
Originally Posted by
CNN
At 15, Christopher Poole started a Web site that has become one of the seedier, darker corners of the Internet.
You may never have heard of 4chan, but chances are the Web site has touched your Internet browsing experience in one way or another.
The 4chan community of 7 million users, which Poole called a "meme factory," has been blamed (or credited) with starting the LOLcats and Rickrolling crazes.
LOLcats are those goofy pictures of cats with random phrases pasted on them. Rickrolling refers to the practice of sending a Rick Astley song to a friend, or posting his music video for "Never Gonna Give You Up" on a Web site in an unexpected place.
The image-based message board also is known for spreading porn and for hacking into mainstream Web sites and social networks.