Get What Anonymous Wants

I was going to post this earlier, then I waited until version 1.1 came out.

This name, capitalized..Anonymous…has come to mean certain things. This is what Anonymous wants, in case anyone asks.

Also, I’m going to try and make this exhaustive, as Anonymous has, in case the google picks up on the answer to this very simple question. And the obvious follow-ups.

Open Letter To The World With Fixed Typo And Grammar

Open Letter To The WorldWe stand at a unique time in our history. The rise of the Internet and computing technology have contributed to an unparalleled rate of prosperity for the First World.

We have created for ourselves an empire unlike any other, a global network of constant trade and communication, a new age of technological advancement. We have come a long way from our humble roots in the Industrial Revolution and the days of Manifest Destiny. We are now pioneers on new digital frontiers expanding our domain from the quantum world to the far reaches of space.

And yet, the empire faces a crisis, a global recession, growing poverty, rampant violence, corruption in politics, and threats to personal freedom. As it was before in other times of crisis, the old stories have begun to repeat themselves. The half truths, this time repeated nightly on cable news and echoed through a series of tubes onto the internet: the empire is strong, change is unwise, business as usual is the answer. In times of uncertainty there are those who seek to add to the confusion, to prey on our insecurities and fears. Those who would seek to keep us divided for their own gain. The pervasive strategy takes many very convincing forms: Liberals and Conservatives, Christians and Muslims, Black and White, Saved and sinner.

But something unexpected is happening. We have begun telling each other our own stories. Sharing our lives, our hopes, our dreams, our demons. Every second, day in day out, into all hours of the night the gritty details of life on this earth are streaming around the world. As we see the lives of others played out in our living rooms we are beginning to understand the consequences of our actions and the error of the old ways. We are questioning the old assumptions that we are made to consume not to create, that the world was made for our taking, that wars are inevitable, that poverty is unavoidable. As we learn more about our global community a fundamental truth has been rediscovered: We are not so different as we may seem. Every human has strengths, weaknesses, and deep emotions. We crave love, love laughter, fear being alone and dream for a better life.

You must create a better life.

You cannot sit on the couch watching television or playing video games, waiting for a revolution. You are the revolution. Every time you decide not to exercise your rights, every time you refuse to hear another point of view, every time you ignore the world around you, every time you spend a dollar at a business that doesn’t pay a fair wage you are contributing to the oppression of the human body and the repression of the human mind. You have a choice, a choice to take the easy path, the familiar path, to walk willingly into your own submission. Or a choice get up, to go outside and talk to your neighbor, to come together in new forums to create lasting, meaningful change for the human race.

This is our challenge:

A peaceful revolution, a revolution of ideas, a revolution of creation. The twenty-first century enlightenment. A global movement to create a new age of tolerance and understanding, empathy and respect. An age of unfettered technological development. An age of sharing ideas and cooperation. An age of artistic and personal expression. We can choose to use new technology for radical positive change or let it be used against us. We can choose to keep the internet free, keep channels of communication open and dig new tunnels into those places where information is still guarded. Or we can let it all close in around us. As we move in to new digital worlds, we must acknowledge the need for honest information and free expression. We must fight to keep the internet open as a marketplace of ideas where all are seated as equals. We must defend our freedoms from those who would seek to control us. We must fight for those who do not yet have a voice. Keep telling your story. All must be heard.

All content on this website is automatically licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. You are free to redistribute and/or remix it, but you have to credit the author, or, if the author is unknown (“Anonymous”), place a backlink to the corresponding page on AnonNews and attribute it to “Anonymous”.

Please note the copyleft linkage. It’s a reference to that site, not this one.

Also note, I bolded the stuff that’s bolded. Personal note: I kinda teared up when I did so. BTW, and one of the things I love about Anonymous is that the speak pretty much exactly like I do. My internet experience is long and deep in the hive-mind, and the solutions it sees for the future. I wish I had typed that, I didn’t. I did, however, copy and paste it and link back and re-mix it more to my like. I encourage you do so, as well.

That whole thing is a solid encapsulation of why I, Robot Pirate…well, Roy…fight. For that stuff up there. I’m not Anonymous. I can’t be, and vote. I can’t be, and speak out as myself with the all rights and responsibilities one like myself is both born with. So I fight in the light, and keep an ear out for the whispers of the invisible. I love this shit. This is worth a lot to me, that stuff in bold up there. A lot.

So enough about that…Anonymous has nailed down the ideal of the 21st century, a challenge, a gauntlet, if you will, and it’s up to YOU to pick it up. I’m already doing my thing….now, on that.

While I agree with this, so whole-heartedly it hurts, there’s a fuzzy and circuitous route between what Anonymous wants, and what a lot of people say Anonymous wants. Myself included. That’s why I just bolded it, and didn’t edit it much. As this activity, this battle, this, frankly, war for all that is good and proper and such, goes on; expect to see the name Anonymous again, and again, attached to more brilliance and b.s than Banksy. So keep the following in mind…

On Posting In The Name of Anonymous

To My Fellow Anons, Members of the Press, and Random Passers-by,

I am an individual. I am writing this statement. I do not represent Anonymous. In fact, no one does; the operative word there being “one.” No statement or action made by a single individual can be claimed as a statement or action of Anonymous.

So, two things:

First, if you feel like writing a personal manifesto about what Anonymous is, don’t. You’re wrong. Stop trying to portray a collective in terms of your own beliefs.

Second, statements or actions undertaken collaboratively by a group of Anons can take up the banner of Anonymous…if they so choose. Why? Plurality. “I am anonymous.” “We are Anonymous.” Note the distinct (and intentional) lack of capitalization in the first example. The first is an adjective, the second is a name. This is why we have an IRC channel. Collaborate there, announce group consensus here. Result: less raeg, more lulz.

If you can follow those guidelines, then carry on.

If not, do us all a favor: Shut. The Hell. Up.

Thank you.

I am anonymous.

I am one.

I do forgive.

I have an eidetic memory.*

Expecto Patronum.

All content on this website is automatically licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. You are free to redistribute and/or remix it, but you have to credit the author, or, if the author is unknown (“Anonymous”), place a backlink to the corresponding page on AnonNews and attribute it to “Anonymous”.

* too funny. The internet never forgets, because no one never forgets and no one is Anonymous. Or some such. Really…nowadays…it’s all out there. So forgiveness is necessary, as forgetfulness is a lie.

Looks like this is a steady issue to address, as this “I am anonymous, we are Anonymous, wait, who’s on first?”…and speaking of issues…Anonymous on them.

Anonymous || Note to journalists

Attention Journalists: If you are writing a story, and have come to this website to do research, or pull a quote — stop. slow down. read.

Read the big blue highlighted section at the top of the screen:

AnonNews uses an open-posting concept. Anyone can post to the site, and moderators will approve relevant posts. No censorship takes place!
For information, edits, moderator applications, and everything else join the IRC channel or visit info@anonnews.org. Press can contact press@anonnews.org. We are not an official press platform, but we’d gladly answer questions about AnonNews, or, more broadly, get you in touch with other Anons. Apologies if it takes a while before you get a response, someone felt the urge to send an e-mail bomb.
AnonNews will very soon be updated. There will be a cleaner interface, an improved comment system, and a voting system for press releases. The guidelines will also become easier to read and clearer.

There have been several news articles recently suggesting that Anonymous is taking a very specific political stance regarding the events in Wisconsin. While some Anons are undoubtedly passionate about this issue, it would be a mistake to report that Anonymous is targeting the Koch brothers, or are even uniform in their opinion of collective bargaining rights of public employees at the state level.

Perhaps it might make more sense to you if you simply add a press release here at AnonNews, and see how easy it is to make a pronouncement on behalf of Anonymous?

Please recognize that as Anonymous’ brand has aquired legitimacy, opportunists have and will continue to try to tie their personal political agendas to the movement.

A handy bullet list guide for visiting journalists

Anonymous has no official position on abortion

Anonymous has no official position on tax policy

Anonymous has no official position on health care

Anonymous has no official position on collective bargaining agreements

Anonymous has no official position on campaign finance reform

Anonymous has no official position on the Tea Party

Anonymous has no official position on the Democratic Party

Anonymous has no official position on the Republican Party

Anonymous has no official position on the Green Party

Anonymous has no official position on global warming

Anonymous has no official position on off-shore drilling

Anonymous has no official position on budget deficits

Anonymous has no official position on George Soros

Anonymous has no official position on the Koch brothers

Anonymous has no official position on Fox News

Anonymous has no official position on MSNBC

Anonymous has no official position on CNN

Anonymous has no official position on NAFTA

Anonymous has no official position on the IMF or World Bank

Anonymous has no official position on Wall Street

Anonymous has no official position on entitlement programs

Anonymous has no official position on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Anonymous has a very fucking official position on LULZ

All content on this website is automatically licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. You are free to redistribute and/or remix it, but you have to credit the author, or, if the author is unknown (“Anonymous”), place a backlink to the corresponding page on AnonNews and attribute it to “Anonymous”.

Now with cool logo.

Here’s the thing about this…on everything Anonymous actually gives a shit about, I’m with them 100%. Without the lulz, there is little point to some things.

As to other issues, who cares what I think, this is about being anonymous.

As to the final clue…let’s make it clear…

Clarification of Anonymous

A final clarification of Anonymous to demonstrate our lack of definition:

We are an anonymous collective, there are two parts to this and everyone needs to remember that.

As an anonymous collective our group has an array of properties that must be understood:

We cannot be attacked.

It is literally impossible to attack Anonymous. Any attack upon an individual is not an attack upon the whole. Any attack upon any Anonymous related site is not an attack upon the whole. All attacks upon individuals receive respite. All individuals who fall in attacks upon individuals will be replaced by more than who stood before. Attacking individuals is made at minimum difficult and at best impossible by our application of anonymity.

“Beneath this mask there is an idea, and ideas are bullet-proof”

We have no leader.

There is no hierarchical structure. In terms of physical metaphors for structure we can reference states of physical matter. A solid would be a representation of a definite structure such as a dictatorship in terms of government. A liquid would demonstrate cases in which structure is freely manipulated such as a democracy in terms of government. A gas would demonstrate cases in which there is zero structure, and all individuals merely drift.

Anonymous is none of these. We are plasma. We are given unique life through our lack of connection, we have no structure, and through drive and energy of our members we are given life beyond the controlling forces around us. We are the state which cannot be contained.

Anonymous is merely a name.

We are a named group. That is it. We do not keep a membership list for the obvious reason of being anonymous. Anyone can participate in our actions. We are not responsible for the actions of any individual, there is no one to take that responsibility but that individual himself. Anonymous is the mask, and our actions speak for themselves.

This is everything that Anonymous is. Nothing more. The actions of the group come to characterize the group itself. We will allow those actions to speak for themselves. Stop calling us a hacktivist group, stop calling us vigilantes. We are Anonymous. Stop trying to define it.

A final definition of a MEMBER OF Anonymous:

We wear masks not invisibility cloaks.

There’s a difference.

Our actions characterize the whole.

While Anonymous is not responsible for the actions taken by individuals, it is still characterized by those actions.

Evolution. We have become mock-absorbed into America’s culture and we need to properly define ourselves so that there is no confusion about what we are (who we are does not matter whatsoever). As we do so we need to build systems which allow what we’ve created to work effectively. Below is a list of systems we should develop in order to scale our group effectively:

To construct:

In the name of Anonymous

We need a system which allows all individuals to post actions they have taken in the name of group. It must not display any type of identity, only what each individual did and the time at which it was done. We can merge similar actions at similar times (DDoS participation) into singular log sections. Just need a table for it. Addition of an up/down vote allows for demonstration of how much the collective supports the action any individual takes.

Reason: Demonstration of what actions Anonymous is taking, and demonstration of what all of the individuals within the group are doing while maintaining our anonymonity. This way there can be no debate on what actions are our actions. Everything anyone does under the name of Anonymous is action we have taken. The population and magnitude of the actions weight the amount they characterize the group.

Unification

Either organize or merge the array of Anonymous related sites. Create some sort of hub or clear network out of them. We are currently in a constant state of disarray.

Openness

We are not trying to be some private club, this would completely defeat our purpose. We need to publicly state how to join and participate in the actions we are taking.

Summary: We are a decentralized anonymous collective, and above is how this characterizes us. All members need to understand what they are a part of. Every action that is taken under the name of Anonymous is an action by Anonymous and we have hit the point where we are taking action on a global scale and every time someone pulls stupid shit and we make a big deal out of it makes the whole group look like a huge joke**. The strength of any voice is merely that which we give it.

We are Anonymous

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

We are everywhere

We are nowhere

doesn’t need to

Additional Statement:

Magnanimous and your statement about a joint operation between your group and Anonymous: Anonymous cannot participate in joint operations; with anyone. We are everyone. You are a portion of Anonymous. We act as one. Cease using a separate title. The only possible implementation of a different title is in order to take claim for your actions; making you a disgusting little group that requires credit for the actions you take. Sit down, but continue to speak up.

All content on this website is automatically licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license. You are free to redistribute and/or remix it, but you have to credit the author, or, if the author is unknown (“Anonymous”), place a backlink to the corresponding page on AnonNews and attribute it to “Anonymous”.