back to article Web cesspit 4chan touts '$20 bug bounty' after hackers ruin Moot's day

Internet armpit 4chan now has a bug bounty – although with just $20 in "self-serve ad spend" on the website or an annual membership up for grabs, it's not particularly bountiful. The bounty programme was launched after the image-board website and a drawing website, both founded by Chris "moot" Poole, were compromised by …

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  1. TopOnePercent

    Vandalism

    Mostly I dislike the vandalism that too often goes hand in hand with hacking these days. In 4chans case, however, I'm finding it unusually difficult to feel bad about it....

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Re: Vandalism

      How would you tell it had been hacked?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Vandalism

      Worth remembering much of 4chan isn't just /b/

  2. S4qFBxkFFg

    Remember when /b/ was good?

    I stopped going there much a few years ago, but am almost regretful as it would have been delicious to see what would have happened on the site if all the mods/admins were banned for a few hours.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Remember when /b/ was good?

      Still good. Keeps arseholes busy in a cesspit. If /b/ closed, a spike in terrible posts across the rest of the internet would be unbearable.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Remember when /b/ was good?

        Internet diarreha!

    2. David Neil

      Re: Remember when /b/ was good?

      /b/ was never good

  3. Not That Andrew

    Those aren't bugs, that is PEBCAK

  4. btrower

    This is the cancer

    that is killing the /b/ reputation.

    I, 4 1 hope 4chan continues to occupy its important role in encouraging less bland types of expression on the Internet. Nobody is forced to go there.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And nothing of value was lost.

    Or at least nothing worth more then $20.

  6. Steven Roper
    Stop

    I think it's a bit harsh

    to call the reward "stingy" when moot is pretty much funding 4chan out of his own pocket. Despite the site's infamous popularity, it's not exactly making him a fortune. The site's notoriety and reputation for unshackled political incorrectness means that most companies are reluctant to advertise on it, so moot's stuck with the porn ad dollar and member passes as his sole source of revenue. Which can't be much after he's paid for bandwidth, hosting, maintenance and service costs, so he probably can't offer thousands of dollars as an incentive. Instead he's relying on the hearts and support of those who understand 4chan and its social function.

    4chan fulfils a vital need for freedom of expression on the internet. In an age when expressing politically incorrect opinions can destroy careers and even lives, there needs to exist an outlet free from the restraints of identity, where people can both vent their anger without fear of backlash, and debate issues that in conventional arenas are soon drowned out in howling accusations of bigotry and privilege.

    For despite the sheer volume of shit infesting 4chan, I've participated in some interesting and intelligent discussions with people there - discussions which were only possible because of the anonymity that enabled honest expression of opinion, rather than having everyone hide behind a mask of fear to avoid ruining their careers or lives because their expressed opinions could be tied to their real identities.

    As long as sanctimonious and hypocritical do-gooders can use the power of social media to ram their political agendas down everyone's throats, destroying the careers, reputations and lives of anyone who disagrees with them, claiming freedom of speech while rationalising their denial of it to others with specious justifications, there exists a need for sites like 4chan where people can share their views anonymously without fear.

    Yes, it is a cesspit. But we all need somewhere to shit.

    1. h4rm0ny
      Thumb Up

      Re: I think it's a bit harsh

      As long as sanctimonious and hypocritical do-gooders can use the power of social media to ram their political agendas down everyone's throats, destroying the careers, reputations and lives of anyone who disagrees with them, claiming freedom of speech while rationalising their denial of it to others with specious justifications, there exists a need for sites like 4chan where people can share their views anonymously without fear.

      Yes, it is a cesspit. But we all need somewhere to shit."

      That... was a beautiful speech.

    2. Tom 13

      Re: I think it's a bit harsh

      Just as is the case with MS, no matter how much you polish a turd, it is still a turd.

      Maybe if it was confined to just the internet it would be tolerable. But it's not. I personally know people who have been physically injured because of the antics 4chan engages in. So no, it's not all in good fun.

      1. Steven Roper

        Re: I think it's a bit harsh

        I never said it was in good fun. And I'm sorry about your friends who fell foul of the less savoury exponents of 4chan.

        But that in no way diminishes the validity of the social function 4chan serves or the cultural safety-valve it represents. Unfortunately, freedom can bring with it risks and dangers, and sometimes people get hurt. That's a fact of life. And it is the actions of people who demand safety at any cost, even at the expense of freedom, that have created the kind of world in which sites like 4chan are necessary.

        1. Piro Silver badge

          Re: I think it's a bit harsh

          I don't actually think it is a safety-valve, I think it's more like a pressure cooker, or a cauldron, bubbling away.

          Stirring shit that doesn't need to be stirred.

          1. Steven Roper

            Re: I think it's a bit harsh

            Stirring shit that doesn't need to be stirred.

            You mean expressing opinions you don't think should be allowed to be expressed by the sounds of it.

            You've completely missed my point. You can't just decide, "This is how the world should be and anyone who doesn't agree should be denied a voice", because it becomes like a dam - pressure builds up, people get angry, and it culminates in an explosion of violence. This has happened too often in history to be safely ignored. No matter how noble your intentions, no matter how "civilised" you consider your mode of existence, any attempt to impose that mode of existence by fiat on others inevitably ends in bloodshed and tyranny.

            I get that you don't like some of the thoughts aired on 4chan. But at least we know those thoughts exist. 4chan is routinely monitored by several countries' law enforcers these days for just this reason - so they can spot potential sources of unrest and prepare for them. And it provides a valuable insight into potential social problems. Are a lot of people posting angrily about some issue on 4chan? Then that's a social issue that needs to be confronted and addressed.

            Learn to see and use it for what it is, rather than just stomping on it because some of the topics posted there offend your sensibilities. Attitudes like that are exactly why society needs 4chan and sites like it.

        2. Vociferous

          Re: I think it's a bit harsh

          > the social function 4chan serves

          You mean as a hub for trading of underage porn, underage hentai, self-shot penis shots, and staging ground for forum invasions and harassment of 11-year-old-girls on Facebook? Yeah, I don't see how the net could survive without that.

      2. btrower

        Re: I think it's a bit harsh

        Re: "I personally know people who have been physically injured"

        I think that the right to have a voice through 4chan should be protected. I understand what you mean, though. I remember seeing instructions for how to grow crystals that were instead a way to make a poisonous gas could easily have killed someone they tried it.

        Sites like 4chan are not for people who need supervision.

        1. Vociferous

          Re: I think it's a bit harsh

          > Sites like 4chan are not for people who need supervision.

          Haha I don't think there is any site on the net which is as closely supervised by authorities as 4chan, and which cooperates as quickly and fully with authorities as 4chan.

  7. Bottle_Cap

    Yeah great post, Steven but on the other hand hahahaha! :P

  8. robmobz
    Unhappy

    Not even $20

    Actually $20 of credit for their ad platform.

    1. Justice
      Trollface

      Re: Not even $20

      Acktually iz dolan.

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