Hit Them Where They Live

What happens when the war against Serious Business becomes Serious Business itself? Steven Croop analyzes Project Chanology, Anonymous' now legendary battle against the Church of Scientology.

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Urgh, I hate the raiders...
They messed things up badly, taking alot of shit too seriously.
I personally do not worry about Scientology more than any other religion/cult.
I'd rather have them protesting things that actually matter, such as Christianity.
THAT would be something worth recognizing anonymous for, not just some shitty cult protest performing like they did at the Boston fail party.

Hail the wise beard man, his words are wise his face is beard.

I used to be a frequent poster on 4chon but after it became the new hip thing like facebook or myspace i took my leave because it just wasn't a super fun secret internet club anymore. Althou i do often visit /a/.

Project Chanology was however something that caught my intrest. 4chan has taught me one thing that i would not live without and that is "Internet is serious business" which i always assumed was said with a sarcastic tone because it is not serious business...

I think what Anon did was a good thing. It caught the public eye and made most people look at Scientology not as a religion but as what it is, a cult. Although Anon generly prefer to stay away or atleast USED TO prefer staying out of the public eye i think that this was a good message. About saying that "Most protesters were new" or as Anon would say it "Protesters are Newfags", that is just Anon turning on itself which always does. Anon always fight with other Anon so it is no suprise.

This article thou? needs moar desu

edit:

Simski:
Urgh, I hate the raiders...
They messed things up badly, taking alot of shit too seriously.
I personally do not worry about Scientology more than any other religion/cult.
I'd rather have them protesting things that actually matter, such as Christianity.
THAT would be something worth recognizing anonymous for, not just some shitty cult protest performing like they did at the Boston fail party.

Raiders exist for one reason, to make something into serious business and make you mad.. if they can frustraite you and make you hate them then they have won the game, it is best to just ignore them and pretend their not there, don't feed the troll :/

Yeah your right scientology does nothing to worry about at all...
except maybe kidnap people from their families, bribe and blackmail the government so they don't have to obey the law, threaten sue and actually physicly harm anyone who openly criticizes them on any level whatsoever, yeah maybe we should have left Charles Manson alone instead of arresting him. Instead we can go protest some horrible stuff... christianity...has..done...in the last...century? The reason people protested is because the CoS thinks they can get away with whatever they want and hurt anybody they want and that the law doesn't apply to them, thats why it matters
I'm curious what has christianity done in the last century thats even worth calling the cops about much less protesting? (it has to be the entire religion of christianity not just one creepy priest)

Q: How can you be Anon in public? A: You can't. So you are not Anon.

Nice article, the writing from the Escapist is always refreshing.

"4chan's legendary apathy towards the real world triumphed."

Counter-culture is not fueled by apathy; that's just silly.

Zallest:
Hail the wise beard man, his words are wise his face is beard.

I used to be a frequent poster on 4chon but after it became the new hip thing like facebook or myspace i took my leave because it just wasn't a super fun secret internet club anymore. Althou i do often visit /a/.

I still visit /b/ every now and then, however mostly just for the porn and in hope of better times (like when /b/ was good, haha).
Although I seriously miss the good old times where I joined and anyone not old enough would get underage b&, where anyone asking something would be flamed and be told to lurk moar, and when leaving the board for a week would mean you'd have alot of memes to catch up on...

Zallest:

Project Chanology was however something that caught my intrest. 4chan has taught me one thing that i would not live without and that is "Internet is serious business" which i always assumed was said with a sarcastic tone because it is not serious business...

I think what Anon did was a good thing. It caught the public eye and made most people look at Scientology not as a religion but as what it is, a cult. Although Anon generly prefer to stay away or atleast USED TO prefer staying out of the public eye i think that this was a good message. About saying that "Most protesters were new" or as Anon would say it "Protesters are Newfags", that is just Anon turning on itself which always does. Anon always fight with other Anon so it is no suprise.

This article thou? needs moar desu

When project Chanology was new, I really didn't care that much.
To me, Scientology was just another religion (although I'm aware that they're classified as a cult).
I never understood the big deal, why anonymous would actually give a crap about them when we have had so many religions among us all along, and why Scientology would receive a different treatment.
The message to me, was simply a waste of time and a double standard towards every other religion.

As I often had a tendency to get trolled, I have learned the phrase "Serious business" the hard way.
I would most definitely not say that the protesters are fighting serious business, rather they are enforcing it.
They're taking things too seriously, and they're putting unnecessary attention onto /b/ while doing it.

I will have to admit that there was a time I considered joining into the raids just for the fun of meeting other people... but meh, I live too far way from most of the raids anyway.

Zallest:

edit:

Simski:
Urgh, I hate the raiders...
They messed things up badly, taking alot of shit too seriously.
I personally do not worry about Scientology more than any other religion/cult.
I'd rather have them protesting things that actually matter, such as Christianity.
THAT would be something worth recognizing anonymous for, not just some shitty cult protest performing like they did at the Boston fail party.

Raiders exist for one reason, to make something into serious business and make you mad.. if they can frustraite you and make you hate them then they have won the game, it is best to just ignore them and pretend their not there, don't feed the troll :/

You did that on purpose didn't you?
I just lost the game.

Luckily I don't see alot of raiders anymore, although I hate how they practically invited people into 4chan somehow made /b/ even worse :/

Simski:
I still visit /b/ every now and then, however mostly just for the porn and in hope of better times (like when /b/ was good, haha).

/b/ was never good.

Simski:
I never understood the big deal, why anonymous would actually give a crap about them when we have had so many religions among us all along, and why Scientology would receive a different treatment.

a bored Anonymous needs something to do.

Simski:
You did that on purpose didn't you?

Yes i did

YOU FORGOT RULES 1 AND 2. >C

Someone actually took the time to write an article on /b/...

And this group Anonymous somehow presents a healthier, more constructive approach to humanity and the world we all live in?

ThePlasmatizer:
Someone actually took the time to write an article on /b/...

I know. Actually, a dorm-mate of mine was arrested for being part of Anonymous (he was a hacker).

Also, I feel I must post links to pictures. Somewhat NSFW. Nothing visibly too graphic. Remember people, /b/ has many horrible parts, but is a gold-mine for funny pictures (and disgust, but lets not go there).

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/mstrswrd/Btard.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/mstrswrd/l8CkuU4jZschIS8qdG.png
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/mstrswrd/1209501492229.jpg

I think that's enough.

I think what you have written would have been more relavent a year ago.

*Sigh*

If raidfags never got media attention /b/ would still be good. The odd Gaiafag would pop up and fuck about. But it would be tolerable. Look at it now. It is just somewhere for people to find free porn. The humour has near enough gone and the ratio of an epic thread to the bollocks that these newfags think is funny is easily 1:50. No one cared about Scientology this much. Sending stuff to their fax machines to waste the paper was funny. DDOS attacks were funny. Crowding in the street wearing pathetic masks trying to raise a point. I'm not laughing. Was anyone else?
I say that like I am a major /b/tard. I'm not, I was interested in the other boards, and I rarely went on it because my gaming interests outweighed that of 4chan.

The whole scientology issue is overblown but it's nice to think /b/ went outside and got some fresh air. Even if it was filtered by a V-Mask.

Magic Smoothie:
YOU FORGOT RULES 1 AND 2. >C

Rule 1 and 2 only apply during raids.

Mstrswrd:

ThePlasmatizer:
Someone actually took the time to write an article on /b/...

I know. Actually, a dorm-mate of mine was arrested for being part of Anonymous (he was a hacker).

Also, I feel I must post links to pictures. Somewhat NSFW. Nothing visibly too graphic. Remember people, /b/ has many horrible parts, but is a gold-mine for funny pictures (and disgust, but lets not go there).

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/mstrswrd/Btard.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/mstrswrd/l8CkuU4jZschIS8qdG.png
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/mstrswrd/1209501492229.jpg

I think that's enough.

Didn't your dorm-mate get arrested for hacking rather than for being a part of anonymous... 'cause really, only Fox news think anonymous are hackers on steroids.
Oh and Oprah thinking anonymous is a highly organized group dedicated to spreading child pornography... "they have over 9000 penises and they're all raping children!"... haha.

Over 9000 attempted raids on this site soon? /b/ does take offence sometimes.

Seriously... Just ignore them and they will go away. No bid deal.

Bleh, /b/ was never good. So now it's full of idiots, and nothing of value was lost.
/b/ is the place where all internet culture eventually arrives and gets mixed with all the rest. And by analyzing what comes out of /b/ you can determine a lot of the current state of the internet, much like studying the feces of an animal.

And of course, some people just prefer to wallow in a pool of shit.

Magic Smoothie:
YOU FORGOT RULES 1 AND 2. >C

/b/ is not Fight Club.

As RAK alluded to, /b/ has been exposed for what it is; its attempts to garner mainstream attention and call attention to itself became a grand example of "be careful what you wish for", as they have now become an object of ridicule that people have actually heard of, all while attracting scores of "n00bs" and passers-by who have, for the "classic" /b/tard, ruined the experience.

What had the potential to be a Crowning Moment of Awesome turned into a sputtering climax, as satisfying to its members as a premature ejaculation would be to a virgin girl on her wedding night.

Personally, as someone who has despised /b/ and its impact on Internet culture for years now, I couldn't be happier to see them sink into (even greater) irrelevance.

Hating /b/ without having a clue what it is (was) all about is the new black.

Well as for the rest of you, I agree with PlasticPorter. @PlasticPorter:
"Yeah your right scientology does nothing to worry about at all...
except maybe kidnap people from their families, bribe and blackmail the government so they don't have to obey the law, threaten sue and actually physicly harm anyone who openly criticizes them on any level whatsoever, yeah maybe we should have left Charles Manson alone instead of arresting him. Instead we can go protest some horrible stuff... christianity...has..done...in the last...century? The reason people protested is because the CoS thinks they can get away with whatever they want and hurt anybody they want and that the law doesn't apply to them, thats why it matters
I'm curious what has christianity done in the last century thats even worth calling the cops about much less protesting? (it has to be the entire religion of christianity not just one creepy priest)"

Everything here is why every open-minded, free-thin king person in teh world should oppose this bunch of Neo-Facist, neo-Con mother*******! Freedom of Speech is the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and all the Scifags and sychophants out there shoudl take note!

While this is a fantastic, and well-written article, it's kinda missed the mark of /b/ just a bit.

The largest problem with /b/, especially as of late, is that it's a members' only club that lost its "Members Only" status.It varied with the influx. The rule of thumb on /b/, at least the /b/ of old, was to lurk until you understood what the hell was going on, then you could jump on and become another anonymous, posting pic semi related or taking comfort in the smaller things. The old /b/ was small enough to "moderate" the new guys who would come in, learn the ropes, and then become the mass. The new /b/ got too large, too fast, and no one really learned the etiquette of old. The old guys, flapping their beards while shaking their canes, grew tired and left. The new /b/ is a sort of Gaia-Lite. A cool, refreshing beverage that shows occasional signs of the old /b/, but none of the energy involved. It became the internet trash can.

As far as Anonymous and Scientology goes, it was the old /b/ that DDoSed Scientology, made Tom Cruise's video public, and generally powered the internet "hate" machine under the guise of free-speech. Much like the /b/ of yore, this was taken over by people who had a genuine interest in taking down Scientology, and leaving the internet hate machine to do it's hating. Once the lulz were gone, /b/ packed up and left. The anonymous that remained were re-dubbed "moralfags" and were left to do their protesting (no longer trolling) in a civil and only partially /b/ manner. The method was simple, establish an identity, and run with it. And the "Moralfags" proceeded to gain ground, and continue to be an existing entity on the Meat World scene.

Rules 1 and 2 state you do not talk about /b/, for raiding purposes. You are Anonymous, you are legion, and you are a direct force of "eBaumsWorld," the all-mighty scapegoat of /b/. The Scientology donned the mask, lied of cake, and rick-roll'd a cult, all a direct force of Anonymous. Although the title lives on, /b/ and Scientology are not at all related anymore. It's all another mask.

But that's a lot of history which really makes no difference. Just, rather a note on the lack of /b/ as it was, versus the now-"tame" /b/ and now-activist "anonymous." The old /b/, I'd imagine, has moved to one of the other *chans. Although, it's pretty safe to say, the "Internet Hate Machine" that was /b/ is no more, and now is only a weak facsimile of the script-kiddies-on-steroids.

MorkFromOrk:
And this group Anonymous somehow presents a healthier, more constructive approach to humanity and the world we all live in?

as a sometime 'philosi-fag' myself in a way , yes. yes we are. yes there are some of the most horrendous thing you will ever see in the site, from attempts at child porn to gore pics showing every vulgar detail. but is it a 'good' thing? yes it is. at least for the U.S.
The united states has become locked in a stagnant era of 'moral' ways and attempts to restrain freedoms. we are stuck in what seems 'rude' and 'vulgar', when these that things have changed several times over in other cultures, words like 'shit' and 'fuck' are still taboo in our mainstream culture.
But its more that that, ideas have become taboo, one group is so afraid of offending anther that we constrain ourselves in the name of polite culture. To deny, cover, or restrict a thing is to give that thing power over your actions. I will not be controlled by polite culture or the need to be 'delicate' or 'sensitive', i can not restrict my growth as a human by the fear of hurting others, emotionally or physically. I will not, CAN not if I wish to maintain my sanity, surround myself with people who are controlled by these things, because no one can make a life out of hiding from any type of pain and still be a member of a productive culture.
But i am a minority. And that saddens me. Until i log on to 4Chan.
In order to grow we need to expand boundaries, to do that we must push those boundaries, and the chans do that, 4chan, 7chan, 12chan(rip), 2chan(rip) and the other multitude of chans do is hang onto the edge of exceptable behavior, and at times even take flying leaps off. yes its offensive, base and uncouth, impolitic and deplorable, but it is freedom, and freedom is messy. freedom does not mean 'free from want' or bother, our constitution does not protect people form being offended, it protects the offenders. freedom is dangerous, it can get you killed, or even offended, but that is a small price to pay for it. at least that's what a bunch of British-fags thought a couple hundred years ago.
But to these who think this unbridled freedom is dangerous, i point out the following;
at times people have attempted to post REAL child porn, they were lambasted by anonymous and got banned.
Memes, while often strange sometimes catch on, those cute cat pics that were all around the interwebs a while back? people still send them to each other on places like facebook. well, it started out as 'caturday' on 4chan and 2chan.
Then there was project chanolgy, a group was attempting to restrict the flow of free speech, and anonymous rose to meet the threat.
There are other examples, we aided a hunt for child molesters at one point, there was a man looking for his son, who had run away.
IN the end i walk away with a simple message; EVERY action has reaction or effect, if you put your hand in a fire, you will either learn from that and not do it again, or you will die as you do it repeatedly, as is the natural order of things. There is no forced action. None. We have the right in this, or are supposed to, to make our own choices, and with that freedom comes responsibility for ones own actions. To take away the responsibility:IE consequences, for those actions is to take away the freedom to choose them in the first place.

Ooh goodie, this is one of those forum things. We shall have such FUN together!

Chanology fag here.

We get to troll scifags because they can't accept any criticism.
We get to troll moralfags because they can't take jokes.
We get to troll "oldfag" channers because they take the idea of "anonymous elite haxxors" way too seriously.
We get to troll fellow lulzfags by simply being retarded and pretending we care.
Chanology has been the greatest trolling campaign evar.

Zallest:
Hail the wise beard man, his words are wise his face is beard.

This is probably the first and only time so far someone has ever been able to channel the raw power of Legion...

I still lurk /b/, but I'm taking a little break...

Hi Tyrian and Ajax.

NewClassic> At least shitty threads are not stored indefinitely on /b/, sure they are reposted, but it's not such an eye-rape as Gaia's layout...
Yet it's been invaded with moralfags, promoters of serious business (taking offense and declaring an overload of squick over a rather bland copypasta)...
I hope it's going to cool down like the Newfag Summer of '07, God that was a bad period...

Here's what I hear from you guys who are complaining about what /b/ and failchan used to be like:

"BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! *complain about other people who are not taking the internet/anonymous as serious as us* BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Christ, the chans started to suck after the faux news story about anonymous, not after chanology, retards. The only reason why they still suck now is because the majority of you are too busy complaining about other anonymous having their fun. Too busy gripping, then you don't go out and make your own fun. Anonymous doesn't care what other anonymous do.

The one thing Chanology has brought me, is an untold amount of lulz by trolling other "channers" or "anonymous". One mention of the word can get their panties in a bunch and start baaaawing all over the forums or boards. You all just lost the game.

I have never seen The Escapist mentioned on /b/, just rule 34 of Yahtzee on /b/. Unfortunately news spreads quickly and we can expect they The Escapist gets trolled a lot soon by many Anonymous Sources. Great article though, it brought many lulz to me.

ThePlasmatizer:
Someone actually took the time to write an article on /b/...

Yeah, this is terrible. This will probably just egg them on. I'll be expecting another raid soon.

The scifag raids crippled Anonymous by drawing in more outsiders than we could really handle. The going is slow, but the newfags are slowly (verrrrrry slowly) being weeded out of /b/. Give us time to recover as we fix our fucked up internal issues. And please no more articles about us.

Also, while I am here, I would like to add that I'm never gonna give you up and than you just lost the game.

I'm always amazed that despite all of its phenomenal stupidity 4chan manages to retain proper spelling and punctuation for the most part.

nice. but it seems more about /b/'s yesterdays news. maybe you should have spoken on how 4chan hasnt been taken down concidering the crazy shit they've gone through over the years.

Simski:

Didn't your dorm-mate get arrested for hacking rather than for being a part of anonymous... 'cause really, only Fox news think anonymous are hackers on steroids.
Oh and Oprah thinking anonymous is a highly organized group dedicated to spreading child pornography... "they have over 9000 penises and they're all raping children!"... haha.

Well, yeah, but the FBI agents (Fucking FBI agents!) said something about how he was "Part of the internet hacker group annonymous." So, I figured I'd put both aspects.

From a sociological standpoint, doesn't /b/ sort of represent the perfect example of an entirely anarchistic 'organization'? By that I mean, a group entrenched in anarchy in every way (a continuous and spontaneous state of flux, with relation to their prescribed methodology, ideals, and ways of relating with even one another, let alone the outside world), as opposed to 60's activist groups that called themselves anarchist for blowing up consumer outlets and throwing blood on fur coats and stuff.

smallharmlesskitten:
Over 9000 attempted raids on this site soon? /b/ does take offence sometimes.

Seriously... Just ignore them and they will go away. No bid deal.

What? 9000?!?

There's no way that can be right!

John Stalvern:
I'm always amazed that despite all of its phenomenal stupidity 4chan manages to retain proper spelling and punctuation for the most part.

You mistake mockery for real stupidity, and memes for the spelling norm...