About
Fortune is a 4chan feature that generates random messages in the manner of fortune cookies’ predictions. Since its introduction on the /b/ (random) board, it became a subject of curiosity and intense spam on the site to the point that it has been made an exclusive addition to the /s4s/ (shit 4chan says) board.
Origin
According to “The Complete history of 4chan”, a collective effort in listing numerous events related to the imageboard, Christopher “Moot” Pool enabled the Fortune feature on April 27th 2007 by adding a name field on the otherwise anonymous /b/ board. Typing #fortune into it would trigger a random colored message resembling a fortune cookie’s prediction above the user’s own message. The list also states that one of the first threads involving people trying to guess their own fortune was stickied and became one of the most replied-to thread in the history of the board. There is sadly no available archive from that time. However, one of the earliest mentions of that new feature was found on a video by Youtuber iliekmudkip explaining how to use it on the site, posted July 10th 2007 (shown below).
Spread
On September 21th 2007, an anonymous poster on the /prog/ (programming) board ranted about the perceived overuse of the meme on the /b/ board[2], revealing that the fortune feature may have been a reference to the four-leaf clover symbol of the site. Encyclopedia Dramatica gives details about a short-lasting sub-meme using the feature that began on October 3rd 2007 and consisted in users tricking the system into having a constant streak of the same “Godly Luck” message[3]. The feature was eventually disabled following an event known as the “Great Caturday Nap” that occured on October 19th 2007, in which the 4chan website suffered DDoS attacks and was taken down by a group of people calling themselves Lulznet. The Encyclopedia Dramatica page for Fortune states that, following the incident, the feature was disabled and enabled several times, showing a screenshot of it being enabled again in 2008[4].
On September 10th 2013, Fortune became the exclusive feature of the /s4s/ board, available nowhere else but there. A screenshot of the first post with it launched by Moot himself was taken at that time (shown below).
External References
[1]Tanasinn wiki – The Complete History of 4chan
[2]4chan – The truth behind #fortune
[3]Encyclopedia Dramatica – Godly Luck