GeniesLoki

/b/ for all their casual usage of slurs was a reasonably queer-friendly place when I was there - everyone got insulted as much as anyone else and once you learn not to react to slurs and insults pretty much everyone had a level platform

Yeah. This tracks a lot of what I've heard from others about /b/. I think for a lot of people it gives them a community at a time in their life when nobody else would have them, and the culture of the place reflects that but also is surprisingly supportive?

It's not hard for me to imagine an alternate history where I ended up on /b/ for a while, though I think part of that alternate history requires me to be at least five years younger than I am. I think the forums and chatrooms I hung out on instead were better for me, but not sure

goon-adjacent

I wasn't a goon either, though mostly through ignorance of it until after the time had passed where it would have made sense for me.

I understand less than half of this thread

A goon is a member of the Something Awful forums.

to relate it to the thread: the founder of 4chan was a goon at that time