Your Thoughts On Anonymous

Your Thoughts On Anonymous

I'm writing a term paper in my "new media" class in college about Anonymous. I know that Enturbulation =/= Anonymous, but I know that there are people here who can weigh in. I'm hoping to get some thoughts about what Anon is and how it operates from the perspective of individual anons (including myself). In return for your insight, I'll post a copy of my paper on the forum when it's finished.

So, some places to start. How do you define Anonymous? How can you tell what Anonymous thinks? When a video or statement comes out purporting to speak for Anonymous, how do you and how does the group decide whether or not it's legit? How do you decide who's a part of Anonymous? What else?

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I can only talk as an observer because I'm not anonymous.

But Anonymous is some loosely defined meme that kind of jumped out of the internet and into real life at some indeterminate time in sort of history.

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Most anons dont realize how important we are. I believe we are the only thing that can take down Scientology

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We are Locutus of Lulz.

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I think anonymous is where social thinking is going.

I think anon can do a lot of things, but thay cant destroy scientology, nor did anon claim to, merely destroy it in its current form. And dont forget, the virtue of anon is, that video was just one persons wording, one persions opinion, he just happened to be a person with great video skills, and the right words to say.

Behind all the money and scams and bullshit, there are real people who believe in it, and that means its an idea, one which is as bulletproof as anonymous. But anonymous can force scrutiny, and reformation, before scientology gets big enough and bad enough to start pulling spanish inquisitions.

anon is also all about the lulz.

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to me Anonymous is Democracy in it's purest form, albeit probably not exactly what Solon, Cleisthenes, and Ephialtes of Athens had in mind when they came up with it in 509 BC (thanks wikipedia). It is an entity that originated on "the chans", and has mutated over time into something extraordinary.
Nothing of significance comes from Anonymous without consensus. I consider any videos or statements coming from people claiming to be Anonymous to be proposals to the hive, as opposed to any kind of official policy which is then set in stone. Those who chose to go along with the consensus and wish to protect their identities are Anonymous, it's as simple as that.

Anonymous is a hybrid of old democracy mixed with new technology.

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Anonymous = a collection of individuals that rapidly disseminate information, verify that information, and then make decisions based on that information and the values of the individual.

Each individual member of Anonymous is their own leader. So when people say we act when a consensus has been reached, I don't think that we do that in the same way that a committee would. The standard definition of consensus would be that a course of action is argued until it is decided, then everyone would follow it.

Anonymous tends to pursue every course of action - letting the ones that have the most merit pick up more support, while the less useful ones fade away.

I think that is one of the reasons that it is irrelevant if OSA is posting here to try to get us to do things. Because all ideas are judged and acted upon based on the merit of the idea.

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Anonymous is a label from a particular internet subculture.

Therefore anyone who wishes to be identified with it can, within reason. Personally I found the idea that Anonymous was a group or even, and at one time just one person, was more of a meme. It in of itself was highly satirical. That's why Anonymous is so difficult to define- there is no one definition.

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How does Anonymous control its message and presentation to the world? So if someone makes a video in a V mask threatening violence against Scientology (or Scientology dregs out an old video, like they've done), how can Anonymous claim that it does not speak for them? Thoughts?

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Anonymous is like total p00n4g3. th3y 4r3 r4p3 $(1-f4660+z

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How does any organization do it?

Other members say it doesn't represent them.

For instance, if I went and join Scientology, then started making videos saying that Scientology advocates burning kittens, they would just say I was a nutjob. Same principle.

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Here's how by only taking responsibility for your actions and not worrying about what any one else is doing.

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If it's a video it's probably rated one star on youtube. no worries.

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Anonymous are a bunch of anime, comic book, and video game obsessed nerds who frequent a popular imageboard in the internet.

Yep, thats the bare bones of what Anonymous is. Not a Stand Alone Complex, not an Internet Hate Machine, nor whatever spin some faggots might put in.

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and porn obsessed.. don't forget the porn.

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Thanks.

There, now fixed.

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You forgot the tentacle hentai...just saying you don't want to leave any one out.

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Porn is porn lol.

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Any videos that suggest anything illegal or violent are not produced by a member of the Anonymous movement against the cult of scientology. How do I know? Because there are some basic rules to this protest, and one of those rules is to obey the laws. Another one is that we are seeking to produce change through non-violent activism. Therefore, it is not possible for a person to represent this movement while making threats of an illegal nature.

I speak only for myself, but I only agree with videos or ideas that are threatening to destroy the church through public awareness of their crimes, policies, and tactics. There are so many activities for anyone who wants to participate in this movement to be able to find a way to contribute in a way that each individual is personally comfortable with. Many anons are skilled in areas that make them very beneficial on various projects (i.e. writers for press releases). Unskilled anons are able to contribute by sending postcards to SP Hall.

ALL anons add personal value to this movement. Anonymous has synergy.

Each individual is inspired to act based upon their own reasons. Some anons have personal experiences, others were curious about the 'religion' and became outraged at the abuses that have been happening secretly for decades with full knowledge by the cult's leadership.

The actions that we take are not based upon 'orders' from a leader, but rather from the inspiring ideas that come from each other. Ideas are acted upon based upon their ability to motivate others into bringing the idea into fruition. Anonymous does not lack willing individuals to undertake projects that ultimately work towards the goal of exposing scientology and educating ourselves and the public.

Anonymous cannot be defined by an age group or any other demographic. Anonymous members have 2 things in common: access to the internet and desire to put an end to the cult.

Anonymous' economic, social, religious, and educational backgrounds vary. Anonymous is located all over the globe.

Each person should be extremely proud of what has been accomplished by this group so far. Anonymous has proven to be a loose collection of intelligent and computer savvy individuals capable of enturbulating scientologists and creating lulz at the same time.

I believe that we are all watching and/or participating in an exciting historical social movement. The psyches will study and discuss us for decades. LOL

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My thoughts on Anonymous....

Simply the greatest group there ever was.

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IT'SSS AWW-RIGHTTT!!! Everyone makes mistakes.

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Another thought on Anonymous...

The numeralogical value closest to their definition is "over 9,000"

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In my personal opinion, Anonymous is the solution to many of the injusticies in this world. It's members grow daily and there is no stopping a community of such vast scope. It is as someone else said the purest form of democracy. Uncounted people with a vast array of resources at their fingertips and the will are capable of anything.

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Wasps. Normally they (I came late to this party, so not "we") hang around in the wasp's nest looking at Hentai tentacles and scorched cats. Despite being small and stripey, they take themselves quite seriously. If something is perceived as a threat, they come out they and sting them to death. They are attracted to cake.

Also, hackers on steroids.

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I believe this is relevant.

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My thoughts, exactly. :guyfawkes:

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I realize that I'm necroposting a bit here, but I have more questions and don't think that a new thread is warranted. So:

What about the epilepsy raid, or the MySpace hackery of the past, or the threatening Anon videos that remain on YouTube? It seems that Anon cleaned up its act considerably in the post-WBM Scientology raid, but the self-declared oldfags of the chans seem to remain as prankish as before. So when the *chan Anons raid an epilepsy forum and declare that it was an act of Anonymous, can the enturbulating anons differentiate, and how? Who's the "real" Anonymous, and how do we represent that to the world?

I guess I'm ultimately asking about message discipline again, but in a case where the consensus of the anti-Sci forces has no effect on the "actions of Anonymous".

Edit: Also, as always, ancillary opinions regarding Anonymous are welcome.

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Good luck trying to "define" Anonymous. Even if you manage to pin down a definition for an hour, it will invariably be inaccurate an hour later. Trying to define Anonymous = not understanding Anonymous.

See:

Schrödinger's cat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Re: Your Thoughts On Anonymous

Anonymous - The OPPOSITE of what LRH ever planned for.

That bastard never thought a leaderless decentralized army would rise against his con.

NO TARGET FOR SCIFAGS. (Giving a court summon to one person out of 9000 is fail and only angers us, fucking stupid)

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Yeah I have to agree with you here, sure anon is doing well with this protest and all but its no hero. You can't really define anonymous in the first place anyway as far as I'm concerned. I mean think about it moralfagly/philosophically un secondo defining a large group of people into one when we can't even define the existence of one human being?
Excuse me for referencing to a religion but its just like the holy trinity in Christianity multiplied by X

Don't get me wrong I think anon is great but its neither good nor bad. The pranksters are part of anon too and so are the moral fags newfags and everyone ,even though these segments of anon all hate each other likes its been said a bigillion times is that they all compliment each other

Essentially I don't consider myself anonymous, but in reality Everyone is whether they like it or not, even our beloved scifags

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I think I may be the stereotypical anon. Yes, I go out and try to destroy Scientology, but I also sidetroll anons by giving their dox to scifags as well as trolling website administrators.

All in all, I do what I want.

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i think anonymous is what happens when you want to change your mind.

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Both are "real" Anonymous. It's a simple concept to grasp, yet people fail miserably to understand the dynamics of a group that has no leaders and follows no rules but that of each individual in the group. Anonymous are like cats. We form herds and each cat within the herd decides to either follow the rest or maybe stray away from the herd to find food or go back to its territory, etc. So in this case, there's more than one herd of Cats; some want to fight Scientology, some think we're just moralfags that tarnish the reputation of the INTERNET HATE MACHINE and others just don't give a crap about the situation. It doesn't matter which herd we want to join, we're still cats.

So what I'm trying to say with my analogy is that Anonymous itself it's not tied to the goal of each 'herd'. Anonymous is the idea; the dynamics of the herd. So implying that the "real" anonymous are the ones fighting CoS is like saying "All cats are against CoS," which isn't the truth.

How do the Enturbulation anons differentiate between those who are not? They can't. While Enturbulation anons have a consensus; If you're going to fight Scientology do it in a lawful manner; It's up to each member to follow the consensus. Some will, some will not.

Could anons associated with enturbulation have taken part in the epilepsy raid? Possibly. While an individual anon can influence the choices of others, it is ultimately up to each person to decide which path to take. That is the beauty (and the curse) of Anonymous.

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srsly

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>all

Re: Your Thoughts On Anonymous

Warning: I'm stepping in the philosophical realm here, and I don't mean to. But, I can't help it.


Anonymous is people.

That's it.

Some try to label it as a "group". But, there's no membership or anything. Anonymous isn't a group. It's a name, it's an adjective. Sometimes people act under that name, should they choose to. If you absolutely HAVE to call it a "group", it's a collection of INDIVIDUALS.

You're right, there is no discipline, except for SELF discipline. Because everyone is acting as they wish, including using the adjective of anonymous for themselves. If you see a singular "group", that's just an illusion. What you actually see is a collection of individuals moving as one. It's true democratic consensus.

Hence the anonymous logo: A headless body.

Anonymous is very anarchistic. But, organizations with leaders, inherently do not have faith in those that they are leading. People who are self sufficient and self governing do not need authority. People who are incapable of leading themselves need authority. Thankfully anonymous has stripped itself of a large majority of rules, so rules are hard to break. And if a rule is broken, it's because the collective individuals agree a rule has been broken. (Notice the replies of "Anonymous does what it wants")
What happens when you vote for MORE government? This is like saying "I can't help myself, please set the rules and boundries so that you can control me because I am incapable of controlling myself."

YouTube user AnonymousThought posted 2 videos a while back. One serious, one funny. The funny one is more accurate in my opinion.

YouTube - Who is anonymous - The abridged version

"It's all about everybody inputing what they believe and what they contribute, and then have everyone else shit all over it. Then someone else posts something interesting about it."

Since there is no identity, there is no ego to get hurt. And we are free to shit all over each other. If someone gets hurt, that's because they assigned an ego to themselves. But they're anonymous. No one knows them, or in a TRULY anonymous forum, no one can differenciate one from another. If someone gets hurt, it's because they chose to assign the hurt to themselves.

Notice when the CoS tries to label us, hardly anyone cares? That's because there's no one to stick it to. That, and it's usually wrong anyway.

If someone doesn't like what I say, they can tear it to shreds. They can insult me all they like. They can praise me if they like. It doesn't matter, because no one knows me. I cannot stand up and take credit.
I can be a monster, or I can be an angel. I have no attachment to either, because all I have to do is close my browser and go back to the person with a name. That person is me. But here, I'm no one, and I'm free to be no one as much I want to be. I'm free to act, and no one can pin a label on me, because no one knows me.


Anonymous evolves rapidly and constantly, because it's just a constant stream of ideas. The individuals go with the best idea, and what you see is a group. But, it's really people just acting on the best idea that they agree with.


The above post is just my opinion. An individual's opinion. I do not speak for the collective. No one can. The best you can hope for is a consensus.

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A person can both be several things at the same time. Who knows if there are people here protesting Scientology and then going back to beating their spouces, watching child porn, running for president, taking drugs, hacking NASA, abusing their kids, defeating world hunger etc? They can also be doing these things anonymously, so how do you limit it? I guess you can limit it to how many, where, how and why they interact.

I would define the fight against Scientology as a stand alone complex. It probably took the name of Anonymous because of its origin and the concept adopted there.

Anonymous is the fact that you as an individual can interact with others anonymously. Interaction will in the end lead to a sub-culture and therefor a sense of collective, won't it? But it's still a collection of individuals who choose their level and type of interaction.

Another interesting thing is comparing using nicknames to using "Anonymous".

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So, sum up:

Anonymous is ANONYMOUS!

Re: Your Thoughts On Anonymous

Im going to grace you with the history of anonymous....

There was an image board in japan called 2channel. You need an IP address from japan to be able to access it though so eventually some guy made his own image board that was much like the original japanese 2chan, called futtabally channel. Some gigantic faggot named moot, who used to post on the something awful forums, must have stumbled upon it or some shit, but it ended up with moot making a site called "4chan". Now, you don't need to register or anything to use 4chan but you can enter a name is so chose. In the beggining, alot of people on 4chon posted with a name. But a growing number of people decided to use the anonymous feature, and eventually a kind of a war on "namefags" occured. Now, this is important because this is where all the "we are anonymous we are legion" and the idea of anonymous being like... a collective identity occured. Now as i previously mentioned, moots a faggot and is bad at keeping his user base SO unhappy with way moot ran his chan, many anons began posting on 7chans board, which was a pretty dead board until moot pissed off everyone. Theres also a chan called 420chan but it isn't important. Anyway, so 7chan eventually spawned 711chan... and this is where we get into the scientology raid. When the scientology raid was still being conducted mostly by 711chans user base (partyvan.net IRC for example, was intrumental in taking down the scilon sites) they had a board (and stilll do) called /xenu/.

Alot of the more "traditional" (GTFO OUT MAH SEEKRIT CLUB) mods of 711chan get pretty fucking sick of the "faggotry" going on in /xenu/ so they made it a secret board, and as of now, enturbulation is the only nonchan that has a sizeable anon user base.

Re: Your Thoughts On Anonymous

Woud you fuck anonymous? I'd fuck anonymous. I'd fuck anonymous hard.