The founder of online message board website 4chan, Chris "moot" Pool announced today that he is stepping down as the site's main administrator.
Pool, known as "moot" by those who frequent the site, wrote a blog post on the site stating that "it's time for me to move on."
Today I announced my retirement from @4chan, a community I founded at the age of 15 and have served for 11.5 years: https://t.co/jEMsDf5nfz
— moot (@moot) January 21, 2015
Pool founded the site when he was still a teenager and, until recently, was its only employee. In 11 years, the site grew to become one of the most oft-visited websites on the Internet, the source of some of the Internet's most popular memes (such as LOLCats), as well as the cause of a lot of controversy.
Before he leaves, Pool plans on creating a foundation to keep the website up and running.
"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," says Poole. "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."
The site lets users post anonymously, which means that although much of its content is harmless, it also often appeals to the lowest dregs of Internet society. Not only has the site been associated with the GamerGate controversy, but it was also behind last year's major leak of nude celebrity photos. More shockingly, one 4chan user murdered his girlfriend and then posted photos of the grisly scene on the site.
For those hoping that the site stays up (or for those wishing for it to go away forever), Poole's announcement makes it clear that 4chan isn't going anywhere.
"The site isn't in danger of going under financially any time soon, and it's as fast and stable as ever thanks to continued development and recent server upgrades," writes Poole. "Team 4chan is also at its largest, and while I've still been calling the shots, I've delegated many of my responsibilities to a handful of trusted volunteers, most of whom have served the site for years."
As to what's next for Poole is anyone's guess, but he did create an app in 2013 called Drawquest. Perhaps that's a question users can put to him when he hosts a live-streamed Q&A session on Friday, Jan. 23.
[Photo Credit: 4chan]
