About
7chan is an imageboard site modeled after the Japanese site Futaba Channel. The site rose to prominence in 2006 as 4chan users fled to 7chan for fewer posting restrictions.
History
7chan.org[1] was launched on September 25th, 2005, by founders Symbion and Zeneslev. On August 23rd, 2006, a large number of threads featuring nude photographs of under aged girls were posted to 4chan’s /b/ (random) board, resulting in the heavy moderation of the board known as “/b/-day.”[3] According to Encyclopedia Dramatica,[3] 4chan founder Christopher Poole posted a warning that any users participating in threads dealing with illegal content or “jailbait” photos would be globally banned:
Participating in a thread dealing with illegal content will get you globally banned for two weeks (thread starter is indefinitely banned). This means merely replying to it removes you from this site for a minimum of two weeks. This includes JB and any other “gray area” threads. Posting any piece of personal information or inciting/participating in an invasion of any sort will also get you, and anybody who replied to the thread globally banned. You have the option to either report or ignore (not reply to) threads that break the rules. Thanks!
Following the announcement, many 4chan users left the site for 7chan to evade the restrictions. The exodus resulted in a rivalry between users on 4chan’s /b/ and 7chan’s /b/.
Features
7chan contains six different board categories containing a total of 50 boards. Users can create new threads by submitting an image with an accompanying message. When a thread is replied to, it is bumped to the top of the board and is deleted if it reaches the end of the 10th page without receiving a reply. Content that is illegal to view in both Luxembourg or the United States is prohibited. The site previously contained a /i/ (invasion) board for users to organize off-site raids, but admins deleted it after the 7chan’s web host demanded its removal. 7chan maintains an active /fur (furry) board which was temporarily deleted in 2007.
Highlights
X is Not Your Personal Army
“X is Not Your Personal Army” is an expression rumored to have originated on 7chan’s now defunct /i/ (invasion) board, which was employed for raids on external sites. The phrase is typically used to scold those who ask Internet users to raid or harass someone based on a personal vendetta.
Epilepsy Forum Invasion
On March 28th, 2008, 7chan users purportedly hacked the Epilepsy Foundation of America’s epilepsy support forum with JavaScript code causing flashing animations aimed to trigger headaches and seizures.[4][5]
Traffic
As of October 2014, 7chan.org has a global rank of 59,548 and a United States rank of 19,776 on the traffic analytics site Alexa.[2]