Wait - - who is Anonymous and why are they fucking with epileptics?

I admit I may be far behind in knowledge of internet trends, but I thought Anonymous was just a group who dressed up in trenchcoats and Rickrolled Scientology meetings. What the hell are they doing screwing with epileptics?

Seriously - what. the. fuck? I give them points for creativity, and I’ll even admit that this might be mildly amusing if epilepsy wasn’t a serious and dangerous affliction. But it is. And it’s not amusing. These people need a swift kick in their asses.

My buddy once had a seizure while sitting on the edge of the bathtub after he turned the hot water on but before he turned the cold water on. He hit his head, passed out, fell in, and spent a few weeks in the hospital recovering from the burns.

Someone could’ve died over a stupid-ass internet feud, and for what?

There’s not a feud going on here, just some fuckheads with computers and a total lack of ethics or morals. I doubt there’s much significant overlap between these people and the ones going after Scientology.

This has nothing to do with Anonymous. Any reference made to them is no doubt on the part of Scientology trying to make them sound like malicious hackers that are detrimental to all, and not just allied against Scientology.

That’s my guess too. That sounds exactly like what the Scientologists do.

Anonymous is both everybody and nobody. It’s a sort of label you can adopt when you do an internet crusade or prank. As such there’s no unified goal or body. Meaning anonymous “team” A could be fighting the good fight and taking down a neo-nazi forum while anonymous “team” b could be keylogging grandmothers out of their social security checks.

In fact one of the wikis dealing with them has many of their unofficial crusades which include everything from the Scientology thing to a crusade against lolcats as they are a “perversion of 4chan’s caturday and must be stopped.” All of their stuff is met with the disclaimer “by the way if you don’t like this crusade you don’t have to participate, it’s not like we’re a formal body or anything” (well that’s more of a paraphrase). So don’t pay attention, never root for anon, just root for the beefs they have you agree with. Also note “they” also really refers to noone in particular for the reasons above. Hell, they adopted the mantra “Anon is leigon for we are many.”

[/useless knowledge]

There is a small chance that it is scientologists. There is a larger chance that is simply Anonymous. Anonymous is many beasts with no head.

Whether it has anything to do with Scientology or not, these people are incredible assholes. Fuck 'em.

It also sounds exactly like what bored 15 year-olds do when the WoW forums are down.

Quite brainy 15-year olds, then.
That said, I could see Anon doing this if provoked. This sounds like an, ah, newfag or outsider quick to grab a recognizeable mantle in order to a) gain internet cred or b) slander 4chan while diverting attention away from him- or herself.

I’d say that’s quite possible.

4channers have been doing this for as long as 4chan has been online. This isn’t Scientology you knuckleheads, this is just what the sort of people that call themselves “anonymous” do. They specialize in fucking with people(like sending a teen girl’s nude photos to her parents, her work, school and friends; ddos attacks on suicide prevention websites, etc.)

Because they moved onto attacking $cientology doesn’t mean they were ever the good guys.

Read about “Operation Freakout”, where the CoS goon squad stole stationary from Paulette Cooper, a reporter who had written a book critical of the CoS, and sent bomb threats with her fingerprints on them. She ultimately voluntarily submitted to questioning under sodium amytal to clear her name.

This appears to be standard CoS “Dead Agenting”.

I don’t think anyone disagrees with that, JHWT. Simply that Scientology manages to be at least as unethical and underhanded. So it could be them as well.

I feel so old, I had to look up lolcat, 4chan, eBaum, YTMND just to follow this thread. When did I stop being hip?

Well, it’s not like you’ve missed much not knowing any of those. At least lolcats and YTMND have a small amount of entertainment value. eBaum and 4chan are just populated by idiots. Definitely a part of the Internet where the warning at the end of 2010 should be adapted to fit.

Don’t blame it on age there buddy. Some of us old fogeys are hip old fogeys.

And once again, no this is not $cientology framing anonymous. Why would you try to make anon look bad when their reputation started in the toilet to begin with?

Why does this whole scenario remind me of 90s-style gansta rapper posturing?

Cause it’s what Scientology does. It’s probably not them, but it could be.

Have lolcats.

Have loldogs.

Why would anyone doubt that it is the work of the CoS? They’ve been responsible for the deaths of epileptics before.

No doubt Scientology is as bad as has been stated, and more. However, you really need to take a look at some of the groups that align themselves with Anonymous. Some of them are just arseholes who revel in stunts like this.