Instead of the usual perverse flood of content this morning, 4chan users awoke to an enraging surprise on April Fools’ Day.

Chris Poole, the founder of the controversial forum 4chan, is leaving the company he founded more than 11 years ago at age 15. "4chan has faced numerous challenges over the years," Poole writes.

Notorious internet imageboard 4chan has been sold to the creator of the Japanese site that helped originally inspire it. Founded in 2003, 4chan is an anarchic melting pot of internet culture.