>>106383
>Old 4chan got a lot of advertisement from troll ops.
The honest answer is right here. When was the last time any imageboard engaged in public off-site shenanigans? The last things I can think of all began around 2016, specifically hwndu and iotbw. They ended pretty quickly, and certainly didn't have the kind of iconic impact that earlier 4chan hijinks had. I don't care if they were "cringe." Everything is. It has always been. Unless you include the posting of totally "organic" minecraft manifestos and associated media coverage, how exactly would you expect someone to hear about imageboards? We've been kicked from server to server and branded as murderous heretics in the public eye. In the latest iterations of this, governments are increasingly involving themselves. So, I was under the impression that, at this point, we're lying low. Is it the right choice? Now, more than ever, I am not so sure.
The second answer is content. Quite frankly, it is lacking. That said, I am not worried that we've lost the spark, because we all see great things from anons on a regular basis. However, it's clear that there's nothing to catch flame, so to speak. No new stock to provide the much needed energy that will keep a proper fire alive. Certain agents will make this even more difficult, and whatever newcomers arrive will have a difficult time sensing the potential when it is diluted and contained. The reason I am here today is that I recognized this potential a long time ago. I could see that imageboards allow for a dynamic that can be simultaneously earnest and flippant, something that is stifled in a society where all things must be one or the other. This was something missing in my social life, an environment to discuss things in their fullness, without stepping around sacred cows that are often the most worthy of discussion. The internet was a refuge. As others have said, it is clearly no longer one. I don't think I have anything new to say about this.
We all probably started down this path as teenagers, but most of us are adults now. Some of us are even fathers, or retired. The internet was unoccupied territory, and we conquered it with a youthful spirit. Imageboards became a vessel for pursuing our grand, chaotic vision. But the territory is mapped now, and rapidly shrinking. Ultimately, we aren't able to recreate the circumstances that lead us here. We can't become young again, and there's not going to be a new sekrit internet. It is obvious that we are beginning to form a mature tradition. The fact that people are now treating shitposting as secondary proves this. If we do anything, it will be to take a step in a new direction, toward some new frontier that can serve as the same kind of vessel that the old internet did, where the fire can burn again without restraint, away from the watchful eyes of the state and society. What that will be remains a mystery, but we must search for it.