[News] Anon goes to war.

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ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

It is amazing, I actually expected SOPA/PIPA to bring out the rage of Anon, but I had no idea the catalyst that would ultimately drive them to start was going to be the MegaUpload shutdown. I think they were probably already pretty hot on the trigger, and MegaUpload shutdown (regardless of it being valid or not) almost feels like a premonition to the the future of a censored web, so they pulled that trigger.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
The United States arrested someone in NEW ZEALAND to appease the conglomerated entertainment industry. At the same time, a guy in Great Britain is being extradited to the US for prosecution because he has a LINK site! I don't have the skills, but if I did I'd be right there with Anon. This has gone on too long and needs to be stopped. They have my full support in this. (Addendum: They have my full support as long as they keep attacking the right people/businesses. If they veer from this targeted attacked I may no longer support them.)
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

No, that's definitely not a good idea. But to be honest, this is kind of what Anonymous has been building to. I figured they'd EVENTUALLY start hitting the government. Never thought it was a good idea, but I saw it as inevitable.

That said, won't this only further bring about support for SOPA or similar bills?
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
There's nothing stopping them NOW from trying to pass bills like that. In fact, had Wikipedia et. al. not done what they did, nobody would know about SOPA/PIPA.

The internet didn't want this war. But the morons in Washington are outnumbered and out-brained.
 
General Specific

General Specific

Targeting any government site was probably a bad idea. Suddenly, you've just gone from cyber criminal to possible terrorist threat. That bill allowing for people to be whisked away and denied due process was just signed into law recently.
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

Staff member
again, eyeroll at morons in Washington.

So a bunch of internet dweebs are going to do some damage to some websites. SOPA and all that garbage is going to go by the wayside anyway. Life goes on. News at 11.
 
strawman

strawman

Meh. They aren't going to change the government's opinion, and in fact they will likely be cast as "internet terrorists" and end up making the situation worse.
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

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That is, the whole megaupload thing going down is partly because people just HAVE to illegally download tv shows, movies, and music.

I'm not excluding myself from these things, but at the same time, I also have the balls to say, "well, you got me, there."
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
There are several troubling aspects to this, however.

First, Megaupload does not control what the people put on their site. Like other sites, if someone posts something and it gets reported, they take it down. Arresting the people in charge of it in New Zealand is far and above the reach of the US government as well as showing the powers of those with the cash buying our legal system. The owners of the site will be getting more fines and jail time than a rapist or murderer if convicted.

Second, it has already been proven that the release of media with accessible price points can and will generate money for content that is worth buying. Look at such things as iTunes and the Indie Bundles, not to mention Louis CK's overwhelmingly successful experiment. But the industry doesn't learn and employs ever increasingly draconian practices to attempt to control everything you read, see and consume media-wise. And all of this heavy-handedness does not work! It doesn't stop piracy even a little. The only thing it does is to inconvenience those who attempt to purchase stuff legally and use what they bought. Take the upcoming Diablo III release. Yes, most people have an always online connection, but if you are running it on a laptop you may be unable to play the very game you purchased because the DRM and "piracy" prevention put in place by dipshit studios. What will the pirates do? Release a nodisk crack within the first week. So who does this hurt? The consumer.
 
redthirtyone

redthirtyone

But is what they're doing really all that technically advanced? Most of what I recall them doing has been DDoS, which basically seems to be brute forcing a site into submission. I would say most of these corporate/gov't sites aren't ready to handle the large load that an Anonymous attack can send at them. A few months back they tried the same on Amazon over the WikiLeaks thing, but had to give up.

I'll agree though, moral of the story is "don't piss 'em off"
 
Shegokigo

Shegokigo

All the good that came about from yesterday? Like the shutting down of MegaUpload in retaliation from SOPA being made the laughing stock that it was?

Where was the good? How many people ran business from MegaUpload, thousands lost all they had in an instant, no warning, no time to backup, deletion?

Also for those saying that Anon is dumb for attacking government sites, I find it naive to think they don't already have members in those places as it is.

Also Juski: Just buy the dvd box? How about we just go back to watching TV (with 6 commercials every 3 minutes) or pay for preimum access to Hulu and still have commercials? How about go back to Netflix, where the CEO has no clue what he's doing at the best movies are considered Hollywoods "forgotten" or already "played 1000x by HBO"?
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Sheg's right, as far as TV shows go. The reason I "legally obtain" TV shows now is because I don't see it as any different than having a friend tape it for me back in the day.
 
Jay

Jay

ThatNickGuy said:
Sheg's right, as far as TV shows go. The reason I "legally obtain" TV shows now is because I don't see it as any different than having a friend tape it for me back in the day.
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Or PVR it.

I PVR everything.

I watch Castle 20 minutes late... why? Play catchup while time is being wasted on commercial breaks.
 
ElJuski

ElJuski

Staff member
You guys also seem to forget that watching television shows with advertising, or buying the dvd boxes, etc, helps pay for everyone that works on those shows. I mean, look, I'm with you guys, because I download a ton of free music, but it doesn't mean that it's not in some way, shape, or form wrong.

And furthermore, I feel like if people would just step off and not continue to be openly illegally downloading shit all the time, a more legitimate fight against the government cracking down unnecessarily on people could continue. Meanwhile, more people like Louis CK should implement their own niche markets--although, and here's the thing, I think Louis CK is also a very, very niche success story, considering the only reason he could even pull that off as financially profitable as he did was the twenty-odd years of being a poor, broke workhorse.
 
Espy

Espy

At first I was kind of like... wow, big balls there... but then I realized, oh, they made it so I couldn't get to the Justice Department Website or RIAA.com for awhile. You know, websites that we all hang out on so much. So now I'm trying to figure out why this is a big deal. The sites are back up and.... whats changed?
 
ScytheRexx

ScytheRexx

Espy said:
At first I was kind of like... wow, big balls there... but then I realized, oh, they made it so I couldn't get to the Justice Department Website or RIAA.com for awhile. You know, websites that we all hang out on so much. So now I'm trying to figure out why this is a big deal. The sites are back up and.... whats changed?
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Nothing changed, sometimes protests don't bring change, but they can bring awareness. The Anon events are like someone painting the sign in front of their building with the words "Fucktards", it's juvenile, not many people outside of those that work there will see it, but it brings the message they wanted. Really, in the end, that is all they CAN do, at least right now. I do worry how far they will take it though should things get worst with regards to the future of the internet.
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

How long until the MPAA, the RIAA etc tar Anonymous and the blackout sites with the same brush?

"Wikipedia isn't content to just twist facts and abuse its power, now it's actively hacking the Department of Justice!"
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Anon, you dorks! They published names & address of Dodd...and his family, including the kids. This is the part I'm not a fan of. Attacking the government or industry sites for horrible actions is one thing, but personal attacking of families is quite another. Bad form!
 
Covar

Covar

Dave said:
Anon, you dorks! They published names & address of Dodd...and his family, including the kids. This is the part I'm not a fan of. Attacking the government or industry sites for horrible actions is one thing, but personal attacking of families is quite another. Bad form!
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Are you really surprised though?
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Covar said:
Are you really surprised though?
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I'd like to say no, but with that many individuals of varying abilities and ages/maturity levels it was bound to go overboard. And that's really the only issue I have with the concept of Anonymous as an entity for change or protest - it only takes one or two in the wrong place to make the whole bunch seem like raving mad loons.
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
Attacking government websites is meaningless and fruitless. Hell, when my company's website goes down, our response is "oh well, it'll be back up later."

Because the government doesn't need a website to function. In fact, for most people involved in it, the various governmental websites are basically just so much fluff and PR.

If they want to affect any kind of real change, they have to do the dangerous, scary shit that makes Dave uncomfortable. Names, addresses, breaking in to actual critical systems that house actual secret data.

This is just ... e-graffiti.
 
HowDroll

HowDroll

Most people are too complacent to initiate protests for change on their own, but I'm always glad to see people fighting back against the powers that be -- and I don't think it necessarily matters whether the protesters are Tea Partiers, Occupiers, Anonymous, or whatever. People in this country have been sitting by for far too long, and even CNN is covering the Anonymous DDoS attacks; it may be a drop in the bucket, but you know, if you get enough drops, sooner or later you're going to have a bucket full of water.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
This is the first I seen ya. But I've been out of touch for a while due to work, moving and a few other things.

Good to see you're still doing well, though!
 
Espy

Espy

Don't get me wrong, I love that people want to fight back against government thuggery, I just figured a group with the skills of Anon could do... something meaningful rather than just crash a few websites. It's good that it got some awareness out I suppose, so thats something.
 
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