Jim Watkins, the administrator of Japanese anonymous bulletin board 5channel, reported on March 6 that the site’s domain “5ch.net” as well as the related site BBSPINK’s domain “bbspink.com” have been permanently suspended (as reported by ITmedia). As of the time of writing, the site is continuing operations using the alternative domain “5ch.io.”
5channel traces its origins back to 2channel, which was founded in 1999 by Hiroyuki Nishimura (the current owner of 4chan). In 2014, management was transferred to Jim Watkins, and in 2017, the site was renamed to 5channel. The site hosts a large number of messaging boards based on topic, with especially active video game-related boards.
According to a post from Watkins’s personal X account, the domains 5ch.net and bbspink.com were permanently suspended by the domain registrar Epik. As the background to the suspension, Watkins reported that content related to animal abuse had been flagged for violating Epik’s terms of service.
Although the post in question has been deleted in the meantime, Watkins later reported that the English-language imageboard 8chan (8kun) may become unable to continue operating within a few days. He also appears to be attempting to have the suspensions of 5ch.net and bbspink.com lifted, and has called on users to contact Epik regarding the matter.
For the time being, 5channel is still active under the alternative domain 5ch.io. However, the loss of its original domain could have a major effect on both the site’s management and its usability.
