4 ms·

Anonymous and the global correction

31 points by rms 16y ago

fleitz 16y ago
When I saw heading "For great justice" all I could think was All Your Base. I think Al Jazeera just got trolled.
- bediger 16y ago
  I have to agree. It just reads wrong, like some ineffable North Korean press release, maybe. Either Al Jazeera's editors favor a Neo-Stalinist writing style, or they got trolled.
  - Fargren 16y ago
    It's a meme, and it circulated a lot in 4chan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_great_justice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_great_justice
- sp332 16y ago
  Even the caption on the photo, No corporate or government-owned cyberspace is immune from attack by the vast nebula of Anonymous... sounds like it should be read through a Guy Fawkes mask :-)
  - hucker 16y ago
    Since the author of the article "identifies as part of Anonymous", that is probably true :)
corin_ 16y ago
I love the author name on this article. Anonymous Last Modified: 16 Feb 2011 16:59 GMT
JoachimSchipper 16y ago
Unlike the other commenters here, who seem to believe Al Jazeera "just got trolled", I think the rise of 4chan - and reddit - as politically-aware entities is genuinely fascinating. Of course, there's lots of trolling, grandstanding and silliness going on, but there's also a real, mostly well-intentioned attempt to change the world: redditors have given quite a lot of money and organized a political rally; 4chan has been fighting against Scientology and has (apparently?) been involved in Tunesia; etc. Wrong or right, it seems hard to explain this exclusively in terms of "lulz". I will admit that my opinion of either group isn't/wasn't very high, and that I'm genuinely surprised by this behavior.
- samatman 16y ago
  the kids are all right man; the kids are all right.
  - JoachimSchipper 16y ago
    I'm terribly sorry, but I don't really understand what you mean. Care to expand your comment a little?
    - samatman 16y ago
      reddit and 4chan, I am guessing, came onto the internet after you did; they have a reputation for being a younger crowd generally. Certainly this is true of Anonymous. There's a very human tendency to look at youth and see their culture and its expression as unserious and flippant, because, well, it is. But they (and it wasn't that long ago that 'they' were 'we' for me) also tend to be deeply passionate about changing the world. "The kids are all right" is kind of an idiomatic American was of referencing all of this. Sorry it didn't come across.
- jabyrd3 16y ago
  Don't forget that while they may overlap, IRC anon is usually an entirely different beast from 4chan anon.
sudonim 16y ago
Al Jazeera has really come into its own. With their coverage of Egypt, and giving an un-punditized view of Anonymous, they're being true journalists. I'm not sure if my overwhelmingly positive feelings towards AJ stem from it being unexpected from a news org based in the middle east, but bravo Al Jazeera.
thomasz 16y ago
The whole article is very self-centered. The Tunisian revolution didn't start because Wiki-Leaks informed them that they live under a kleptocratic and oppressive regime. They already knew that. I also doubt that Anonymous assistance was essential to the adoption of organizational forms that are literally hundreds of years old and spontaneously emerge in nearly every revolution (neighborhood commitees etc).

31 points by rms 16y ago

fleitz 16y ago

When I saw heading "For great justice" all I could think was All Your Base. I think Al Jazeera just got trolled.

bediger 16y ago
I have to agree. It just reads wrong, like some ineffable North Korean press release, maybe. Either Al Jazeera's editors favor a Neo-Stalinist writing style, or they got trolled.
- Fargren 16y ago
  It's a meme, and it circulated a lot in 4chan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_great_justice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_great_justice
sp332 16y ago
Even the caption on the photo, No corporate or government-owned cyberspace is immune from attack by the vast nebula of Anonymous... sounds like it should be read through a Guy Fawkes mask :-)
- hucker 16y ago
  Since the author of the article "identifies as part of Anonymous", that is probably true :)

corin_ 16y ago

I love the author name on this article. Anonymous Last Modified: 16 Feb 2011 16:59 GMT

JoachimSchipper 16y ago

Unlike the other commenters here, who seem to believe Al Jazeera "just got trolled", I think the rise of 4chan - and reddit - as politically-aware entities is genuinely fascinating. Of course, there's lots of trolling, grandstanding and silliness going on, but there's also a real, mostly well-intentioned attempt to change the world: redditors have given quite a lot of money and organized a political rally; 4chan has been fighting against Scientology and has (apparently?) been involved in Tunesia; etc. Wrong or right, it seems hard to explain this exclusively in terms of "lulz". I will admit that my opinion of either group isn't/wasn't very high, and that I'm genuinely surprised by this behavior.

samatman 16y ago
the kids are all right man; the kids are all right.
- JoachimSchipper 16y ago
  I'm terribly sorry, but I don't really understand what you mean. Care to expand your comment a little?
  - samatman 16y ago
    reddit and 4chan, I am guessing, came onto the internet after you did; they have a reputation for being a younger crowd generally. Certainly this is true of Anonymous. There's a very human tendency to look at youth and see their culture and its expression as unserious and flippant, because, well, it is. But they (and it wasn't that long ago that 'they' were 'we' for me) also tend to be deeply passionate about changing the world. "The kids are all right" is kind of an idiomatic American was of referencing all of this. Sorry it didn't come across.
jabyrd3 16y ago
Don't forget that while they may overlap, IRC anon is usually an entirely different beast from 4chan anon.

sudonim 16y ago

Al Jazeera has really come into its own. With their coverage of Egypt, and giving an un-punditized view of Anonymous, they're being true journalists. I'm not sure if my overwhelmingly positive feelings towards AJ stem from it being unexpected from a news org based in the middle east, but bravo Al Jazeera.

thomasz 16y ago

The whole article is very self-centered. The Tunisian revolution didn't start because Wiki-Leaks informed them that they live under a kleptocratic and oppressive regime. They already knew that. I also doubt that Anonymous assistance was essential to the adoption of organizational forms that are literally hundreds of years old and spontaneously emerge in nearly every revolution (neighborhood commitees etc).