I agree that Poole paints a picture that could lead my mother to think that 4chan was a place worth checking out. There are some very damaged people there. I have been told that some great discussions occur there, and I believe it. However, there can be no doubt that some use the combination of anonymity and audience for terrible things. Poole is right that there is value in anonymity. However, there are also some things that people will only do when they have that kind of cover. I don’t see 4chan as a fine example of the gifts of anonymity. I do find it interesting the difference between a community with pseudonyms and a completely anonymous one. IMO the difference is as striking as that between one using real-name and pseudonyms. The ephemerality part is interesting. I wonder what 4chan would look like if posts were permanent. IRL our conversations are real-ID but ephemeral. That’s the medium we use most. I can’t think of a large online platform equivalent.
I don't think anonymity is the sole reason /b/ is the way it is. I think the raiding, paedophilia and casual use of slurs became the thing people talked about when they talked about /b/, and people started wanting to live up to the stories it tells about itself. Maybe that wouldn't have happened without anonymity, but I don't think anonymity causes that to happen.
I have spoken to five different Archangelles. They enjoy being coy, but they'll admit they're Goons on a foreign adventure. It is one big troll, just like this one. The SRS playbook is, beat for beat, the Geno playbook as deployed against Habbo Hotel.
I really don't see that much wrong with SRS. They're extreme, and a circle-jerk, echo-chamber, but they're at least in on the joke. And Reddit is so awful with misogyny, racism and just general shitty-ness that its nice to see it get called out sometimes. Doxxing pedophiles is hardly the most evil demonic thing in the world that the rest of reddit makes it out to be. Anonymous does it and reddit loves them. I don't go on SRS or really have any connection to them but it seems from the very limited knowledge I have of them but I get the feeling that all the hate is more likely from Reddit's anti-feminism circle-jerk than from anything intrinsically bad about them. Feel free to prove me wrong, you guys may know more about it than I do.
The environment favors damaged people. This is no accident. Great conversations can happen anywhere, despite the environment. A good environment fosters great conversations. See response to TNG below. With all the screengrabbing, they often are. I will say this: I've seen more horrible shit inb4 ban than Reddit's worst.There are some very damaged people there.
I have been told that some great discussions occur there, and I believe it.
I do find it interesting the difference between a community with pseudonyms and a completely anonymous one. IMO the difference is as striking as that between one using real-name and pseudonyms.
The ephemerality part is interesting. I wonder what 4chan would look like if posts were permanent.