LIHKG Forum
Type of site | Forum |
|---|---|
| Created by | Hui Yip Hang, "Mong Yuen" |
| Website | https://lihkg.com |
| Alexa rank |   64 (As of 17 April 2019[update])[1] |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Requires email address provided by Internet service provider or higher education institution[2] |
| Launched | November 25, 2016 |
| LIHKG Forum | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | LIHKG討論區 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Abbreviation | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 連登 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The LIHKG Forum is an Internet forum in Hong Kong, which evolved from the third-party iOS application "HKG+" used to view the HKGolden forum.
Founding
HKGolden was the most popular Internet forum in Hong Kong prior to the launching of the LIHKG Forum. Though its developers provided a mobile web interface and a mobile application, their difficult usage has come under criticism, and many third-party mobile applications have been developed for a better viewing experience. However, administrators of HKGolden claimed that, when such applications copy data from HKGolden to increase the browsing speed for their users, the browsing speed for users of the official website became slower, and the number of users browsing the official website decreased; administrators further accused some third-party applications of attacking HKGolden servers. They therefore started blocking third-party applications from accessing their data, leading to the temporary termination of the "LIHK HKGolden" application, which was rather popular among Android users, in 2014 – until an agreement was made with HKGolden CEO Joe Lam, that the application would charge HK$10 instead of nothing, and be free of advertisements.
On 25 October 2016, the only HKGolden viewing application on the iOS platform, "HKG+", was officially deauthorised by HKGolden, due to its violation of the HKGolden API's terms of use by continually copying data from HKGolden even half a year after receiving a warning. Its service to normal users was immediately terminated, while VIP users could use the application until 25 November;[3] other third-party viewing applications were not affected. The incident incited discussion on HKGolden, and users suggested "starting from scratch" in response, by founding a new discussion forum. On 21 November, "HKG+" stated that part of its source code had been given to "LIHK HKGolden" developer "Lin Nei Chu" (Chinese: 連尼住, pseudonym of Hui Yip Hang (Chinese: 許業珩)) and "Kaiboard" developer "Mong Yuen" (Chinese: 望遠; literally: 'Looking towards the distant', pseudonym) to jointly develop a new application. On 25 November, the LIHKG Forum officially announced its establishment, with "will continue the 'best-user experience' app"[4][5] as its aim.
The LIHKG Forum initially only provided an application on the iOS platform;[6] the Android application has been available for download since 28 November 2016 at night, and a beta version website was soon released.
Incidents
McDonald's meetup
Although the LIHKG Forum is an active online platform, no real-life events had been organised by the community. In early April 2017, user "Mai Ko Kin Nei" (Chinese: 米高堅尼; literally: 'Michael Keane', pseudonym) suggested organising an in-person meetup activity. On the forum, he revealed that he had emotional problems and suicidal tendencies, and wanted to relax himself through the activity. The meetup eventually took place on Saturday, 6 May 2017 at a McDonald's restaurant in Admiralty Centre, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Approximately forty people attended the event, including LIHKG Forum founder Hui Yip Hang.[7]
Alleged instigation of a user's familicide
On 19 June 2018, a familicide leading to three deaths occurred at Sun Tuen Mun Centre: female student Pang Ching Yu, due to suspected stress from long-term eczema, stabbed her parents to death with a knife, and killed herself with a helium-filled suicide bag thereafter. After the incident, netizens suspected that Pang was LIHKG Forum user "Pak Ma Siu Sai Fung" (Chinese: 白馬嘯西風; literally: 'White Horse Neighs in the Western Wind', pseudonym), as said user had discussed the plausibility of death by helium-filled suicide bag in the name of "academic discussion",[8] and had vented about eczema-induced pain and resentment towards her parents for genetically passing down the disease.[9] Some LIHKG Forum users did not attempt to stop her suicidal thoughts, but encouraged her to realise her plans and provided suggestions on suicide, resulting in the tragedy.[10] The incident raised concerns in society, and the LIHKG Forum administration team made an announcement afterwards expressing their sympathy.[11]
References
- ↑ "lihkg.com". Alexa, Inc. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ↑ "User Registration" (in 中文).
- ↑ Lai, Ho Yin (賴浩然) (29 November 2016). "Deauthorised HKGolden Third-Party App "HKG+" Terminates Services Next Month, Netizens Strongly Curse Joe Lam" (in 中文). HK01.
- ↑ Original: Chinese: 「將會延續『最好用戶體驗』App」
- ↑ "Former HKGolden App "HKG+" Starts New Discussion Forum, Immediately Rises to Leaderboard Top" (in 中文). HK01. 26 November 2016.
- ↑ "iTunes Charts (Hong Kong)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Mai Ko Kin Nei" (米高堅尼) (10 April 2017). "I'm inviting you to a meal, any LIHKGers want to come?" (in 中文). LIHKG Forum.
- ↑ "Pak Ma Siu Sai Fung" (白馬嘯西風) (15 June 2018). "Should one consider suicide using helium?" (in 中文). LIHKG Forum.
- ↑ "[Moral Tragedy] Suicide after Parricide, Woman with Eczema Previously Showed Murder Incentive on Internet Forum?" (in 中文). sina.com.hk. 19 June 2018.
- ↑ "Pak Ma Siu Sai Fung". The Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities in Hong Kong (in 中文).
- ↑ LIHKG (20 June 2018). "[Announcement] Regarding Recent Moral Tragedy" (in 中文). LIHKG Forum.
External links
LIHKG Forum on The Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities in Hong Kong Script error: The function "in_lang" does not exist.
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