4chan

[moonwise]

4chan and /b/: An Analysis of Anonymity and Ephemerality in a Large Online Community

I don't know whether I envy the researchers who spent weeks categorizing /b/ posts, or whether I pity them. They must be permanently scarred.

Comments

[ssilverfish.livejournal.com]

Oh my.

I don't know what is funnier either... the illustration in figure 1 or the teenstache in figure 4.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I can't see the illustrations well! Argh.

Given how well-known MIT is for its pranks, this is a fantastic example of peer-reviewed trollery.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

Or they're members.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

That is a distinct possibility.

[sideburnpower.livejournal.com]

I've seen some computer science/sociology papers dealing with online communities in the writing center.

I haven't come across people reading 4chan, however.

I sort of. Almost wish. That I would have. Just so I could go, "Why, for the love of God?"

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Well, 4chan is the Internet's worst social experiment.

If you do happen to come across a paper, you have to post it. :D

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Little from column A, little from column B.