4chan update on these days.

/his/ was born.

Homepage image changed a bit on Nov 5th.

Happy 12th anniversary!

https://www.4chan.org/news#121

4chan is now owned and led by Hiroyuki Nishimura, the founder of the largest anonymous BBS in Japan, 2channel. Read the full announcement on the 4chan News page.

I’m retiring after serving as 4chan’s founder and administrator for more than 11 years, from the age of 15. You can read the full announcement on the 4chan News page.

—moot

New requirement for 4chan volunteers going forward

Recently we introduced a new requirement for 4chan’s volunteer moderators and janitors, which is that they sign a volunteer agreement that puts in writing a number of things that have always been true, namely that:

1. Moderating 4chan is a volunteer position and not a real “job” in any sense of the word (yes, they truly do it >for free), however we expect volunteers to conduct themselves in a professional manner and in accordance with the moderation guidelines and training we provide.
2. Volunteers are expected to hold in confidence any and all private information they come into contact with, especially regarding our users, and they are not to use or disseminate that information except to perform their volunteer duties.

In addition to signing this formal agreement, we now require proof of identity from all volunteers, present and future. Why? So we can enforce the agreement should it be violated (ie. user information being misused, leaks, etc) and establish a liability barrier in between the company and its volunteers.

Most large websites with analogous volunteer roles use similar agreements, and we were long overdue for one of our own. You can find a full copy of the agreement below (note this will be mandatory as of our next janitor drive):

4chan, LLC
Volunteer Moderator Agreement

The following are the agreed-upon terms pursuant to which you will be volunteering with 4chan, LLC (“4chan”) as a Volunteer Moderator:

1. Duties. This is a volunteer position. As a Volunteer Moderator, you will monitor user-posted content on 4chan’s website at 4chan.org, including its subdomains and associated domains and any message boards contained thereon (collectively, the “Website”), and (a) report, edit, and/or remove user-posted content that is in violation of the Rules posted at https://www.4chan.org/rules (“Prohibited Content”) and (b) block users from accessing the Website for posting Prohibited Content (collectively, the “Moderation Duties”). You will perform the Moderation Duties in accordance with this letter agreement and any instructions and guidelines for Volunteer Moderators provided by 4chan to you from time-to-time. By entering into this letter agreement and performing the Moderation Duties, you represent and warrant that (x) you have no contractual commitments or other legal obligations that would prohibit your activities in connection with 4chan, (y) you will perform the Moderation Duties in a good and professional manner, and (z) you have full power, right and authority to enter into this letter agreement.

2. Relationship; No Compensation. You understand and agree that this is an unpaid, volunteer position and not an employment relationship. This position is for no specific period of time and will be “at will,” meaning that either you or 4chan may terminate your position and the service relationship at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. Although you must perform the Moderation Duties in accordance with all terms and conditions contained in this letter agreement, or as otherwise provided by 4chan to you, 4chan does not require any specific time commitment for this position (i.e. it is not “full time” or “part time”), and the amount of time you spend performing the Moderation Duties is solely at your own discretion. You acknowledge and agree that 4chan will not pay you any wages or other compensation (including without limitation any equity or ownership share in 4chan) at any time, now or in the future, under any circumstances, for performing the Moderation Duties, and you will not be eligible to participate in any 4chan company-sponsored benefits. Any contrary representations that may have been made to you are superseded by this letter agreement. 4chan may terminate your position and the service relationship with or without notice to you.

3. Identity Verification. Your service with 4chan is contingent upon your providing legal proof of your identity and your representation hereunder that you are authorized to work for 4chan. Prior to starting the Moderation Duties, you must provide 4chan with a copy of a government-issued identification document (e.g. a passport or driver’s license) in a form reasonably acceptable to 4chan. You represent and warrant that all information you provide regarding your identity and ability to perform the Moderation Duties, including but not limited to any form of identification you provide, is valid, accurate and up-to-date. You acknowledge that providing 4chan with any false or inaccurate information regarding your identity is both a breach of this contract and a punishable offense under law.

4. Proprietary Information. You acknowledge that in the course of performing the Moderation Duties, you may encounter or otherwise gain access to certain Proprietary Information of 4chan, and you agree to hold in confidence and not disclose to any third parties in any manner or medium whatsoever or, except in performing the Moderation Duties, use any Proprietary Information. “Proprietary Information” means all financial, business, legal and technical information of 4chan or any of its affiliates, suppliers, customers, users, contractors, owners, and employees (including without limitation information about user-posted content, personally identifiable information pertaining to users (such as but not limited to IP addresses, location, and cookie data), team member identities or nicknames (including without limitation other moderators, and regardless of whether such identities or nicknames are real-life or virtual), chat logs, orientation materials, legal or regulatory affairs, operations, marketing, transactions, inventions, processes, materials, data, know-how and ideas, whether tangible or intangible, and including all copies and other derivatives thereof), that is previously, presently or subsequently disclosed by or for 4chan to you or which is otherwise made available to you or which you learn in the course of performing the Moderation Duties. For the avoidance of doubt, this letter agreement, its terms, and its existence shall constitute 4chan’s Proprietary Information. Upon termination or as otherwise requested by 4chan, you will promptly return to 4chan all items and copies containing or embodying Proprietary Information.

5. Survival. Your obligations under Sections 4, 5 and 6 of this letter agreement shall survive any termination or expiration of this letter agreement.

6. Miscellaneous. This letter agreement constitutes the entire agreement, and supersedes all prior negotiations, understandings or agreements (oral or written), between the parties concerning the subject matter hereof. No change, consent or waiver to this letter agreement will be effective unless in writing and signed by the party against which enforcement is sought. The failure of 4chan to enforce its rights under this letter agreement at any time for any period shall not be construed as a waiver of such rights. Unless expressly provided otherwise, each right and remedy in this letter agreement is in addition to any other right or remedy, at law or in equity, and the exercise of one right or remedy will not be deemed a waiver of any other right or remedy. In the event that any provision of this letter agreement shall be determined to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that letter agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. This letter agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, USA without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof. Exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any action arising under this letter agreement is in the federal and state courts located in New York City, and both parties hereby consent to such jurisdiction and venue for this purpose. Any notice hereunder will be effective upon receipt and shall be given in writing, in English and delivered to the other party in a manner indicated by 4chan.

As for any future leaks that may inevitably occur—frankly, I look forward to them. I’ve been amused by past leaks because they usually show just how mundane and even-keeled 4chan’s moderation team is.

I don’t communicate this nearly often enough, but I am deeply grateful to our team of dedicated volunteers. Thank you.

—moot

The future of 4chan Pass

As many of you know, last week we upgraded to the new reCAPTCHA API, bringing CAPTCHA-less posting to the masses >for free. Since the upgrade, approximately 25-30% of daily solve attempts encounter no CAPTCHA at all, with failure rates hovering at an all-time low of 6%.

Alongside the new CAPTCHA, we temporarily disabled the sale of 4chan Passes as we evaluated whether or not to continue supporting them in light of the change. Ultimately, we decided to resume offering 4chan Passes for sale for those who don’t want to deal with CAPTCHA at all, would like to post from behind a blocked IP range, or just plain want to support the site.

We’ve also decided to offer a limited time, pro-rated refund to those who currently hold an active 4chan Pass that was purchased on or before December 8th, 2014. While we don’t normally offer refunds for Pass purchases, we felt it was best to provide an opportunity for users who feel their Pass has been devalued as a result of the CAPTCHA change to request a pro-rated refund.

Since 4chan relies primarily on Pass sales to make ends meet, we’ll continue to sell and support them for the foreseeable future, and may consider adding additional features at a later date and time (ideas welcome).

If you’d like to submit a refund request for your active 4chan Pass that was purchased on or before December 8th, please visit this link and follow the instructions.

Thanks as always to our Pass holders for their support—it is greatly appreciated.

—moot

No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA

Two days ago, we upgraded to the new reCAPTCHA API, dubbed the “No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA”.

The new API allows users determined to not be spambots to bypass typing a verification, giving them a CAPTCHA-less posting experience. Below you can see the change from our last full day using the old version of the API to our first full day using the new version:

On December 7th, 90% of solve attempts resulted in a pass, and 10% resulted in a fail. On December 9th, the first full day of the new version, 30% of solve attempts encountered no CAPTCHA at all, with the remainder being 64% pass and 6% fail.

We understand there have been a few hiccups for users using third-party extensions and unofficial apps, however we expect them to be updated soon. We hope that as reCAPTCHA tweaks their algorithm over time, more users will be able to take advantage of the CAPTCHA-less posting experience.

—moot

Mobile site improvements and change to moderation

The mobile site has received a slew of updates recently, including:

• The ability to view original filenames and truncated names/subjects (tap the file size or inline expand the image; tap truncated text to expand).
• Support for infinite scroll (tap “Load More” at the bottom of board indexes, or check “Always use infinite scroll” in Settings).
• A dark theme (Tomorrow) for nighttime browsing, enabled in Settings under “Miscellaneous.”
• Top navigation now auto-hides upon scrolling down to free up vertical space for reading threads. Scroll up to have it reappear.
• Support for Thread Stats, with more native extension features to be enabled in the future.
• Minor usability tweaks and visual polish.

In addition to the mobile updates, we’ve also added the ability for janitors to submit warning requests as opposed to only ban requests, with the hope that it will reduce the number of bans issued for minor or borderline rule infractions. You can read the e-mail sent to janitors and moderators notifying them of the change below:

You’ll notice the Ban Request panel now has a checkbox to reduce the ban request to a warning. When “Warn” is checked, the post will still be deleted, but the poster will not be temporarily muted, and if the request is approved by a moderator a warning will be issued instead of a ban.

Many of the minor infractions we regularly issue bans for simply aren’t worth blocking someone from posting for 24 to 72 hours. Granted, these are the most lenient ban lengths we’ve had in all of our 11 years – not to mention you once couldn’t browse while banned! – but banning for trivial infractions frustrates the userbase and ultimately discourages rule adherence, encourages ban evasion, and breeds ill will. Posters, lurkers, volunteers, and the site as a whole are harmed in the process.

That said, we do not want warnings to be used as a replacement for regular deletions. Think of a warn request as a step down from a ban, and not a step up from a deletion.

Here are some examples where you may want to request warnings instead of bans:

• “Quality of Posts” and “Garbage Outside of /b/” issues (ex. “holds up spork my name is katy but u can call me t3h PeNgU1N oF d00m!”), ASCII macros, huge lists of quoted post numbers, etc.
• People using avatars or signatures.
• Recommendation threads on /a/.

Note that not all ban request templates can be downgraded to a warn request (ex. Global Rule 1), and the checkbox will be greyed out and unusable in such cases.

We strive for 4chan’s moderation to be fair and consistent, and hope that posters will choose to respect the rules instead of deliberately breaking them in response to what is sometimes perceived as disproportionate punishment for minor or borderline infractions. Warnings and bans should only be used in cases where a rule has clearly been broken. Keep in mind that we publicly display a sampling of recently issued warnings/bans, and ideally the reasoning behind everything displayed should be easily understood by the person viewing it. If the text of the rule clearly fits the associated warned/banned post as it should, then there won’t be confusion as to why action was taken.

Janitors and moderators have always had the challenging task of walking a fine line and pleasing the insatiable masses. In a given month, more than 20 million people will browse 4chan, and upwards of 2 million will post. While catering to the individual tastes and opinions of millions of people isn’t feasible, we owe it to ourselves as users to enforce the rules as objectively and consistently as possible in order to preserve the best possible site experience for all.

Thanks as always for your volunteering and continued service.

 —moot

Enhanced Thread Watcher, unique posters, and delayed pruning

Three new features, and a belated announcement:

1. The Thread Watcher can now auto-watch threads based on filters you’ve set in the “Filters & Highlights” menu. It works by fetching catalog JSON and matching filters against OPs on the specified board(s). Note that auto-watching only works when you select individual boards for a filter (“Boards” can’t be blank) and manually refresh the Thread Watcher, due to client-side CPU/bandwidth concerns (we may add a user specifiable timer in the future).
2. Threads now display the number of unique posters in a thread (based on IP). We’re trialling this as a way to give users an idea of how many active contributors there are in a given thread.
3. Delayed pruning was expanded to all boards except for /b/ some weeks ago. Per the original announcement, once a thread expires it is retained for a period of 48 hours before being pruned.

—moot