Do keep in mind that 4chan is not /b/. There's a _huge_ discrepancy between people's interpretation of what 4chan is like, and what it really is. This is probably why the community has been able to stay so strong over the years. On the off-chance you visit one of the more aggressive boards and someone tries to say mean things to you, you can always reply in a friendly, careless fashion and make them feel really bad about what they said.
I was gonna go look for some lovey dovey thread to cite as evidence, but instead I found a thread full of guys trying to build a physical version of their imaginary chinese-cartoon girlfriends. https://archive.foolz.us/a/thread/101944946/
I literally can't imagine this happening anywhere other than on 4chan.
/b/ seems to be a "honey pot" for the more negative behaviors on 4chan. By providing that outlet, the rest of the site's communities are that much more civil as a result.
I was gonna go look for some lovey dovey thread to cite as evidence, but instead I found a thread full of guys trying to build a physical version of their imaginary chinese-cartoon girlfriends. https://archive.foolz.us/a/thread/101944946/
I literally can't imagine this happening anywhere other than on 4chan.