/tan/ - Board-tans

Anon usually appears as a bald featureless adult male (though features may be added for clarity or comedic effect) with a bright red skintone. Rarely, he's instead depicted as having a giant question mark on his face, or the text "No Picture Available" floating over it around eye height. He usually wears a black zoot suit with a red bow tie, although he's also often drawn with a regular tie. Most of his design is inherited from the older halfchan Green Anon, to whom minimal changes were made after the site move as a means of paradoxically expressing both the break and continuity.

You know Anon well because, well, he's you! Anon represents the average 8chan user, which means his characterisation can be all over the place. Not that this is a contradiction: there are legions of anons, who all happen to look the same and be called Anon. This is also why Anon can be considered /b/'s board-tan: back on halfchan, it used to be customary for new arrivals to spend some time on /b/ (the "random" board, where anything could be discussed), so as to acclimatise them to the culture of the site. The practice died down over the years, even before the Exodus, and doesn't seem to be upheld on 8chan. Nevertheless, the imageboard maintains its own nature and culture, and Anon remains an expression of that.

While Anon represents the entire site's userbase, some boards see fit to adapt him or even design their own board-anons, with which they specifically identify their userbase. It can range from simple modifications like a full black suit with black tie and a trilby (/8lounge/) to developing a whole new design (like /fur/ with YCH - Your Character Here). In that sense, Anon is somewhat comparable to the Reddit alien, who tends to get board variants as well even though it represents the whole of the site. In Anon's case variants are the exception rather than the rule, however.

Rarely, some users who remain anonymous but make notable contributions that fill a unique niche are granted nicknames by the community, all ending in "anon". Examples include, among others, Gookanon, who relayed frequent updates on the changing political landscape in South Korea, Momanon, who revealed herself as a mother frequenting 8chan, and Bloodanon, whose blood drawings unnerved many a /b/tard. Note that getting an -anon nickname can also be a result of infamy, and regardless of whether they're famous or notorious, getting fanart is exceedingly rare. While they are a part of the 8chan landscape, they are not board-tans, and it can even be argued if they count as anons since individuality flies in the face of the concept. They're probably best compared to local celebrities.