Sage

About

Sage (pronounced "sah-geh") is a slang word which, when entered into the email field of a -chan imageboard (Options field on 4chan) while replying to a thread, will prevent that thread from getting bumped. The term is the opposite of Age, which refers to any post that isn't Sage, and bump replies.

Origin

The practice of "saging" originated on 2channel, the Japanese text board which inspired 4chan. The word "Sage" is a derivative of the Japanese verb "Sageru" (下げる), which means "to lower."

The first indication of the practice of "saging" being used on 4chan is the flash video "Sage Man" created by animator Brian "Okk" Raddatz sometime before January 21st, 2006 (still image shown below).^[1][2]

On 2channel, Futaba Channel and, at that time, 4chan, typing the word "sage" into the email field when posting a reply would prevent the thread from moving up to the top of the board ("bumped").

Spread

On 4chan, the practice of "saging" has served several purposes. The primary goal of "saging" is believed to be the prevention of subpar threads from returning to the top of the page. The practice has also been adopted by trolls who would "sage" good threads with the sole purpose of self-entertainment.^[3]

On the Japanese imageboards, users sometimes deliberately "sage" their posts if they believe that their contribution is not worthy of the thread getting bumped.^[4]

On Russian imageboard 2ch (двач), sage has been referred to as "sazha" due to the phonetic similarity between the word "sage" (in its herb meaning) and the Russian word for "soot."^[4]

During the early popularity of My Little Pony on 4chan, some users attempted to "sage" My Little Pony threads, reportedly without success.

On 4chan, the mascot "Sage Man" was created. In addition to its use in the video "Sage Man" by Brian Raddatz, it also was used in a flash video uploaded by Newgrounds^[2] user NCH on January 21sth, 2006. The video received over 36,300 views in 14 years.

On August 12th, 2014, 4chan replaced^[5] the email field with the "Options" field, with the sage function carrying over.^[6]

Related Memes

Sage Goes in Every Field

Sage Goes in Every Field or Sage Goes in All Fields is a statement used to indicate that one considers a thread to be so horrible that they are willing to type "sage" into every available field as if it would help sink the thread.

Bump

Bump or Bumping refers to the practice of posting a blank response to a discussion thread for the sole purpose of raising its profile. The action command "bump" is most commonly used on discussion forums and imageboards with a large volume of active threads, which results in re-summoning the targeted thread to the top of the forum or index page.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References