Anonymous may have knocked MIT & DOJ off the net.

[Barrett_Bonden]

Link.

Now that’s. . .charming.

[ratatoskK]

wow

[capybara]

Interesting.

[Ethilrist]

glares at Anonymous User.

[Indian]

Still down.

[JohnT]

I can get to www.justice.gov with no problem, but MIT.edu seems to be still down.

[R3d_Anonymous]

@Ethilrist

glares at Anonymous User.

I actually thought originally that this was a thread about me when I first saw it, but then I saw and found out what it really was.

I know, coincidental right? I started a whole tread on MIT that went out of control and now there’s something going on with “Anonymous” and MIT.

Oh wait, I’m not supposed to be posting. I said in one of my threads that I’m not posting on Straight Dope Message Boards anymore due to my bad experiences here. Oh well, this is really my last post. I just felt like I needed to come to this thread. But yes, I’m gone for good.

[Der_Trihs]

What would they have against MIT?

[JohnT]

MIT Is Investigating Its Role In Aaron Swartz's Suicide

But it was at MIT, while working as a fellow at Harvard’s Safra Center, that Swartz downloaded 4.8 million academic papers from JSTOR, an academic database. (Harvard and MIT have a long history of academic cooperation, with their campuses and facilities more or less open to both institutions’ students and faculties.)

While MIT and JSTOR had an arrangement providing free access to the database on MIT’s network, Swartz’s pace of downloading reportedly brought down JSTOR’s servers, according to the indictment against him, leading them to block MIT’s access to the articles database for several days.

JSTOR and Swartz settled their dispute over his actions, but MIT brought in police to investigate Swartz’s activities, an action which led to Swartz’s prosecution.

[Barrett_Bonden]

@JohnT

I can get to www.justice.gov with no problem, but MIT.edu seems to be still down.

DOJ.gov is down, though.

[JohnT]

Is that their site? When you google “www.doj.gov”, the first link is to www.justice.gov.

[Barrett_Bonden]

@JohnT

Is that their site? When you google “www.doj.gov”, the first link is to www.justice.gov.

DOJ.gov is apparently supposed to automatically redirect to www.justice.gov.

[YourAdHere]

@Der_Trihs

What would they have against MIT?

Aaron Schwartz downloaded the files from MIT, maybe they ratted him out.

On the one hand I sort of applaud bc I felt so bad for that guy. On the other hand, MIT may be one of the worst entities to commit a computer based crime against.

[billfish678]

My ancestors hacked Trash80.edu back in the day. Our family is just now getting back on its feet.

[Tom_Tildrum]

MIT’s up as of this time.

[Barrett_Bonden]

A message (purportedly) from Anonymous is currently posted on the site of MIT’s cogen plant.

[Absolute]

@YourAdHere

Aaron Schwartz downloaded the files from MIT, maybe they ratted him out.

On the one hand I sort of applaud bc I felt so bad for that guy. On the other hand, MIT may be one of the worst entities to commit a computer based crime against.

Not really.

JSTOR is a publisher of journal articles. Generally they are quite expensive. MIT pays a subscription so that everyone on campus can have access to JSTOR articles for free.

Schwartz physically broke into a network closet on the MIT campus and placed a laptop there so that he could exploit MIT’s subscription to JSTOR to download millions of articles for free, intending to redistribute them in some kind of protest.

MIT ultimately declined to press charges but apparently people feel they should have done more to discourage the prosecutor from trying to make an example out of Schwartz (probably for political reasons).

[chappachula]

@Anonymous User

I know, coincidental right? I started a whole tread on MIT that went out of control and now there’s something going on with “Anonymous” and MIT.

Oh wait, I’m not supposed to be posting. I said in one of my threads that I’m not posting on Straight Dope Message Boards anymore due to my bad experiences here. Oh well, this is really my last post. I just felt like I needed to come to this thread. But yes, I’m gone for good.

Hey, dude, not so fast…no need to run away from here.
Yeah, your MIT thread went a little out of control–but also contained a lot of serious thought. And if you can joke about it , then you’re doing fine!.
Most of us are older than you, obviously…but please stick with us , you’ll fit in.

[Barrett_Bonden]

@Absolute

MIT ultimately declined to press charges but apparently people feel they should have done more to discourage the prosecutor from trying to make an example out of Schwartz (probably for political reasons).

Earlier Sunday afternoon, MIT’s President Reif had emailed the MIT community:

I have asked Professor Hal Abelson to lead a thorough analysis of MIT’s involvement from the time that we first perceived unusual activity on our network in fall 2010 up to the present. I have asked that this analysis describe the options MIT had and the decisions MIT made, in order to understand and to learn from the actions MIT took.

[chizzuk]

This is the least surprising news ever. It was pretty much a given that Anonymous would go after someone in the wake of Aaron Swartz’s suicide and the statement from his family blaming MIT and the federal prosecutors. The only surprising part is that it took more than 24 hours. I’m guessing JSTOR’s press release expressing sorrow and pointing out that they’d asked the US Attorney to drop the case probably spared them a similar fate.