The Case for Anonymity Online: TED

The founder of 4chan, a controversial, uncensored online imageboard, describes its subculture, some of the Internet "memes" it has launched, and the incident in which its users managed a very public, precision hack of a mainstream media website. The talk raises questions about the power -- and price -- of anonymity.

Tags: Anonymity, Case, Christopher, Online, Poole, TED, moot

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Comment by Gofaster on June 7, 2010 at 7:28pm: people who comment anonymously really don't affect anything? Really? 4chan aside, and thats a big huge aside...

I go to gmail, register an email addy, use that email addy to register on a website. I make up all the information (name etc).

The only way you're going to know who I am (legally) is if you are either a member of law enforcement or you get a court order to get the logs from my isp to tie my ip address at a specific time to wherever it is i'm logging into or wandering around on. And even then you only will get the name of whoever has an account with the isp.

so then, for the most part I'm anonymous. Sure I leave a trail everywhere I go, but unless you haxorz my info or commit a felony or are a part of law enforcement then I can comment all I want without your knowing who I really am... right? And in that sense I'm still anonymous, somewhat, at least to the ordinary humon.

I mean, unless I'm an idiot and publish my private info online so you can stalk me....

Fbook and sites like this tend to be more civil b/c you have a stake in the people you are connected to and, as in real life, there are social ramifications for acting like an idiot. It isn't solely an issue of being or not being anonymous. Thats oversimplifying things.

Comment by Eugene on June 7, 2010 at 4:18pm

Comment by Gofaster on June 6, 2010 at 12:32pm: its to bad the talk explains about 0.00000001% of what 4chan is about. but given the audience, maybe thats a good thing.

Comment by Mark Huckabee on June 6, 2010 at 3:26am: 4chan is a strange place. In many ways it reflects the absolute worst of our society but in other ways it exemplifies the heights of our creativity. I guess I would say that it is neither good nor bad - it just is. It is us, it is only a mirror. If it didn't exist then those thoughts would still be there, just bottled up inside someone. I think it serves a useful purpose.