A textboard is a simple kind of Internet forum; most textboards require neither registration nor entry of a screen name. [1] Textboards, like imageboards, were invented in Japan, but they remain relatively unknown outside it, in contrast to imageboards (such as 4chan and 8chan).
One of the key differences between textboards and traditional forums is that textboards allow users to post without registration, and often encourage anonymous discussion. [2] [3] Hiroyuki Nishimura, the founder of 2channel, says that the philosophy behind anonymous posting is that "all information is treated equally; only an accurate argument will work". [4] Many textboards support a form of pseudo-registration by allowing users to use tripcodes, [5] although users tend to post anonymously.
Textboards tend to be much simpler than traditional forums. While forum software such as phpBB or vBulletin supports image or other media embedding, private messaging, polls, and various other features, textboards allow only the posting of text.