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"It's like Craigslist -- hugely simple and highly useful," says David Weinberger, a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. 4chan's utility is its ability to gather millions of people in conversation in a single place and create a "meme-rich" environment, says Mr. Weinberger.

Mr. Poole originally just wanted a place to share his fascination with Japanese comics and television shows. He was a fan of the popular Japanese image Web site 2chan and wanted to create a version for American audiences. With his mother's approval, he used her credit card to purchase server space and started 4chan.org.

"They get rowdy -- it's like a bar without alcohol," says Willard Ling, a moderator and long-time user of the site. "It's like that psychological concept of deinvidualization -- when groups of people become less aware of their own responsibility." Mr. Poole and his team of moderators have handed out 70,000 bans over the last three years, but preventing long-term abuse can be difficult. 4chan's "Wild West" reputation has created a dilemma for Mr. Poole. While it's brought him Internet fame, albeit through his alter ego, and created enviable traffic, he has trouble selling ads to more cautious companies who don't want their ads appearing next to potentially graphic content. He's attempted to quarantine sexual material on a set of adult boards, but that doesn't stop pornography or other adult content from appearing elsewhere.

Does knowing something about the way technical architecture influences behavior mean that we can put that knowledge to use?

Can inhumane or dehumanizing effects of digital socializing be mitigated or eliminated by better media design?

in Coase's Penguin,[7] and then in The Wealth of Networks,[8] Benkler contributed to important theoretical foundations for a new way of thinking about online activity−"commons based peer production," technically made possible by a billion PCs and Internet connections−as a new form of organizing economic production, together with the market and the firm. If Benkler is right, the new story about how humans get things done includes an important corollary−if tools like the PC and the Internet make it easy enough, people are willing to work together for non-market incentives to create software, encyclopedias and archives of public domain literature.

In essence, Facebook users didn't think they wanted constant, up-to-the-minute updates on what other people are doing. Yet when they experienced this sort of omnipresent knowledge, they found it intriguing and addictive. Why?

Social scientists have a name for this sort of incessant online contact. They call it "ambient awareness."

The growth of ambient intimacy can seem like modern narcissism taken to a new, supermetabolic extreme

The parties creating controversy and "conspiracy" are Barry and his handlers. Man doesn't hide all his personal records for no reason. Doesn't drop $1 million plus on attorneys to ensure his dirty little secret stays a secret. The little fraud should be exposed. What he's done is unconscionable. He makes James Frey look like Honest Abe. Btw, you sound like a 14 year old girl in the throes of post American Idol heartbreaker hissy fit.

"Birthers" by jorji on June 2, 2009 - 12:24pm Micah, Creating a catchy little title ("birthers") for those who have informed themselves enough to understand the difference between a short form birth certificate (certificate of live birth--at the time used also for registering a birth in Hawaii, regardless of whether that birth actually took place in Hawaii) and a long form birth certificate (includes information not available on the short form, such as attending doctor, and hospital where the birth took place), does not make such informed citizens either nuts or conspiracy theorists. Asking for proof of the constitutionally demanded eligability is only good citizenship. Deriding those who care about the constitution does not however, make you a good citizen, Micah. Jorj

Birther NUTS trashing town hall by Stingray on June 2, 2009 - 10:21am To Micah Sifry; The site was created for response from the citizens of our country. You are obviously not aware of the importance of the 'Natural Born' issue at question, rather than just being a 'citizen'. To call those American Citizens 'NUTS' because they have a legitimate question regarding that issue in light of everything going on at such a rapid-fire pace is nothing short of blatant prejudice and hatred for those that disagree with you! You, Micah Sifry, are exactly what you are calling others! If you can't stand to be disagreed with, then you just plain don't belong here!