It’s likely that there will never be a site like 4chan again. But everything now—from X and YouTube to global politics—seems to carry its toxic legacy.
Archived version: https://archive.is/20250422233152/https://www.wired.com/story/4chan-is-dead-its-toxic-legacy-is-everywhere/
Dude it’s absolutely WILD how Facebook manages to be so toxic when people have their full name, a picture of them and whatever personal details they’re dumb enough to put as public.
I’m that person. I get into fights on there a lot and call people troglodytes all the time. One time though some rednecks came into my work and told me they had seen all my comments, they said they thought they were funny but in a vague manor that left it 50/50 on if they really thought they were funny or if they were giving me a veiled threat not to leave more. I never did learn my lesson about engaging with cretins, most of which are probably bots these days, but I have reduced my Facebook usage to essentially nothing more than sharing articles I find important.