The founder of 4chan has decided to leave the website

Regardless of how you feel about 4chan, you can’t deny how important the website has been in making the internet what it is today, for better or worse. Founded by 15-year-old Christopher “Moot” Poole back in 2003, the website has since spawned some of the most recognizable memes and jokes on the internet, as well as some of its most vile and disgusting attacks. Now, more than a decade later, Poole has decided to step down from his role as the website’s leader.  

On Wednesday, 4chan founder Christopher Poole, better known by the moniker “moot,” announced his retirement from running the site. moot started 4chan 11 and a half years ago when he was 15, and the image-based bulletin board has grown into a staunch supporter of anonymity for its posters since. That notoriety has drawn some of the best and also a lot of the very, very worst to its 63 boards. In his post today, moot explained the decision: “4chan has faced numerous challenges over the years, including how to continuously satisfy a community of millions, and ensure the site has the human, technical, and financial resources to continue operating. But the biggest hurdle it’s had to overcome is myself. As 4chan’s sole administrator, decision maker, and keeper of most of its institutional knowledge, I’ve come to represent an uncomfortably large single point of failure.”