Frequently asked questions

What is atchan?

atchan is a lighthearted, decentralized imageboard that uses ATProto as its network infrastructure.

Like many other imageboards, the site is divided under specific topic boards. Each board has its own culture, rules and expectations.

How can I contribute to atchan's culture?

Lurk until you get a feel for what people expect from posts, and when you have something to add, send a reply. One of the main ways to interact is to share media, but text posts are also welcome. You're encouraged to share whatever is on topic.

People make bad posts sometimes; that's ok. There's no real consequence for social missteps. Try to make posts others might find interesting, or ones that prompt conversation.

How do I create a new thread?

Use the button near the top of a board's index to create a new thread on that board. You will have to enter a subject for the topic. Additionally, threads require an image to be posted.

How do I reply to a thread?

Like many other message boards, threads are ordered from newest (top) to oldest (bottom). To reply to a thread, use the [Reply] button near its top. From the form you can upload and embed media, and add a comment.

How do I reply to specific poster?

atchan has a quoting feature that can be accessed by entering a post's ID, preceded by >> in a reply body. For example: >>3mrjsmojk7s22 . This can quickly be sent to your composer by pressing the post's ID, as shown in the figure below.

If you select some text before pressing the post ID, that text will be quoted as well.

File uploads

A reply may embed one image, audio or video file. Threads accept an image only.

The following file types are accepted:

We strip EXIF tags from uploaded images to preserve your privacy. The orientation tag is kept so photos don't get rotated the wrong way (Surprisingly few get this detail right).

How can I format text?

You can use the text editor's buttons, or alternatively write them out yourself.

Escape markup with a backslash (for example \*) to write it literally.

What is sage?

Users may reply to threads without bumping them to the top of the index or the catalog by selecting the sage option in the reply composer.

How long do posts stay up?

Most imageboards archive posts after some time. There is no upper bound on atchan. As long as your account and the records still exist, they will be visible, deep in the pages. You can choose to delete content at any time using the site's UI or a tool like PDSIs.

Why are there accounts?

If you've used to other imageboards, you may not be used to the account system. ATProto is built around a central tenet of data ownership: what you post is owned and manipulated only by you. However, to have a concept of "your data", we must have a concept of "you".

Can I be anonymous?

The nature of using ATProto means that all post data may be indexed by other applications, and should therefore be considered public information. All posts you make under one account can be correlated through the event stream. We however allow you to register for as many accounts as you like on our account server. Get creative and use different names in the name field when posting. Go tulpa mode.

So... why ATProto?

I wanted to be a part of the experiment in building a more open and sustainable web. The past few years of hostile takeovers has proven this sort of data sovereignty is increasingly important. When the site inevitably goes, your stuff doesn't go with it. That should be a default.

Why do poster names vary?

The name can take different shapes depending on the type, as shown in this table:

What content is shown in the home feed?

The feed on the home page shows the most recent posts from SFW boards. You can opt-in to also show NSFW boards in the user preferences. Posts that are saged are excluded from the feed.

Is there an RSS feed?

The home page, every board and every thread are published as Atom feeds. Refer to the table below for a list.

Who is the girl on the home page?

That is atchan's mascot — at-tan. Her hose and firefighter gear represents handling ATProto's data firehose.

What software does atchan use?

atchan uses a custom software made by the site administrator. The tech stack is Svelte Kit, with a choice of either firehose or jetstream as an ATProto stream consumer. It supports both.

An open source is being considered.

Who operates atchan?

atchan and is operated by meri, along with a few volunteer moderators.