4chan

FAQ by moot - 9/11/04 @ 11:00 PM EDT

I wrote this a while ago but only linked to it for a short time. So for all those who missed it...

a. What are tripcodes?

Tripcodes are a unique and simple way to verify your legitimacy as a poster, while still maintaining anonymity. The tripcode script creates a unique alpha-numeric string out of a specified word (like md5), and places it after your name.

b. Why should I care?

This is the closest thing you'll get to registering on 4chan. This verifies you are indeed who you say you are, and will help weed out any potential imposters.

c. How do I use tripcodes?

Using tripcodes is very simple. When you enter your name in the "Name" field of the image board, enter your name, then an octothorpe (#), then a short word.

Example: User#password
Result: User !ozOtJW9BFA (Note: The "!" seperates the username from the tripcode, it is not part of it.)

d. Is it possible to register my name/tripcode in a database?

No, not as of now. I planned to implement this long ago however time constraints and problems have forced it back in my schedule. "It will be done when it is done".

2. Sage

a. What is saging?

Saging is the process of replying to a topic without bumping it, in order to add to its post count.

b. Why should I care?

When a post reaches a certain post count, it cannot be bumped. By saging a post, you are in effect causing it to be pruned faster, and disallowing it from being bumped further.

c. How do I sage?

To sage, simply enter "sage" without quotes into the e-mail field in your reply.

3. Age

a. What is aging?

Aging is the process of moving a post up to being the first displayed. Also known as "bumping".

b. Why should I care?

If there is a unique or interesting post that you think others should see, aging allows them to see it without sifting through the back pages.

c. How do I age?

To age a post, simply reply to it. It will automatically be placed as the first dispalyed post on the board. After a certain reply limit, the post will not age anymore, and thus will eventually be pruned when it reaches the end of the board.

4. Moderators

a. Who are the moderators?

Moderators are not listed anymore, as the disclosing of their names led to problems. The rule of thumb is that if someone tells you that your post violates a rule, you should verify this and remove it yourself if it does.

b. What do they do?

The moderators in essence "keep the peace behind the lines". They will remove posts that break the rules, warn users, and in the event of repeated abuse, ban them.

c. How do I become a moderator?

Simply put, you don't. I select moderators who I both know and trust, simply e-mailing me or warning other users will not get you any closer to being selected as one. Ironically, a handful of the users that I have offered the power to have declined it, preferring to be left normal users.

5. Rules

a. What are the rules?

The global rule is basically "use your head". If your post violates any local, or United States law, simply do not post it. The owner of this server, specifically me, is responsible for all content uploaded it, even though I may not be posting it myself. A complete listing of rules is available here.

b. Why should I follow them?

If you break the law, I get in trouble. If I get in trouble, most likely you in turn will be hunted down by law enforcement and also put in trouble! Not only that, the site will die without my presence. As for violating the rules of the website (not breaking the law), your posts will be deleted. If you repeatedly break the rules, or go out of your way to piss me off, you will be banned.

c. Can I suggest new rules?

No, unless they're quite good or desperately needed. As of now I believe everything is covered.

6. Donating

a. What is donating?

Donating is basically giving me money to run the site.

b. Why donate?

4chan is absolutely free to users, however it is not run on a free server and thus costs money. The money that pays for the server comes out of my bank account, and since I don't actually profit from running this site, puts me in debt. When the time comes that I cannot pay the bills anymore, the site will vanish, as running a community should not directly put me into bad credit. By donating, you are keeping this site alive. I appreciate all of the donations I have received to date. As for the banners as a way of "donating", if you see something you like, click on the ad and look around.

Donating also directly impacts the content of this site. The more donations I receive, the more money I can spend on the server and bandwidth, and thus image boards can be supported. The tracker was taken down because it caused the server to go under too high a processor load.

c. How can I donate?

4chan currently accepts multiple methods of donating, including online by credit card, or check/money order via snail mail. Please see the donation page for more information.

Thanks for reporting me to PayPal, TheRowan!

7. Contributing

a. What is considered contributing?

Contributing is something that everyone can do, that helps the site prosper just as much as a regular donation would. My personal definition of contribution to the site is posting helpful, meaningful, funny, valuable posts to the boards, and uploading images or files.

b. Why is contribution important?

Contribution is important because it is the only thing that makes this site worth while. Without a dedicated pool of users that post and upload to the site, 4chan would be a stagnant run of the mill anime site. By having a growing number of diverse contributors, the site becomes more unique, interesting, and worth hosting! Hopefully the site will not turn into a bucket of leechers hoarding images, and nothing more.

c. How can I become a good contributor?

It's really quite simple. If you have something to add to a topic, reply. If you have an interesting, high quality, neat, rare, etc. picture, upload it! Share your collections, don't just leech. Give back to the community that you in turn take from. It's a simple and effective way to grow the site. Before posting, be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules, especially the Global set.

8. Deletion

a. What is deletion?

Deletion is the act of removing your own post, in the case that it violates rules, the law, or is impartially uploaded.

b. Why should I delete my own posts?

If you break the rules or the law, action may be taken against you. In order to prevent this from occurring, it is best to remove it on your own before forcing a mod to do it.

c. How do I delete my own post?

Deleting posts is simple. Upon uploading a file you are prompted to enter a password. Remember this password! Find the post you wish to delete, check the box next to the post, scroll down to the bottom right of the page, then simply enter the password and click submit. The "File Only" checkbox specifies whether or not to delete the entire thread/post, or just the image attached to it. Only a thread creator or moderator can delete images.

9. Banning

a. How do I know if I am banned?

If a user is banned, they will receive be redirected to a special "banned page" instead of seeing the content they requested. This does not apply to www.4chan.org.

b. Who can ban?

Every moderator now has the ability to ban, unlike before when moot was the only one able to.

c. Why was I banned, and how do I become unbanned?

Users are banned for breaking the rules. If you would like the dispute this, appeal the ban politely stating what you did or did not do. At the staff's discretion, you may or may not be unbanned. Please don't complain about being banned; it is nobody's fault but your own.

d. I didn't do anything, I swear!

It is possible that you have been adversely affected by a ban meant for somebody else. It is regrettable and most of the time I will correct this. Just send an e-mail.

10. About 4chan

I created 4chan on October 1st, because I had nothing better to do with my time. At it's first initial core, 4chan was just the /b/ image board, which was 2chan's futaba script converted to English by me. Unfortunately at the time, I did not know the futaba script was public, and spent over a day searching for GazouBBS, the code that futaba is based on. In a matter of days the site was transformed into a multi-board site, with a more defined purpose... to provide image posting and discussions of all things related to anime, hentai, and Japanese culture. Over time the site has received a large userbase interested in developing and maintaining the site's purpose. I am very grateful for the support I have received (even though I usually don't act like it), and hope that people continue to approach me with ideas. With so much support, the site is now becoming a full fledged community, and some day I hope it will become recognized just as 2chan for that.

I'd personally like to thank a few people who aided in making this site possible. hova, you probably don't know it, but if you hadn't helped me out with a few lines of PHP and talked about the site with me, I would have ditched it long ago. shut for putting up with my whining instant messages always asking for advice and HTML help. Censored Vagina for answering my plea for help with managing the site. After a few months I had been absolutely driven crazy with the upkeep of the site and probably would have taken it down forever had you not agreed to help me out at the time. Many thanks also goes out to the moderators, RH, and the SA forums, who initially and still continue (I hope) to support my efforts. Last but not least, thanks to the users for making this site what it is.

PS: <3 Archo.