Reflection 1- Riddell

In approaching my research about Anonymous I had only a very sketchy idea of what the actual structure of the organization was. In my preliminary study, it's clear that is exactly how they want it. Their website (although it's difficult to tell what can actually be attributed to Anonymous because of it's entirely decentralized structure) reads: "Anonymous is not an organization nor a group. Anonymous is an idea. And ideas can not die. Therefore EVERYONE can be Anonymous. Just spread truth, share any post, video or tweet of Anonymous. Or write & submit your own article to AnonHQ! And always stay anonymous, don’t show your face or identity. That is the power of Anonymous. This is about BEING ANONYMOUS." I think Anonymous has become such a powerful organization because it plays deliberately on the open structure and peer-to-peer network of the Internet while still staying anonymous. While most of their work relies on public spectacle, the members and organization itself are supposed to stay out of the limelight. That's an interesting and difficult paradox in many ways since the organization itself relies on a media that they often disdain. And in many ways, their claims of responsibility for their many operations (in Ferguson, against Rupert Murdoch, the Church of Scientology, etc) trouble this idea since while anonymous they are also extremely prominent figures, even if shrouded in Guy Fawkes masks (a reference to V for Vendetta, a 2005 dystopia film). Above all, I think Anonymous is an interesting organization because of their self-claimed role as the Moral police/ vigilante judges of the right and wrong behavior on the Internet. They are the inheritors of everything decentralized and peer-to-peer of the Internet, but it does in the end cause some problems since they sometimes find themselves in cases of conflicting ideological claims- valuing Privacy above all else but using the disclosure of private information as their main weapon against those they perceive as deserving of retribution. And furthermore, if they are the judges of the Internet, they must always be careful to keep due process in mind if they want to keep their place on the White Hat hacktivist moral high ground.