Chanosphere
The Chanosphere is a ruby.
The Chanosphere (also known as the *chans or the Chanverse by Bibliotheca Anonoma) is a term meant to encompass all more or less anonymous imageboard websites, starting with 2channel. Occasionally, textboards and wikis are also included in the Chanosphere. The Soysphere is considered to be a subsection of the Chanosphere, and, along with the 8chan-adjacent free speech absolutist imageboards, it currently constitutes the only major subcultural movement still relevant activity-wise (this, however, does not mean all relevance is lost if we are talking about other subspheres). The Chanverse is an immense rabbit hole, and reliable information regarding the Chanosphere is sparse and sometimes contradictory.
Subspheres of the Chanosphere
The sheer amount of websites involved means we need a way to consistently organize most *chans in subcategories. This does not affect single-website cultural movements (e.g. Shrekchan, Wojchan, Otterchan and Mlpol).
| Name (official or otherwise) | Representative imageboards, wikis, textboards etc. | Adjacent websites/factions | Era/Time Period during which subsphere was/is relevant | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First wave of English-speaking imageboards | world2ch, 4chan.net, 1chan, Burichan, 5chan, iiChan, Gurochan | Something Awful, Raspberry Heaven, 2channel, 2chan (Japanese-speaking IBs) | Originalfag era (June 1st, 2003: foundation of world2ch - June 20th, 2004: fourth death of 4chan) |
| 2 | First wave of textboards (taking inspiration from Ayashii Warudo) | 4-ch.net, etherchan, (recently) Angeleno's world2ch and Heyuri | world2ch | Textboard era (Late 2004: 4-ch.net founded - present day, revival courtesy of newfag LARPers) |
| 3 | Idlechan Federation | iiChan, Wakachan and about a dozen forgotten imageboards | - | Mootxico era; the Idlechan Federation was little more than an alliance between the administration of iiChan and Wakachan (at that time, 4chan was experiencing its fourth death) |
| 4 | The camgirl subsphere
|
AnonIB, the LURKMORE collective (textchan, intern3ts, tranchan and male general) | LURKMORE wiki, both the Russian and the English versions | The Camwhore Era (late 2000s - present day, as the lurkmore collective still exists; ends on 4chan the very moment /soc/ is created as a containment board)
Did You Know: textchan has a copypasta board called /cp/? |
| 5 | The Lulzsphere | 7chan, 711chan, (partially) 420chan, Raidchan (IRC-only website), 78chan, 99chan, 315chan, Krautchan, 888chan, 808chan, Encyclopedia Dramatica | Anonymous (a faction which will splinter during and after Project Chanology) | The Lulz era (August 23, 2006: /b/-day - March 2023, 711chan is defeated by soyjak.party)
August 21st, 2008: Chanocalypse happens, Lulz era reaches its peak. |
| 6 | First pedophile wave
|
not4chan, 12chan, AnonTalk, (partly) 7chan and old4chon | Darknet 'p websites | October 31, 2004: /l/ is moved to not4chan - January 2010, 12chan is (most likely) partyV& |
| 7 | /int/osphere | Dvach, Krautchan, Vichan, Britchan, HUEchan, Hispachan, (recently) Kohlchan, 1500chan | - | May 1st, 2007: foundation of Krautchan - present day |
| 8 | Shitpostsphere (or funpostsphere) | United Chans Federation (GETchan, Ponychan, Dubschan, efchan, Equestriachan, Funchan, Oniichan. MLPchan, Lupchan)
4chan's [s4s] and 8chan's /intl/, /leftypol/ Bunkerchan, now known as Leftypol United Chans wiki |
Leftybooru
NOTE: initially, communist thought was not a core tenet of the Funpostsphere, however Bunkerchan heavily infuenced the UCF during the late 2010s. [s4s] and /intl/ are not affiliated with leftypol or the leftybooru. |
November 6th, 2011: GETchan's foundation - present day, courtesy of Leftypol |
| 9 | Pre-/pol/ right wingers and incels | nu4chon, Wizardchan, 4chan's old /r9k/ and /new/ | - | May 1, 2009: nu4chon, which has little to no relation to old4chon, is founded - August 2015, Wizchan is raided by 8chan's /cow/, and thus a generation of chuds is replaced by another[1] |
| 10 | Culture War Generation | 4chan's /pol/, 8chan | Heckin' bigoted nazi networks, according to mainstream media | December 6, 2013: beginning of GamerGate (started by Wizardchan) - March 15, 2019: Brenton Tarrant's mass shooting |
| 11 | Norulescucksphere | 8kun, 8choe, 8pl, 9chan, Endchan, (partially) Sleepychan | NOTE: all of these websites follow 8chan's blueprint, so to speak, which is why in most of them users can create their own boards | October 2013: 8chan is founded - present day |
| 12 | Tier I Soysphere | 4chan's /qa/, soyjak.party, Big 'Ki, Schlog, Shroom | SoyBooru, SPVA, Reddit colonies, 'cords and 'grams, Shiwi | Soyfag era (December 30th, 2017: first soyjak created by the Swede - present day) |
| 13 | Tier II Soysphere | The Jarty, The Big Three (The Swinny, The Shemmy, The Chinny), The Kuzzy, The Sidty, The Zarty, SNCApedia | Orbiters such as Edgecore members, as well as the Jassy (which WNBA Soysphere site)
RoachBooru, SWAbooru |
July 18th, 2022: anti-kuzist website jakparty.soy appears - present day
August 14th-22nd, 2023: Soypocalypse and First Splintered Age Second Splintered Age: ? |
| 14 | Tier III Soysphere (splinters made during Quote's ownership) | The Sneedy, The Gitty, The Chaddy, The Sloppy, The Sboardy | Various boorus | Quotist era (May 9, 2025: Quote steps up as the fifth admin of soyjak.party - present day) |
| 15 | Oldfag revival websites | Angeleno's world2ch, Heyuri, Mootxico, 22chan | Heyuri Historical Society | Late 2010s - present day |
| 16 | "Underground" *chans | Lainchan, Uboachan, modern Desuchan, Wapchan, Kissu moe | NOTE: I chose to put more somewhat unrelated *chans into one category since they all give off a similar feel. Intended to be /comfy/ and center around niche topics. | Since the beginning of IBs - present day |
| Last, and certainly least... | Edgecoresphere
|
Clarty, 67chan, Dwinny, (partially) Chinny etc. | Skibidi Farms, Fella Farms, Labubu Farms, TFD Forums, 764 'cords | November 2nd, 2022: Clarty is founded - present day
Late 2023 - January 24th, 2024 (SF is fedded due to Antioch High School shooting): peak of Edgecore era |
Notable Wikis
Here are some very helpful websites that document the culture and events across various *chans:
This very wiki
Especially when it comes to Soysphere splinters or, occasionally, SNCA *chans.
Encyclopedia Dramatica
This was the go-to website back in the day when *chan users wanted to record their history - it is more strict against SNCA imageboards or namefags however. (You) cannot make an account unless you contact their staff. Due to its constant correlation with the *chans, it is considered by some to be part of the chanosphere, at least honorarily.
Soyjak Wiki
Despite their censorship campaigns, their "Happenings" page can come in very handy when it comes to learning about soyjak.party history.
Nameless Rumia's personal wiki
Has excellent articles on various BBS websites, especially on obscure japanese/chinese ones. It is also full of citations.
By far the most useful source. Contains information not only about the chanosphere, but also about many other websites, such as Something Awful. Its role is to preserve Internet folk life.
BonziPEDIA
the now shut down official wiki for the now shut down Bonziworld.org. had many useful articles about obscure larp clans and BonziWORLD-trollbox-OWOT-sleepycat related drama along with many smaller SNCA discord dramas and has been archived in its entirety on the wayback machine. (you WILL rearchive these to megalodon or ghostarchive NQW)
Decline
The Chanosphere is currently in a dire state due to Edgecore members, Metachan, the Jassy(doe it's dnb), advertisers and other failtrolls constantly spamming CP, an increasingly dull PPH on all websites and due to a general loss of interest for imageboards (also caused by the generational shift from millennials to gen Z). The negative reception it receives from the outside internet (especially from (((Wikipedia))) and (((YouTube)))) does not make the situation any better.
