A flurry of tweets regarding this article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/22/chris.poole.4chan/index.html
This time, in an order that makes sense. And probably poorly formatted. Also the way I should've done it instead of LOL I'M ON THE INTERNET TWEET TWEET TWEET 140 CHARACTERS AT A TIME TWEET TWEET TWEET. And revised to be more coherent.
So, I basically agree with moot that Anonymous Internetings are a good thing, and that they are being threatened. "Social Networking" on one side, and these ridiculous "Cyber-bullying" laws on the other. And I thought CNN's headline was shitty. Because "Anonymous" isn't about pranks any more than it is about Scientology or whatever. It's not some super secret online hacker club that you join. Do you want to be Anonymous? Then don't sign your name to an Internet post. Or a letter, or tell someone who you are over the phone.
And Anonymous, or at the very least, Pseudononymous, is the smartest way to go on the internet. I look at Facebook, Myspace, YouTube, and so on, where people post pictures of themselves, a wealth of information about their personal interests, where they live, THEIR REAL, FULL NAMES FOR FUCK'S SAKES!Has it not sunk in yet? That doing that is a bad idea? How many people have to get fired, suspended, or not hired because a company or school saw something they posted online? Whether it's a bunch of "lol i'm so drunk and not wearing a shirt" pictures or an angry rant or a simple opinion, people have suffered real-world consequences because they put their real name on something they posted on the Internet. Instead of taking two seconds to make up a pseudonym, or just leaving the name blank.
Or, look at all of these "cyberbullying" incidents, where it's not the victim's fault for A) putting a shit-ton of information about themsef on the Internet where anyone can read it, and B) putting emotional investment in shit people write on the Internet. It's at the point where people want laws to restrict Free Speech, rather than take some responsibility for themselves. It's like suing McDonald's because your coffee was hot. And these people act like somebody getting a bunch of pizzas sent to their house or empty boxes or free Korans or whatever is worse than getting fired. Admittedly, if someone commits suicide, that's worse than a harmless prank. But did the Internet pull the trigger or tie the noose around someone's neck? (And besides, people commit suicide over getting fired all the time)This over-sensitivity and over-sharing is too stupid to continue.
Just please, for your own sake, knock that shit off, Internet.
