Christopher Poole
Encyclopedia
Christopher Poole is an American internet entrepreneur from New York City
, noted for founding the websites 4chan
and Canvas
. He originally started 4chan anonymously, under the pseudonym moot (always written with lower case).
were used to influence the vote. 4chan's interference with the vote seemed increasingly likely, when it was found that reading the first letter of the first 21 candidates in the poll spelled out a phrase containing two 4chan memes: "mARBLECAKE. ALSO, THE GAME
."
On September 12, 2009, moot gave a talk on why 4chan has a reputation as a "Meme
Factory" at the Paraflows Symposium in Vienna, Austria, which was part of the Paraflows 09 festival, themed Urban Hacking. In this talk, moot mainly attributed this to the anonymous system, and to the lack of data retention on the site ("The site has no memory.").
On February 10, 2010, moot spoke at the TED2010 conference
in Long Beach
, California
. He spoke about the increasing prevalence of persistent user identities and the sharing of personal information on sites like Facebook
and Twitter
and he also spoke about the value of anonymous posting on sites like 4chan. Fred Leal of the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo
said his inclusion in the conference "indicates that something extraordinary is happening... [4chan] challenges every Internet convention: it is, alone, the antithesis of Google, social networking sites, and blogs."
In 2010, Poole was reported to have raised $625,000 to create a new online enterprise, Canvas
. The website opened on January 31, 2011, and features digitally modified images uploaded by users who are required to self-identify using Facebook Connect.
In April 2010, Poole gave evidence in the trial United States of America v. David Kernell
as a government witness. As a witness, moot explained the terminology used on 4chan to the prosecutor, ranging from "OP" to "lurker." moot also explained to the court the nature of the data given to the FBI as part of the search warrant, including how users can be uniquely identified from site audit logs.
In a 2010 interview, Poole discussed his belief in the value of multiple identities, including anonymity, in contrast to the merge of online and real-world identities occurring on Facebook
and many other social networking sites.
. The same day, Lev Grossman
of Time
published an interview describing moot's influence as a non-visible administrator as "one of the most [significant]" on the evolution of content collaboration. Although Grossman's article began with the confession that "I don't even know his real name," he claimed to identify moot as Christopher Poole. Later, on July 10, Grossman admitted that there was an outside chance that Christopher Poole was not moot's real name, rather an obscure reference to a 4chan inside joke. The Washington Post concurred that "Christopher Poole" could be "all a big hoax, a 'gotcha.' It would be just what you'd expect from the creator of 4chan." In March 2009, Time backpedaled somewhat on the issue by placing the moot persona on the 2009 Time 100
finalists list. Prior to the Wall Street Journal and Time interviews, moot deliberately kept his real identity separate from 4chan. He told Grossman, "my personal private life is very separate from my Internet life ... There's a firewall in between." As moot, he has spoken at conferences at Yale University
and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. A 2008 article in The Observer
had him down as "the most influential web entrepreneur you've never heard of," though he has since been described in more limited terms such as "benefactor."
In February 2009, The Washington Post reported that Poole had attended Virginia Commonwealth University
for a few semesters before dropping out. It reported that moot was living with his mother while looking for a way to make money from owning 4chan.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, noted for founding the websites 4chan
4chan
4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime...
and Canvas
Canvas Networks
Canvas Networks is a social website centered on sharing and remixing media, particularly images. The website was founded by the owner of 4chan, Christopher Poole, and backed by Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures, Founder Collective, and Joshua Schachter.- Company and funding :Reports...
. He originally started 4chan anonymously, under the pseudonym moot (always written with lower case).
Impact and activity
In 2008, Leopoldo Godoy of Brazilian TV Globo called Poole's 4chan "the ground zero of Western web culture." In April 2009, moot was voted the world's most influential person of 2008 by an open Internet poll conducted by Time magazine. The results were questioned even before the poll completed, as automated voting programs and manual ballot stuffingBallot stuffing
Ballot stuffing is the illegal act of one person submitting multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is permitted. The name originates from the earliest days of this practice in which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time...
were used to influence the vote. 4chan's interference with the vote seemed increasingly likely, when it was found that reading the first letter of the first 21 candidates in the poll spelled out a phrase containing two 4chan memes: "mARBLECAKE. ALSO, THE GAME
The Game (mind game)
The Game is a mental game where the objective is to avoid thinking about The Game itself. Thinking about The Game constitutes a loss, which, according to the rules of The Game, must be announced each time it occurs. It is impossible to win most versions of The Game; players can only attempt to...
."
On September 12, 2009, moot gave a talk on why 4chan has a reputation as a "Meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
Factory" at the Paraflows Symposium in Vienna, Austria, which was part of the Paraflows 09 festival, themed Urban Hacking. In this talk, moot mainly attributed this to the anonymous system, and to the lack of data retention on the site ("The site has no memory.").
On February 10, 2010, moot spoke at the TED2010 conference
TED (conference)
TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He spoke about the increasing prevalence of persistent user identities and the sharing of personal information on sites like Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and he also spoke about the value of anonymous posting on sites like 4chan. Fred Leal of the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo
O Estado de S. Paulo
O Estado de S. Paulo is a daily newspaper published in the Metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil, and distributed mainly nationally. It is owned by Grupo Estado, a holding company which publishes the Jornal da Tarde and owns the radios Rádio Eldorado AM and FM and the Agência Estado, largest...
said his inclusion in the conference "indicates that something extraordinary is happening... [4chan] challenges every Internet convention: it is, alone, the antithesis of Google, social networking sites, and blogs."
In 2010, Poole was reported to have raised $625,000 to create a new online enterprise, Canvas
Canvas Networks
Canvas Networks is a social website centered on sharing and remixing media, particularly images. The website was founded by the owner of 4chan, Christopher Poole, and backed by Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures, Founder Collective, and Joshua Schachter.- Company and funding :Reports...
. The website opened on January 31, 2011, and features digitally modified images uploaded by users who are required to self-identify using Facebook Connect.
In April 2010, Poole gave evidence in the trial United States of America v. David Kernell
Sarah Palin email hack
The Sarah Palin email hack occurred on September 16, 2008, during the 2008 United States presidential election campaign when the Yahoo! personal email account of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was subjected to unauthorized access...
as a government witness. As a witness, moot explained the terminology used on 4chan to the prosecutor, ranging from "OP" to "lurker." moot also explained to the court the nature of the data given to the FBI as part of the search warrant, including how users can be uniquely identified from site audit logs.
In a 2010 interview, Poole discussed his belief in the value of multiple identities, including anonymity, in contrast to the merge of online and real-world identities occurring on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and many other social networking sites.
Identity
Moot's real-world identity — Christopher Poole — was revealed on July 9, 2008, in The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
. The same day, Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman
Lev Grossman is an American novelist and journalist, notably the author of the novels Warp , Codex , The Magicians and The Magician King...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
published an interview describing moot's influence as a non-visible administrator as "one of the most [significant]" on the evolution of content collaboration. Although Grossman's article began with the confession that "I don't even know his real name," he claimed to identify moot as Christopher Poole. Later, on July 10, Grossman admitted that there was an outside chance that Christopher Poole was not moot's real name, rather an obscure reference to a 4chan inside joke. The Washington Post concurred that "Christopher Poole" could be "all a big hoax, a 'gotcha.' It would be just what you'd expect from the creator of 4chan." In March 2009, Time backpedaled somewhat on the issue by placing the moot persona on the 2009 Time 100
Time 100
Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.-History and format:...
finalists list. Prior to the Wall Street Journal and Time interviews, moot deliberately kept his real identity separate from 4chan. He told Grossman, "my personal private life is very separate from my Internet life ... There's a firewall in between." As moot, he has spoken at conferences at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. A 2008 article in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
had him down as "the most influential web entrepreneur you've never heard of," though he has since been described in more limited terms such as "benefactor."
In February 2009, The Washington Post reported that Poole had attended Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public university located in Richmond, Virginia. It comprises two campuses in the Downtown Richmond area, the product of a merger between the Richmond Professional Institute and the Medical College of Virginia in 1968...
for a few semesters before dropping out. It reported that moot was living with his mother while looking for a way to make money from owning 4chan.