Google Plus reassures users it won't become a 'den of infamy' following hiring of 4chan founder Chris Poole

The social network's chief engineer told users that Poole isn't a "troll or a troll-curator'

Chris Poole, the founder of 4chan (Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Google has reassured users of its Google+ social network that the site is not going to become a "den of infamy" following the hiring of 4chan founder Chris Poole.

Poole announced he would be joining Google on 7 March, saying he was looking forward to bringing his 12 years' experience in building online communities to the company.

He's widely known on the internet as the creator of 4chan, the dark, anarchic forum credited with giving birth to countless internet memes.

It's also gained notoriety for being the landing stage for numerous high-profile cyberattacks, a hive of child pornography (which 4chan has now cracked down on), and the birthplace of the highly-publicised celebrity nude photo leak of August 2014.

It would be understandable if Google+ users were apprehensive about the founder of such a site joining the company, but Yonatan Zunger, senior engineer at the social network, has allayed their fears.

Zunger said there was no chance that Google+ would become 4chan 2.0, and said he believes Poole is "quite thoughtful about issues of social dynamics and interactions,"

He wrote: "The things that 4chan became (in)famous for grew rather organically out of the system, out of the people who ended up congregating there and the ways they used the tools."

"Poole is by no means a troll or a troll-curator, and I actually think that with the rather different crowd of people who hand out here on G+, he's going to make something really exciting."

He finished the post by saying: "I'm looking forward to seeing what he does. And fear not: we aren't about to become a den of infamy. This isn't that kind of place, and we don't intend for it to be."

Poole may only be a couple of days into the job, but the company's bosses will be hoping he'll be able to help save Google+, which has always suffered from relatively low user numbers and engagement.

Poole parted ways with 4chan in September last year, selling it to Japanese imageboard founder Hiroyuki Nishimura in September for an undisclosed sum.