Finishing up last two chapter descriptions; take a look at this and let me know if it's accurate.
Chapter Three - Chanology
Although the proximate cause of the conflict was a particular incident that could have been avoided at several different points, it was inevitable that Anonymous would end up at odds with the Church of Scientology. Just as astute observers of the 19th century saw the eastward expansion of Russia and the westward expansion of the United States and concluded that the two expansion-minded nations would find themselves in conflict at some point in the future, a few of their 21st century counterparts were fully convinced that Hubbards enterprise and 4chans outgrowth could not share the same internet without going to war over their differing visions for the medium. It was a good bet; as far back as 1995, Scientology had made its tendencies known by attempting to shut down the Usenet group alt.religion.scientology, sparking a battle with the Cult of the Dead Cow, itself a predecessor to Anonymous in many respects (some members of which have since been integrated into the movement, incidentally). Scientology, then, was willing to go to extraordinary lengths to remove from the internet any materials it considered to be damaging to itself; Anonymous, of course, was happy to go to similarly extraordinary lengths to perpetuate any materials it considered to be damaging to anyone at all.
Just as the proximate cause of the possibly inevitable conflict between the U.S. and Russia was the adaptation by the latter of a totalitarian socialism, the proximate cause of the conflict between Anonymous and Scientology was the attempts by the latter to remove from the internet a leaked video in which noted participant Tom Cruise exhibited a deranged brand of triumphalism sufficient to turn off many who might otherwise have been on the fence about the nature of the pseudo-religion. The video in question was originally posted by a former member and then quickly forced down by the CoS; thereafter it was continually re-posted by a contingent of Anonymous participants who saw it as an opportunity to troll on a somewhat larger scale than usual. Upon each re-post, though, the CoS managed to have the offending video taken down on copyright grounds - at least until Gawker decided to host it on their own servers and display it prominently on their main page along with a statement to the effect that the Church could go fuck itself. That Gawker thus found itself in an ad hoc alliance with Anonymous is amusing in retrospect, as will be shown later; at any rate, its success in overcoming the practiced legal maneuvering for the CoS has long been known helped prompt the Anons concerned to up the ante, which they promptly did.
The small emergent committee of Anons who had been working to spread the Tom Cruise video decided that a formal declaration of war, properly executed, would inspire a few dozen Anons to assist with the campaign. The resulting document having been determined to be perfect for a spoken format as well, the Anons also produced a YouTube video which they hoped would receive several hundred hits. Instead, it received several million, and meanwhile the IRC network which had been set up for those who wished to participate was continually going down due to an excess of enthusiasm. The Anons responsible had accidentally forced themselves into a position of great responsibility which they quickly went about delegating as quickly as possible.
After reinforcing the IRC network to bear the unexpected load, the admins put up a message asking those who logged on to join one of dozens of channels designated as major cities and to start new channels for those that were not yet represented. As the local Anon groups began to form, a certain admin with few relevant technical skills but a nagging desire to help was asked to watch each channel and identify the participant who displayed the greatest leadership skills. This person in turn would then receive suggestions and information from the central channel (which had been named #Marblecake on the whim of a participant was then eating same), which would likewise receive similar inflow from the various regional channels. The result was a largely structureless entity capable of drawing on the respective talents and knowledge base of thousands of active participants, and thus of acting quickly and decisively while perpetually evolving its methodology in creative ways gleaned from the very best ideas of everyone involved.
Even as Chanology demonstrated the unusual extent to which the online environment is receptive to functional anarchism and emergent meritocracy, it also served as case study regarding how that same environment facilitates the act of conspiracy. From the beginning, those involved in #marblecake worked behind the scenes to better ensure that the campaign would receive widespread attention and regard; several were in touch with sympathetic moderators at 4chan and 7chan who were in turn capable of ensuring that a thread calling for action against Scientology would hold a prominent place on the boards. Comments of support for the project and criticism for those who opposed it appeared at opportune times, while back at IRC, various policies favored by Chanologys instigators would be simultaneously voiced in the various city channels by what appeared to be local Anons. This view, holding that the direction of this open-source campaign was actually determined in large part by the manipulations of a few acting behind the scenes, is often mocked due to the easy observation that those who most often voice it tend to display obsessive and often bizarre behavior in alerting others to the claim; nonetheless, it is entirely true, and the author of this book was among the manipulators. This chapter will provide the details by way of excerpts from the resulting logs, none of which have been seen by anyone other than those few who participated.
Over the next years up until the present day, the Church of Scientology had found its websites knocked out, its servers compromised, some of its most damaging documents stolen and distributed, its most notorious activities examined by a perpetual onslaught of journalists, its secret and bizarre theology revealed to millions, its physical outlets subject to continual visits by protesters with masks and pamphlets, its fax machines glutted, its tax exemptions and privileges canceled by various governments, its executives subject to particular scrutiny, and countless of its potential customers scared away by a campaign that is intended to disrupt the organization so long as it continues to exist. All concerned seem to acknowledge that Anonymous has been successful in dealing significant damage to an entrenched entity with substantial resources; only recently have any number of people come to understand what this meant for the future.
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Regards,
Barrett Brown
512-560-2302