Editing 2channel (section)

{{Short description|Anonymous Japanese textboard}}
{{About|the Japanese textboard|the Russian imageboard|Dvach|the imageboard known as 2chan|Futaba Channel|other uses|2chan (disambiguation)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox website
| name = 2channel
| logo = Topimage (2ch).png
| logo_caption = Logo in 2012, featuring a [[spittoon]] surrounded by popular [[memes]] from the site
| url = {{URL|2ch.net}} (historically)
| commercial = Yes
| native_name = {{Native name|JA|2ちゃんねる}}
| type = [[Textboard]]
| registration = 
| language = Japanese <!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20131122000129/https://menu.2ch.net/bbstable.html has no "大使館" (Embassy) boards -->
| owner = Disputed
| author = [[Hiroyuki Nishimura]]
| users = 10 million monthly (2010)<ref name="Matsutani-2010" />
| launch_date = {{start date and age|df=yes|p=yes|1999|05|30}}<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2007" />
| revenue = 
| current_status = Disputed (since {{start date and age|df=yes|2014|02|19}})
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = 2ch.sc<br />2ちゃんねる{{efn|name=2chscNameNote}}
| logo = 2ch.sc logo.png
| logo_size = 77px <!-- very tall logo -->
| language = Japanese
| commercial = Yes
| owner = Hiroyuki Nishimura
| founded = {{start date and age|df=yes|2014|04|01}}
| parent = Packet Monster Inc.<ref name="Nishimura" />
| url = {{URL|2ch.sc}}
| current_status = Active
}}
{{Infobox website
| name              = 5channel<br />5ちゃんねる
| logo              = 5ch logo.png
| logo_size         = 200px <!-- very wide logo -->
| language          = Japanese, with a small minority of boards in English<ref name="5channel">{{Cite web |title=5ちゃんねる掲示板リスト |trans-title=5channel board list |url=https://menu.5ch.net/bbstable.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004134623/http://menu.5ch.net/bbstable.html |archive-date=2017-10-04 |access-date=2020-05-22 |website=5channel |language=ja |quote=【大使館 (Embassy)】Anime & Manga / Books / Comics & Cartoons / Computers / [...]}}</ref>
| founded           = {{start date and age|2017|10|01|df=yes}}
| owner             = [[Jim Watkins (businessman)|Jim Watkins]]
| commercial        = Yes
| parent            = Loki Technology Inc. via Race Queen Inc.
| url               = {{URL|5ch.net}}
| current_status    = Active
}}

{{Nihongo|'''2channel'''|2ちゃんねる|ni channeru|lead=yes}}, also known as '''2ch''',<ref name="Kaigo-2007" /> '''Channel 2''',<ref name="Onishi-2004">{{Cite news |last=Ōnishi |first=Norimitsu |date=2004-05-09 |title=Japanese Find a Forum to Vent Most-Secret Feelings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/world/japanese-find-a-forum-to-vent-most-secret-feelings.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/world/japanese-find-a-forum-to-vent-most-secret-feelings.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-06-04 |work=The New York Times}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Furukawa-2003">{{Cite web |last=Furukawa |first=Hideki |date=2003-08-22 |title=Q&A With the Founder of Channel 2 |url=http://www.ojr.org/japan/internet/1061505583.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031222144247/http://www.ojr.org/japan/internet/1061505583.php |archive-date=2003-12-22 |access-date=2020-05-24 |website=Japan Media Review |publisher=USC Annenberg}}</ref> and sometimes retrospectively as '''2ch.net''',<ref name="Tokyo District Court)">{{Cite court|litigants=In re: Race Queen Inc.|court=Tokyo District Court|pinpoint=平成29年(ワ)第3428号|url=https://www.courts.go.jp/app/files/hanrei_jp/327/089327_hanrei.pdf|quote=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.]}}</ref> was an anonymous Japanese [[textboard]]{{efn|name=KeijibanNote|2channel, and other sites like it, are called {{Nihongo3||掲示板|keijiban}} in Japanese. This word literally translates to "[[Bulletin board system|bulletin board]]", but in English, that word only refers to older text-based systems, not web bulletin boards like 2channel. Therefore, the correct translation is "[[textboard]]" in English.}} founded in 1999 by [[Hiroyuki Nishimura]]. Described in 2007 as "Japan's most popular online community",<ref name="Sakamoto-2011">{{Cite journal |last=Sakamoto |first=Rumi |date=2011-03-07 |title='Koreans, Go Home!' Internet Nationalism in Contemporary Japan as a Digitally Mediated Subculture |url=http://www.japanfocus.org/-Rumi-SAKAMOTO/3497 |journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal |volume=9 |issue=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311012143/http://japanfocus.org/-Rumi-SAKAMOTO/3497 |archive-date=2011-03-11 |access-date=2020-05-22}}</ref> the site had a level of influence comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines.<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2007">{{Cite news |last=Katayama |first=Lisa |date=2007-04-19 |title=2-Channel Gives Japan's Famously Quiet People a Mighty Voice |url=http://archive.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/04/2channel |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150921143305/http://archive.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2007/04/2channel |archive-date=2015-09-21 |access-date=2020-05-21 |work=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref> At the time, the site drew an annual revenue of around {{Currency|100 million|JPY|passthrough=yes}} (about US$1 million),<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2008">{{Cite news |last=Katayama |first=Lisa |date=2008-05-19 |title=Meet Hiroyuki Nishimura, the Bad Boy of the Japanese Internet |url=https://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-06/mf_hiroyuki?currentPage=2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527190538/http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-06/mf_hiroyuki?currentPage=2 |archive-date=2008-05-27 <!--DASHBot--> |access-date=2020-05-22 |publisher=Wired}}</ref><ref name="Shibui-2008">{{Cite web |last=Shibui |first=Tetsuya |date=2008-08-26 |title=2channel founder says don't blame him for criminals' posts |url=https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/2channel-founder-says-dont-blame-him-for-criminals-posts |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://japantoday.com/category/features/kuchikomi/2channel-founder-says-dont-blame-him-for-criminals-posts |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-20 |website=[[Shūkan Gendai]] |language=en |via=[[Japan Today]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and was the largest of its kind in the world, with around ten million visitors<ref name="Sakamoto-2011" /> and 2.5&nbsp;million posts made per day.<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2007" />

The site was [[Dedicated hosting service|hosted]] and had its [[domain registration]] provided by [[Jim Watkins (businessman)|Jim Watkins]], based in [[San Francisco]], California.<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2008" /><ref name="Matsutani-2010" /><ref name="McLaughlin-2019">{{Cite news |last=McLaughlin |first=Timothy |date=2019-08-06 |title=The Weird, Dark History of 8chan |url=https://www.wired.com/story/the-weird-dark-history-8chan/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://www.wired.com/story/the-weird-dark-history-8chan/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-21 |work=Wired |issn=1059-1028}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 2009, ownership of the site was transferred to [[Singapore]]-based Packet Monster Inc., under which Nishimura remained in control.<ref name="Adelstein-2015" /><ref name="Martin-2009">{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Alex |date=2009-01-24 |title=2channel founder ponders next step after forum's sale |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/01/24/news/2channel-founder-ponders-next-step-after-forums-sale/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016110933/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2009/01/24/news/2channel-founder-ponders-next-step-after-forums-sale/#.Ul5z-i7LeZQ |archive-date=2013-10-16 |access-date=2020-10-21 |work=The Japan Times |quote=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.}}</ref> In February 2014, Watkins seized the 2ch.net domain, taking full control over the website and assuming the role of site administrator.<ref name="McLaughlin-2019" /><ref name="Akimoto-2014" /> This has resulted in two textboards claiming to be the legitimate 2channel:<ref name="Akimoto-2014" /> '''2ch.sc''',{{efn|name=2chscNameNote|2ch.sc calls itself 2ちゃんねる, just as the former 2ch.net did. When it is necessary to differentiate 2ch.net from 2ch.sc in Japanese, the form 2ちゃんねる (2ch.sc) is often used.{{#tag:ref||name=Monolith}}}} owned by Nishimura through Packet Monster Inc.,<ref name="Nishimura">{{Cite web |last=Nishimura |first=Hiroyuki |title=2ちゃんねるガイド：基本 |trans-title=2channel FAQ |url=http://info.2ch.sc/guide/faq.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/http://info.2ch.sc/guide/faq.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-18 |website=2ch.sc |quote=2ch.sc is managed and operated by PACKET MONSTER INC. and more.}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and {{Nihongo|'''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;<ref name="Kaigo-2007" /> they are extremely popular among [[Far-right politics#Japan|Japan's extreme right-wing]], known as the ''[[netto-uyoku]]'', who post [[Ethnic issues in Japan|xenophobic]] comments, often [[Anti-Korean sentiment in Japan|targeting Koreans]] and [[Anti-Chinese sentiment in Japan|Chinese]].<ref name="Sakamoto-2011" /><ref name="Onishi-2004" /> [[Defamation]] is of particular concern; by August 2008, Nishimura had received more than one hundred lawsuits for defamatory comments left on the website.<ref name="Shibui-2008" /> Announcements of crimes also have drawn scrutiny of 2channel and its successors.<ref name="Adelstein-2015" /><ref name="The Canadian Press-2008" /><ref name="Zaikei Shimbun-2019" /><ref name="Kobe Shimbun-2019" /> In 2012, 2channel was accused by the [[Tokyo Metropolitan Police]] of allowing its platform to be used by [[amphetamine]] dealers,<ref name="The Japan Times-2012" /> although no charges were filed.<ref name="Adelstein-2015" />

In September 2007, 2channel claimed over 2.4&nbsp;million posts per day.<ref name="suzume graph-2007">{{Cite web |date=2007-10-19 |title=suzume graph |url=http://pv.40.kg/suzume/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019001429/http://pv.40.kg/suzume/ |archive-date=19 October 2007 |access-date=2020-07-17}}</ref>{{efn|name=FiguresNote|These statistics are self-reported.}} As of July 2020, 5channel claimed 1,031 boards receiving around 2.7&nbsp;million posts per day on weekends,<ref name="SPARROW-5ch">{{Cite web |title=SPARROW5ch |url=https://stat.5ch.net/SPARROW/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://stat.5ch.net/SPARROW/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=25 October 2019 |website=5ch Officially Reported Statistics}}{{cbignore}}</ref> with no growth since March 2016.<ref name="5ch-stats">{{Cite web |title=SPARROW5ch |url=http://stat.5ch.net/SPARROW/20160313/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/http://stat.5ch.net/SPARROW/20160313/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=17 July 2020 |website=5ch Officially Reported Statistics}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{efn|name=FiguresNote}} Meanwhile, 2ch.sc claimed 826 boards receiving around 5,700 posts daily.<ref name="2chsc-stats">{{Cite web |title=投稿数統計＠2ch掲示板 |url=https://sweet.2ch.sc/posts.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://sweet.2ch.sc/posts.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-16 |website=2ch.sc Officially Reported Statistics}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{efn|name=FiguresNote}}