[flyingfences]

In my mind, that anonymity is what makes 4chan _not_ "social media" -- the "social" aspect is eliminated. When nobody is identifiable, the conversation necessarily becomes an exchange solely upon the content of the posts [1], not about the people posting. This distinguishes it from sites like Facebook and Twitter where identity is central to the discussion no matter how you try to ignore it and also from pseudonymous sites like Reddit and traditional forums where a person doesn't necessarily have a "real" identity tied to their post but does have an established identity, where other posters can see and bring up somebody's posting history. On a truly anonymous platform like 4chan, the only thing you can possibly know about the people you're talking to is what they've said in that one thread -- all other aspects of their identity are unavailable and irrelevant.

[1] (and, unfortunately, projections and inferences and ad-hominems...)