4chan is a website that most internet users have likely heard of, even if they have not actually visited it themselves. Most know it as "the sphincter of the internet" but it is also recognized as a very powerful force behind the internet, some go as far as to call it the "heart" of the web. It is a website that celebrates anonymity and free speech to a fault. None would say that the users and content of 4chan are oftentimes dangerous, sometimes thoughtful, but always depraved, foul, and offensive.

4chan is, in simplest terms, an imageboard where the users have almost total freedom over what to post. There are boards catering to a lot different interests, which are broadly categorized into: Japanese Culture, Video Games, Interests, Creative[sic], Other, and (of course) NSFW. There are more than 60 boards currently in use, each one with a specific topic in mind ranging from Anime & Manga to Animals and Nature, Literature to "Sexy Beautiful Women." Since each board has a focus and topic in mind, by and large the boards aren't that much worse than browsing Reddit or Tumblr without a filter. One board in particular, /b/ ("Random) has been the root of the imageboard website's reputation. /b/ is a board (which I have not visited) where anything goes, resulting in casual racism and misogyny, gore and violence, and worse.

Though it is mainly this one board that has given 4chan such a dark and disturbing reputation, each board has a similar likelihood of having disturbing images posted.However, as I have looked at the darker sides of more kindly-viewed websites, I'd like to take a look at the kinder points in 4chan's history.

They Give Birth To Memes

Though they are not the sole birthplace of memes (And perhaps this isn't a mark in their favor), 4chan users will vehemently argue that nearly every meme in existence is a 4chan original. And largely, they are right.

4chan's boards are constantly shifting, the only permanent posts are typically messages from the moderators, and even those will come and go. This fast-paced and changing nature is core to the internet at large, but has been turned to a science on 4chan; This has resulted in a perfect storm of memes.

Some of the first memes to come from 4chan's depths were "LOLcats." these were among the first and most popular memes to come from the website, and consisted quite simply of cats with funny captions written in broken English. These images were so popular that Saturdays were designated "Caturdays" and posts specifically for LOLcats would come up. These images are still nearly ubiquitous, and have had a strong affect upon internet use of language

But perhaps the most powerful meme to come from 4chan has been the "Rickroll." The internet bait-and-switch linking to Rick Astley's hit song has been a defining facet of internet culture, and has indelibly connected the song and the prank. Originally, the Rickroll was a "Duckroll," in which a sensational title was given to a link, only to reveal an image of a duck with wheels attached. This has been used by Google as an April fools joke, by Cartoon Network's Macy' Thanksgiving Day Parade, and even into the Oregon House of RepresentativesLong before there was John Cena or Peyton Manning, there was the Rickroll.

4chan has given many other memes, but these are perhaps two of the longest lasting and most influential to have direct origins from the website.

Stopping Animal Abuse

In case it wasn't clear, 4chan likes animals. And they don't like people who hurt animals.
So in 2010, when a video surfaced of a girl - not kidding here - THROWING PUPPIES IN A RIVER (link is news, not video), 4chan was perturbed. An anon posted the video's link to /b/ (the aforementioned worst of the worst) with the message "Find this dumb little bitch and throw her into a river." 4chan is nothing if not succinct. 4chan is very capable at finding people, and an anon noted she likely has a Facebook account, stated her relative/likely height, that her clothing had words that could be useful, and that she was white. Within a few hours, users found her, by going through the youtube channel's creator, finding his facebook, and narrowing down the female friends. An arrest was made in Bosnia shortly afterwards.

Another example of 4chan Detectives doing pro-bono work comes in 2014, when a pair of videos were found on facebook of a man throwing cats at walls and into bushes (again, news, not video). 4chan went to action, searching for the man's personal information and soon began to push French police to take action against the man. They garnered more than 135,000 signatures for a petition to bring the man to justice.

These are not the only instances of 4chan working to find individuals who harm animals, but these are two of the most notable and well known occasions.

Anonymous

Depending on who you ask, Anonymous may be recognized as a powerful activist group, or a disjointed group of wannabe hackers (I lean towards the former). Whatever your opinion of the group, it has rapidly become one of the most powerful groups online. Anonymous originated on 4chan as a conceptualization of the on- and offline users that represent a sort of globalized brain or hive-mind. At the very beginning, Anonymous was a very loosely defined group, with goals and projects that matched. sometimes their "raids" would be done for fun.

One of their first forays into "hacktivism" - using computer and hacking skills for activist purposes - was in response to the Church of Scientology's response to Gawker posting a video of Tom Cruise praising the church. The following attacks on Scientology included everything from DDoS attacks to sending the church all-black faxes to use up their ink. The attacks lasted nearly a year, ending with a campaign to end the church's tax-exempt status. Though we know much more about the church and its practices thanks to Anonymous, the church has maintained its tax-exempt status, and may have developed a stronger support thanks to appearing as a "victim" of the attacks.

Since this initial foray into activism, groups associated with anonymous have lead internet attacks against: police departments in Ferguson after the Michael Brown Shooting, The officer who shot Tamir Rice, members of the KKK, even threatening Donald Trump.

4chan is a website that has lasted for decades, almost from the very beginning of the internet. They have developed a (rather fitting) reputation for being "The backed-up toilet of the internet," a place that is never admitted to being used in real life. But for all its (at times) horrifying depravity, there are times when the heart of it shines through. A heart that just wants to have fun, that wants to see bad people go away, and bring people to justice if it has to. Then that heart falls into the toilet and we all realize that the internet is a horrible dark swamp that will stain your soul if you aren't prepared.

I recommend a pair of boots.