4chan- the Cradle of Internet Civilization
Anonymous began in the early '00s in the dark recesses of the Internet, primarily an informal group formed around “trolling” and other childish pastimes. The image board 4chan, from which Anonymous is likely to have originated, allows its users to post with near-complete anonymity, resulting in both very offensive material and complete creativity. 4Chan is rated by Alexa, an Internet information collector, as 939th in the world for traffic, and 508th in the United States1, with the 18-24 year old age demographic and the male demographic both “greatly over-represented” relative to the greater Internet population2. 38.8% of visitors are from the United States3. 4Chan, a “simple image-based bulletin board where anyone can post comments and share images4,” has a fast turnover rate; each board has a set limit for amount of threads, and each thread a set limit for number of posts; therefore, entire threads can disappear within hours5. This prompts a fast-acting and creative community in most sections of the site; indeed, it is a breeding ground for many Internet memes6 that have become popular in the past couple years, from LOLcats to Rick Rolling. 4Chan's popularity may result from its userbase and innovative- if oftentimes inappropriate- community, but it is also just as likely that part of the forum's allure comes from its entirely anonymous posting system. Not only do all posts automatically use the name “anonymous” when submitted- never forcing anybody to register or create a username to post- but also the 4chan servers only store user information and IP addresses as long as their post continues to exist7. This anonymous system, paired with 4chan's short-lived retention of most posts on popular boards, serves to allow not only all kinds of information to be spread on the forums, but also allows for all kinds of people to communicate and exchange ideas. Christopher Poole, the site's creator, said in a 2010 interview that 4chan allows people “to be completely anonymous and say whatever you'd like....I think it's important to have these places8.” Certainly, the 4chan community is powerful. Besides creating an online community to “say whatever you'd like,” the denizens of the board have become a powerful force in the real world, too.
The early days of organization on 4chan were essentially harmless; true organization was few and far-between, often for the sole purpose of “lulz.” Several incidences of bullying on Myspace and Facebook demonstrate this, as well as the more positive story of Dusty the Cat. Though much blame of 4chan members for online bullying can be unsubstantiated, it is very likely that many 4chan “trolls” do participate in this kind of bullying, as many aggressive comments on blogs, Myspace, and Facebook pages are described as being “for the lulz.” In one editorial, an anonymous “ex-troll” interviewee gives this kind of trolling a perfect definition: “'Lulz is watching someone lose their mind at their computer 2,000 miles away while you chat with friends and laugh9.” This working definition shows the darker underside of the denizens of 4chan- they can be cruel and amoral, with near-total disdain for everybody else. However, this is not the only face of 4chan's userbase. Indeed, these “trolls” showed a capacity for absolute and definitive compassion with the story of the rescue of “Dusty” the cat. On February 5th, 2009, a 14-year old from Oklahoma named Kenny Glenn posted a video on Youtube of himself abusing his cat, repeatedly throwing it against a wall while laughing10. When a member of 4chan posted it on the boards, outrage mobilized the so-called “Internet hate machine11.” Unlike their usual “trolling” escapades, the members of 4chan banded together to save this cat, and, within 48 hours, they did. They found Glenn's name, address, phone number, and personal details, and contacted the police12. Though Glenn was not punished for his despicable actions, both cats in his home were removed and placed in new homes13. These two events- selected out of many early mobilizations- both demonstrate the immense power of the Internet denizens populating 4chan. Not only can they use their words to bully and torment others in the virtual world, but they can also strongly influence real-world events. “Dusty”'s rescue was only a precursor to the juggernaut that Anonymous was to become.
Project Chanology
Project Chanology was the earliest “IRL14” protest specifically organized by members of the early Anonymous organization. On January 14, 2008, a Youtube video displaying a “manic-looking15” Tom Cruise extolling the virtues of Scientology garnered laughs and scorn concerning the cult-like religion. When Youtube took down the video in response to litigation threats by the Church of Scientology, people across the Internet were shocked and, apparently, angry. What started out as “lulz” at the expense of Cruise's strange behavior became an expansive movement. Soon after the video's removal, Anonymous mounted a DdoS, or distributed denial of service16, attack upon the Church of Scientology's website17, temporarily taking it down. Members also attacked the organization in other ways, via phone calls, faxes of completely blacked-out paper (to drain ink reserves), and Google bombing18.
But, unlike many Internet fads, this organized attack on Scientology did not go away. Instead, members of the Chanology movement created several websites and began protesting outside the safe realm of their homes. After taking to the streets, these protesters soon realized that in order to evade Scientology's “fair game” policy- the cult's policy that calls for “utter destruction” of critics by means of litigation and harassment19- they would have to conceal their identities. The most prominent website connected with Project Chanology, Why We Protest, claims that the reason members of Anonymous wear masks is not, perhaps, in the desire for general anonymity, or even to threaten its opponents, but instead rooted in the group's history of battling Scientology. The Guy Fawkes mask, now a symbol of Anonymous as an entity, began simply as a way to prevent litigious persecution while peacefully protesting an organization they believed to be “a cult that financially defrauds and abuses its members20.”
Though Project Chanology is no longer a central focus to many Anonymous members, it remains a cause that draws protesters at monthly demonstrations, and Why We Protest is still well-used and often updated, and has expanded its support to the protests surrounding freedom of information that have sprung up more recently.
1 Alexa, the Web Information Company, "Statistics Summary for 4chan.org." Accessed March 13, 2012. http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/4chan.org.
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5 Poole, Christopher. TED, "Christopher "moot" Poole- The Case for Anonymity online." Last modified June 2010. Accessed March 13, 2012.
6Pictures with captions, often with certain connotation; many become Internet phenomenons, perforating blogs, boards, and many times even tee shirts; for example, the “Coolface” meme, which is used often by Internet trolls and pranksters.
7(Poole, “4chan FAQ”)
8 Poole, Christopher. TED, "Christopher "moot" Poole- The Case for Anonymity online." Last modified June 2010. Accessed March 13, 2012.
10 Glenn, Kenny. Operation Dustyce, "Kenny Glenn Abuses Dusty." Last modified 02/15/2009. Accessed March 14, 2012. www.kenny-glenn.net.
12After, of course, ordering pizzas and magazine subscriptions to his house.
13 Operation Dustyce, "Kenny (Christpher) Glenn- Cat Abuser." Last modified 01/12/2010. Accessed March 14, 2012. www.kenny-glenn.net.
14Acronym meaning “In real life.”
16Not exactly hacking, rather uses a program across many computers to repeatedly request large amounts of information from a website, thereby overloading its servers and inhibiting its function.
17 Richards, Jonathan. "Hackers Declare War on Scientology."London Times, as reprinted by Fox News. (2008).
18Usage of search engines to link a term, such as “Scientology,” to other negative words, such as “cult.”
Richards, Jonathan. "Hackers Declare War on Scientology."London Times, as reprinted by Fox News. (2008).
19 Why We Protest, "Anonymous vs Scientology." Accessed March 14, 2012. https://whyweprotest.net/anonymous-scientology/.
20IBID.
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