Hacker News Reader

Comment by JCThoughtscream | Hacker News Reader

It should be noted that the 4chan macroculture's rather divided as to whether or not Anonymous as protestors should really be considered Anonymous as representative of the *chan culture as a whole. 4chan's founder, Moot, has expressed a rather large level of disdain for the protest movement.

View on HN

Even suggesting that Anonymous by and large takes any interest in what Moot thinks shows just how misinformed you are. There's more to a spear than just it's point.

This is rather off on a tangent, but it's rather entertaining watching people try and discuss the nature of Anonymous. I don't think there are any two people who have exactly the same perspective on the thing. They almost always end up completely talking past one another, heh.

Suggesting that a segment of Anonymous /doesn't/ treat him as a figurehead is possibly equally misinformed.

Actually, the only informed statement to make about Anonymous is that there isn't such thing as a capital-letter Anonymous. Considering them the funhouse-mirror version of Iain M. Banks's Culture is closer to the truth than otherwise.

I get a Stand-Alone Complex feel out of them, only with less mystery as to the source of the memes. That concept is closest to capturing the way highly ordered things happen far out of proportion to any individual plan.

(I highly recommend Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It is one of the best near-future prediction shows I have ever seen, if not the best.)

Though the in-joke is that Anonymous is a 'hive-mind' it really couldn't be further from the truth. It's just a large collection of people. Sometimes certain 'movements' gain a critical mass needed to manifest themselves, but that's about it.

Is Moot scared of 'Fair Game' policy?

I don't see why he would be. CoS's fair game tactics are pretty much identical to what 4chan griefers do to their targets for the lulz. The only difference is that the CoS can use lawsuits for harassment, while channers can't afford to do so.

Not quite though. There have been claims of things like car-chases, P.I.s tailing people (and breaking into their houses). I've seen people claim that Scientology hired people to do things like lace someone's toothbrush with LSD so that when they appear in court (against Scientology) they are high and easy to attack/discredit. I'm not sure of the truth of all of these claims, but they are out there. It's a far cry from 'Anonymous' ordering a bunch of pizzas for someone (or using the USPS site to order hundreds of free shipping boxes to be delivered to someone's address).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com