2channel
Anonymous Japanese textboard / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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[lower-alpha 2] 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]
Type of site | Textboard |
---|---|
Available in | Japanese |
Owner | Disputed |
Created by | Hiroyuki Nishimura |
URL | 2ch |
Commercial | Yes |
Users | 10 million monthly (2010)[1] |
Launched | 30 May 1999; 24 years ago (1999-05-30)[2] |
Current status | Disputed (since 19 February 2014; 10 years ago (2014-02-19)) |
Available in | Japanese |
---|---|
Founded | 1 April 2014; 10 years ago (2014-04-01) |
Owner | Hiroyuki Nishimura |
Parent | Packet Monster Inc.[3] |
URL | 2ch |
Commercial | Yes |
Current status | Active |
Available in | Japanese, with a small minority of boards in English[4] |
---|---|
Founded | 1 October 2017; 6 years ago (2017-10-01) |
Owner | Jim Watkins |
Parent | Loki Technology Inc. via Race Queen Inc. |
URL | 5ch |
Commercial | Yes |
Current status | Active |
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,[lower-alpha 1] 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.[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][lower-alpha 3] 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][lower-alpha 3] Meanwhile, 2ch.sc then had 826 boards receiving around 5,700 posts daily.[24][lower-alpha 3]