Editing 2channel (section)

==Culture==
[[File:2channel Web browsing by Nintendo DS.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Nintendo DS]] browsing a thread on 2channel's automobile board as it appeared in 2008 via the [[Nintendo DS Browser]]]]
Due to its large number of boards, the types of information exchanged on 2channel are very diverse.<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2007" /> There are boards for topics as diverse as sports, sex, celebrity gossip, computer programming<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2008" /> and ongoing earthquakes;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-11-07 |title=ネット地震情報震源地はやはり2ちゃんねる! |trans-title=The earthquake information epicenter is 2channel! |url=https://www.itmedia.co.jp/magazine/ybb/0312/hottopics/02.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://www.itmedia.co.jp/magazine/ybb/0312/hottopics/02.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-21 |website=ITmedia News |language=ja}}{{cbignore}}</ref> even some academic research has gotten its start on 2channel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tanaka |first=Kazuo |year=2015 |title=インターネットにおける論文不正発覚史 |trans-title=A history of academic research on the internet which wasn't officially sanctioned |url=http://journal.skeptics.jp/journal24_tanaka.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Journal of the Japan Skeptics |pages=4–9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917014231/https://journal.skeptics.jp/journal24_tanaka.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2020 |access-date=20 March 2020 |number=24}}</ref>

===Anonymous posting===
One of the most distinctive features of 2channel is its use of [[anonymous post]]ing.<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2007" /> Nishimura explained his reasons for preferring anonymity online to [[USC Annenberg]]'s ''Japan Media Review'' thus:<ref name="Furukawa-2003" />

<blockquote>If there is a user ID attached to a user, a discussion tends to become a criticizing game. On the other hand, under the anonymous system, even though your opinion/information is criticized, you don't know with whom to be upset. Also with a user ID, those who participate in the site for a long time tend to have authority, and it becomes difficult for a user to disagree with them. Under a perfectly anonymous system, you can say, "it's boring," if it is actually boring. All information is treated equally; only an accurate argument will work.</blockquote>

However, a frequent criticism directed toward anonymous textboards like 2channel, most notably by [[Kazuhiko Nishi]], is that their anonymous nature make them mere {{Nihongo|"[[Toilet Graffiti|toilet graffiti]]"|便所の落書き}}.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202054351/http://ascii24.com/news/i/topi/article/2001/08/13/628749-000.html 「"2ちゃんねる"には欠陥がある!」西和彦アスキー特別顧問——"2ちゃんねる西スレッドオフ会"開催]（アスキー、2001.08、ウェブアーカイブ）("2channel is flawed!" Kazuhiko Nishi, Special Advisor to ASCII - "2channel held Nishi Kick-off Party" (originally published on ''ASCII'' dated August 2001; archived on WebArchive.))</ref><ref name="Gotō-2015" /> 2channel's anonymity is a departure from most English language [[internet forum]]s which require some form of registration, usually coupled with email verification for further identification of an individual;<ref name="Sakamoto-2011" /> its anonymity in part inspired the creation of [[4chan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Adi |date=2015-09-21 |title=The man whose site inspired 4chan is now running 4chan |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/21/9364499/2channel-hiroyuki-nishimura-buys-4chan |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/21/9364499/2channel-hiroyuki-nishimura-buys-4chan |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-21 |website=[[The Verge]] |language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 2channel, a name field is available, but it is seldom used.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olson |first=Parmy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncGVPtoZPHcC&q=%222channel%22+name+field&pg=PT26 |title=We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency |date=2012-06-05 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |isbn=978-0-316-21353-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|PT26}} However, as [[open proxy|open proxies]] such as the [[Tor network]] are banned from posting on 2channel, the administrators have some degree of ability to help law enforcement unmask users if necessary.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-18 |title=プロキシサーバ利用でTor拒否サイトを突破する |trans-title=Using proxy servers to break through website security mechanisms that block Tor |url=https://radiolife.com/internet/virus/6148/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://radiolife.com/internet/virus/6148/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-20 |publisher=SansaiBooks KK |language=ja |quote=Tor経由では、2ちゃんねるにはアクセスできません。[2channel blocks access from those who use Tor.] |trans-website=Radio Life |script-website=ja:ラジオライフ}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Matsutani-2010" />

=== Revenue ===
While 2channel and its successors are commercial, 2channel was moderated by volunteers.<ref name="Kaigo-2007" /> 2channel relied on advertisements from "obscure" companies.<ref name="Onishi-2004" /> In 2007, it had an annual revenue of around {{Currency|100 million|JPY|passthrough=yes}}.<ref name="Katayama-Wikired-2008" /><ref name="Shibui-2008" /> Between 2009 and 2012, {{Currency|200 million|JPY|passthrough=yes|linked=no}} in ad profits were transferred to Nishimura's Singaporean shell company.<ref name="Ota-2013" /><ref name="NHK-2013" />

As early as 2004, companies such as [[Dentsu]] were [[data mining]] the website for their clients, keeping them informed of how they were being portrayed by 2channel users;<ref name="Onishi-2004" />{{efn|Gala is a division of Dentsu.}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goggin |first=Gerard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzslDwAAQBAJ&q=2channel+Dentsu&pg=PA418 |title=The Routledge Companion to Global Internet Histories |last2=McLelland |first2=Mark |date=2017-02-17 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-60765-6 |pages=418 |language=en}}</ref> by 2006, 75% of the content Dentsu analyzed on behalf of its customers was posted to 2channel.<ref name="Martin-2009" />

2channel also received revenue from subscription services like the [[#Personal information leak|aforementioned ''maru'']].<ref name="Sudō-2013" /> For its part, 5channel has a subscription service, {{Nihongo3|"Premium [[Rōnin]]"|プレミアム浪人|}}, that allows people outside Japan to post on it; this service also hides ads from its subscribers.<ref name="SUNDAY-2015">{{Cite web |date=2015-03-13 |title=【悲報】2ちゃんまとめ大ピンチ！2ちゃんがdatアクセス禁止でツールが使えなくなる！ |trans-title=[Sad news] 2channel has put ''matome'' sites in a big pinch! They've developed a way to forbid access to 2channel .dat files! |url=https://yukawanet.com/archives/4839988.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313064512/http://www.yukawanet.com/archives/4839988.html |archive-date=2015-03-13 |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=秒刊SUNDAY |language=ja}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=よくある質問 {{!}} プレミアムRonin (浪人) |trans-title=FAQ {{!}} Premium service Ronin |url=https://premium.5ch.net/faq.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://premium.5ch.net/faq.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-06-05 |website=5channel |publisher=Zero KK}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

====''Matome''====
2channel historically allowed anyone to use its data,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nishimura |first=Hiroyuki |date=2007-08-15 |title=2ちゃんねる掲示板へようこそ |trans-title=Welcome to the 2channel forum! |url=http://2ch.net/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070815205335/http://2ch.net/ |archive-date=2007-08-15 |access-date=2020-05-22 |website=2channel |quote=2ちゃんねるのデータの利用に関して、原則的に自由ですが、 2ちゃんねるのデータ自体を利用して対価を取る行為はご遠慮下さい。[As a general rule, you are free to use 2channel's data. However, please refrain from profiting from it.]}}</ref> providing it in an easily [[parsable]] format;{{efn|name=DATNote}} this made it simple to create third party "dedicated browsers" ({{Langx|ja|専用ブラウザ|translit=sen'yō burauza|label=none}}) for posting on and using 2channel. The openness of the data allowed for the proliferation of {{Nihongo3|summary websites|[[:ja:まとめサイト|まとめサイト]]|matome saito}} and {{Nihongo3|affiliate blogs|アフィブログ|afi burogu}}, which summarize 2channel threads and attempt to collect what they see as the "best of" 2channel.<ref name="Akimoto-2014" /> In 2007, due to growing discontentment towards such sites, Nishimura added a board, /poverty/,{{efn|Similar to the boards on the sites it inspired, like 4chan's [[/pol/]], boards on 2channel are, by convention, referred to by the ends of their [[URLs]].}} which marked every post on it with the phrase {{Nihongo3|{{translation}} reproduction [of this post is] prohibited|転載禁止|tensai kinshi}}.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-03-06 |title=なぜ2ちゃんねるは「転載禁止」を選んだのか——「まとめサイトVS住民」繰り返す歴史 |trans-title=Why did 2channel choose to implement ''tensai kinshi''? A lookback at the battle between ''matome'' sites and 2channel's users |url=https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/nl/articles/1403/06/news127.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/nl/articles/1403/06/news127.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-08-11 |series=Netlab |language=ja |quote=2007年末には、営利目的への無断転載を禁止する「ニュース速報（嫌儲）」板が設けられた。[At the end of 2007, the /poverty/ board ("Newsoku &ndash; Poverty") was set up, which prohibited unauthorized reproduction of its contents for profit.] |script-website=ja:ITmediaニュース}}{{cbignore}}</ref> This caused many users to abandon other boards for that board.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2ch「ステマ」戦争 人気板が住民大移動で一気に縮小、その背景の事情と心情 |trans-title=2ch's "stealth marketing" war: Popular board shrinks due to mass migration, why? |url=https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1201/13/news070_4.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1201/13/news070_4.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-22 |website=ITmedia NEWS |language=ja}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Watkins made it a priority to combat "piracy" of 5channel by third-party ''matome'' sites in March 2014,<ref name="FACTA ONLINE-2014">{{Cite web |title=創設者の西村博之氏と現管理人が対立。騒動をきっかけに様々な「疑惑」が噴出している。 |trans-title=Hiroyuki Nishimura is in conflict with [2channel's] current manager. Suspicions are coming to the surface in the chaos. |url=https://facta.co.jp/article/201406002.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://facta.co.jp/article/201406002.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-20 |website=FACTA ONLINE |language=ja}}{{cbignore}}</ref> adding ''tensai kinshi'' to many popular boards.<ref name="Akimoto-2014" /> Such sites siphon users from 2channel itself, with some receiving in excess of 100&nbsp;million monthly pageviews;<ref name="Akimoto-2014" /> in one case a ''matome'' site earned its owner {{Currency|300000|jpy}} per month.<ref name="FACTA ONLINE-2014" /> Watkins followed up the rule change by restricting access to 2channel's data in March 2015, by requiring that dedicated browser authors use a special API to access 2channel's, and later 5channel's, thread data.<ref name="SUNDAY-2015" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ichikawa |first=Yūkichi |date=2015-03-09 |title="2ちゃんねる"の新APIに対応した2ちゃんビューワー「Live2ch」v1.34 |trans-title=Live2ch v1.34 released with support for new 2channel API |url=http://forest.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/691881.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/http://forest.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/691881.html |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-22 |website=Windows Forest |publisher=Impress KK |language=ja |quote=今月3日以降、2ちゃんねる専用ブラウザーの開発・公開には「Jane Style」の開発元であるジェーン社などから許諾を受けたうえで新しいAPIを利用する必要が生じている。[Since the 3rd of this month, it is necessary to use the new API. Dedicated browser developers must get permission from the developer of JaneStyle to publish a 2channel dedicated browser.]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=開発者の皆さまへ |trans-title=To all developers |url=http://developer.5ch.net/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/http://developer.5ch.net/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-22 |website=5channel |quote=5ch.net 専用ブラウザ（以下「専用ブラウザ」）を開発、公開するには、5ch.net の所有者である Loki Technology, Inc. の許諾を得て、5ch.net が提供する API（以下「API」）を用いる必要があります。ウェブスクレイピングを用いた専用ブラウザの開発、公開は禁止されています。株式会社ジェーンは Loki Technology, Inc. との契約で 5ch.net 専用ブラウザ開発者に対し API の使用許諾を出す権限を受けていますが、これは排他的な権限ではありません。[To develop and publish a 5ch.net dedicated browser, the API we provide must be used. The development of dedicated browsers that work via parsing HTML is prohibited. Loki Technology Inc. has granted Jane KK the non-exclusive privilege of granting licenses to our API.]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On 10 July 2023, Jane, a company that provided a 5channel API server, terminated its 5channel API service, thus ending several applications' support for the site. Some browsers, including Jane's, replaced their support for 5channel with another anonymous textboard site named Talk.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hasegawa |first=Shotarō |date=10 July 2023 |script-title=ja:「Jane Style」が5ch.netのサポート終了 新たな匿名掲示板「Talk」専用ブラウザーに |trans-title=Jane Style halts support for 5ch.net, becomes dedicated browser for new anonymous board Talk |url=https://forest.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1515334.html |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=Windows Forest |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=10 July 2023 |script-title=ja:専用ブラウザでの5ちゃんねる閲覧が不可能に、JaneStyleなど一部は「Talk」への対応を開始 |trans-title=Now you can't view 5channel via dedicated browsers, some including JaneStyle start supporting Talk |url=https://gigazine.net/news/20230710-5ch-talk-jp/ |access-date=10 July 2023 |work=Gigazine |language=ja}}</ref>

===Phenomena===

====''Densha Otoko''====
''[[Densha Otoko]]'' is a Japanese franchise consisting of a [[Densha Otoko (film)|movie]], [[Densha Otoko (TV series)|television series]], manga, and other media, all based on the purportedly true story of a 23-year-old man who intervened when a drunk man started to [[Chikan (body contact)|harass several women on a train]]. The man ultimately begins dating one of the women. The event and the man's subsequent dates with the woman, chronicled on 2channel, directly inspired the franchise.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fisch |first=Michael |date=2009 |title=War by Metaphor in ''Densha Otoko'' |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/368622 |journal=Mechademia |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=131–146 |doi=10.1353/mec.0.0078 |issn=2152-6648 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/368622 |archive-date=2021-10-27 |doi-access=free}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Whether or not the original 2channel story is actually true is debated.<ref name="Youssef-2009">{{Cite book |last=Youssef |first=Sandra |url=https://www.academia.edu/707608 |title=Geeks and Creeps in No Name Land: Triangulating Anonymity, 2channel and Densha Otoko |publisher=[[University of British Columbia]] Anthropology Department |year=2009 |access-date=2020-06-04 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://www.academia.edu/707608 |archive-date=2021-10-27}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{Rp|27}}

==== Shift_JIS art ====

2channel and its successors, being textboards, cannot have images posted to them. Users get around this, however, by posting a more expressive form of [[ASCII]] art: [[Shift_JIS art]].<ref name="Katayama-ASCII">{{Cite news |last=Katayama |first=Lisa |date=2008-06-19 |title=Art and ASCII: The Stories Behind All Those Brackets, Slashes, and Carets |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/06/mf-hiroyuki-ss/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211027/https://www.wired.com/2008/06/mf-hiroyuki-ss/ |archive-date=2021-10-27 |access-date=2020-05-24 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{efn|"More expressive", here, is used in the sense that more art is possible with Shift_JIS art than would be possible with ASCII art due to the larger character set of the [[Shift JIS|Shift_JIS encoding]].}} Below is a small sample:

{{Multiple image
| align       = center
| width1      = 250
| width2      = 200
| image1      = ギコ猫.svg
| caption1    = Gikoneko predated 2channel, yet was used on it as well. It frequently appears with the tagline {{Nihongo3|fuck off|逝ってよし|itte yoshi}}.<ref name="Stryker-2011" />
| image2      = モナー.svg
| caption2    = [[Mona (2channel)|Mona]], an early example, appeared first in 2000. Derives its name from its frequent tagline, {{Nihongo3|I know you are, but what am I?|お前もな|omae mo na}}.<ref name="Katayama-ASCII" />
| image_style = border: none;
| image_gap   = 15
| direction   = 
| total_width = 
}}

====Political activism====
2channel and other websites with "chan" in their name have been known for [[activism]] done by their users for a variety of causes.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fujioka |first=Brett |date=2019-08-07 |title=Japan's Cynical Romantics, Precursors to the Alt-Right |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/japans-cynical-romantics |website=[[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]]}}</ref>