# Wait - - who is Anonymous and why are they fucking with epileptics? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 29, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208 "2008-03-29T22:32:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/1 "2008-03-29T22:32:56Z")
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?](http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2008/03/epilepsy) > [@The Article](#): > > Internet griefers descended on an epilepsy support message board last weekend and used JavaScript code and flashing computer animation to trigger migraine headaches and seizures in some users. > > The incident, possibly the first computer attack to inflict physical harm on the victims, began Saturday, March 22, when attackers used a script to post hundreds of messages embedded with flashing animated gifs. > > The attackers turned to a more effective tactic on Sunday, injecting JavaScript into some posts that redirected users’ browsers to a page with a more complex image designed to trigger seizures in both photosensitive and pattern-sensitive epileptics. > > RyAnne Fultz, a 33-year-old woman who suffers from pattern-sensitive epilepsy, says she clicked on a forum post with a legitimate-sounding title on Sunday. Her browser window resized to fill her screen, which was then taken over by a pattern of squares rapidly flashing in different colors. > > Fultz says she “locked up.” > > Circumstantial evidence suggests the attack was the work of members of Anonymous, an informal collective of griefers best known for their recent war on the Church of Scientology. The first flurry of posts on the epilepsy forum referenced the site EBaumsWorld, which is much hated by Anonymous. And forum members claim they found a message board thread – since deleted – planning the attack at [7chan.org](http://7chan.org), a group stronghold. > > Fultz says the attack spawned an uncommonly bad seizure. “It was a spike of pain in my head,” she says. “And the lockup, that only happens with really bad ones. I don’t think I’ve had a seizure like that in about a year.” > > But she’s satisfied with the Epilepsy Foundation’s relatively fast response to the attack, about 12 hours after it began on Easter weekend. “We all really appreciate them for giving us this forum and giving us this place to find each other,” she says. > > Epilepsy affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide, about 3 percent of whom are photosensitive, meaning flashing lights and colors can trigger seizures. 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? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/2 "2008-03-29T22:37:25Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Collaborator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Collaborator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Collaborator)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/3 "2008-03-29T23:14:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/4 "2008-03-29T23:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=Collaborator] 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. [/QUOTE] That’s my guess too. That sounds exactly like what the Scientologists do. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/5 "2008-03-29T23:21:56Z")
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] ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/6 "2008-03-29T23:26:50Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/7 "2008-03-29T23:29:00Z")
Whether it has anything to do with Scientology or not, these people are incredible assholes. Fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/8 "2008-03-29T23:48:09Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] That’s my guess too. That sounds exactly like what the Scientologists do. [/QUOTE] It also sounds exactly like what bored 15 year-olds do when the WoW forums are down. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/9 "2008-03-30T00:26:11Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] It also sounds exactly like what bored 15 year-olds do when the WoW forums are down. [/QUOTE] 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. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/10 "2008-03-30T00:30:27Z")
[QUOTE=Gukumatz] 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. [/QUOTE] I’d say that’s quite possible. ---
**Author:** ![JHWT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@JHWT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHWT)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/11 "2008-03-30T00:39:43Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/12 "2008-03-30T02:04:50Z")
Read about [“Operation Freakout”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Freakout), where the CoS goon squad stole stationary from [Paulette Cooper](http://www.lermanet.com/paulette-cooper/index.htm), 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](http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/PauletteCooper.htm) to clear her name. This appears to be standard CoS [“Dead Agenting”](http://www.xenu.net/archive/go/justice.htm#pr_deadagenting). ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/13 "2008-03-30T02:07:02Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/14 "2008-03-30T03:08:36Z")
I feel so old, I had to look up lolcat, 4chan, eBaum, YTMND just to follow this thread. When did I stop being hip? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/15 "2008-03-30T03:17:32Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![JHWT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@JHWT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHWT)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/16 "2008-03-30T07:08:59Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] I feel so old, I had to look up lolcat, 4chan, eBaum, YTMND just to follow this thread. When did I stop being hip? [/QUOTE] 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? ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/17 "2008-03-30T14:33:16Z")
Why does this whole scenario remind me of 90s-style gansta rapper posturing? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/18 "2008-03-30T14:33:37Z")
Cause it’s what Scientology does. It’s probably not them, but it _could be._ Have lolcats. > **[I Can Has Cheezburger?](https://icanhas.cheezburger.com/)** > > World's largest collection of cat memes and other animals Have loldogs. > **[Hilarious Pictures of Funny Dogs](https://www.wygranaonline.com/funny-dogs/)** > > Looking for some funny dog pics to cheer you up? If so, check out this article and prepare to laugh your a$$ off! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/19 "2008-03-30T14:45:16Z")
Why would anyone doubt that it is the work of the CoS? They’ve been [responsible for the deaths of epileptics](http://www.whyaretheydead.net/room758.html) before. ---
**Author:** ![MJinks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@MJinks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MJinks)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208/20 "2008-03-30T16:38:26Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-who-is-anonymous-and-why-are-they-fucking-with-epileptics/443208.md?page=2)