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Frequently Asked Questions
Anonymous
• What is Anonymous?
• Why are you Anonymous?
• Why do you wear Masks?
• Why do so many wear Guy Fawkes Masks?
• What does your slogan mean?
• What does 'Anon' mean?
• Where/how do you meet?
• Do you have a leader?
• How does the group make decisions?
• How does someone join?
• Do I have to be a part of Anonymous to help out?
• How can I help out?
• I'm a member of the media, how do I contact Aonymous for intervies & information?
Attitudes & Accusations
• Do you advocate violence or destruction of property?
• What if an individual violates the code of nonviolence?
• Are you "super hackers"?
• Are you "cyber terrorists"?
• Scientology says you hate African Americans and homosexuals, is that true?
• Have you done any of the things Scientology accuses you of? Are you hiding any crimes?
• Does Anonymous oppose or disrupt official government and law enforcement investigations?
• Have any protesters been arrested?
Protests
• Why did Anonymous get involved?
• Aren't there more important things to protest?
• Have you protested like this before?
• How big are the protests thus far?
• Why do you take so many photos and videos?
• What do you hope to accomplish?
• What do you plan to do to accomplish these goals?
• What will happen if you get what you want?
• Where do you get your information?
Scientology
• Are you religious bigots? Isn't it wrong to protest a religion?
• Have any individuals within Anonymous been targets of CoS' Fair Game policy?
• Scientology says they cancelled Fair Game, is that true?
• How do you feel about the doctrine of Scientology?
• How do you feel about individual Scientologists?
• What's up with the Xenu Story?
• Scientology keeps denying the Xenu story; why should we believe you?
• Can you tell me about Fair Game, Operation Freakout, Operation Snow White, Lisa McPherson, or any other common topic?
The Fun Stuff
• This seems so serious - if so, why are so many protesters so silly?
• What does 'lulz' mean?
• What's the 'Epic Fail Brigade'?
• Why does everyone keep mentioning cake?
• What is a 'meme'?
• I hear the protesters sing sometimes, that's what about?
• What's a 'Rick Roll'?
• What's this other random thing I heard mentioned? (LolCats, Mudkips, etc)
- LolCats
- Mudkips
- Longcat
- "Do a Barrel Roll!"
- Bel-Air
- Delicious Cake
Anonymous
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What Is Anonymous?
We're a leaderless collective of like-minded individuals that has chosen to take a stand against what we believe to be the criminal actions committed and condoned by the Church of Scientology.
Long answer
Why are you Anonymous?
For two reasons. The first is that we believe in absolute equality, and given the standards of the world in which we live, we believe the only way to currently achieve that equality is by eliminating the qualifiers that serve to separate us as human beings. That includes mentions of gender, race, nationality, religion, and so forth. We in Anonymous do not have to ask those questions of someone before we'll listen to what they have to say, and listen equally no matter who is speaking.
Secondly, with specific regard to the current protests, the Church of Scientology has a long standing policy known as "Fair Game," which says that any critic of Scientology may be "tricked, sued, lied to or destroyed." They take that policy very seriously and have enacted it regularly since it began in the 1970's.
We'd like to avoid that.
Long Answer
Why do you wear masks?
To protect ourselves from the Church of Scientology's "Fair Game" policy. When we voice critical thoughts regarding Scientology, we as individuals as well as our families and friends become susceptible to severe harassment. We'd like to avoid that.
Long answer
Why do so many wear Guy Fawkes masks?
A lot of people in Anonymous relate to the graphic novel/film called 'V for Vendetta', about a masked man who stands up to a totalitarian regime and empowers the people to overthrow their oppressors. 'V' was popular among Anonymous long before the protests. But now, considering who and what we're protesting, many protesters felt a new-found appreciation for the themes of that film and decided to wear those masks as a source of inspiration.
Plus they just look cool, don't you think?
What does your slogan mean?
Anonymous has many slogans, so I'll try to explain them one by one.
"Anonymous Always Delivers" - meaning plainly that you can always count on Anonymous to follow up on our promises and deliver peaceful protests, thought provoking information, and lots of fun.
"We do not forgive. We do not forget" - for a full explanation on that one, please click here.
"Expect us." - this is more a message to Scientology than anything else, and it follows up on the first slogan mentioned above. We promise Scientology that we will come every month for as long as we have to for them to be brought to justice.
"Anonymous if not your personal army" - Lots of people have tried to come forward claiming to be the leaders of Anonymous, and several power hungry people have attempted to take control of Anonymous in the past. Basically, Anonymous as a whole refuses to acknowledge any would-be leader, because that's just not what we're about. So the minute anyone starts to think of Anonymous as their personal army is the minute they're no longer anonymous.
What does 'Anon' mean?
"Anon" is the term for an individual who is a part of Anonymous. It's the same sort of terminology as a Scientologist who belongs to the Church of Scientology, or a Catholic is an individual who is a part of the Catholic church; it's just a specific term for an individual who counts themselves as part of Anonymous. So I myself am an anon, and if you want to come protest with us, you could be an anon too!
Where/how do you meet?
When we say that Anonymous is a leaderless, disorganized, decentralized group, we mean it. There is no one meeting place for Anonymous, there's no official website, no official forum, no official anything. Anonymous meets on lots of different forums on the Internet, some purposefully created for this protest against Scientology, some that are just social forums, some that are regionally based. Anonymous is more of an idea than any sort of group that we're familiar with. There is no structure to it, no order, just the will of the people and the consensus of the masses.
Do you have a leader?
This may be hard to comprehend, but we really don't. From my own perspective, I find it incredibly fascinating. Everything that Anonymous does is done by consensus and individual decisions. Everyone involved in this fight got involved because of personal reasons. Everyone involved had to come to their own conclusions, come to their own decision to fight. Because of that we are a collective of highly passionate and dedicated individuals, working together side by side, with no figurehead, no leader, no director, no general. We are just the people, and it just so happens that we all feel strongly about one goal we all have in common.
How does the group make decisions?
Completely by consensus. A lot of people float between the various websites and forums where other Anonymous are known to gather, we talk amongst ourselves, and generally we can come to a consensus pretty quickly. Amazingly fast, in fact, considering how purposefully disorganized we are.
How does someone join?
We're always thrilled to welcome new people into our communities and protest groups. But it's important to point out that there really is no official process to "join Anonymous." You're welcome to participate in our protests, get involved in our online forums, but you don't have to meet any requirements to join. You just have to show up and declare yourself anonymous, then you are Anonymous. Make sense? We have no leader, we have no official members; we're just a community of like-minded people who are passionate about freedom of speech and protecting human rights.
So please, come visit us on the Enturb forums and get involved, we'd love to meet you!
Do I have to be a part of Anonymous to help out?
Nope, not at all! We welcome the help and participation of anybody who wants to contribute to this fight against Scientology. There are lots of people who come to our protests who aren't a part of Anonymous; we've had long-time critics of Scientology, former members, average people, professionals, journalists, kids, adults. You name the type of person and we've probably had them come to protests. Our whole goal is to educate the public about Scientology, so of course we absolutely welcome the public with open arms if they want to come fight alongside us.
We do want to make it clear, though, that Anonymous doesn't really have membership cards or anything, so if you want to "join us", just be anonymous, fight for free speech and human rights, and then you are Anonymous.
How can I help out?
There's SO much you can do to help! First and foremost, educate yourself! Get to know both sides of this issue, from us and from the Scientologists themselves. Weigh the facts and decide for yourself.
Next, educate your friends, family, and community. We believe this is a very, very important issue that has gone unnoticed for far too long. It's vital that more and more people find out about this, so that they can either join the fight to bring Scientology to justice, or at the very least, so that someone interested in joining Scientology can do so with all the information available to them.
After that, if you feel you kinda like what we're saying, feel free to donate to the cause! Whether it's money, time, and/or effort, all is appreciated and welcome! To learn more about how you can get involved, visit www.Enturbulation.org and www.YouFoundTheCard.com.
I'm a member of the media, how do I contact Anonymous for interviews & information?
Not many Anonymous are willing to speak with the media if it involves revealing our true identities. However, if you're okay with using our aliases, then we'd be thrilled to speak to you! Feel free to email me, President Ike, at presidentike AT gmail DOT com and I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. And if you'd like to speak with other Anonymous members, I'd be more than willing to help arrange that.
Another important person you might want to speak with is Mark Bunker. He's a long-time critic of the church and among us Anonymous he's known as Wise Beard Man. You can find out all about him at his site, www.XenuTV.com. He has lots of great videos up there, so hop on over and check it out!
We'd also recommend that you speak with Tory Christman. She's an absolute joy of a person! And she also happened to be a member of the Church of Scientology for over 30 years and reached the highest levels of the church's most secretive training. Tory has so much to say and so much valuable information, she's a really great resource. And hey, we just think she's totally cute and loveable. :) You can contact her through her website, www.ToryMagoo.org
On the East Coast, we'd also suggest you speak to Arnie Lerma. He's another former member of the church and was one of the first people to speak out against Scientology on the Internet! He has a great dry sense of humor, has a lot of incredible information, and he's just plain cool. We love Arnie and we think you will too! To contact Mr Lerma, check out his site at www.LermaNet.net
Lastly, you really need to check out ExScientologyKids.com, it's an amazing new site started by three young ladies who were raised in Scientology; Kendra Wiseman, Astra Woodcraft, and Jenna Miscavige Hill. That last name might even sound familiar - that's because she's the niece of Scientology's leader, David Miscavige!
Attitudes & Accusations
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Do you advocate violence or destruction of property?
Not in any way shape or form. We're protesting peacefully, and that's all there is to it.
Long answer
What if an individual violates the code of nonviolence?
Then they are acting alone and outside the codes of conduct of Anonymous. Anybody can make a mistake, anybody can act alone to do something stupid. Some people will invariably take advantage of their anonymity and use it to do stupid things. But that doesn't incriminate all of us, it just incriminates the one person who does something wrong. Whenever that happens, whenever we see improper behavior, we do everything we can to notify the authorities and participate in their investigations.
Long answer
Are you "super hackers"?
No - that accusation follows the same logic as saying everyone who drives a car is a racecar driver. We use the internet, but that doesn't mean we're hackers. Personally, I know absolutely nothing about hacking, I've never attempted to hack anyone, and I wouldn't know the first thing about how to go about it.
Long answer
Are you "cyber terrorists"?
Absolutely not. If carrying out peaceful protests equates to being a cyber terrorist, then that's the silliest thing I've ever heard. The dictionary defines terrorist as: "a person who uses or advocates terrorism." Anonymous has always been exceedingly clear that we do not condone, support, or encourage violence of any kind. We are committed to change through the spreading of information and peaceful protests. That's not terrorism, that's activism. That's social responsibility. That's Anonymous.
Long answer
Scientology says you hate African Americans and homosexuals, is that true?
That's absolutely not true. The whole point of Anonymous is that all of those qualifiers, all of those labels that serve to separate us as human beings don't even enter into our collective. The point of being anonymous is that we don't have to ask if someone is black or white, straight or gay, before we listen to what they have to say. In my own opinion, only when we stop caring about those differences are we truly equal.
Long answer
Have you done any of the things Scientology accuses you of? Are you hiding any crimes?
Nope! Anonymous isn't a group of super hackers, we aren't cyber terrorists, we don't even hate Scientology. We just are disgusted by some of the things the leadership of the church has done, the crimes they've committed, and the way in which they are manipulating those who trust them. But we honestly love every individual member of Scientology and we only want them to be safe, happy, informed, and protected.
Most importantly, I am not hiding any crimes, because I haven't committed any.
Does Anonymous oppose or attempt to disrupt official government and law enforcement investigations?
Not at all. We do absolutely everything we can to participate with authorities and have done a great deal to assist the police and the FBI with their investigations. We love them, we love the whole system of justice; that's what we're fighting for, remember?
Have any protesters been arrested?
Thus far, only two, and that arrest is currently under investigation. Two young men were arrested in DeKalb County, Georgia, on March 15. Everything at that protest was videotaped, and so far, lots of legal experts have said that the police were out of line. You can decide for yourself - you can learn more about those events here.
Protests
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Why did Anonymous get involved?
Because we're dedicated to protected free speech, especially on the Internet. When we saw Scientology attempting to squash various website owners' right to free speech, we got interested.
Long answer
Aren't there more important things to protest?
So many people keep saying, "You should be fighting for something more important!" And really, I can't tell you how bothersome that is. All I can say is, please, take a minute, educate yourselves, read this site and the others I link to. If you attempt to look beyond the facade that Scientology projects, you will see that the reality of the situation is so dark, so hateful, so destructive, and so wrong.
In my mind, nothing is more important than standing up for those whose human rights have been violated. Whenever anyone tells me that this fight is pointless, not worthy of our attention, or just isn't important enough, all I can say is, tell that to Lisa McPherson. Tell Lisa that speaking up for her isn't important enough. This isn't the first important thing I've fought for, and it certainly won't be the last. But for right now, this means the world to me.
I'm not asking you to agree with me; I'm just asking you to read what I have to say if you have the time. Or at the very least, respect my right to feel passionately about this issue. The Church of Scientology has systematically violated countless laws worldwide, they have subjected countless individuals to slave labor, mind control, and absolute manipulation. They're denying people medical care, they're separating families. They have driven so many people to suicide, and countless members and critics have died under very mysterious and brutal circumstances. Whenever human rights are violated it's up to us to stand up against it. The Church of Scientology has been violating human rights for decades and it's high time someone stood up to them and made it stop.
Honestly, what's more important than that?
Have you protested like this before?
Personally, I'd never been to a protest before this. But that doesn't mean I haven't been involved in other large campaigns to protect the rights of others and myself. I'd love to tell you about them, but then you'd know who I am, so I'm gonna have to keep my mouth shut. Suffice it to say, I've been around large campaigns before, and I know a thing or two about getting the word out. Heck, you might even know me! All the more reason for me to maintain my anonymity. :)
As for Anonymous, you know, they haven't really done anything major like this before either. Honestly, before this Scientology issue came up, a lot of Anonymous was really juvenile and kinda stupid. Quite a few people used the anonymity of the Internet to pull stupid pranks, hack sites, and generally just behave like idiots. But I have to say, once we found out about Scientology, and once Wise Beard Man told us just how serious this issue was, Anonymous changed literally overnight. The childish behavior suddenly disappeared from the majority of Anonymous' consciousness. We became dedicated, serious, and very professional protesters, critics, and campaigners. This entire protest means so much to us, and even though we as a group have never done anything like this before, a lot of people within our ranks are very experienced and very successful when it comes to protesting and public awareness. Scientology has its work cut out for them in defending themselves against us, and we have our work cut out for us too. But we're completely dedicated to this cause and nothing will stop us until we've accomplished our goals.
How big are the protests thus far?
The protests in February and March of 2008 have both had well over 8,000 people protest worldwide in over 100 cities.
Long answer
Why do you take so many photos and videos?
Videotaping an entire protest is a great way to ensure everyone's protection. In the past, Scientology has sent members out into protests to try and "bull-bait" critics, causing an escalation of emotions in the hope that they can evoke a violent reaction. Scientologists receive a lot of training to teach them how best to get on peoples' nerves and they are exceptionally good at doing so. In order to protect ourselves and the individual Scientologists, we have decided to document every aspect of our protests to ensure that no false accusations can be made in either direction. Anonymous is committed to protesting peacefully and this is simply one method to ensure that everything stays peaceful, honest, and within the law.
What do you hope to accomplish?
Basically, we want justice for those who have been victimized by the practices, policies, and organizations of the Church of Scientology.
Long answer
What do you plan to do to accomplish those goals?
Anonymous will be protesting worldwide every month for as long as it takes to tell the public about what's really going on with the Church of Scientology. We'll protest until actions are taken to bring the leadership to justice and to right all of the wrongs perpetrated by Scientology.
A lot of what needs to be done to fix this situation can be accomplished simply through the power of the people. If enough people become aware of what's going on, our will alone will create an environment where the government will be free from oppression and intimidation from Scientology and will be allowed to carry out any investigations necessary to discover the truth. If people can find out about what's going on, if they will take it to heart, they can protest with us, they can contact their representatives in government, and we can make this situation right for everyone who has been victimized by Scientology. That's exactly what Anonymous is going to do until we accomplish our goals.
What will happen if you get what you want?
We'll celebrate! We'll do everything we can to help the people who have been victimized by the Church of Scientology. We'll happily help reconnect families, we'll help people deprogram their loved ones, and we'll introduce those who still believe in the doctrines of Scientology to the Freezoners who practice the faith outside the official Church of Scientology.
And in the midst of all this, we'll dance in the streets, we'll Rick Roll to our hearts' content, and we'll eat lots and lots of delicious cake!
Where do you get your information?
The majority of the information currently available on the Internet about the Church of Scientology has been published by former members who had reached the highest levels of training. A lot of internal documents and publications are available online, both through these former members and through the efforts of various government agencies who have conducted investigations into Scientology. Also many long-time critics of Scientology - Mark Bunker, Bob Minton, et al - have spent a great deal of time researching the organization and compiling evidence of Scientology's policies, actions, and history. The bulk of their research has been published online for the sake of public education and awareness.
Through these critics, ex-Scientologists, and formal investigations, a great deal of information has been made available to us online. That's where we've gotten the information for this site, and in each section you will see links to our sources and reference material. There's so much evidence and information out there and the whole purpose of this site is to make it readily accessible to you and to the world.
But please keep in mind, although there is a great deal of information out there, I'm positive that there's still so much more to be discovered about what Scientology has done and what they are continuing to do today.
Scientology
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Are you religious bigots? Isn't it wrong to protest a religion?
First off, no, we're not religious bigots - we firmed believe in and support the right to freedom of religion as granted by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Furthermore, we are not protesting a religion because we're not protesting the doctrines of Scientology. We're only protesting the criminal actions taken by the leaders and organizations of the Church of Scientology. In other words, we're protesting the organization not the faith.
Long answer
Have any individuals within Anonymous been targets of CoS' Fair Game policy?
Unfortunately yes. Scientologists often line up to take photographs of protesters, many have videocameras pointed at the protesters nonstop, and while that unto itself isn't so bad, it's what they do with that information that's so dangerous. Lots of individual anonymous have had their personal information published online by Scientologists, including their full name, home address, telephone number, and so on. Many anonymous are followed home by Scientologists or hired PIs. In some cities there have even been instances where the Church of Scientology have hired the homeless to follow protesters home, including young women. Some protesters have even had Scientologists confront their parents and families, delivering portfolios containing false accusation claiming the protesters are terrorists, criminals, or sexual perverts.
The Church of Scientology has also released DVDs that supposedly offer proof that Anonymous is engaging in violent activity, threatening to blow up buildings, vandalizing or destroying Scientology property, et cetera. Anonymous absolutely denies any such actions and would like to point out that Scientology has a long history of framing their critics for crimes against Scientology. For instance, Anonymous now is getting blamed for bomb threats. The exact same thing happened to Paulette Cooper during Operation Freakout - Scientology stole blank paper from her home, typed bomb threats on that paper with her fingerprints on it, mailed it to several government agencies and Scientology buildings. They've repeated these trumped up bomb threats against themselves multiple times since then, accusing countless critics, journalists, government officials, and so forth. It's just another in a long list of falsified accusations.
So far Anonymous has carried out two global protests that have been remarkably peaceful. Anonymous does not condone violence of any kind and we absolutely do NOT encourage others to commit any acts of violence or terrorism. We are committed to protesting with unimpeachable ethics and nothing but law-abiding behavior.
Scientology says they cancelled Fair Game, is that true?
The actual internal memo supposedly cancelling Fair Game has been made available. Unfortunately, however, it's incredibly obvious through the wording of that document that the policy of Fair Game was not changed, only the name was. Since that cancellation, countless individuals have come forth to tell their stories and offer additional evidence. Thus far, all of those stories have confirmed that sadly, "Fair Game" is still widely practiced by Scientology today.
Long answer
How do you feel about the doctrine of Scientology?
Personally, I don't believe in it. In my own personal opinion I would find it hard to put my faith in a doctrine whose founder was a second-rate science fiction writer, especially when that doctrine includes so much space opera type stuff. I also personally believe that some of the doctrines and practices in particular were created by Hubbard for the express purposes of manipulation and financal gain - i.e. Dianetics. (Click here for a longer answer regarding Dianetics)
However, regardless of my own personal opinions regarding the doctrines and precepts of Scientology, it is not my place to make these judgements for everyone else. If someone derives benefit from Hubbard's work, then more power to them.
The important issue here has nothing to do with faith. My quarrel with the Church of Scientology has nothing to do with doctrines. My own personal opinions regarding whether or not I could place my faith in Hubbard's work is a nonissue. Regardless of how any of us feel about the doctrines, none of that will change the facts regarding the practices, policies, and actions of the leadership of the Church of Scientology. No argument about faith will change the fact that Scientology as an organization has systematically violated the human rights of those who trusted them most. Anything good in this world can be used by the malicious for the purposes of controlling others. Most faiths, most religions, have at some point be used for such purposes by devious minds. Scientology is no different. The only difference here is that it's still happening right here, right now, and no one else is trying to stop it. Faith will not change the fact that crimes have been committed, but those crimes have been committed by the leadership, not by the faithful.
Avenues are available to those who wish to continue to practice their faith in Scientology. I am more than happy to help any Scientologist leave the church and practice their faith with the Freezone community that adheres to Hubbard's teachings, but does not participate in the oppressive totalitarian policies of the Church of Scientology. Please, do not let your faith facilitate the crimes of the Church of Scientology; practice your faith with people whose intent is pure and conscience clear.
How do you feel about individual Scientologists?
I have nothing but love and respect for individual Scientologists. I wish them no harm, and it is indeed my love for them as fellow human beings that is driving my will to protest the Church of Scientology. It pains me to see the organization continually and habitually victimize those who trust them the most. I feel for every Scientologist who has seen their families torn apart, their money siphoned from them, their children forced into slave labor in the EPF & RPF, themselves and their loved ones fall seriously ill due to restricted access to medical care, and the so many other ways in which the Church of Scientology controls every aspect of every member's life.
I love individual Scientologists and I ask them to please consider both sides to this important issue. Please determine the truth for yourself and act according to your own conscience.
What's up with the Xenu story?
The story of Xenu is the information contained in the Operating Thetan Level Three training course of the Church of Scientology. It's the closest equivalent Scientology has to a "creation story," but in order to hear it you have to spend several hundred thousand dollars on years and years of training in order to reach the OTIII level. Even then, after you've spent all this money and time, you cannot discuss this story with anyone, not even your spouse. Hubbard, who wrote this part of the doctrine in 1967, said that if anyone heard this story without being properly prepared, they could get pneumonia and die. Thus far, as far as I'm aware, no one's dropped dead after hearing about Xenu.
The reason the story of Xenu is so important is because it explains a great deal regarding how Scientologists think, how they view the world, and most importantly - in my opinion - how they view other religions. Several of Scientology's major celebrities have said repeatedly that Scientology is an applied religious philosophy, and that you can be a Catholic and a Scientologist, a Jew and a Scientologist, etc. The story of Xenu clearly says otherwise, and in fact, is not only insulting to other religions, it's downright damning.
The Church of Scientology has been very, very protective of the Xenu story. When it was first made available online in the 1990's, Scientology took several people to court over it, claiming that these were "trade secrets" - a very corporate term. The judge spotted this corporate way of thinking and tossed out the cases, saying that they couldn't have it both way with being a religion but using the language of a corporation. Scientology soon changed their tactic and ever since they've been filing multiple lawsuits claiming violation of copyright.
Why so protective of a "space opera"? Keep in mind, they charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for the training leading up to this grand secret that Hubbard referred to as "The Wall of Fire." Some say, well who would believe this story anyway, especially coming from a science fiction writer? That's another aspect of their overzealous attempts to conceal this information. By the time you reach OTIII, you have been systematically secluded from your family, your friends, and the outside world. You become steeped in Scientology, to the point where anything existing outside of it is the "wog world" - a world inhabited by intellectually inferior and hostile people. You're fed information piece by piece, your ego massaged all the way, and you're so emotionally and financially invested that you desperately need that investment to pay off. You're conditioned from day one to accept anything Scientology feeds you, and because you can't discuss this with anyone, you never get the chance to compare notes with others and cultivate those seeds of doubt.
It is a tangled web indeed. If you're willing to risk a very painful death due to reading this story, further information can be found on the Xenu page, as well as throughout the rest of the Doctrine section.
Can you tell me about Fair Game, Operation Freakout, Operation Snow White, Lisa McPherson, or any other common topic?
Of course! Here are links to the sections that explain each of those common topics in detail:
- Fair Game
- Operation Freakout
- Operation Snow White
- Lisa McPherson
- Tax Exemption
The Fun Stuff
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This seems so serious - if so, why are so many protesters so silly?
Yes, this is a very, very serious issue, which is why we're so dedicated to fighting this fight. But sometimes, being too serious just bogs everybody down. We really don't want to get so depressed that we don't get anything done. Or worse, we don't want the intensity of our dedication to evolve into mob psychology which can escalate peaceful protests into something dangerous. For those reasons we consciously make it a point to have some fun. Whenever things get too intense at protests, we'll start singing a stupid song, dance a little, tell a joke; anything we can do to lighten the mood. Anonymous firmly believes in the healing power of laughter, which is why nothing will stop our efforts to make each other smile.
What does 'lulz' mean?
Lulz essentially is anything that's funny or makes you laugh. Think of it as another version of lol, or better yet, think of it like the word "kicks" or "laughs".
What's the 'Epic Fail Brigade'?
The Epic Fail Brigade is another group on the Internet that's sort of related to Anonymous, but not really. They're basically those obnoxious kids you knew in High School who'd run up to you in the halls, say something totally pointless and stupid, then run away laughing. Their whole existence revolves around being pointless. For some reason, they think that's funny.
I know, it doesn't make any sense to me either.
You can recognize a member of the Epic Fail Brigade several ways. They're usually wearing really bright obnoxious clothes that look like a rainbow exploded on them. You know those rainbow toe-socks that were really big a few years ago? That has Epic Fail Brigade written allll over it. They exist to blind you with rainbows and confuse you with randomness.
Lots of Epic Fail Brigade people will show up at Anonymous protests to add some colors to the protest and "bring the lulz," i.e. make people laugh. While oftentimes they're good for a laugh and great at dissolving any tension, they can also sometimes be distracting. So if you see a rainbow-covered idiot doing something stupidly pointless, just laugh at them and walk the other way. As Douglas Adams would say, they're mostly harmless.
Why does everyone keep mentioning cake?
Cause cake is delicious! Anonymous seriously loves cake, to the point where it's become part of our identity. We love making sure that every protest has cake ready for anybody who needs a little jolt of sugary goodness. (Okay, there's slightly more to it than that... more info in the list of memes.)
What is a 'meme'?
A meme is anything on the Internet that gets spread rapidly through word of mouth and repetition, to the point where everybody knows the punchline to a joke, or everybody's seen the latest video of some kid pretend fighting with a lightsaber.
I hear the protesters sing sometimes, what's that about?
Singing is a great way to get together as a group and blow off some steam. Most of the time we sing stupid meme songs that make us laugh, which serves to deflate any tension that may rise during a protest.
What's a 'Rick Roll'?
A Rick Roll is an Internet meme involving a music video from the 1980's - Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". Rick Rolling originally started on 4chan, a message board where lots of individual anonymous hang out. In the beginning, it started as a "Duck Roll", a stupid image of a dock on wheels that people would send to each other in creative ways. Most of the time, you'd fake link someone, where you'd say, "Hey, check out this amazing BBC news report about Scientology!" then give them a link. But instead of it actually being from the BBC, it'd be this duck on wheels. You'd have a good laugh, and know that inevitably the person you Duck Roll'd would find an even better way to get back at you.
Somehow - no one really knows how - that Duck Roll turned into Rick Roll. Now instead of faking someone out and sending them to the duck on wheels, people would instead end up watching that goofy 80's music video. It just kind of grew from there, and now pretty much every nerd and geek can't help but laugh when they hear Rick Astley's unexpectedly deep voice. It's just a funny little game that kept getting bigger and bigger.
To see the Rick Roll video, click here.
To learn more about the origins of Rick Roll and see an on-camera LATimes.com interview with Rick Astley, click here.
What's this other random thing I heard mentioned? (LolCats, Mudkips, etc)
Most random things you'll see or hear in the company of Anonymous will most likely be a reference to some famous Internet meme. More often than not, you've probably even already seen this meme yourself, you just might not have known the name of it. I'll try to cover the basics on the most common memes mentioned by Anonymous.
- LolCats - those silly pictures of cats with funny captions that end up in your email inbox. LolCats are created using an entire language based on phrases from other silly memes, known as Lolspeak - things like, "I can has cheezburger?", "Do not want!", and so forth. There's a really good glossary of Lolspeak here: http://speaklolspeak.com
- Mudkips - You remember that show Pokemon? That's where Mudkips came from. They were a stupid little pokemon animal thing that kind of developed a life of their own. Why? Who knows! They were funny looking, spoke in a silly voice, and hey, it's just fun to say "mudkip!" Often times you'll hear them referenced in the famous phrase, "I herd you liek mudkipz!" (That's basically Lolspeak for "I heard you like mudkips!") I know, it makes no sense, but it makes geeks laugh. If you're ever cornered by a geek in a dark alley, just ask them if they like mudkips. They'll quickly fall into a pile of uncontrollable lulz, allowing you to make your escape. :)
- Longcat is Looong - This is one of the earliest memes from the earliest days of the Internetz. It started out as a single edited picture of a cat that was really, really long. And like most pointless funny things on the Internet, it just kind of grew from there (no pun intended...)
- "Do a Barrel Roll!" - This is a reference to the videogame "StarFox", where you play a fox who's piloting a spaceship through a kind of obstacle course. There was another character who occasionally gave you directions on what moves to make, and one of these was, "Do a barrel roll!" This has since caught on as an Internet meme and some people say it's overused. But mostly, people just snigger at it and go about their day.
- Bel-Air - This is one of my favorites. At a lot of protests, Anonymous will eventually break out the theme song from that classic Will Smith sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Why? Because back on 4chan, it was a common prank to start writing some kind of serious emotional story, drawing the reader in thinking it's going to be something very, very serious. But just as you get to the climax of your tale, you instead start writing, "But my Mom got scared and said, 'You're moving with your Auntie and Uncle in Bel-Air." From there you continue to write the rest of the lyrics from the Fresh Prince theme song. Originally it was just a funny reference to a goofy TV show, although now with all the rumors that Will Smith has been converted into Scientology, it's all the more appropriate. And funny.
- Delicious Cake - Since the beginning of time, we've been bombarded by that phrase, "Have your cake and eat it too." This meme has to do with all of the bizarre examples of all the horrible things in life that stand between you and delicious cake. Oftentimes these examples are stupid, outlandish, ridiculous, and over-the-top. But that's what makes it fun. And that's what makes the cake oh so much more delicious when you finally get to eat it.
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