Tomorrow, 6th of January 2010, is YouTube Porn Day. Yes, 4chan’s Anonymous has once again declared war on YouTube as a reaction against perceived injustice in YouTube’s ban policies. YouTube junkies can look forward to stumbling upon some titillating surprises tomorrow.
Just don’t do it at work.
At some levels, pranks are generally awesome and fun to watch from a safe distance. Deep down inside, even as we deride Anonymous for its immature mean streaks, we secretly want to be part of this public conspiracy. The complexities hidden in our reactions to Anonymous’ works are almost Freudian in their elusiveness, as intangible as the loose collective of “hackers on steroids” itself, and yet as real as the effects it engenders.
From Scientology to Dusty the cat, 4chan’s influence on the “real world” is undeniable even though it possesses neither structure nor organization. Driven by powerful ideas encapsulated in memes, Anonymous is the ultimate form of anarcho-libertarianism, free from all authority but the common consent of peers.
It is the epitome of al-Qaeda’s modern strategy to inspire unknown independent actors through commonality of ideology to effect change without the liabilities of a chain of command. It is mob justice without any concern for personal responsibility. It is the fifth estate as envisaged by the deepest believers of crowd wisdom. It is a conscious but anonymous act of rebellion against the system. It is a game for the thrill-seekers and an addictive sense of empowerment for the disenfranchised. It is also nothing one can describe in words because it has no authority to define its own existence.
The past few years brought us the rise of online social networks — a wealth of information that further empowered the collective’s capability to effect change upon the physical world. As the Internet extends its reach, who knows what tomorrow will bring? Anonymous’ power can only grow.
The actions Anonymous takes and the opinions it generates are not ones that can be conveniently shaped by paid consultants and media gurus. Its credibility lies exactly in the fact that it has none. As it grows, the anarchic influences it thrusts upon our orderly society will eventually become a force of nature, an untamed wild bull in a carefully-planned china shop, to be reckoned with by the old establishments.
Perhaps, they will eventually strike 4chan down, for one reason or another. But just as al-Qaeda survived the destruction of its physical networks, the powerful sense of identity behind the driving wheel of this invisible force is not something that can simply be outlawed.
Though grass-roots movements of similar nature grew and died in the past, they did so because they existed in the old world, where size and power eventually meant leadership and the vulnerable points of failure that it led to. But Anonymous has thus far proved itself capable of surviving this critical flaw of human societies that has over millennia dismantled empires, conglomerates and alliances. After all, how does one kill that which has no life?
Perhaps one day, someone clever and insane enough will learn to shape and direct this untameable power. After all, in the online world of loose circumstantial evidences, it is not impossible to tactically unleash the fury of anonymous mob justice upon one’s enemy with an expertly-crafted false flag.
I, for one, welcome our new anonymous overlords.
Are you going to be posting more often now? I really like reading what you write even if I don’t always agree with it.
P.S. What shows are you watching/Thinking of watching?
While I agree with most of what you are saying, I can’t believe you are comparing Anonymous to some towel-headed sand niggers. Is that the reductio ad Hitlerum of the 21st century or something? Anonymous ideology is centered only around obtaining lulz, something that definitely can’t be said for that terrorist organization. Good post but bad comparisons.
I actually thought it was an excellent comparison. The objective is ultimately ‘lulz’, but the structure of Anon’s actions, as well as it’s execution, is similar to some terrorist strategies. In fact, you can say that 4chan is Al Qaeda Done Right.
Wow, DM. I never thought you’d be the type to admire the raw chaotic sense of anarchic apathy that is anonymous.
Today will be an interesting one, indeed.
manipulating 4chan?!?! Alqueda must be going “why didn’t i think of that!”
And you say you don’t surf 4chan?
Lies XD
You don’t have to visit 4chan to be aware of its effect on the net. I tend to disagree that 4chan has, for the moment, a significant impact on our physical reality, though. Perhaps I’m just an anomaly cocooned in a closed social network which rejects all outside influences, but none of my close friends know what 4chan is.
But yes, 4chan’s development does bode well (Or, rather, depending on how idiotic the masses can be, badly) for the future.
@vinny dont worry, ur not the only one…
Hi dark mirage,
Thanks very much for your interesting blog. It’s always nice to see how people on the other side of the globe live, how they share the same joys and sorrows, what they do in their free time, etc.
I actually have a question about your blog. Would you mind helping us with a linguistic research project? We’re compiling data from various Singaporean weblogs. All it requires is checking a few boxes. If you want to take part and/or have more questions, drop me a note ( hack2301@uni-trier.de RE: Question ) so that I can then send you the ‘official’ project eMail. We’d really appreciate your help.
Thanks very much in advance!
Best regards,
– Fran
PS: Now I have to go and find out how that ‘political spamming action’ turned out…
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While I cannot represent Anonymous as a whole, I can attempt to represent it as an individual.
Anonymous cannot be simply defeated: it is the internet’s first subconsciousness. We are the will of the people, as well as of /b/tards who are doing it for the lulz. We cannot be controlled, and many have tried. We do not forgive or forget, and for everyone of us that falls, ten more shall rise in his/her place. (Though mostly “his”). We are (though this might sound ridiculous) the final boss of the internet. If we WERE to be defeated by anything, it would be by all the newfags that suddenly want to be a part of Anonymous, but are no more than the cause-oriented, friendly butt of every joke on the internet. They see 4chan as their own personal army, idiots. They are the cancer that is killing /b/. But I digress. In the meantime, we have enough work now assaulting the Australian government, which has the audacity to attempt to install internet censorship. This infringement upon the free rights of the people of the world shall not be tolerated.
http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Titstorm
They shall rue their decision.
We are Anonymous.
We do not Forget.
We do not Forgive.
We are Legion.
Expect us.
The Party Van and The Man will strike anon down
soon enough
The Magritte implies good taste…
Cleverly used in the context of this article.
Google (YouTube’s owner) has too much power on the internet. There seems to be a war brewing with battles like this happening more and more often. Who will ultimately win? ….. Stay Tuned!