Forum. This concept may be unfamiliar to young internet users nowadays. However, as an early zoomer, I still enjoy the environment of forums. Personally, I don't like expressing various opinions, but I prefer observing. And forums are a great place to observe different viewpoints and information. Compared to places like YouTube or Twitter, expressing opinions in forums does not require one to have a large following (although this also depends on the speed and sorting of information flow), which is extremely appealing. More decentralization is always a good thing, isn't it?
Certainly, not everyone's opinions deserve respect, but everyone should have the ability to express their own opinions and the responsibility to be accountable for their speech. That's what I believe. Next, I will talk about the forums I visit in my free time.
Let's start with 4chan. 4chan is definitely an excellent embodiment of my viewpoint. Anyone can post on 4chan (IPs from China will be banned), there are very few rules, and posting is anonymous. However, the lack of rules naturally leads to chaos. 4chan is indeed a place with a mix of all sorts of people, and there have been many scandals and controversial events. Although freedom is emphasized, the responsibility for speech is not as serious, as anonymity and deletion are suitable for avoiding consequences.
Initially, 4chan was a discussion board similar to 2ch for anime, but it later developed into an English community where anything can be discussed. When you first start looking at 4chan, you may find it overwhelming because it is filled with blatant discrimination and controversial content. But if you continue to explore, you will find that there is valuable content as well. Take the various generals in the video game board (vg) for example, they are great for beginners to get into the series. And in 4chan, no matter how obscure something is, there are always a few people who will respond, which is quite amazing. So it's definitely not as bad as it seems, although I wouldn't say it's great either...
The forums I frequently visit include: v, vrpg, vg, vmg - these are all game-related sections. Among them, v has a fast flow but lower quality content, vg has interesting headers but generally lacks good posts, and vrpg is slower but more likely to have interesting discussions.
G has some fun generals to read, but it mainly focuses on tech news or arguments between users.
JP is half a bunch of people going crazy over some fictional characters, and the rest is discussions about ACG (anime, comics, games) or Japan-related content. DJT is a place to learn Japanese, but it may not be suitable for everyone.
W and WG have some interesting wallpaper posts and image editing requests, but the image size limit on 4chan can be annoying.
D, E, and H are three different flavors of image boards. D is for various niche and obscure content, E is for simple setu (sexy) images, and H includes setu as well as game-related or other content.
S4S and B are quite similar, where anything can be posted, but the atmosphere is really cozy. It may seem absurd, but that's how I truly feel.
Now that I've talked about 4chan, let's move on to other -chan forums.
Uboachan, as the name suggests, is a community related to dream diaries. In addition to dream diaries, there are discussions about ACG content related to dream diaries, such as RPG Maker games, bizarre things, and ghost stories. There are also discussions among NEETs (people not in education, employment, or training) who live off their parents. The overall flow is slow.
Kissu is a split from the QA board, and the flow there is slow as well, but it's difficult to explain in detail.
Then there's Reddit. I don't visit Reddit as much because there's too much content. I only occasionally browse the sections that interest me, as the larger sections can be overwhelming. Plus, the upvote system leads to centralization of content.
After talking about foreign forums, let's talk about domestic ones. Although Bangumi is not a forum, it does have a large community called "Tea Party" where people discuss various topics. Bangumi is a "familiar society." In simple terms, the people who frequently participate in discussions are always the same, similar to a group chat. This is also an interesting characteristic. The direction of discussions in the Tea Party often changes. Although it is mostly casual chatting, recently there has been a trend of people creating multiple accounts to stir up trouble, which can be quite annoying. Although it may sound impolite to say so, the users on Bangumi are highly educated. You may think there is survivor bias, but based on a previous survey (although this behavior is not encouraged), the majority of users are outstanding high school or college students from developed regions or overseas students living abroad. This can't be completely explained, but liking anime is a kind of luxury. Even though anime is not as niche as before, discovering a small and slightly core site like Bangumi still requires some dwelling experience, which means... well, I'm getting off topic. I mentioned this because it leads to a unique atmosphere in Bangumi discussions. Compared to Tieba (Baidu Tieba), people here speak in a more civil manner. Even in trolling posts, this is the case.
Speaking of Tieba, let me briefly mention it. I really dislike Tieba. Admittedly, there are a few small communities that are worth reading, but the overall atmosphere is really bad. Plus, Baidu's various operations make me dislike it even more. Reading Tieba makes me angrier than reading 4chan. I'm not sure why, but it's really hard to find any valuable content on Tieba. I used to occasionally browse Tieba communities like Sun Xiaochuan, but I got tired of it eventually.
However, Tieba does have a grassroots feeling to it. This is also a unique atmosphere. Compared to Bangumi, which has a more civil and formal tone, Tieba users are not afraid to be vulgar, and if they're unhappy, they'll curse, and if they're happy, they'll say it directly. It can be said to have a more lively atmosphere of life.
As for the remaining domestic forums, I'm not very familiar with them because most of them have strict gatekeeping and require registration. Registering for S1 even requires payment, which is quite amusing to me. So, to summarize briefly, as you can see, the larger the forum, the more noise there is, and the more time it takes to filter through. On the other hand, smaller forums can guarantee quality, but often require strict gatekeeping to maintain, which can easily lead to a community of familiar faces and exclusion of outsiders. Each has its pros and cons. Perhaps what you want to see is more important than the forum itself.