Think we should namedrop 4-ch itself in there, as its 2ch portal is mentioned therein?
Also, this is now the general 2channel thread.
I wanted to make one for some time but never got around, so I guess this'll have to do.
I'll post some interesting links and observations about 2channel later.
Also,
> There’s several versions of 4ch because this type of forum gets so popular, it can easily drive so much traffic bring down a normal server.
what the hell does he mean by that?
2ch is a vast topic, so I'll just start with a few general links.
Obligatory Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2ch
(Note: Wikipedia is always biased and - concerning non-occidental topics - often misinformed)
About Anonymity, one main aspect of 2ch culture, these discussions are rather comprehensive:
http://wakaba.c3.cx/soc/kareha.pl/1110953600
http://4-ch.net/net/kareha.pl/1127551023
Apart from posting anonymously, you can give yourself a name but anyone can enter any name, so there's two main methods to prove your identity:
(Basically you put in a "password" after a # in the name field and the board generates a unique code for that password. More info below)
http://wakaba.c3.cx/docs/docs.html#TripCodes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripcode
http://wakaba.c3.cx/soc/kareha.pl/1100499906
(See that thing next to your posting date? It can be used to identify yourself in a thread. More info below)
How ID codes are handled on 4-ch:
http://4-ch.net/wiki/user_id
How ID codes are handled on 2ch
http://4-ch.net/general/kareha.pl/1127721276/13,14,17,18
Another method to give proof (although it's always debatable whether this really counts as proof) of your identity that has not been introduced to 4-ch (yet) is "fusianasan". On 2ch, if you write "fusianasan" in your Name field, the reply you create will display your IP as your name (cannot be faked).
How to find old threads
Found a link to a 2ch thread that is not active anymore and has been moved to the archives? You could always buy archive access (about $30/year) but there's many people archiving popular threads on their own.
If Google (just search for your thread's title) or archive.org fail, there's always these two nifty sites:
2ch-Library - collects a variety of really popular threads, categorized neatly by boards/topics:
http://2ch-library.com/
makimo.to - has a HUGE automatically maintained archive of 2ch threads, dating back years and years. You may not find the most recent archived threads there, though.
http://makimo.to/2ch/index.html
How to enhance your 2ch browsing
The list of boards on 2ch's sidebar is huge and takes long to scroll through, the list of threads are exhausting, keeping track is difficult...
For these and many other reasons, a variety of browsers for a variety of operating systems and computers have been created by 2channel users. You can find (pretty much all of them) on monazilla.org(w:
http://www.monazilla.org/
If installing those browsers is a bit too tricky, consider trying out these two Firefox extensions:
Similiar browsers/extensions in English (for Kareha software based forums et al) do no exist, yet. If you have some input on that, please check this thread: http://wakaba.c3.cx/sup/kareha.pl/1104757670
Can I use tripcodes on 2ch?
Generally people fill in their names when they are newbies or pretending to be (or if they're putting on a jisakujien). But there is less complaining about it on 2ch than there is on American forums.
> jisakujien
This means a person who pretends to be several different persons on the internet (as far as I know).
For more terms that will undoubtedly pop up in this thread, try these links:
http://wakaba.c3.cx/soc/kareha.pl/1098886772
http://4-ch.net/nihongo/kareha.pl/1101446156
http://4-ch.net/2chportal/
>>7
I believe there is less complaining on 2ch since it is less prevalent there and mostly used either by troublemakers who are forgotten and don't come back the next day or people who have good reason to use a tripcode.
Here is a scientific paper on the sociology of 2channel! PDF
2ch stats
Want to know which 2ch boards are the most popular and how many posts they get each day?
Look here: http://stats.2ch.net/suzume.cgi?yes
An interesting thing I noticed in the comments section of the article mentioned in >>1 is that somebody said that usenet was never really popular in Japan and that this may have contributed to 2channel's popularity.
If you take a look at the stats in >>11, you will notice that their usenet board (nntp) is one of the least popular, with about 50 posts each day, so the statement seems to be correct.
Still, I wonder why this is. Anyone got an idea?
>>12 I suspect it was because Usenet was not anonymous enough, for one thing. Also, harassment from foreigners. Unmoderation, so lots of unwanted, off-topic advertisement posts cluttering the groups.
Some groups tried to carry on anyway and ran like if they were a closed club, using passwords on the attachments. Rude foreigners came and insulted the posters for not providing the password in English, for requiring a Japanese-only program to decrypt, for using Japanese kanji in the decrypted files, etc.
So when better solutions came out, the few remaining Japanese fled Usenet overnight. ^^
It's a pity that most of the japanese related boards on usenet are just back alleys for pedo's to put CP UP :(
You don't need usenet, that's what 2ch is for.
> It's a pity that most of the japanese related boards on usenet are just back alleys for pedo's to put CP UP :(
I thought every board on Usenet was like that these days. Except for alt.religion.kibology, which is about Kibo's life as a gay leatherman.
Nice stats site. 2ch actually isn't as active as I thought it was. Only about twice as much traffic as <i>that site</i> full of anime fags.
>>17
Which site do you mean with that site?
Also, alexa stats for 2ch:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=&url=www.2ch.net
If you meant Gaiaonline with that site, they have way less traffic:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?q=&url=www.gaiaonline.com
See also
http://www.big-boards.com/
(lists only register-only forums, though)
Wow, when you look at the alexa stats gaia is positively puny even though they supposedly get about 1mil posts per day to 2ch's 2.5. In the long term graphs it's interesting to see that 2ch had a couple of big drops in traffic last year. Wonder what happened.
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?&range=2y&size=large&compare_sites=2ch.net&y=t&url=www.gaiaonline.com
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?&range=2y&size=large&compare_sites=2ch.net&y=r&url=www.gaiaonline.com#top
2ch is a general bbs that is more or less the center of Japan's internet community and is big enough to have a hit series (Densha Otoko) based off it. Comparing that to gaia, which caters to a section (the dirty fag section) of English-speaking anime fans... I think the difference in traffic between the two sites should be even greater.
Or at least, there shouldn't be that many English-speaking anime fags out there.
>>21
I am sure your argument would carry a lot more weight without the constant reminder that you're a rather immature homophobe...
Come on, the word "fag" is so overused that I can even believe that gay people use it.
as a gay person, fag fag faggy fag fag fag fag. it's just a word.
>Or at least, there shouldn't be that many English-speaking anime fags out there.
That's what I've been trying to tell people...
do you guys know what's the link of the "real" densha otoko thread in 2ch? does it still exist?
>>26
The real threads can partially been found here:
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Milkyway-Aquarius/7075/trainman1.html
For how to find whole versions, see >>5
For an attempt at a translation of the threads into English, see
http://academy4.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1098117242/
>>27
and the translation at http://www.rinji.tv/densha/
It depends. The number of posts does not reflect the signal to noise ratio, nor does it reflect how many people are posting.
It's easy to spam boards with "LOL" and "Me too!" posts. Do any of these stats take signal/noise ratios into account?
Signal/Noise ratios are too subjective to make any sort of reliable statistic. Not only that but you'd have to take into account factors like whether noise from dedicated noise boards counts.
One thing I find intriguing about gaia's stats it the rather large, sudden jump it made in reach and rank in autumn of 2004. Is anyone familiar with what happened on that board around that time?
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?&range=2y&size=large&compare_sites=&y=r&url=www.gaiaonline.com
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details?&range=2y&size=large&compare_sites=&y=t&url=www.gaiaonline.com
I think there are far more 2ch 'readers' than there are posters, so I guess that takes a lot more bandwith.
Plus Gaia has those damn avatars.