Research Blog #12

After reading Chapter 8, 4chan.org can be classified as either a subculture, or a counterculture. In many cases, the members of this site have attempted to change something that they saw as 'unjust'. For example, a story came out a few weeks ago about a woman who was videotaped throwing newborn puppies into a river, letting them drown, and laughing while she did so. The members of 4chan.org attempted to track this person down, in order to make her pay for her crimes. (Their intentions on her punishment are still up for debate, whether they would take the law into their own hands, or call the authorities.)

Yet, I do believe that it should still be classified under the definition of a subculture. The site is very out-of-the-way of mainstream internet (facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc), and definitely has its own language. For example, if you ask someone off of the street what the words '4chan', 'troll', 'meme', or anything of the like means, they most likely would not give the same definition as somebody who frequents this site.