So, taking a look at the popularity of 2ch and how significant it is within Japanese internet culture, what exactly are the cultural/social differences that make 2ch so popular and 4-ch so dead (relatively)? Although one could claim it was Densha Otoko that really brought 2ch into the mainstream attention, the fact of the matter is that it was nearly ubiquitous previous to Densha.
Furthermore, what can be done to make 4-ch more popular? I would love to see the board become as strong as 2ch, and although that may not be possible, it would be nice to see a community develop.
Cuz it's gay.
too much backloging(too lazy to catch up ._.")well i guess time could be 1 of the reason that 4-ch can't be as active as 2-ch
What if we just spammed GO TO 4-ch.net everywhere? At least people would look.
nice try lol.well i dun think spaming is the way to solve this.i really think if 4-ch had a intresting thred that would bring ppl here just to look at it, that would be awesome
>>280
This is true. One way 2-ch gained so much popularity was media attention. We need an illegal carjacking thread, or a huge beach cleanup - anything that will make the news.
If we go around trying to get people to come here we might attract people who are complete weeaboos, this being a Japanese based site and all. Keep in mind we are not about Japanese culture, it's a site for English speaking nations to discuss stuff anonymously.
>>282 , most people who go to anonymous boards are weeaboos. Either way, ANY activity would benefit the site. Even weeaboos do other things than watching anime/reading manga, I'm sure they would post in many boards rather then just one. As long as they are going to be respectful to others and not troll, they should be good.
>>283
I'm not talking about people who simply watch anime. I am talking about people who only post here because it makes them feel Japanese.
>>284
On that respect, I completely understand. When I look around, half the topics on ANY board are about Japan in some way, shape, or form. Either way, it is still people, and hopefully if more people come up to discuss different subjects, then there will be less of a Japanese orientation.
Although this site is modeled after 2ch, it is a site on it's own, not 2ch into English (which it basically is right now).
The problem still presists though, we need more people. I made the large post about creating topics, and although I believe that would bring more discussion and more people, it won't specifically attract anyone that hasn't come to this site by chance already. I wonder how many people go to 4-ch.net, or how many people just post from iichan? iichan is having people problems of its own except on /azu/.
We could always put links on a forum signature on in our websites/blogs. That would bring some people.
Also, I think I've found our problem.
4-ch IS NOT 2ch.
You can't expect us to bring in all this mona densha stuff and expect more than .00000000001% of the population to get it. The only way for 4-ch to attract more people is to be its OWN site. Sure, we are based of 2ch, but that doesn't mean we ARE 2ch. English speakers and Japanese speakers are a lot different.
In example, look at any of our boards. You will most likely see that almost all of the topics are about something Japanese. Guys, let's all go make topics about stuff that us English speakers will understand. Do you all HONESTLY think that people are going to come in here and start talking about random 2ch memes? In fact, this place would be more active even to its core userbase if we just posted stuff that us English speakers could relate to.
We cannot relate to Japanese culture because we are not Japanese. We CAN relate to American, British, Australian, etc. culture because that is what we are. If we have topics about things that we know about, we are sure to post in them, along with any visitors we get.
If you really want to bring 4-ch up, do these two things.
Like I said, no average person is going to come in here and start talking about how bad they want to visit Japan and bump into a girl on a bus like in Densha. EX. Look at Film & TV. Where are topics about TV shows/movies that aren't Japanese? Go in there and post topics about something you like in your own country. I enjoy King of the Hill, so I'll go make a topic about that.
Another example is the Music board. Congratulations, you like [Insert J-Pop/Rock artist]. You and 100 other people! Why not talk about some english bands you like. Once again, I like DragonForce (who doesn't olol), so I'll make a topic about that.
Anyways, just to rephrase, 4-ch IS NOT 2ch!
Speaks the truth. All this weeaboo shit is boring like watching grass grow. If I would have a postcounter here and you would remove all my trollposts I would have like 3-4 posts. In the timeframe I am here I had a few hundred posts on the bethesda boards.
While I agree that distancing ourselves from 2ch would increase our prospective audience, I can't help but feel that 4-ch remains a niche board for those people who are interested by Japanese net culture and 2ch specifically. I don't know if you can/should change that. As it is, we're like a very mini 2-ch, but somewhat geekier and stupider.
I have a hard time any non-troll who isn't in some degree interested in Japanese culture visiting this board.
I might imagine broadening our scope to include some Korean and Chinese cultural stuff, but it seems we've imported 2-ch xenophobia along with the other stuff. All the posts about Korea are just <丶｀∀´>.
Still, I'm puzzled that more people don't post in the "News" thread. There are some interesting topics there, sometimes.
And let's face it, 4-ch is a Japanese friendly, international board from the start, like a kind of 2ch embassy. Why else would a string of Japanese text direct Japanese speakers to the 日本語 section?
You also have to remember anime isn't weeaboo as long as you're not completely obsessed with it. Just keep all that in the anime board. Basically I brought that up to avoid faggots who do that stupid weeaboo e-mote shit like ^____^ and use Japanese words like kawaii and neko. Don't want this place turning into what 4chan's /b/ is today.
>>289
True but this doesn't mean we are about Japanese culture. We are not 2ch although we are based off of 2ch. Like 2ch we talk about OUR culture. It's embarrassing to us when we have people who try to act like they're part of a different culture, and also Japs are embarrassed when those people base their vision of Japan off of animes. Also I'm not saying to distance ourselves from 2ch but focus on things in our culture to talk about.
>>291
You cannot defeat weeaboos with logic or sane talk. :/
>>292
True that you can't get rid of the weeaboos but we could try to make this place less weeabooish.
>>288
You are correct, 4-ch is a niche board with many Japan lovers, and that's what we always will be. That doesn't mean every single post has to be about Japan stuff though. Seriously, we have AA, DQN, Anime, Manga, etc. People CAN talk about Japan, but none of us can relate to it except the Japanese.
>>298,295
gb2/some phpbb board. You'll be happier. We'll be happier.
Also learn how to quote multiple post.
>>298
If I post with a name or tripcode your... retort? No, retort it is not, it is more of a brainfart. So your brainfart would be valid if I had posted with a name or tripcode. Alas I did not.
Now go back to gaia and look for cyber.
Listen guys, whining about how 4-ch could be more popular is great. We need a plan of action though.
BELOW THIS POST, ONLY SAY IDEAS OF HOW TO GET THE WORD OUT ABOUT 4-CH.
I'm working on a band with my friends, but that will take a while. I guess we could advertise it when we get somewhere with the band.
>>302
That would be nice, but it sounds like it WILL take awhile. I'm thinking some quicker solutions.
Tips!
First and foremost, get your friends to go to this site. Friends attract friends attract friends.
Put a link in your signature in a phpbb, on your website, whatever. Let the word out about 4-ch.
If you go to any chatroom (irc, aim, java, whatever), tell everyone about 4-ch. Once again, friends attract friends attract friends.
Spam http://4-ch.net everywhere if all else fails (^o^)/. Heck, spam other chan sites. They are the people who would relate most to 4-ch.
> Heck, spam other chan sites. They are the people who would relate most to 4-ch
err, no. I don't think that's wise
>>303
Yeah chan sites being the best bet because of this being an anonymous message board and all. Don't try to get 4chan's /b/, I quit going there for a reason. Actually when 420chan comes back up you could try there. People on 420chan are more mature then 4chan. 7chan isn't bad either although 4channers are going to start flaming now.
>>305
I completely agree actually. 7chan has some actual discussion, and 420chan is probably the most tame out of all the chans except /i/.
>>306
Actually I'm a 420chan /i/nsurgent. /i/ does do real discussion but on raid targets.
Iichan has a small but nice community, so it's not a bad place either. But I don't like the idea of spamming URLs. It would be better to just put them in a signature on various forums so that they are non-intrusive.
You could always Google bomb "friendly chat" to 4-ch.net
We need more coverage in ED, that how most people found out about the chans.
>>310
Who here is going to write the ED? If someone will start it, then I will write more information in it.
>>311
Well I'm too lazy to make an account if you have an account you should get it started. Can't rely on other people.
http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/4-ch
I started it. It's only a stub, though. I hope it doesn't get deleted.
What?
Do you mean?
http://4-ch.net/general/kareha.pl/1183529142/l50
This is one reason why...
You better remove the "pitiful small population" part. ;)
4chan is just a copy of Futaba Channel of Japan. Futaba Channel is a kind of copy version of 2chan but it mainly focused on almost illegal and naughty part of 2chan.
2chan has more varieties,such as politics, science, cooking, news, education, sociology, social science, physics, and all kinds of topics. Japanese 2chan and 4chan is completely different at this point.
2chan is actually less graphic and primitive,but some of old 2channelers are kind of proud of their "otaku" history on 2chan starting such a forum community in early stage in Japan. And they were more argumentative, even intelligent, and critical.(not only hentai stuffs...)People sometimes enjoy their cynicism.
And I think 4chan is not cool. Futaba channel is not cool.
2channel was cool actually. 4chan is just famous for bunch of porn.
2chan fills a cultural void for the Japanese that doesn't really exist in the West, hence 4chan doesn't need to fill it for us.
4ch is good small. or else we end up like 4chan
あげる
Not everybody here can relate to that, some people might be from Singapore, mexico etc.
If any of you go to a Japanese language class, you could invite them here, they'll surely enjoy it, unless they're faggots.
This site is a bit confusing to navigate for the average person.
it must look rather dull to the average imageboard user
>>327
Which is good, because it keeps the average imageboard users away.
4chan became popular because it had a huge potential userbase of sick fuckers on SA's FYAD to draw from.
4-ch (or 4channel, whatever) started from much more humble beginnings and isn't advertised anywhere. 4chan's reputation kept people interested in discussion from joining anything they viewed as remotely connected to it, so 4ch isn't growing as fast.
SA became popular because it was one of the first internet forums period and actually produced some decent content.
> SA became popular because it was one of the first internet forums period
lol. so wrong
> Early web-based forums date back as far as 1996.
> Something Awful ... was created by Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka in 1999 as a largely personal website,
there were hundreds (if not thousands) of forums on the web by 1998.
because all the users suck.
4-ch is not popular because everyone is too busy lurking on /b/ at 4-chan.org to care.
As one who rarely ever comes by here, I've got to say the topics of discussion are always the same generic (popular) ones you could get anywhere else. There isn't anyone talking about things that fit my niche interest.
>my niche interest.
Which is??
>>337
But that's the point. Discussing things you could discuss elsewhere, but with the advantages of an anonymous board. The goal isn't to be yet-another-niche board.
Hell, if you think about it, you can't be more generalistic than 2ch, even we are not that open compared to them.
>4-ch is not popular because everyone is too busy lurking on /b/ at 4-chan.org to care.
Sorry, but the cool kids lurk /r9k/
Maybe 4-ch isn't that popular because a lot of people like to have profiles and comments and ranks, etc etc that are often over-done and pointless.
There used to be a 4-ch banner though. I liked it.
>>342
Not me even, but I was just jokingly correcting him :P
Maybe you, since you made a big deal out of it.
It's not more popular because most people these days who might be called "weeaboos" aren't really weeaboos, they just adopt some of the styles. Something making it into popular culture doesn't mean people who follow popular trends will actually have any real interest in talking about things on a board like this, it just means they buy the anime t-shirts.
345 here again, Just mentioning that not only would they have no interest in talking here, we're blessed to not have them talking here.
I think the small community of 4-ch is well suited. It will grow on it's own accord if the users are out there, people flock to 4chan because they get the 'press', good and bad, and people want to associate with it. People probably would enjoy 4-ch because they feel like they found it some other way and that it's not as popular as some of the others. As long as the boards don't seem dead when people visit for the first time, people will stay here i think.
It used to be a lot deader. Its a lot more lively now, and with pretty good talk.
I find many of the catagories are too general. If we could split them up so the discussions could be focused, such as you could have a General Politics catagory, and then one for Communism, or Capitalism, or whatever, then I think more posting would be encouraged.
As it is now, you have to click on a very general catagory and then sift through the current topics to find anything relevant to your interests, but the catagories are so broad that it's often unlikely. This, I think, discourages much posting in many catagories. (Maybe I'm just lazy?)
>>349
seconded.
I mostly can't think of things to post because the categories are so broad.
I hate those "child" boards. If it has "grandchildren", I instanly close the page. As for Politics, it doesn't get many replies at the moment. If you click All Thread, there are 155 threads. That's 2 or 3 screen long. That's not a lot!
I also don't get this "I can't think of anything if it's broad" thing. If it's troubling you, make a new thread such as [Star] All Things Communism [Sickle] and let it live a long life (part 1..10) under the Politics board. That's how it's done.
>>349 I think there isn't quite enough participation for more categories to be justified. Maybe it's a catch-22 though.... fewer categories equals less participation which ensures that more categories won't be added.
>>321 I agree. There's a vast cultural difference. The West doesn't have as much of a need for this kind of thing at the moment.
Also.... there's a difference in sincerity that's a bit unique to Japan. It's almost embarrassing at times, but the general population is a lot more emotionally honest than the typical Western country. Postings here are frequently harder to really respond to since they seem a bit disingenuous. Not that there aren't a lot of posters being serious about whatever it is they're saying. But there's just an awful lot of.... posers, I guess. Peoples' posts feel like they're just for show.... they're just an act. So it's harder to really care about them and genuinely respond.
I'm relatively new to 4-ch and I've been posting mostly on the anime, food, and especially on the romance boards. For me, I think this is a great thing, but I do agree it does seem kinda dead. - _ -
So far, as a newcommer I think this place is great! I can be more open and honest here espcially because its so anonymous. Its like freedom of expression, and I don't see why its not more popular. Probably because most people haven't heard of it. Also there are tons of other forums out there that people are more loyal to. I know this is the third one I regularly visit besides the one related to the mmorpg I play.
Still just having like 100 more people on this would be great.
it's because you make such a thread, right?
i hope 4-ch can maintain a good standard.
>>356
Well, stupid people hate reading, so it likely will.
Well said. Too bad though that so many stupid people like writing... That might be the down side of it.
>>1 2 channel is originally for japanese so nobody out of japan really know about it, 4 channel is more for english speaking people so japanese would not really participate in this much how ever english speaking people put of japan dont really know about this so in the end not much people come here