Christopher "m00t" Poole- TEDtalk

Analysis: TEDtalk -moot (Christopher Poole)
http://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_m00t_poole_the_case_for_anonymity_online.html

This is a TEDtalk by Christopher Poole, aka m00t, who founded the 4chan imageboard, which was the springboard for the birth of Anonymous as a digital entity. Poole explains how the board is formatted, and then continues on to describe and support his belief in Internet anonymity.

First, Poole summarizes some of the activities that occur on 4chan, from the inception of LOLcats to Rickrolling and the so-called Rules of the Internet, which are each things that members of Anonymous regularly refer to when not organizing the destruction of society. What interests me most is some of the non-protesting activity that Anonymous and/or the members of 4chan took part in. First, they organized to elect m00t to the top of the TIME 100 Most Influential People, and succeeded, not only doing that, but also arranged the letters of the next twenty candidates into the acrostic “Marblecake also the game.” Marblecake is a reference to the IRC board Anonymous used to organize Operation Chanology, or otherwise an obscene phrase; “The Game” is a reference to a supposed game with obscure rules that 4chan also originated. This indicates a level of organization online for childish pranks that is much more sophisticated than many other pursuits, and shows Anonymous’ early power as a group. Finally, Moot covers the story of “Dusty” the cat. Poole, saying “they put CSI to shame,” says that members of his board managed to get a man arrested for animal abuse within 48 hours of his putting up a video online of himself abusing his cat, saving the cat and sending him to jail. In the ensuing interview, Poole admits that “there is plenty of bad” that comes from an anonymous online community, but that “the greater good is being served here by just allowing people....to be completely anonymous...saying whatever you like, I think, is powerful.”

Poole’s presentation is particularly compelling because it offers an insight into ground zero of Anonymous’ creation. Not only does he completely support online anonymity, but also, at the time of the presentation, he supported the power of anonymity. He creates a compelling and interesting argument for the allowance of  lesser transparency in the digital sphere, showing the viewpoint of a supporter of Anonymous’ creed.