Described in 2007 as "Japan's most popular online community",[9] the site had a level of influence comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines.

[12][15] This has resulted in two textboards claiming to be the legitimate 2channel:[15] 2ch.sc,[a] owned by Nishimura through Packet Monster Inc.,[3] and 5channel (5ちゃんねる, go channeru, domain 5ch.net), established in 2017 by redirect from the original domain and owned by Watkins through Philippines-based Loki Technology Inc. 2channel and its successors are more controversial than other social media in Japan;[5] they are extremely popular among Japan's extreme right-wing, known as the netto-uyoku, who post xenophobic comments, often targeting Koreans and Chinese.

[5] When compared with other bulletin boards, 2channel's technology wasn't much different; what led to its success was instead its being an "outlet for unfettered expression";[10] by being hosted in the United States, 2channel was able to bypass more restrictive Japanese censorship rules, while still being accessible from Japan.

[27][33] Jim Watkins, an ex-US army non-commissioned officer (sergeant first class), domain name registrar, and dedicated hosting service provider, hosted 2channel since at least 2004[8] through various corporate identities, including Big-server.com Inc.,[34] Pacific Internet Exchange LLC[35] and N. T. Technology Inc.[36][37] Before 2channel, Watkins' company primarily specialized in using servers and domains in the United States to serve uncensored pornographic content to users in Japan.

[29][36] On 2 January 2009, Nishimura claimed to have transferred ownership of 2channel to Packet Monster Inc., a company based in Chinatown, Singapore, and to no longer be involved in the site's management.

[40][d] As part of their case, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) claimed Nishimura remained involved in 2channel's operations, alleging Packet Monster Inc. is a shell company (ペーパーカンパニー).

[42] In August 2013, a hacker using the name sassy ecchi (さっしーえっち)[43] leaked [ja] the personal details (including names, addresses, and phone numbers)[37] and credit card numbers of thousands of 2channel users who had used 2channel's paid services into the public domain,[44] exposing the anonymous profiles of various high level personas such as politicians and writers,[45] including an attorney involved in 2channel cases, Takahiro Karasawa (唐澤貴洋),[43] and a staff member of AKB48.

[56] In response, Nishimura created his own clone of 2channel at 2ch.sc [ja],[57] scraping the contents of the entire 2channel website and updating 2ch.sc as new posts appeared on 2ch.net.

[8] Through the Japan Patent Office, Nishimura owns the trademark "2channel",[60] though the WIPO refused to intervene on his behalf on account of that, suggesting the parties go to court instead as it was not, in its view, a case of "cybersquatting" but rather a "business dispute".

[2] There are boards for topics as diverse as sports, sex, celebrity gossip, computer programming[10] and ongoing earthquakes;[65] even some academic research has gotten its start on 2channel.

[69]: PT26  However, as open proxies such as the Tor network are banned from posting on 2channel, the administrators have some degree of ability to help law enforcement unmask users if necessary.

[72][73] 2channel historically allowed anyone to use its data,[74] providing it in an easily parsable format;[f] this made it simple to create third party "dedicated browsers" (専用ブラウザ, sen'yō burauza) for posting on and using 2channel.

The openness of the data allowed for the proliferation of matome saito (まとめサイト, summary websites) and afi burogu (アフィブログ, affiliate blogs), which summarize 2channel threads and attempt to collect what they see as the "best of" 2channel.

[15] In 2007, due to growing discontentment towards such sites, Nishimura added a board, /poverty/,[h] which marked every post on it with the phrase tensai kinshi (転載禁止, transl.

[76] Watkins made it a priority to combat "piracy" of 5channel by third-party matome sites in March 2014,[77] adding tensai kinshi to many popular boards.

[11] While according to the official pages of the website, slander was prohibited,[87] activists such as Debito Arudou claimed that the site did not actually respond to requests to delete posts in his case, returning mail unopened.

[92] 2channel, with its massive size and anonymous posting, is abundant with slander, hate speech[6][93] and defamation against public figures, institutions, and minority ethnic groups.

[100] After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, fake news proliferated on 2channel, falsely accusing Chinese and Korean people of "plundering" evacuation centers.

[90] The attack against Jim Watkins' Pacific Internet Exchange LLC affected other sites on the shared network as well, including some belonging to US government agencies; it is estimated to have cost US$2.5 million.

[105] Beginning on 8 January 2015, 8chan, also owned by Jim Watkins and hosted on the network of N. T. Technology, Inc., suffered an outage due to a DDoS attack.

On one level, it serves as a fun, informative place for people to read product reviews, download software and compare everything from the size of their poop to quiz show answers.

But conversations hosted here have also influenced stock prices, rallied support for philanthropic causes, organized massive synchronized dance routines, prevented terrorism and driven people to their deathbeds.

[5] Despite this, however, web filter provider Net Star in February 2007 released the results of a survey which showed that the utilization rate of 2channel for primary and secondary students was 12.2%.

[110] Concerned about the popularity of 2channel among children and teenagers, a team of childhood education professors at the University of the Ryukyus in 2009 published a paper making recommendations to lawmakers on how to curb such use.

[111] In February 2020, Nishimura himself wrote an op-ed in Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun warning parents about the dangers of allowing their children unfettered access to social media sites like YouTube and 2channel.

[112] Naoto Kan, a future Prime Minister who was then a member of the National Diet, sent a legal notice on 10 May 2000 demanding that 2channel delete a post by someone falsely claiming to be him.

[113] After the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in 2007, Prime Minister Tarō Asō stated in a Fuji TV interview that he sometimes posts on 2channel.

[114] During each election season, supporting posts for perennial candidates Matayoshi Jesus and Mac Akasaka were frequently made on 2channel, turning them into something of a meme,[115][116] similar to the repeated candidacies of Vermin Supreme in the United States.

Movements spawned on 2channel often receive media attention, noting how the methods of 2channel activists break socially normative behavior and bring pressure to bear through sheer numbers.

[83]: 25, 32, 35 TV programs have even featured 2channel's moderators and users;[13][118] comedian Hikari Ōta, for example, criticized Nishimura during a discussion on the Tokyo Broadcasting System's Sandējapon on the ideal limits of free expression as applied to social networks.