[questions 1,2,5,6 and 10 have been placed in these columns]

ARTICLE HERE

3. OCCUPATION

A Gunsmith & Law Enforcement

B Online Bookstore Associate

C Customer Service

D Electronics repair

E Student

F Project Administration, which is mostly handling paperwork and communication between different parties.

4. RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION

A Agnostic leaning toward Buddhism

B Agnostic. No participation to speak of. I have always made a point to attend various religious celebrations – Catholic, Baptist, Native America, Hindu, Wicca. I consider myself a religious tourist

C Raised Catholic, but not very committed to the faith

D atheist

E Agnostic, spiritual, midway, if that's even possible.

F I grew up in a highly Christian house hold, however I no longer view myself as a spiritual person. Despite my personal religious identity, I am a strong supporter of freedom of religion.

7. What do you mostly use the internet for (email, chatting, news, etc.)?

A Games, forums, research and news

B News, listening to online radio, chatting

C Everything. I keep in touch with friends, I game, I keep up on world events, I would pretty much wither and die without it.

D everything

E Chatting, news, email, but especially writing stories.

F Primarily for keeping up to date with topics I'm interested in... such as news, games, books, etc. The internet is my primary tool for talking with my friends, for planning and coordinating events, and for shopping.

8. How would you define Anonymous?

A A loosely affiliated collective of anonymous and semi-anonymous internet users who practice direct democracy and total freedom of speech within the internet community and occasionally join together with the common goal of driving a person or organization nuts in the name of justice and/or laughs until justice is served or the target gets the joke and laughs along with the collective (depending on the purpose of the raid).

B Anonymous is an expression of Freedom Of Thought and Freedom of Expression. Unlike other forms of community it does not run on the force of personality or through structured hierarchies. It is a community of thoughts, not identities.

C Anonymous is everyone and noone.

D The reality is, that everyone defines it differently. The very basic definition would be a group of people who have sort of formed an internet collective through a series of similar websites. Really there is not much of a "group" as I would call it more of a collective conscious. Anonymous is by no means a collective front though, as there are many "anons" who would not consider themselves part of the Chanology movement. Some are very against it in fact.

E Anonymous is something of a milder form of a culture with few to no rules and no real conscience to be discerned--simply a mix of thoughts and ideas from all sorts of backgrounds and kinds of people.

F Anonymous is an internet sub-culture that is defined by its "proof or STFU" mentality. While the words can fly quickly and harshly, we all recognize that the only thing that matters is proof and action. There is also a certain love of drama.

9. How did you become a part of Anonymous?

A I had been poking my nose in anonymous imageboards since about 2006 but I wouldn't have considered myself "Anonymous". I had also been lurking and speaking out on the usenet newsgroup Alt.Religion.Scientology since about 1999. I saw an article on Anonymous' declaration of internet war on Scientology in Februrary. I was very excited to see Anonymous really taking a stand on something important and I immediatly made a number of anonymous accounts across the internet to be used in the campaign ahead. I guess you could say that's how I became a part of Anonymous.

B I first joined the protests, and from there joined the online community.

C I suppose by being on the internet all the time...it's sort of a natural progression, I think.

D From frequenting the type of sites that "anonymous" visits, or at least sites who's communities are aware of Anon.

E I was introduced to the existence of Anonymous whilst I was at work. It wasn't until nearly a year later when the protests began that I fully became a part of Anonymous.

F I started identifying with Anonymous after the Feb10th protest (The 1st Project Chanology meat world event). I went to the first protest in order to oppose Scientology. I decided I wanted to keep opposing Scientology, and started posting on the Anonymous forums.

11. What is the importance of anonymity to the Anonymous movement?

A The benifits of anonymity here are three-fold. Anonymity prevents Scientology (or anyone else) from as easily obtaining an activist's personal information for the purposes of attacking them, their friends and family in their personal lives. It also provides a gimmick that grabs people's attention and starts conversations. Best of all however, anonymity allows Anonymous to make statements and put forth ideas that will be judged on merit rather than on the identity of the person putting forth said idea. This allows somene with a history of a hundreed bad ideas to have a good idea actually given consideration if such is deserved. It also prevents a bad idea having action taken on it simply because the originator has a history of good ideas.

B It serves both a pragmatic purpose of protecting individuals from those who would silence them. It is also important for the spirit of the movement. The day we give up our anonymity we stop being Anonymous, we stop being Legion. We then become just another protest group.

C if nobody knows who you are, you can really express anything you want without fear of retribution or embarrassment. That appeals to a lot of younger people, they don't have to answer to their parents or coworkers or friends if they're anonymous.

D Anonymity is an important part to the movement itself, as it is fairly symbolic. With the CoS' record of harassing critics, to stay anonymous and hide your identity is something to be desired to avoid retribution. It also helps to define (or UN-define) the group, since everyone is the same, there are no leaders. You can bet that if there were designated leaders anywhere, the church would be going after them with lawsuits and such. That being said, I think it is interesting that is adds another layer of protection, where the church believes that the most terrible thing they could do is to out someone's true identity. For my money, that's humorous, as I could care less if they know who I am, but it keeps them wasting time and money on trying to figure it out.

E With complete anonymity, it allows for a continuing free-flow of ideas based on their merit(or comedic value, more often than not) rather than the actual source of the material, as can often be the case when the source is named.

F The concept and respect of Anonymity is important to the Anonymous culture. It allows

12. What is the goal of Project Chanology?

A Originally I feel that reform was genuinely hoped for (in addition to the epic laughs). However I believe that most of those participating in Chanology and researching the doctrines of CoS have come to the conclusion that there is not one aspect of Scientology that is not inheirently harmful to society. Thus the goal of Project Chanology is now to completely expose and destroy the Scientology organization by every legal means at our disposal, free it's victims and see it's leaders procecuted in courts of law around the world while we have a hilarious time seeing it through.

B To see that individuals in the Church Of Scientology who have committed crimes, but have been protected by the power of their organization, are brought to justice. To help individuals leave Scientology who have not had the power. To have law enforcement dismantle the Church Of Scientology as they would any other criminal organization.

C To dismantle the Church of Scientology in it's present form, and foster a deeper awareness of the wrongdoings of the Church to the public at large as well as people in the religion...also, lulz.

D I think everyone involved has a few goals in mind. Some would say the overall goal is the complete dismantling of the CoS. Personally, I would like to see the loss of tax exempt status, they are a business, and should be treated like one, then people could sue them for fraud, as their business practices are fraudulent. Some people just want to inform the public, or reach family or friends that are in the church.

E Hopefully to disband the Church of Scientology worldwide.

F Too see the Church of Scientology changed so that if fits within the social norms of society. Too create greater transparency within the Church.

13. Did you have previous knowledge of or experience with Scientology before Chanology?

A Yes. I was aware it was a cult since 1999 when I stumbled into ARS and had been somewhat aware of it's existance since I was a child.

B Yes, I had aunt who joined. They immediately began forcing her to disconnect from her family. Her sisters physically went into the church and brought her out. She was always grateful to them for that act of love.

C Some. My mother is very well educated on religion, and she's involved me a lot in what she's learned. I've been to churches of all faiths, and learned about their teachings. When I attempted to learn about Scientology, I got shut down. I wasn't able to learn about their beliefs through the Church itself. I read Dianetics, and it creeped me out, so I had always been interested to learn what else was out there about the "religion", but didn't know where to look. Chanology exposed me to pretty much every piece of paper regarding Scientology I would ever care to read, and a giant pile more I just don't want to know about but do anyway.

D I've know about Scientology for years, but not all about it. I knew of its sci-fi aspects and litigious nature, but did not know of the true evil nature of the organization.

E Vague knowledge, bits and pieces, so forth. A distant family member had been Hubbard's lawyer, so I'd heard how Scientology's a bad thing, but never /as/ bad as I proceeded to discover upon further research.

F I had heard of the Church of Scientology prior to Chanology, but my understanding of their actions wasn't complete. Based on what I had heard, I felt they were about as evil as Wal-mart, Disney, and Microsoft.

14. Do you believe the initial methods of going after Scientology, such as black faxing and the ddos attacks, were useful?

A I do. While illegal, the only damage done was financial cost to the cult and it grabbed the attention of the media.

B Those were initial knee jerk reactions. It served to bring attention to the cause, but not the right kind of attention. What I find to be more significant is that a group with no organization or leadership was able to apply the self discipline to end those activities, and as a group agree to find a better way to attain our goals.

C I think it was a means to an end. It made Scientology sit up and say, oh, wait, what's all this then? And we've been able to make great strides in raising awareness within their membership because of it. Granted, it's really not the way things should be done, and I'd hope that people don't revert to those methods out of frustration later.

D Useful? Only as a rallying call to the internet people. I don't think they had real effect on the church themselves.

E No, I don't believe they were. Sure, they cost the CoS money, but it's not legal, and such illegal tactics, if/when they got out of hand, would lead to more harm to Anons than to the Cult.

F Yes. I believe that the black ops methods of attacking Scientology served as a wakeup call to the Church. They let the church know that Project Chanology couldn't be ignored, and created a lot of stress within the Church of Scientology International

15. What is the usual method of communication concerning Chanology related things?

A Enturbulation.org and the local decentralized forums as well as the associated IRC chat channels and email. Most communications concerning Chanology are conducted in the public view to maintain transparency, at least when operational security is not a concern. When security is a concern, communications are often limited to emails to those who "need to know" or sometimes local or regional groups of anons will have systems of getting the word out to all those who have proven themselves as non-scientologists beyond a reasonable doubt.

B Online message boards within the movement. Flyers to spread our message to those outside the movement.

C Where I live, we have a dedicated website for our Anons with a bulletin board and a blog. We discuss current themes, agree on times for raids, meeting places, etc. there. We also often organize through our IRC channel.

D Web forums, and IRC chat, mainly.

E There's the IRC channel, web pages, fliers, instant messengers, phones, word-of-mouth, etc.

F The internet is my primary method of communication. With regards to Chanology, it is primarily on forums. I know that IRC plays an important role in some locations. In my location, the decentralized forums are used almost exclusively.

16. Where do you go to get information about the next Chanology event?

A Enturb.org, the local forums and email.

B Our local city’s Chanology webpage

C to our local IRC channel and our local website

D Web Forums and IRC (or face to face) discussions with local participants

E Webpages, usually. Or asking around.

F I go to Enturbulation for the basic information, and desiminate that info to everyone else. Then the details are decided by the group

17. Did you know any other anons personally before Chanology?

A Only those that I personally introduced to the idea after getting involved myself.

B I did not, I came in completely cold.

C none locally. I have several friends in different cities and countries who participate that I know very well.

D Not really, there are people who are slightly involved that are personal friends, but their involvement is probably a result of mine.

E One other, who is no longer apart of Chanology, alas.

F No. While my friends support my actions, they are not active in Chanology.

18. Do you socialize with anons you have met from Chanology activities? If so, in what way?

A Yes. I have become good friends with a couple of anons. I have gone drinkning, had dinner and even partyed with anons involved in Chanology.

B Yes. I have received criticism from other Anons for this. We became close friends through the force of our common goals. I believe what we gain through the bonds of friendship make up for what lose by giving up absolute anonymity.

C es, frequently. We have welcomed anons from the next city over for a weekend, and we will often go and interact socially amongst ourselves...concerts, coffee, just as friends, I suppose. A lot of us have really bonded from the amount of time we spend together between flier drops and flash raids and planning and debriefing.

D Some of the more dedicated individuals have become my friends. We get together for social activities sometimes, but alot still focuses on chanology related projects, not to say that sort of thing governs our friendships.

E Regularly. More than some of my older friends. We go bowling, play games, watch movies, go out to eat, or just hang out.

F Yes. In my location, we are spread out over a 100 mile radius (not centered on the org), so getting together casually can be a serious pain. However, I have started spending time with some of the Anons close to where I live

19. How are organizational decisions made?

A Typically by a vote or consensus of all anons present/that the decision would effect. Often after lengthy debate.

B Group consensus. Bad ideas are ignored and go away, and good ideas gain momentum and are put into action.

C Usually, someone will have an idea and post it on the forum or bring it up in IRC. We'll hash it out and decide if it's a good idea or not, and if it is something we agree on, how to implement it. It's a very collaborative process.

D basically there are some people who are more dedicated than others, and those people will attempt to rally others to involve themselves with projects such as flyering etc.

E There is usually an organizer or a few in each city who make initial decisions on things and spread the word to other Anons in the city. Anons are usually encouraged to bring their own flies and posters, if the occasion is fitting, to events regularly, though.

F An issue or proposal will be brought up. Discussion will ensue. If people feel it is worth acting on, then they will. Sometimes in spite of the fact that everyone agrees on a course of action, no one will feel it worth doing, and the issue will be dropped due to lack of interest. Often times the person who is actually acting will do what they believe is the best course of action, based on the discussion.

20. How are tasks allocated?

A If you see something that needs doing that you know how to do, do it! If you see something that needs doing that you don't know how to do, find someone who does and is interested! If you need help, ask for it! If you see help is needed, give it!

B We rely most on people to volunteer for tasks

C Usually the person who thinks up the idea is the one that gets stuck doing the work, haha. For instance, I had the idea of party favor bags for the March raid (which was LRH's birthday). I personally purchased and stuffed over 100 party favor bags, and handed them out at the raid. People are really responsible for themselves, we make our own signs, design our costumes if we have them, and if someone can do something extra (say, bring a case of bottled water), they'll just ask if we need it and do it if we do.

D Usually its a discussion on IRC or something that leads to a bunch of us hashing out who is able to do what and such.

E There is usually an organizer or a few in each city who make initial decisions on things and spread the word to other Anons in the city. Anons are usually encouraged to bring their own flies and posters, if the occasion is fitting, to events regularly, though.

F Tasks are not allocated. People volunteer to do things, or they don't. If someone doesn’t step up to do something, then it doesn’t get done. If multiple people are working on something, then they may split up the tasks between them. If something doesn't get done, then we deal with it.

21. Is there a minimum amount of participation required?

A Absolutely not.

B No. We are all Anonymous, the participation of all Anonymous is equal.

C No, I would say not particularly. Obviously, it's expected that people would show up to raids...but sometimes work or other obligations get in the way. In which case, as long as you're helping, you're doing your part. Everyone's level of involvement is really subject to how available they are--and not everyone has open availability.

D No. Everyone and anyone who shares the view that Scientology is bad is encouraged to attend a picket or flyering event, no contribution is too small. Waving to us or honking, to say "you guys are doing good" is just fine too.

E On a volunteer basis, generally. All of this is just volunteer, so it's not like anyone could make anyone else do anything.

F No. Case in point... we had a convention in the local City. An anon asked if we planned on doing anything at the con. A 2nd anon, who had never been to a protest, and had only posted a couple of times prior, took up the responsibility of contacting the convention staff about us attending. He didn't consult with any anon, he didn't ask permission, or even see if he should. An anon that had never been to a protest or done anything stepped up and delivered

22. How did you hear about Chanology?

A An internet news article talking about the declaration of war that had been released on YouTube.

B The youtube Call To Action videos

C Internets.

D I am pretty aware of what happens on the internet. these sorts of things dont go unnoticed for very long.

E Online.

F A blog entry covered the original "Hello Scientology" YouTube Video. I watched it, did some research, and realized how evil Scientology was.

23. What made you decide to join Chanology?

A Something needs to be done about Scientology. I'd have been protesting them sooner but it was too dangerous before Chanology. Anonymous delivers safety in numbers that wasn't there before.

B I had always wanted someone to take a stand against Scientology. I realized this was my chance to make that person--me

C I'm the activist type, and I like a challenge. So anything I can stick with for some period of time works for me. Also, the cause really interested me, and the more I read, the more I realized this is one of those "if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention" type things.

D I believe in the cause. Scientology is a fraudulent and abusive organization. They prey on the weak and deserve to have people across the globe doing things to expose that abuse.

E I'm very involved in other groups as it is, and so it's not terribly hard to find me apart of a group if I believe in its cause. That said, I was also intrigued to see Anonymous protesting as it was, considering I knew Anonymous in its normal form before Chanology.

F Once I realized how evil Scientology was, I realized that someone had to do something, and no one was. The DIY (Do It Yourself), lulzy & srs bzns, and decentralized natures of Chanology all appealed to me, and I felt that this was a movement that I could contribute too and make a difference in.

24. What do you get out of your activism?

A Laughs, the feeling that I'm doing something positive for society and a sense that I'm really helping and making a difference when people come up and thank me for taking a stand or tell me about a relative or loved one who just left the cult because of our activism.

B I gain the satisfaction of giving a voice to a movement which has been silenced for decades.

C The satisfaction of knowing that I did everything I could to help people on the inside.

D I like to think I am helping to shed light on the real nature of the organization.

E A sense of changing the world for the better, hopefully.

F I get warm fuzzies for standing up against opposition for what is right and just. And I get the knowledge that my actions are helping to change the world.
I was raised believing that people have the right to do and say what they please, within the bounds of responsibility. And my parents always taught me to stand up for what I believe and fight for others who can’t fight for themselves.

25. Do you have a fear of retribution from Scientology?

A Somewhat. It's history of retribution upon it's critics is too well documented to ignore. However, scientology has far too much on it's plate now to trick, lie, sue and destroy us all. I have good lawyers, tens of thousands of fellow activists on my side, experience with self-defense and the local law-enforcement and FBI are both well aware of my activism. It would be unwise for scientology to attack me in any way.

B I believe the most noble trait of Anonymous is that we put the welfare of others before ourselves. If anything happens to me, it will happen because I was standing up for what was right.

C Not anymore. I got followed and harrassed in March, and was able to get the men harrassing me pulled over and harrassed by the police. I fear no Scientologist now. They can't do anything to me really, and if they tried, I have enough legal coverage to take care of it. I do however identify that not everyone in Chanology may have that blessing.

D Not really, there are too many people doing this for them to attack everyone. That being said, they have attempted to follow me, but that sort of thing doesn't scare me. I don't do anything illegal, so I really have nothing to fear.

E No. I'm certainly wary and watch myself when doing anything Anonymous related, but I don't expect that there will be retribution. I have a feeling that the CoS is not prepared to deal with numbers of this kind, and fair gaming so many would seem, to me at least, as a huge mistake, considering it'd be terribly obvious.

F Yes. They have already started targeting me during the protests.

26.What are the strengths and weaknesses of Anonymous for accomplishing social activism?

A The strengths are that it has a strong history of free speech and an ubiquitous covert presence throughout society. The weakness is that Anonymous has no experience in social activism and is having to learn by trial and error.

B Our strength is best summed up by a quote from “V For Vendetta” “Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea…ideas are bulletproof.” (It is not a coincidence we wear the V mask). Our strength is the focus on the idea rather than the person.
The mask is also our weakness. Some people have an inherent distrust of masked people. People often shout, “Take off the masks!” during protests. It is our responsibility to educate the public on the reason for the masks.

C Strengths: anonymity, tenacity, and ability to laugh at themselves. Weaknesses: anonymity means it's easy for us to be infiltrated, too much laughing at ourselves and not enough focus on the issue...that's really about it.

D Anonymous can be really good at disseminating information, we have raised awareness of the abuses of Scientology many times over. Our largest weakness really lies in the communities from which the whole movement sprung, there are a lot of people that don't agree with what we are doing, and those people are actively trying to destroy the movement. More so than Scientology itself.

E Strength is in the numbers, if they can be kept together. The biggest problem is in the disorganization, which has seen people dropping off. Anonymous is not terribly well equipped for social activism. I mean, it's doing decently against Scientology, but Anonymous itself is always seeking more humor, and Chanology is simply not always producing it.

F Strengths:
The DIY nature means that only things that are important to people get done, so there is little distraction or bickering over things that don't matter
The lulzy nature means that things are kept fun and light hearted.
The lack of leadership or funding prevents power struggles and politics. Again, only things that people want to do get done
Weaknesses:
If something needs to get done, but no one wants to do it, it doesn't get done and the group suffers
The lack of leadership makes commitments difficult.
The lack of structure makes funding difficult. My group hasn’t tried to solve the funding problem, but it has been discussed.
The lack of formalized rules means that joining can have a higher learning curve than people want to commit.

The lack of structure means that our growth can only be organic, and that as we grow we will become less organized. This can make it difficult for new people to join, and exacerbate other problems.

(I would like to note that while an Anonymous group will /never/ work with the effecency of an organized group, the pros do outweigh the cons)

27. Do you think Project Chanology could be a useful template for activism on other social issues?

A Yes, but the sucess of such a template would depend upon the sub-culture of those involved. Chanology is effective in part, because Anonymous takes a licking a keeps on ticking. No participant is any more valuable that the rest. Anonymous has no room for ego and is perfectly willing to cut away the cancer of ego wherever it's found. Nothing phases Anonymous because Anonymous is completely desensitized to everything and has been at war on the internet several times. Other activist groups that try to use Chanology as a template may find themselves destroyed by in-fighting, electronic attacks from opposition, egotists trying to assume leadership and personalities clashing.

B There’s always something to be learned from other social activist groups. However, I believe Chanology has a unique spirit that can’t be copied.

C I think the template is useful. Do I think Anon would band some of itself together for another Chanology style activism project? I doubt it. Chanology has shaken Anon to its very core, and Anon doesn't like it. Furthermore, Anon likes the comfort of its easy chair and the soft glow of its monitor. Those of us who participate in Chanology know those comforts well and will be pleased when the day comes when we're not raiding anymore because Scientology has righted its wrongs. Few Anons who are NOT participating in Chanology are going to be able to find a cause that will give them the same sort of comfort as their internets and easy chairs. ;)

D I don't think there is really anything new or exciting about organizing activism on the internet. People were picketing Scientology long before Anonymous came around, mostly as a result of the CoS' attacks against message boards (very similar to what happened with the Cruise video etc). In a way, Chanology is just following a template that was set years ago by the previous generation of activists. There are plenty of activist groups that organize in a very similar manner as the Chanology movement did (see: Ron Paul). So to say Chanology is a good template for activism, Yes. But I would not credit them for inventing that template.

E Not really, no, unless something were to radically change within Anonymous.

F Yes. I believe that it encourages action on a personal level. You can't show up to a meeting, pay a due, get a pin, and say that your helping to make the world a better place. You have to act. You have to do what you can because you must.

Chanology, and Anonymous, requires a certain level of transparency. While your anonyminity may protect you from the consequences of your actions, everyone can see what you are doing and pass judgment. People can react. There are no “hidden agendas”. The Anonymous culture also rejects people who try to get into leadership roles. By rejecting "leader-faggotry", Chanology isn't subject to the same kind of drama that can cause other grass roots movements to collapse.

The article this belongs with will be online by January 1, 2009

You can respond to this here

ARTICLE