[panarky]

Is Minecraft something that could not be developed on a site with less "vileness"?

For example, couldn't Notch post on Reddit every day, incorporating changes/suggestions/criticisms people would fling at him anonymously and randomly?

Is there something about 4chan/8chan that is intrinsically better for building Minecraft that isn't available anywhere else?

[odorousrex]

It could have, and in fact Notch moved to reddit shortly after Minecraft's "birth" which helped expand it's popularity exponentially. (He went from posting on /v/ 100% to 100% on /r/minecraft over the course of a couple months - memory is hazy)

I'm convinced the initial randomness/anonymous feedback/chaos of that initial period helped grow the spark from the ember that split off of Infiniminer.

There is something creative in the chaos of 4chan - just look a greentexts. 99% of them are absolutely terrible. But the occasional gem catches on and made viral on the larger, less vile sites.

Also, I can't believe I forgot about Caturday. That started on 4chan as well. (also 10+ years ago).