4chan

4chan is a huge image-based message board based on the Japanese site 2chan (for 2channel). 4chan is crazy about all things Japanese, but especially anime, and most especially hentai.

4chan is nearly always attributed as the source of new internet fads or memes. Their reputation is somewhat exaggerated, but still, many of the phrases and pictures that become popular on Board 8, Something Awful, LUElinks, etc do originate on 4chan.

The site became a major source of controversy during the '07 Character Battle when it was rumored that the first round success of many Pokemon (especially Mudkip) was due to massive 4chan vote stuffing. Eventually we learned that, although some rallying did occur in the early stages of a few matches, 4chan's impact on the end results were always relatively minor; Pokemon are just a legitimately strong force on GameFAQs, at least in a 4-way environment.