8chan is back online, but this time, under a new name. 8kun has taken over as the controversial image board’s new name.
After being down since August 5 due to the El Paso mass shooter’s involvement with the site, 8chan’s Twitter account tweeted Sunday, October 6, a video promoting the site’s new name and logo. The new logo is a snake in the shape of an 8.
8Chan also tweeted, “If you were previously a Board Owner on 8chan, please email us at admin@8kun.net with your shared secret if you are interested in migrating your board to 8kun.”
https://twitter.com/infinitechan/status/1181054604097642496?s=20
https://twitter.com/infinitechan/status/1181796277392011265?s=20
The previous suffix used, “chan,” refers to a child in Japanese, while the new “kun” suffix is usually referred to a young man.
According to CNET, the new 8kun site was registered as a Tucows domain on September 7.
“We only heard about 8kun.net being registered this morning as news outlets reported it, so we are looking into it,” said Tucows spokesperson Reg Levy, adding that as they find out more information, they would let Digital Trends know.
8chan came under fire after the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, since the El Paso shooter was active in the online image board and even posted a premature “manifesto” containing white supremacist views, racism, and hateful speech.
Cloudflare cut off 8chan from its hosting support after the August shootings, saying in an August 5 blog post, “The rationale is simple: they have proven themselves to be lawless and that lawlessness has caused multiple tragic deaths.”
Last month, 8Chan owner Jim Watkins met with the House Homeland Security Committee after he was subpoenaed to testify about 8chan’s role in mass shootings and white supremacist-inspired attacks. Watkins said in a statement that he has no plans to delete hate speech from the platform.
“8chan encourages vigorous debate, discussion, and changed opinions as a result of interacting through its image boards. Unlike platforms like Facebook or Twitter, there are no “speech police” to shut down poorly formed opinions, popular conspiracy theories, or hateful monologues,” he said in his prepared statement to the committee.
