Since there is no official leadership of black hat hacktivist group Anonymous, it might be difficult to figure out who has the right to speak for the group. But AnonNews.org is supposed to be where their official proclamations are made, and that’s where Anonymous’ threat against the Westboro Baptist Church — that it would hack the Phelps clan’s servers if they didn’t give up their bigotry in 2011 — was first posted. (It’s still live here.) It was enough to get Westboro to issue its own response, which went like this: bring it. Except now Anonymous says it never intended to go after the “god hates fags” church. Huh?
In another notice posted to AnonNews.org, the group, or a group of their members, writes:
Dear Phred Phelps and WBC Phriends,
So we’ve been hearing a lot about some letter that we supposedly sent you this morning. Problem is, we’re a bit groggy and don’t remember sending it. Our best guess is that you heard about us on that newfangled TV of yours and thought we might be some good money for your little church. You thought you could play with Anonymous. You observed our rising notoriety and thought you would exploit our paradigm for your own gain. And then, you thought you could lure some idiots into a honeypot for more IPs to sue.
This is not so foreign to us; as you may have heard, we trade in Lulz. You just do not have enough to offer right now.
While Anonymous thanks you for your interest, and would certainly like to take a break and have some fun with you guys, we have more pressing matters to deal with at the moment. But, we will keep this application on file, and will certainly contact you if any openings become available in future.
Next time, don’t call us. We’ll call you.
Additionally, as your “Press Release” failed to understand: When Anonymous says we support free speech, we mean it. We count Beatrice Hall among our Anonymous forebears: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Do some among our number hate you and your cynical exploitation of your human rights for monetary gain? Of course. But the MoralFags are also the first to admit that they are, in fact, your rights to exploit.
In closing, let us assure you: We are not BAWWWING sissies, nor are we afraid of your false god; we’re just really busy. Stay tuned, and we’ll come back to play another day.
We promise.To the Media: Just because it was posted on AnonNews doesn’t mean every single Anon is in agreement, in fact in this case it doesn’t even mean a single Anon is in agreement. Next time, if you could give us a few minutes to put all our paperwork in order, we’ll be sure to let you know what we’re up to. (LOL)
To Anonymous: It’s a trap. They’ve got their ports wide open to harvest IPs to sue. Don’t DDoS, and boycott Operation Westboro. If you really want to continue messing with them, just send them a few male prostitutes and faxes of goatse. Nothing more. (Note: This letter was written by more than 20 Anons, at the same time, and none of them were inbred family members. Unlike that other, shitty “Press Release”.)
We are Anonymous.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.
Hmmmm. Since when is Anonymous worried about a small group of fanatics and their willingness to sue? This doesn’t sound like the Anonymous I grew to know and love.
Anonymous
Queerty,
This is a dead issue. Your citing of Anonnews and your claiming that this isn’t the Anonymous that you have come to “know and love” is evidence that you don’t really know Anonymous.
When it comes to the trolls over at WBC, we’re neither interested or afraid. We simply do not care. They’re Lulz enough on their own and don’t need us to destroy them.
We are Anonymous.
We are legion.
We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us.
kenny
MoralFags? Yep thats the anonymous I KNOW all too well.Nothing more then hatemongers and homophobes they’re no better then the WBC fuck them both I say they should both rot as they deserve to :)Morally corrupt scum.
Anonymous
@kenny
Nah. We have better stuff to do and bigger fish to fry.
Troll harder next time.
kenny
@Anonymous: Troll harder? Moron Im one of the FAGS your organization hates so fucking much and you call ME a troll? I have proof ive seen anonymous members on YT of all fucking places calling guys faggot queer threatening to kill some even.Yeah your group sure is better then the WBC NOT .Birds of a feather flock together as they say.
Anonymous
@Kenny I’m one of the fags my “organization” “hates so fucking much”.
There is no group. There is no organized collective. You’re pointing at a bunch of people, some who are gay, who have learned to disassociate the word “fag” and “homosexual”.
You’ve seen nothing more than a few btards who troll only for the sake of endless lulz. It’s their food and has absolutely nothing to do with what they actually believe.
Anon is many, gay and straight.
Are you gay? Yes, perhaps.
Are you a moralfag? Most definitely.
Are the two related? Absolutely not.
kenny
@Anonymous:
Moral fag? Well pardon for me for being raised well enough to understand that hacking is illegal and wrong.I also speak from experience ive been hacked twice actually and its not fun nor funny how can a person of good conscience actually think for one second that is a GOOD thing to do?How can you also be 100% sure that these individuals I refer to are not a part of your organization to begin with? Many of them seem very accurate with what they say and if not anonymous they certainly know a lot about the ins and outs of your organization.Forgive me for my animosity towards anonymous but I dont believe in the hateful crap that comes from either of these sides anon or WBC .Theres enough hate in this world as it is.
Soupy
Independent anarchists don’t scare me. Neither does the WBC.
Anonymous
@Kenny
“Well pardon for me for being raised well enough to understand that hacking is illegal and wrong.”
You don’t seem to really comprehend exactly what Anonymous does. Sure, there’s some hacking involved by upper level members. You rarely ever find situations where cracking occurs.
Most of it, particularly involving recent operations, is ensuring that men and women in high-risk revolution areas in the Middle East have a mechanism where they can be heard. Government blocks facebook? Anon hosts proxies to access social media.
Information on social media access can’t get through? Anon searches for fax numbers and sends fax information with instructions on accessing these sites (getting around government firewalls).
A United States company is hosting the website of a foreign dictator known for violence and genocide? Anon advises the company to drop the website.
If the information is there, Anon gets it. Sometimes hacking is involved – repeat – “SOMETIMES”.
Either way, a true hacker will not cause any harm to any system. A hacker will get the thrill of going in, looking around, and getting out often not caring about the information he or she sees. A cracker will get in, look around, cause harm, or even launch DDoS to take the site down. They are two very different things.
Is hacking wrong? That requires you define “wrong”. Is it wrong to seek, but not use, knowledge?
You keep referring to Anonymous as an organization. It really, really, really isn’t one.
kenny
w@Anonymous: What is a DDOS?
If its not an organization then what is it? Im actually curious.
Kev C
@kenny: Distributed Denial Of Service.
The word Fag is not a gay word but a straight word for gays. If Anonymous didn’t have this word, their vocabulary would halved.
Anonymous has “bigger fish to fry” .. like pretending to be CaptaIn America and rescue Libya from Qaddafi or some such silliness. Anonymous are for free speech and respect the Westboro Baptist Church who also use freedom of speech to harass and disgrace the people of the USA. In many ways, the two groups are very similar in philosphy and operation .. and vocabulary.
Anonymous
@Kev
I wouldn’t say we respect WBC. They’re a bunch of tools – professional trolls who have realized they can feel both elite and make quite a bit of money by putting together the words “Hate” and “Fags” together for profit.
WBC uses freedom of speech and expression clauses to make a profit. It’s doubtful that they (or at least Freddie and Shirley) truly believe in their cause.
Anonymous doesn’t exist to harass or disgrace the people of the USA. When push comes to shove, we simply don’t care that much.
Kev C
@Anonymous: I know a thing or two about random, anonymous bullies calling people fags searching for lulz. It’s the standard M.O. of most gay bashers I’ve met. Their group anonymity is what gives cowardly homophobes the power to hurt.
Anonymous
“The word Fag is not a gay word but a straight word for gays. If Anonymous didn’t have this word, their vocabulary would halved.”
Most Esteemed Kev,
It saddens me to have to inform you that the aforementioned individuals in your previous statement are, in fact, not who they purport to be. While they may appear to be nothing more than scoundrels and scallywags of immense proportions and dishonest intentions, they – without a doubt in my mind – intend to use colorful and pejorative tongue for their own personal gains vis-a-vis chuckles – necessary payment required to enter into our esteemed collective. I submit to you all, therefore, and without any further or unnecessary ado, that they are but a fraction of the membership among our ranks who inhabit the lower realms of free exchange of thought and ideas. Whilst they are on the lower fringe, they do serve their purpose in creating constant and ever flowing discourse toward the accomplishment of greater endeavors. Perhaps they’re simply queer in that way.
Best wishes and forever yours,
Anonymous
Anonymous
@Kev C:
If you’ve met gay bashes in person, they’re no longer Anonymous and therefore do not follow the same MO. When push comes to shove, no Anon member really cares enough to hurt.
I cite rules 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 27, 32, 57, and 58 (especially 58). I cite these rules to show you that you fail.
Anonymous
@Kev C:
I’m the Anon who said : “I wouldn’t say we respect WBC. They’re a bunch of tools”
You responded:
“I know a thing or two about random, anonymous bullies calling people fags searching for lulz.”
I’m Anon. I’m also gay. Why not let Anon take the word ‘fag’ and give it a different meaning much different than what it is used for today? I’ve seen the word ‘fag’ used on Anon chat countless times. 99.9999% of the time it has nothing to do with the fact that I enjoy sucking my boyfriend’s cock.
Kev C
@Anonymous: Listen, they can keep the word. They can give it whatever meaning they want. To me, when I hear a group of strangers, a bunch of drunken yahoos, calling me a fag, it only has one meaning: We’re going to beat you mercilessly .. for fun.
kenny
@Anonymous: Would you please for fucks sakes stop trying to JUSTIFY that word? Do you have any idea how many gay teens have taken their lives due to that hateful derogatory word?Its a given none of you care its even sadder that apparently people who are anonymous act like they are on a higher social arc then the rest of us.Analyze the way you have talked to people here who have commented to you and see if you do not indeed speak down to us and act like you are better then the rest of us just because you are an anon.Give me a damn break seriously.
The next time you stupidly try to justify the word FAG or any other derogatory comment referring to our community as a WHOLE remember all of those who are no longer with us and how much it hurt and affected THEM.Get over yourself and your arrogance its unbecoming even for you.Apparently you dont realize that those words mean different things to different people and in this community thats NOT a positive word to use regardless of how many people like you attempt to sugarcoat it which is even more sad.
kenny
@Kev C: Finally someone with common sense .
Anonymous
Aww… did I push some buttons? So much QQ here. We’re not on a higher social arc. You have no idea what social arc we’re on. We’re awesome like that.
To put it simply: It’s fun. Your response is hilarious. I like pushing buttons because it makes people think. It makes people feel. It makes people cry. It makes people yell. It manifests all of the best characteristics that allow us to continue to express ourselves.
You see moralfag, newfag, trollfag, failfag, samefag. You’ll be hard pressed to see ‘gayfag’.
Until you do, quit your bitchin’ and express yo’ self
Anonymous
@kenny:
Seriously. Trust the fact that any true member of Anonymous would never act violently. Being fundamentally non-violent is awesome. Either way, we simply don’t care enough to be violent.
kenny
@Anonymous: Your lack of maturity and common sense speaks for itself.You’re a disgusting individual dude period.Its gay guys like you that DO make this community look bad you’re supposed to be WITH us not against us you idiot yet thats all anon has EVER wanted is to fuck with screw with and aggravate people far smarter then they will ever be .Pathetic.I suggest you grow up but I doubt that day will ever happen.Not to mention I find you extremely weak and pitiful the fact that you have to have people controlling you and doing what others want you to do sucks that you’d rather be a follower then a leader .Talk about a SHEEP.
Bitchin? Nah unlike you arrogant little boy I speak from the heart and its always been true that you and your clan or whatever have no hearts to speak of nor conscience.Otherwise you wouldnt have come to this site to provoke strangers online in the first place.How childish and juvenile.Funny thing is you and your clan are nothing more then cyberbullies who think putting on an extremely intelligent wise front can conceal that .Doesnt matter if you are gay its still a FORM of cyberbullying kid I dont expect you to understand common sense though that seems to constantly elude you sadly.You’re good at justifying homophobia kid you should be so proud of yourself now why dont you go justify a racist calling an african american a nigger or better yet go justify why people can call people who are jewish kikes .Moron.
lemon-lime
@kenny: FYI– Anonymous has no membership rolls, anyone can call themselves Anonymous. You might as well be arguing with air right now. He’s not representing or representative of Anonymous any more than 1 unelected individual can be considered to represent or be representative of a whole country.
Also keep in mind that Anonymous is just a loosely knit group of script kiddies who decided it would be cool to actually do something constructive with their hacking skills.
TLDR; don’t feed the trolls.
kenny
@lemon-lime: I know what too long dont read means way to show your immaturity also.If you dont like what I write then dont read it plain and simple.This sites got to have some of the rudest people ive ever run into period.
lemon-lime
@kenny: Huh?
You seem to have completely missed the point of what I just wrote. You took what was originally meant as a good-will post trying to save you the frustration of arguing with an obnoxious script kiddie who’s joy in life is to make you angrier and turned it into something else.
Respectfully, you don’t know what TLDR means, because traditionally one of its uses is for at the end of a post to summarize the contents when the author feels like he’s started to ramble too much. I wasn’t referring to your posts, I was referencing my own…
Thanks for the insults, though, they made my day. Speaking of people being rude, buddy…maybe you should try evaluating yourself before you accuse others of something.
Anonymous
@kenny:
“Your lack of maturity and common sense speaks for itself.You’re a disgusting individual dude period.Its gay guys like you that DO make this community look bad you’re supposed to be WITH us not against us you idiot yet thats all anon has EVER wanted is to fuck with screw with and aggravate people far smarter then they will ever be .”
Ahahahahahahahaha! Muahahahahahahah!
IMO, the world doesn’t contain enough fags, dyked, niggers, and kikes. Too bad there aren’t enough of us to go around.
Can I ask you a question, Sir Kenny?
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Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?
kenny
@lemon-lime:
Look im sorry I have been dealing with idiots like this arrogant little brat for a while now and it gets tiring after a while.Death threats hatred even being hacked by these pricks .I apologize for taking my frustration out on you and I am sincerely sorry for what I said to you it was never my intention to insult you I swear.Ive just had that tldr thing used against me numerous times and foolishly I assumed you meant it as an insult to as to how much I write.My apologies you are correct also trolls like this kid just need to be ignored all these people want is attention and if they get none they are starved to death.I feel awful about what I said I just shouldnt let immature brats like this guy get to me especially to the point of getting annoyed or crabby .
lemon-lime
@kenny: It’s OK it happens to all of us. The rule is “don’t engage”. I wish I followed the rule more than I do. LOL.
kenny
@Anonymous:
You need help plain and simple and to answer your question No .Thank god I was raised to be a better human being then you are kid.My last and final statement to you is to GROW up the more excuses you use to justify homophobia and bigotry the stupider you look period.Go back to your clan where you belong.
kenny
@lemon-lime:
I agree *puts out my hand to shake yours* No hard feelings man đ
That WAS my last comment to that individual also I assure you I am a man of my words lol
Anonymous
@kenny:
I can almost guarantee you that you haven’t been hacked by Anonymous. Perhaps your mother hacked you?
Perhaps it’s you who needs to learn how to be a little more childish. Put a smile on your face. Make the world a better place.
Kev C
@Anonymous: “You see moralfag, newfag, trollfag, failfag, samefag. You’ll be hard pressed to see ‘gayfag’.”
But who started this WBC memo? Maybe it was trollfags affiliated with WBC looking for attention. Or maybe it was someone who doesn’t like the WBC such as gayfags. Either way, Anonymous has a fag problem.
KalperniaRena
What is Anonymous? I mean what do ‘they’ do, specifically? Other than the snappy comments I mean. Is it like some kind of club or something?
Anonymous
@KalperniaRena:
We’re like a club… but we’re not a club. If we were, we would require an all-nudity policy everywhere, especially in the showers and steamrooms. Aside from our faces, we let it all hang out.
Anonymous
@Kev C:
Honeybunch, the whole world has a fag problem. On a side note, Queerty doesn’t process quotes passed through a foreign proxy. Is Queerty xenophobic?
KalperniaRena
do you have you’re own website or something? I mean, how do you keep a centralized purpose if basically anybody can call themselves part of Anonymous?
Casey
There’s so much newfaggotry in this thread.
Rules 1 and 2 faggots, and yes this is a raid (a failed one) but it applies.
The reason why this raid failed is because Anon is full of cancer, this cancer has evolved and has now infested the abilities of Anonymous to do anything. WBC won, Cancer lost. U mad guize? U mad?
Anonymous
@KalperniaRena:
Well… there are collective sources of communication. You’ll have to find them yourselves. There are different calibers of Anons ranging from trolls to elite hackers to the seldom-endorsed crackers. There’s no reason to be centralized. Centralization and/or hierarchy would almost always lead to abuse of power. Anonymous is no one’s army.
@Casey:
WBC hardly won. In fact, their level of fail was so very lulzy. They missed the psych and went on a six day tirade of hilarious nonsense while their website was up and down and up and down and up and down more than Freddy’s cock as he dreams of viagra and public urinals. It was pure epic Lulz.
Something can be said when the winner yells “FIRE!!!” and the loser runs around for hours screaming bloody murder.
RJ
Really… isn’t this topic kind of dead? I think I’m behind on my feeds.
Kev C
@KalperniaRena: Anonymous operates autonomously like anarchists, which means they aren’t centralized. You don’t want to know where they call home. It’s a weird, scary place called /b/. Many of the people involved with Anonymous apparently need psychiatric help because of the disturbing graphic images and abusive language that they regularly indulge in. But they did invent Lolcats đ
RJ
Kalpernia,
What Kev said. While they don’t call any site “home”, many of them frequent the boards there. Some of the subsections are 18+, but they can be broken off into many different image boards with varying topics. The language is generally abusive, but in an “I don’t care” sort of way.
They also communicate via IRC channels and various open news sources. The best you’ll get out of an Anonymous news release is something that was worked on by… say… 20 or 30 Anons max.
When push comes to shove, you don’t want to get involved. The 4chan anons will mess with you and make your life a living hell if they catch you doing something that they can turn against you (recently, they practically obliterated a group of college girls who bragged about getting fake ID’s on facebook). If you want to know what they stand for or their rules of operation, check out “Rules of the Internet”. That about sums it up.
KalperniaRena
Geeze, they sound rather insane. . .
RJ
Kalpernia,
Nah. I wouldn’t call them insane. There’s an order to all of it. At the lowest level, their harsh language and uncaring tone is extremely objectifying, making is absolutely impossible for one person to rise too far in control of influence.
Their international operations are pretty organized – allowing for sustained communication when a hostile government blocks social media mechanisms. They ensure that there are established proxies and even go as far as to search and discover connected fax machines to fax over connection information so people in countries like Egypt, Lybia, Pakistan, Iran, etc. can connect to social media even when the government wants to crack down on civilian international communication.
Domestically, a most recent series of attacks against financial institutions that collectively decided to cease payouts to Wikileaks occurred, sparking two interesting debates – one on the decision of financial institutions to cease payment based on material it found questionable (dangerous in and of itself) and second, whether DDoS attacks are “hacking” or the modern day equivalent of sit-ins – where the intention isn’t to harm a system (a DDoS can never permanently damage a system) but to cause a disruption in activity very much like political activist groups state sit-ins in offices of politicians.
Granted, some of the activity involves mindless pranks, such as targeting of individual citizens in excess for the simple point of having a good time, but those are no more reflective of the Anonymous collective/hivemind as any operation against a foreign, corrupt government.
Jim Hlavac
Intriguing. It’s like a cat playing with a mouse — not quite kill, not quite maul, not quite eat, but just kick around a bit until bored. And the mouse tries to scurry away. Meanwhile, sure makes a good story. Very “Matrix” — is someone writing the screen play now? When will the flick be out? I can’t wait! Hottie actors and all!
I am, of course, never anonymous — I’m of the John Hancock persuasion, or maybe “boyfriend John with his hand on my …” oh never mind.