ふたば(双葉)☆ちゃんねる (Futaba Channel; 2chan)

Futaba Channel (ふたば(双葉)☆ちゃんねる, Futaba Channeru, lit. "Double Leaf Channel, Two Leaf Channel"), or Futaba for short, is an internet forum in Japan. It is considered one of Japan's most popular imageboards dealing in otaku and underground culture.

Futaba Channel was set up on August 30, 2001, as a refuge for 2channel users when 2channel was in danger of shutting down. The 4chan image sharing site is based on Futaba.

Futaba Channel consists of about 60 imageboards (three of which are oekaki boards) and about 40 message boards, with topics ranging from daily personal problems to junk food, sports, ramen, and pornography. There is also a place to upload general non-image files. Futaba is powered by a custom script based on GazouBBS. The Futaba script is open source and is used to run many Japanese imageboards.

The boards are, like many Asian forums, anonymous, with an optional tripcode system also in place.

Users are generally expected to lurk before posting, in order to understand the culture they are entering. Anonymity is considered a good thing; users who go out of their way to identify themselves are often ridiculed.

Futaba has spawned a number of strange visual gags and characters; the OS-tans would be one such meme that has spread to western internet culture. Some of the characters that appear on Futaba Channel have entered the real world in the form of various real-life goods, such as figures, dolls or images printed on pillows. Such items are mainly produced by Japanese dōjin artists and groups.

Internet users outside of Japan are not allowed to post on Futaba Channel, to try to save on both bandwidth and avoid foreign DDoS attacks. Other imageboards have been created outside of Japan based on the Futaba style of imageboard, most notably in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Russia. The largest English-speaking Futaba clone is 4chan.

Non-Japanese Internet users sometimes refer to Futaba Channel as 2chan, due to the address of the site. It is frequently unclear whether this is intended to mean Futaba Channel or 2channel, and sometimes it even refers to both, as if they were a single website. To eliminate confusion, the names Futaba and 2channel are often used. [Wikipedia]

双葉ちゃん♪: http://2chan.net/