A highly experimental, two dimensional 4chan reader.
Bubblechan explores the possibility of browsing an imageboard in full 2D. To do this, Bubblechan presents a thread as a graph. Posts are displayed as nodes in that graph and replies to a post are expressed as edge connections. A force-directed simulation is iterated to position the nodes in two-dimensional space. At this point the user may read the resulting graph.
Bubblechan is a web app. The force-directed graph is computed on a server before it is served to a web browser. Currently, Bubblechan supports only the reading of threads from 4chan.
Disclaimer: Bubblechan is still at an extremely early stage of development and is nothing more than a proof-of-concept at this point. With your interest, the app will continue to grow and may eventually prove to be a viable alternative to traditional imageboard browsing.
gcc , nodejs and npm are required on the server running Bubblechan.
npm install. This will download the necessary npm modules.npm run build. Gcc will compile the force-directed simulation program.npm start. The server is up and you can now connect to it on port 3000.Visit http://localhost:3000/ to connect to the web server.
Navigate the graph with the mouse.
Hovering over a node expands the node, making the full post visible.
Bubblechan also works with a touchscreen.
If you like the idea of Bubblechan and would like to see the app grow, any bit of your effort is appreciated and welcomed. In the case that you have feedback, criticism, or ideas for the app, please considering visiting the Issues tab and sharing your thoughts. Bubblechan is in active development and your feedback will be put to good use.