The glory days of imageboards have already passed. Once they were the most popular Internet sites on which hundreds of thousands of users spent a lot of time. Two of them are best known - Dvach and Fortan.
What is imageboards
Imageboards are a very wide category of Internet resources, which include the Dvach and Fochan portals. The name comes from the English word imageboard, which translates as “image board”. This is one of the varieties of the web forum where you can attach photos and other graphic files to messages.
Image boards appeared in Japan, English-language forums adopted the Japanese style and culture. The technology is based on the Textboard concept, which differs only in that graphic files cannot be attached to it.
The atmosphere on imageboards is relaxed and informal thanks to anonymous posting. Sometimes this feature leads to the appearance of aggressive and negative comments. Users can leave comments and messages without registering and creating accounts. Moreover, some sections involve exclusively anonymous comments and messages. If desired, the user can subscribe or use the same photo to stand out among anonymous. But this is optional and often condemned by other users.
Usually a file is attached to each message, sometimes several files. More often only images are allowed, less often you can attach music. All saved files are stored on the imageboard server.
Archiving is not provided by default. Each section can contain no more than a certain number of threads. When a new thread is created (discussion), the oldest one is deleted. If archiving is nevertheless necessary, it is provided by extraneous services, in which case the old threads are transferred to a separate directory.
Imageboards differ from other forums in several ways:
- Lack of archiving by default;
- Anonymity;
- Ability to attach files.
What is Dvach
The most famous, popular and indicative image boards are Dvach and Fochan. Both sites have a large number of sections and are built on a similar principle. Discussions are posted in threads united by topics. Users discussing the topic are anonymous.
Dvach is a domestic imageboard, the idea of which was borrowed from a Japanese site with a similar name. Also similar functionality and visual design. Similar sites exist in almost all countries of the world where they actively use the Internet.
There are 40 sections on Dvach. Among them:
- Cars
- Anime
- Design
- Work
- Serials
- Space.
And much more. Only two of the sections are debatable, few topics are devoted to politics and public affairs. Most of the sections are general and devoted to entertainment, for example, anime.
A feature of the site is an online graphic editor. It was used by message authors to create their own images.
On this resource, each section has a specific topic, which allows you to structure a large amount of information and discussions. These sections are called boards. In each board there can be only a limited number of threads (discussions). This is due to memory savings and lack of archiving. The oldest, not popular threads were deleted in favor of new ones. Otherwise, there are no restrictions on the site, and anonymity allows you to write witty messages with complete frankness.
What is "Fortan"
If Dvach is one of the most famous Russian-language boards, then Fortan was very popular in foreign countries. It was this site that generated a huge number of popular memes, which then spread across the Internet.
This English-language resource appeared a long time ago and gathered a large number of users. The basic principles of his work are the same as the rest of the imageboards: anonymity, lack of archiving, the ability to attach an image.
The Fortune was opened on October 1, 2003 by Christopher Pool. Japanese imageboards were also taken as a basis. First of all, sections were created for publishing images, discussing manga and anime. The site quickly gained popularity, new discussions appeared on various topics:
- Video games
- Music
- Literature
- Politics
- Fitness
- Sport.
In 2007, for a short time, the imageboard turned into a regular forum where you need to register to leave messages. It really did not like the users of the resource who openly expressed their indignation. It turned out that everything happened due to a hacker attack, the consequences of which were eliminated.
Another unpleasant incident occurred in 2009, when a user decided to make a joke and posted information on the site that a shootout would be arranged in one of the American schools. Police occupied this school, but the alarm turned out to be false.
The style of communication on image boards
Imageboards have a special atmosphere, which is largely determined by the anonymity of users. This gives freedom, and in some cases, impunity. There is moderation in such forums, but users are punished only for the most egregious violations that violate the law of the country. This is the propaganda of violence, Nazism, insults. At the same time, even dangerous messages are often ignored by moderators.
They do not follow the discussion topic here, therefore it is sometimes difficult to find useful information: it is lost behind hundreds of flood messages. Anonymity allows you to reveal dangerous, usually hidden topics.
There is also a special phenomenon of the general stream of consciousness. When many messages come not from specific people, but from anonymous users, they are perceived by a common line of information. At the same time, the desire of a specific user to identify himself causes condemnation and seems a betrayal in relation to general principles.
