4chan Chronicle/4chon
4chon was the birthplace of the culture and memes of /pol/ and kept /r9k/'s culture alive long enough for its later reintegration. SaveTheInternet (STI) created 4chon.net to hold the /r9k/ and /new/ (news) boards after they were deleted by Moot in early 2011.
The site had a fairly strong following of almost 20,000 posters in its prime and several million posts in its heyday, and STI's Tinyboard script was the basis of 8chan's code.
However, STI was infamous for his strange money-making schemes, disinterest in 4chon, extreme right-wing beliefs (totally satire. totally.), and obsessive harassment campaigns against anyone who even looked at him the wrong way. These character flaws became his own undoing and led to 4chon's demise.
History[edit | edit source]
Foundation[edit | edit source]
SaveTheInternet (STI), when he was 15, founded 4chon in the wake of Moot's deletion of /new/ (a controversial right-wing news board) and /r9k/ on 4chan.
Moot states in his Final Q&A that STI often tried to harass him over email, which he simply ignored. This drove STI up the wall, but the way Moot sees it is that "getting involved in unnecessary arguments is not a healthy way to live your life". This proved prescient in light of STI's obsessive slander and harassment campaigns against many other victims.
Moot also stated that many of the "anti-4chan" boards he's seen in his lifetime have gone kaput as a result of the admins repeating the policies that they fought against or simply the fact that a volatile community that defines itself through hate will inevitably meet a ghastly end.
Crippling Mismanagement[edit | edit source]
SaveTheInternet was infamous for his deep incompetence, mishandling of funds, cringeworthy attempts at trolling, and poor judgment. Leaked IRC conversations show the level of dysfunctional management that he showcased as his moderation team watched agape at his total disregard for his site and his community. He would later play it off as "trolling", since "jokes on them, I was simply... Pretending".
Demise[edit | edit source]
Once Moot restored /r9k/ and created /pol/, anons began migrating back to 4chan. By 2013, 4chon dwindled to a few holdouts and tripfags as the moderation team went into full meltdown. More information can be found in the leaked 4chon IRC logs.
4chon was shut down in December 2014, perhaps because STI was no longer a fan of communities "driven by misogyny and racism" and had made 4chon a honeypot for law enforcement.
4chon.net now redirects to Stopnerds.org, some kind of lame self-insertion satire that identifies "being a nerd" or having libertarian leanings as a mental disease and commands "sufferers" to vote Obama in 2012, buy a Mac, and watch Kim Possible.
STI's Tinyboard imageboard script was later used to create 8chan (to his chagrin), and the surviving community congregates at 8chan's /4chon/ board 4chon.me.
8chan Bribery Incident[edit | edit source]
On February 13, 2015, SaveTheInternet, in one of his very characteristic, bewildering gaffes, told 8chan's admin, Hotwheels, on IRC to shut down 8chan. He stated that starting 4chon was a "mistake" and was triggered when he discovered that his Tinyboard script was used for 8chan's /gamergate/ board.
He even tried to bribe 8chan's admin with $5,000–$10,000 to shut down the site (where the hell does he even get that kind of money?). STI is probably now trying to shove briefcases of cash into Jim Watkin's face to buy 8ch.net.
It is unknown whether this conversation is one of STI's infamous tantrums, a lame long con attempt at "trolling", or a serious change of heart by a madman who deeply regrets his past destructive lifestyle (and sure deserves to). An unverified 8chan post by STI states that he had a college professor who "enlightened him" with social opinions that ran counter to 4chon's beliefs. From these posts, he seems to give off this blind, unsettling insistence that's highly reminiscent of born-again Christians.
Perhaps the world will never know.