Anonymous

[Aly]

First, who is this group called Anonymous? Put simply, it is an international cabal of criminal hackers dating back to 2003, who have shut down the websites of the U.S. Department of Justice and the F.B.I. They have hacked into the phone lines of Scotland Yard. They are responsible for attacks against MasterCard, Visa, Sony and the Governments of the U.S., U.K., Turkey, Australia, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Iran, Chile, Colombia and New Zealand.

—Canadian MP Marc Garneau, 2012

I'm quite curious to know your opinion about the group, Anonymous, known for backing social justice movements through hacking and public appearances in Guy Fawks masks.

They are an, admittedly intimidating and scary group, of masked and skilled hackers that do anything from hack a person's personal computer to an entire web site of a single government.

They are said to be responsible for finding the woman who dumped puppies in a river and for shutting down web sites that were associated with the SOPA bill, including the Department of Justice's.

Here's a link to their Wiki page, if you're looking for a footing on where to learn more about them.

One of their most recent activities is targeting Hunter Moore, the Revenge-Porn site founder by saying, "We will protect anyone who is victimised by abuse of our internet, we will prevent the stalking, rape, and possible murders as by-product of his sites."

The governments directly oppose Anonymous because of their methods of social justice movements (shutting down their sites, hacking them, playing pranks). It is said that law enforcement targeting cases that are directed at big-name Internet companies (such as the Megaupload case) are beginning to fear putting their names in public articles for fear of retaliation from the group, some even fearing physical violence.

Plus, with how Anonymous loves to hack into government web sites, they are clearly attempting to demonstrate how easily our defenses are broken. They feed off of fear, uncertainty and public dissatisfaction, but attempt to right some wrongs by publicly handing out their own form of justice.

Is their means of justice your cup of tea? How do you feel about this organization? Do they intimidate you, do you root for them?

Let me know your views. Though you shouldn't be afraid to voice your opinion, you probably should refrain from bashing them if you disagree with their methods. Not only is it against the Rights of the Wanderers...it's probably a terrible idea anyway.

[cat.]

Meh, I don't like the "activism" they're doing. Anon isn't, in my opinion, supposed to be changing the world and "bringen innernat juztice," although "supposed to be" sounds a bit odd. But Anon is usually just some person screwing around on the internet, trolling and being a douche and calling other anons "faggots," not hacking government websites. They're more likely to hack a "stupid whore's" facebook and post gore on it and show it off than do something huge like hack the government.

Personally, I think they should stick to the godforsaken anus of the internet that is the Chan-that-must-not-be-named, and people should stop trying to pry into the ugly world that is... well, the anus of the internet (because it's pretty gross, and has been overrun by "normal people" without the Anon mentality anyways, but that's a whole other story). The fact that this topic is even on this forum is a good way of showing that Anonymous has not been very elusive.

[gloria]

I don't have an opinion yet. but i have a funny story;

about two seconds ago my internet died and I couldn't load this thread or site again and i was all 'Could they seriously have attacked us, our tiny community?' but then it fixed itself haha

i'll be back with opinions

[Hello Holly]

Personally I find it fascinating. I'm very much into government conspiracies and I do genuinely believe that something not dissimilar to V for Vendetta will happen/is happening. I don't see why it's particularly a bad thing, I mean I understand that they hack into computers and goverment shit and whatever, but like, why shouldn't there be someone to do that? We have the government and law enforcement to keep us under tabs and under control (it's not all just for the "benefis"), so why can't they have someone doing the same?

Governments tend to go crazed on power. I know our fucking MPs did the little bastards. I'll climb up on my soapbox on this topic so I'm going to cut it short, or try. I think they're a good thing. I think it's brilliant and I love the use of the Guy Fawks masks. I think it's a good thing that there is at least someone who isn't corrupted by money (I should hope anyway) that is stopping the dicks that are from destroying and entirely ruling over the planet.

I genuinely think V for Vendetta is real and that Swine Flu was introduced to get everyone scared okay no one can convince me otherwise everything is fucking planned and they know it.

[Aly]

Holly I must say that closing to your argument was by far the most amusing close I've ever read in my life and it sent me in a fit of giggles XD Not because of your thoughts but because the way you worded it was fabulous. (I do believe Swine Flu was glorified for fear, but that's another topic completely. And I never saw V for Vendetta so I dunno about it XD)

[Hello Holly]

Now I read it back I can understand why you'd giggle; I sound a little deranged. BUT IT'S SO TRUE.

Omg please Aly pls you must watch V for Vendetta or read it because omfg lkafjsdkfj it's such a beautiful film/comic book, and it really makes you go wow okay hold on just one minute. I genuinely believe it to be true and find it quite fun to discuss it plenty with my friends in college.

[Aly]

I feel it relevant to mention that Anonymous has hacked into the Westboro Baptist Church's site in retaliation to the chruch's wonderful habit of picketing funerals, their most recent being Newtown's funeral, the Connecticut home of 28 victims of a violent shooting on Friday at an elementary school. Twenty of these victims were under the age of seven, and the Westboro Baptist Chruch is going to picket their funerals because they believe that the shooting is God's way of punishing Connecticut for legalizing gay marriage.

While Anonymous has been hacking their site for quite some time now, in response to their claim of protesting the funeral Anonymous has posted all the private information of the people involved with planning the protest.

Your thoughts? Whether or not the WBC has the freedom of speech to protest a funeral or not, do they deserve to have their private information--telephone number, addresses, emails--released publicly?

[Ange Keating]

Wanted to pop in to say that while I STRONGLY do not agree with the Westboro Church and what they believe in, having their private information leaked is definitely not okay. Putting people in danger, especially if they're children involved, is just not the right way to handle things even if their entire belief system is severely skewed (IMO). Yes, protesting the funerals of the people that lost their lives last week is the utmost sign of disrespect, but fighting fire with fire will not amend the situation.

[mercy]

I don't know if anybody else is noticing this, this is sort of a nerdy me intervening, but this is the sort of conversation seen in books and movies and comic books when the vigilante starts in and whether or not it's an okay thing. And isn't that interesting that our real life superheroes (sorry if this is seen as offensive glorification to some, I'm just saying the vigilantes are often the super heroes, too, in the books and stuff so just paralleling) are hackers?

I see them as a group of vigilantes and the bigger things they've done have, in my opinion, been to help out the general people from oppression and punishment. While indeed they could have done OTHER things, that's easy to say with rear window goggles. All I really have to say about them, besides the fact that I think it's fascinating that there are vigilant hackers, is that at least they're getting active about something they care about and making a difference. This doesn't say the difference is great or their actions are, I mean several people have gotten active about what they cared about and ruined other lives. But I still find it admirable that they didn't just sit back and let themselves and others be oppressed (as they saw it).

[cat.]

I'm going to bring in a new perspective, one that hasn't been mentioned in this thread. Seeing that we're almost all females (at least, all-female posters in this thread), has no one here taken into account that Anonymous is a misogynistic bastard? That Anonymous basically has "tits or gtfo" as their catchphrase? That if you reveal that you're a girl in one of the threads on their "home base," you will be told "tits or gtfo," and if you don't show a photograph of your breasts to them (timestamped, because hurr durr), you will chastised, being called a "whore," a "bitch," and worse, being told to "get back in the kitchen," until you either expose yourself, or don't post anymore and just lurk the thread, or actually "gtfo?"

(Oh, and btw, if you do expose yourself, you won't get to stay in the "all-boy's club" that is Anonymous. You will simply be told, "good, you showed us your tits. Now GTFO.")

And if you're any other race besides white, and you reveal it through photograph or text, expect racial slurs to come in at you. Yes, I am talking about that racial slur.

I mean, there's a lot of activism being displayed to the general public, but a lot of people, among the "heroic hacking," seem to forget that Anonymous is a fucking doucher--I highly doubt that any organization who uses the word "faggot" as a name for someone "who can't triforce" should be recognized for that as well as their government hacking.

[Aly]

I actually haven't encountered Anonymous through anything but what has been said in the news that I follow, so I haven't seen anything about their attitudes toward women or minorities.

It's interesting, though, that the media chooses only to highlight the activism they display, however illegal, but hasn't said anything about that? Sheds light on not just Anonymous, but those that bring the news in general.

I can't find much on this, but I also don't know where to look. I found one message board that's a couple days from closing down where a female Anonymous member, the starter of AnonyMiss, comments on Anonymous' attitudes toward women.

I'll put her email in the spoiler, because the site I got it from will be closing the 30th.

SPOILER: Click to show

Being a woman influences every aspect of my life, including my activism. There is a part of me that wants to nurture, to help the world to cure itself, to try to empower rather than give orders to others. I believe that the limitation of information is the biggest challenge for self-determination and I believe that "Anon" is a good vehicle to change some things. Information is power. I think that Anonymiss is a brilliant idea. The culture from which Anonymous was born is very masculine, even misogynistic. It is probably due to the average age of students involved, but it is always a challenge for girls and women. Have you ever had a look at the origins of culture anon 4chan (message board anarchy online ndr) on Encyclopedia Realmente Dramática? Do it and you'll see how 4chan sees(va) women on the web. Whatever, in my experience I have noted that among the Anonymous that I follow (on Twitter, blogs, IRC): there is a different attitude or they are more grown up. It is more likely that the second hypothesis is correct.

[Deleted]

I read many of the responses here, and this is my opinion of the group anonymous. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!



Anonymous began in 2003 as a way for people to protest invalid methods of government security, and abuse of power. In 2002, George W. Bush signed into law the Patriot Act. This law ensured that the government had the right to deny us of our constitutional rights to privacy and fair trials if they so deemed us to be terrorists. Once this became a law, the group decided it was time to act against the government without the ability of identification. Thus was born the anonymous group. (Also hence why the government REALLY doesn't like them too ) Since 2003, they have come together as a group of hackers that support one another to ensure the respect and prosperity of our constitutional and humanitarian rights. Their methods as many of us agree are a bit unethical, however anyone who spoke out before this group existed ran the risk of being imprisoned or killed without question - as a terrorist. Hundreds of individuals have cold case disappearances that local police departments have no records of because the Department of Justice hid these files in what is called a presidential classification access database. The only people who have access to this database are the commanders in chief of the united states. This is what STARTED the group. Now they go around where people have been abused, killed, or discriminated against and fight back the same way they had to fight the government. They are very dangerous and quite skilled at what they do, but there is a reason that the "anus" of the internet is just that.

I will not go into further rants about the group and their activities, however they are here for us, not for our government - and there is a difference, if you haven't noticed yet, look up recent history. You might be appalled.