[JoshTriplett]

While it might be incredibly toxic at times, it's also the source of quite a lot of interesting Internet culture and movements, many positive works, and a ton of creativity. It's a microcosm of the worst and the best of what the Internet can pull off.

Don't dismiss it out of hand as exclusively negative.

[fredfoobar42]

Time and time again, the hands-off moderation of anything on 4chan beyond child pornography has had knock on effects in the real world. GamerGate began life on 4chan, and is still making women's lives miserable. All you have to do is ask Allison Rapp, their latest victim. <http://kotaku.com/the-ugly-new-front-in-the-neverending-vide...

While moot did, eventually, push GamerGate discussion off 4chan, he took forever to do so, and walked away from the site not long after. By not taking a stance on harassment and abuse earlier on, however, he created conditions for such a culture to flourish on 4chan.

Is there interesting and positive stuff on 4chan? Almost certainly. Would it still exist had moot taken a stronger stance on dealing with toxic posters? I'll go out on a limb and say yes.

[DanBC]

Wait, what makes you say GG started on 4chan? There's plenty of places that are more pro GG than 4chan.

[fredfoobar42]

Because it did, when Zoe Quinn's ex-boyfriend posted on /v/ to get people to start harassing her.

[DanBC]

Thanks. I should have just read the wikipedia article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_controversy

> Quinn's former boyfriend, published the "Zoe Post", [...] The post was linked on 4chan,

[13thLetter]

Just FYI, reading the wikipedia article is a really bad idea. A variety of fanatics, political obsessives and involved administrators have been squatting on it for months; it's a dumpster fire.