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Google. Get Off My Turf: What DDoS Attacks Really Mean. What It's Like to Participate in Anonymous' Actions - Gabriella Coleman - Technology. Anonymous, who have been on a week long sprint/spree to paralyze website sites like Mastercard and Paypal, are often described in the news as a "group" with "members.

What It's Like to Participate in Anonymous' Actions - Gabriella Coleman - Technology

" This is usually followed by a series of prolonged qualifications and caveats because many characteristics we usually associate with groups don't seem to apply comfortably with Anonymous: there are no leaders, anyone can seemingly join, and participants are spread across the globe, although many of them can be found on any number of Internet Relay Chat Channels where they discuss strategy, plan attacks, crack jokes, and often pose critical commentary on the unfolding events they have just engendered. Earlier this week, The Economist listened in on the IRC channels, opening a fascinating window into the order behind the seeming chaos of Anonymous and providing a sense of how the Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks are coordinated by a trusted group of Ops who leverage the labor of thousands of other contributors.

Social Dynamics of the LOIC. Yesterday’s post about group behavior when faced with changing conditions elicited some response.

Social Dynamics of the LOIC

Despite my not having mentioned the ongoing attacks anywhere in the entire text, my comment field filled with people defending Anonymous. No, not so much defending Anonymous, actually, as… maybe feeling uneasy over my post as such. Apparently, something in the text stepped on a toe. Thankfully, a bit later, more people stepped in and understood what I was trying to say; that things aren’t always as easy as good and evil.