2channel

This article is about the Japanese textboard. For the Russian imageboard, see Dvach. For the imageboard known as 2chan, see Futaba Channel. For other uses, see 2chan (disambiguation).
2channel
Logo in 2012, featuring a spittoon surrounded by popular memes from the site
Native name
2ちゃんねる (Japanese)
Type of site
Textboard
Available inJapanese
OwnerDisputed
Created byHiroyuki Nishimura
URL2ch.net (historically)
CommercialYes
Users10 million monthly (2010)[1]
Launched30 May 1999 (25 years ago) (1999-05-30)[2]
Current statusDisputed (since 19 February 2014; 10 years ago (2014-02-19))
2ch.sc
2ちゃんねる[a]
Available inJapanese
Founded1 April 2014; 10 years ago (2014-04-01)
OwnerHiroyuki Nishimura
ParentPacket Monster Inc.[3]
URL2ch.sc
CommercialYes
Current statusActive
5channel
5ちゃんねる
Available inJapanese, with a small minority of boards in English[4]
Founded1 October 2017; 7 years ago (2017-10-01)
OwnerJim Watkins
ParentLoki Technology Inc. via Race Queen Inc.
URL5ch.net
CommercialYes
Current statusActive

2channel (Japanese: 2ちゃんねる, Hepburn: ni channeru), also known as 2ch,[5] Channel 2,[6][7] and sometimes retrospectively as 2ch.net,[8] was an anonymous Japanese textboard[b] founded in 1999 by Hiroyuki Nishimura. Described in 2007 as "Japan's most popular online community",[9] the site had a level of influence comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines.[2] At the time, the site drew an annual revenue of around ¥100 million (about US$1 million),[10][11] and was the largest of its kind in the world, with around ten million visitors[9] and 2.5 million posts made per day.[2]

The site was hosted and had its domain registration provided by Jim Watkins, based in San Francisco, California.[10][1][12] In 2009, ownership of the site was transferred to Singapore-based Packet Monster Inc., under which Nishimura remained in control.[13][14] In February 2014, Watkins seized the 2ch.net domain, taking full control over the website and assuming the role of site administrator.[12][15] This has resulted in two textboards claiming to be the legitimate 2channel:[15] 2ch.sc,[a] owned by Nishimura through Packet Monster Inc.,[3] and 5channel (5ちゃんねる, go channeru, domain 5ch.net), established in 2017 by redirect from the original domain and owned by Watkins through Philippines-based Loki Technology Inc.

2channel and its successors are more controversial than other social media in Japan;[5] they are extremely popular among Japan's extreme right-wing, known as the netto-uyoku, who post xenophobic comments, often targeting Koreans and Chinese.[9][6] Defamation is of particular concern; by August 2008, Nishimura had received more than one hundred lawsuits for defamatory comments left on the website.[11] Announcements of crimes also have drawn scrutiny towards 2channel and its successors.[13][17][18][19] In 2012, 2channel was accused by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police of allowing its platform to be used by amphetamine dealers,[20] although no charges were filed.[13]

In September 2007, 2channel averaged over 2.4 million posts per day.[21][c] As of July 2020, 5channel had 1,031 boards receiving around 2.7 million posts per day on weekends,[22] with no growth since March 2016.[23][c] Meanwhile, 2ch.sc then had 826 boards receiving around 5,700 posts daily.[24][c]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Matsutani-2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Katayama, Lisa (19 April 2007). "2-Channel Gives Japan's Famously Quiet People a Mighty Voice". Wired. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b Nishimura, Hiroyuki. "２ちゃんねるガイド：基本" [2channel FAQ]. 2ch.sc. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2020. 2ch.sc is managed and operated by PACKET MONSTER INC. and more.
  4. ^ "５ちゃんねる掲示板リスト" [5channel board list]. 5channel (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2020. 【大使館 (Embassy)】Anime & Manga / Books / Comics & Cartoons / Computers / [...]
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Kaigo-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Ōnishi, Norimitsu (9 May 2004). "Japanese Find a Forum to Vent Most-Secret Feelings". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. ^ Furukawa, Hideki (22 August 2003). "Q&A With the Founder of Channel 2". Japan Media Review. USC Annenberg. Archived from the original on 22 December 2003. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  8. ^ In re: Race Queen Inc., 平成29年(ワ)第3428号 (Tokyo District Court) ("被告は，平成１６年から平成２９年９月３０日まで，継続して本件電子掲示板を管理・運営し [From 2004 to at least September 30, 2017, the defendants operated the textboard.]"), Text.
  9. ^ a b c Sakamoto, Rumi (7 March 2011). "'Koreans, Go Home!' Internet Nationalism in Contemporary Japan as a Digitally Mediated Subculture". The Asia-Pacific Journal. 9 (10). Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  10. ^ a b Katayama, Lisa (19 May 2008). "Meet Hiroyuki Nishimura, the Bad Boy of the Japanese Internet". Wired. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  11. ^ a b Shibui, Tetsuya (26 August 2008). "2channel founder says don't blame him for criminals' posts". Shūkan Gendai. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2020 – via Japan Today.
  12. ^ a b McLaughlin, Timothy (6 August 2019). "The Weird, Dark History of 8chan". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  13. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Adelstein-2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Martin, Alex (24 January 2009). "2channel founder ponders next step after forum's sale". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2020. Speculation abounds, however, that the move may be a legal trick to deflect further lawsuits filed against Nishimura for the site's frequently libelous content.
  15. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Akimoto-2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference Monolith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Canadian Press-2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zaikei Shimbun-2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kobe Shimbun-2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Japan Times-2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "suzume graph". 19 October 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  22. ^ "SPARROW5ch". 5ch Officially Reported Statistics. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  23. ^ "SPARROW5ch". 5ch Officially Reported Statistics. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  24. ^ "投稿数統計＠2ch掲示板". 2ch.sc Officially Reported Statistics. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2020.


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