a new thing.

[Anonymous No.8295925]

>>8294142
It used to be 'good'
No this isn't a muh notsalgia post, its the truth.

Most of the people who browse or browsed 4chan started off on /b/, or on other equally stupid boards. I remember coming to this website after school every single day, and staying on it for hours at a time.
I would go to /b/ every single day, and I would laugh my ass off. Internet strangers would post things that were invariably stupid, but also funny to me, when I was a young teenager. I remember knowing that I would find one, if not multiple threads that would make me bust a gut laughing, and as soon as that thread got old there would be a new thread to replace it, a different topic, yet still hilarious.

It was likely a mix of me being young as well as the humor on 4chan being different back then.
After 5~ years I left and vowed to never come back, because the humor had changed and so I. It became a place where I would begrudgingly go, but I did it anyway. It was practically an addiction, and the fact that I'm posting this now shows I never threw the addiction.

I thought that i would come back years later, and only go to boards that I had relevance in, /vg/, /a/, occasionally /lit/, and /tv/. I told myself I would not post only lurk for laughs, and for a while I deluded myself into thinking it would work.

But I quickly understood how much 4chan had changed, and in my own eyes, how shitty these boards were, and I quickly left.
Now I only browse /pol/, for cheap laughs, and occasionally still /tv/, hoping that out of the 50 garbage threads there will be one actually discussing what movies and television shows are worth watching.
I told myself, I should browse /lit/, and /his/! Because I am a man of philosophy! Its even my major in college!
But I don't. And I never will. The only reason I'm posting this is because it caught my eye from the front page. I don't know how credible or good /lit/ or /his/ are, but it doesn't matter.
I don't come to 4chan to discuss things of value with anonymous strangers, those of whom I can neither confirm nor deny their intelligence besides through their posts. And I never will, because I don't have the time or the will to read through what I can only assume are the cesspools of degeneracy that so often plague other boards.
No, I only now come to 4chan for one reason.


I come to 4chan to escape.

[Anonymous No.8296019]

>>8294142

Well at first I was here for both porn and memes, and I stayed for inside jokes, actual conversations and shitposting.

[Anonymous No.8296053]

>>8295187
feet pics plox

[Anonymous No.8296075]

>>8295919
we had them first
its not that old memes are inherently unfunny
theyre just played out

[Anonymous No.8296081]

>>8295335
good post anon. The contrast between meeting someone irl and the impressions you get of people on 4chan seem reversed in a way. Like you see the side of people here that it would really take some time to see from someone you initially meet irl: the weird little idiosyncrasies slowly revealed in forming friendships.

[Anonymous No.8296084]

>>8295925
Dumb frogposter

[Anonymous No.8296116]

>>8295925
>I don't come to 4chan to discuss things of value with anonymous strangers, those of whom I can neither confirm nor deny their intelligence besides through their posts

This is probably smart, but I don't have anybody else to discuss things of value with, and I'm too cowardly to throw my opinion out where things aren't anonymous. Anyway, you can have great discussions on 4chan, you just have to work to find them.

[Anonymous No.8296266]

>>8295919
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqz9ZXUoUcE&feature=youtu.be&t=2m23s
>this was almost 7 years ago

[Anonymous No.8296284]

gr8 b8 m8 r8 8/8

do u no where u r ?

[Anonymous No.8296289]

>>8294142
>imply, the thread

[Anonymous No.8296309]

>what's the appeal of anonymity, free speech, patrician values, critical thought, antisemitism, anti-populism, masculinity and dank memes?

[Anonymous No.8296320]

It's an anonymous internet forum. It's lightweight and simple yet it's got pretty pictures.

I'm a bored and lazy person. That's not how I feel right now, I mean that's the kind of human being I have always been. And 4chan is a simple and addictive way to spend time.

I'm not sure where I had heard of 4chan but I googled that shit when I was ten years old and I've stayed ever since. For twelve whole years. I have learned or gained nothing and I've been frustrated at times and I can't say it's been worth the time but it felt right back then and it still does. The site grew up with me, I think, honestly the quality has gone up by quite a remarkable bit (outside of /b/, that shithole took an enormous hit) no matter what the bitter nostalgiafags say. I don't even search for quality content anymore, it's just as entertaining to get mad at shit-flinging retards and join the contest.

I'm here because it's the only thing I know.

[Anonymous No.8296356]

I'm old enough to remember the golden age of /b and it's dirty, filthy fun. I moved to /lit about 5 years ago and have stayed here because elitism is the only standard. Most discussion boards become circle jerks for one clique but /lit has people with violently different ideas and as long as they have patrician tastes they have their say. Basically you can find more insight and better book recomendations here than anywhere else.

[Anonymous No.8296427]

>>8294377
hello anon,

have a nice day

[Anonymous No.8296429]

>>8296309
Anti-populism?
As in against the idea of populism or against the people who think populism is a good idea?

[Anonymous No.8296482]

>>8296429

Anti-egalitarian would probably be a better way to put it