The Coming Swarm.Indb
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations
UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title A Web of Extended Metaphors in the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto of Aaron Swartz Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6w76f8x7 Author Swift, Kathy Publication Date 2017 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara A Web of Extended Metaphors in the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto of Aaron Swartz A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Kathleen Anne Swift Committee in charge: Professor Richard Duran, Chair Professor Diana Arya Professor William Robinson September 2017 The dissertation of Kathleen Anne Swift is approved. ................................................................................................................................ Diana Arya ................................................................................................................................ William Robinson ................................................................................................................................ Richard Duran, Committee Chair June 2017 A Web of Extended Metaphors in the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto of Aaron Swartz Copyright © 2017 by Kathleen Anne Swift iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the members of my committee for their advice and patience as I worked on gathering and analyzing the copious amounts of research necessary to -
How We Became Legion: Burke's Identification and Anonymous By
How We Became Legion: Burke's Identification and Anonymous by Débora Cristina Ramos Antunes da Silva A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts in English - Rhetoric and Communication Design Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2013 © Débora Cristina Ramos Antunes da Silva 2013 I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract This thesis presents a study of how identification, according to Kenneth Burke's theory, can be observed in the media-related practices promoted by the cyber-activist collective Anonymous. Identification is the capacity of community-building through the use of shared interests. Burke affirms that, as human beings are essentially social, identification is the very aim of any human interaction. Cyber-activism deeply relies on this capacity to promote and legitimise its campaigns. In the case of Anonymous, the collective became extremely popular and is now a frequent presence even in street protests, usually organised online, around the world. Here, I argue that this power was possible through the use of identification, which helped attract a large number of individuals to the collective. Anonymous was particularly skilled in its capacity to create an ideology for each campaign, which worked well to set up a perfect enemy who should be fought against by any people, despite their demographic or social status. Other forms of identification were also present and important. -
Report to the President: MIT and the Prosecution of Aaron Swartz
Report to the President MIT and the Prosecution of Aaron Swartz Review Panel Harold Abelson Peter A. Diamond Andrew Grosso Douglas W. Pfeiffer (support) July 26, 2013 © Copyright 2013, Massachusetts Institute of Technology This worK is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. PRESIDENT REIF’S CHARGE TO HAL ABELSON | iii L. Rafael Reif, President 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Building 3-208 Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 U.S.A. Phone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
Hard-Coded Censorship in Open Source Mastodon Clients — How Free Is Open Source?
Proceedings of the Conference on Technology Ethics 2020 - Tethics 2020 Hard-coded censorship in Open Source Mastodon clients — How Free is Open Source? Long paper Juhani Naskali 0000-0002-7559-2595 Information Systems Science, Turku School of Economics, University of Turku Turku, Finland juhani.naskali@utu.fi Abstract. This article analyses hard-coded domain blocking in open source soft- ware, using the GPL3-licensed Mastodon client Tusky as a case example. First, the question of whether such action is censorship is analysed. Second, the licensing compliance of such action is examined using the applicable open-source software and distribution licenses. Domain blocking is found to be censorship in the literal definition of the word, as well as possibly against some the used Google distribu- tion licenses — though some ambiguity remains, which calls for clarifications in the agreement terms. GPL allows for functionalities that limit the use of the software, as long as end-users are free to edit the source code and use a version of the appli- cation without such limitations. Such software is still open source, but no longer free (as in freedom). A multi-disciplinary ethical examination of domain blocking will be needed to ascertain whether such censorship is ethical, as all censorship is not necessarily wrong. Keywords: open source, FOSS, censorship, domain blocking, licensing terms 1 Introduction New technologies constantly create new challenges. Old laws and policies cannot al- ways predict future possibilities, and sometimes need to be re-examined. Open source software is a licensing method to freely distribute software code, but also an ideology of openness and inclusiveness, especially when it comes to FOSS (Free and Open-source software). -
Deciphering L33tspeak
Ghent University Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Thesis Deciphering L33t5p34k Internet Slang on Message Boards Supervisor: Master Paper submitted in partial fulfilment of Prof. Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen the requirements for the degree of ―Master in de Taal- en Letterkunde – Afstudeerrichting: Engels‖ By Eveline Flamand 2007-2008 i Acknowledgements I would like to thank my promoter, professor Anne-Marie Vandenbergen, for agreeing on supervising this perhaps unconventional thesis. Secondly I would like to mention my brother, who recently graduated as a computer engineer and who has helped me out when my knowledge on electronic technology did not suffice. Niels Cuelenaere also helped me out by providing me with some material and helping me with a Swedish translation. The people who came up to me and told me they would like to read my thesis, have encouraged me massively. In moments of doubt, they made me realize that there is an audience for this kind of research, which made me even more determined to finish this thesis successfully. Finally, I would also like to mention the members of the Filologica forum, who have been an inspiration for me. ii Index 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 2. Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 1 2.1 4chan ............................................................................................................................... -
Keepgrabbing.Py : Additions, and Documents
keepgrabbing.py : additions, and documents. Camille Akmut January 13, 2020 Abstract Important program continues to be reviewed from all perspectives. 1 Additions Python’s str() function takes an object and converts it to a string… >>> str(1) '1' In this example, the integer 1 becomes the string ‘1’ (or “1”). >>> type(1) <class 'int'> >>> type('1') <class 'str'> (Side note : In Python, the single quotes ‘ ‘ do not signify a character as opposed to a string; for which double quotes “ “ would be used - in Haskell. In that former language, they are the same (type of objects, they have the same type) : >>> '1' == "1" True >>> '10' # '10' is not a character (but '1' is for example) '10' >>> type('10') <class 'str'> >>> type("10") <class 'str'> ) Haskell’s version of Python’s split() is words (from the Data.List module) : Prelude Data.List> words "article1 article2" ["article1","article2"] Here I’ve re-written the proxy of the lambda function that I showed, in Haskell : Prelude> line = (\x -> x*2) Prelude> line 3 6 Prelude> blocks = [3,2,1] Prelude> map line blocks [6,4,2] (mapping is the functional programming equivalent of looping, as found in languages with imperative elements / Python) or, closer to Aaron’s application : Prelude> line = (\x -> ["curl"] ++ [x]) Prelude> line "--proxy" ["curl","--proxy"] Now you may be asking yourself : how do we go from this list of strings, to something that could be passed to Curl/Wget or the Shell? We do this : Prelude> unwords ["curl","--proxy"] "curl --proxy" (Haskell has a function just for this, unwords. If it did not we would have needed to write our own, most likely a fold. -
Guy Fawkes, from Villain to Icon
FACULTAD de FILOSOFÍA Y LETRAS DEPARTAMENTO de FILOLOGÍA INGLESA Grado en Estudios Ingleses TRABAJO DE FIN DE GRADO Guy Fawkes, from villain to icon Rafael Calle Cardona Tutor: Berta Cano Echevarría 2016-2017 1 2 ABSTRACT In this dissertation, I will be explaining and analyzing the changes that the historical figure of Guy Fawkes underwent from being one of the most hated figures in England, with an annual celebration to commemorate his death, to a fictional character representing the fight against totalitarianism in the late 20th century. And finally, how, in the early years of the 21st century he became the face of the international hacktivist group known as Anonymous. Furthermore, I will be analyzing the historical context in which the character of Guy Fawkes was conceived as well as explaining why he was the main figure who was accounted responsible for the Gunpowder Plot despite the fact that he was not its leader. Moreover, I will analyze why the group Anonymous chose the “Fawkesque” mask from the character from the graphic novel as well as the movie V for Vendetta which was at the same time inspired in the historical character, to become the face of the 21st century hacktivist movement. Keyword: Guy Fawkes, England, Anonymous, Hacktivism, V for Vendetta, Gunpowder Plot. En este trabajo, explicaré y analizaré los cambios que sufrió la figura histórica de Guy Fawkes, de ser una de las más odiadas en Inglaterra, con una celebración anual que para conmemorar su muerte, a un personaje de ficción que representa la lucha contra el totalitarismo en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. -
Make Technology Great Again
Make Technology Great Again Michał „rysiek” Woźniak [email protected] Everything is Broken – Quinn Norton https://medium.com/message/everything-is-broken-81e5f33a24e1 "Malicious Word Doc Uses ActiveX To Infect" https://www.vmray.com/blog/malicious-word-doc-uses-activex-infect/ "Word Malware: OLE Exploited in Zero-Day Attack" https://www.vadesecure.com/en/word-doc-malware/ "Dynamic Data Exchange was frst introduced in 1987 with the release of Windows 2.0” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Data_Exchange "As part of the December 2017 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has shipped an Ofce update that disables the DDE feature in Word applications, after several malware campaigns have abused this feature to install malware.” https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-disables-dde-feature-in-word- to-prevent-further-malware-attacks/ "Dynamic Data Exchange was frst introduced in 1987 with the release of Windows 2.0” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Data_Exchange "As part of the December 2017 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has shipped an Ofce update that disables the DDE feature in Word applications, after several malware campaigns have abused this feature to install malware.” https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-disables-dde-feature-in-word- to-prevent-further-malware-attacks/ "Microsoft Ofce macro malware targets Macs" https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2017/02/microsoft-ofce-macro- malware-targets-macs/ "Beware PowerSniff Malware uses Word macros and PowerShell scripts" https://www.grahamcluley.com/beware-powersnif-malware/ -
Thesis (844.6Kb)
ABSTRACT You Should Have Expected Us – An Explanation of Anonymous Alex Gray Director: Linda Adams; PhD Anonymous is a decentralized activist collective that has evolved using the technology of the information age. This paper traces its origins as a way of contextualizing and better understanding its actions. The groups composition is examined using its self‐ascribed imagery to illustrate its’ unique culture and relational norms. Its structure and motivation are analyzed using the framework developed for social movements and terrorist networks. Finally a discussion of a splinter cell and official reaction delineate both strengths and weaknesses of the movement while suggesting its future development. The conclusion serves to expound on the ideal end for the online anonymous community as a new frontier in meritocratic activism. APPROVED BY DIRECTOR OF HONORS THESIS: ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Dr. Linda Adams, Department of Political Science APPROVED BY THE HONORS PROGRAM: ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Dr. Andrew Wisely, Director. DATE: ________________________ YOU SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED US AN EXPLANATION OF ANONYMOUS A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Baylor University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Honors Program By Alex Gray Waco, Texas May 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface iii Acknowledgements iv Dedication v CHAPTER ONE 1 Introduction CHAPTER TWO 4 The Story of Anonymous CHAPTER THREE 20 A Group with No Head and No Members CHAPTER FOUR 39 Activists or Terrorists CHAPTER FIVE 56 Distraction, Diversion, Division CHAPTER SIX 67 Conclusion Bibliography 71 ii PREFACE Writing a paper about a decentralized, online collective of similarly minded individuals presents a unique set of challenges. In spending so much time with this subject, it is my goal to be both intellectually honest and as thorough as I can be. -
Tactical Frivolity Jemima Wyman
These collages developed out of witnessing various protest move- ments online. In early 2011, as part of an effort to be active, embodied, and empathetic in the interface with the computer screen, I started pulling, archiving, printing and hand-cutting images of pro- testers wearing Guy Fawkes masks. The archive has developed in Tactical Frivolity tandem with the growing protest culture over the last few years. There was something compelling about this shared collective face that ignored geographical borders and divergent ideological per- spectives. A mask is magic, especially when it multiplies to become Jemima Wyman a communal architecture and a social camouflage in a world of net- worked surveillance. This iteration in X-TRA documents a selection from six different sub- categories of protesters who customize and accessorize the Guy Fawkes mask. These interventions range from appropriated Ukuku masks (a traditional Peruvian mask that appears to merge the color- ful knitted balaclava of the Free Pussy Riot movement with the face of Guy Fawkes) to spray-painted masks by Black bloc and a decaled First Nations variation. On the mask: Guy Fawkes (1570–1606) was a British revolutionary whose failed plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605 is still commemorated each year in the United Kingdom with bonfires and backyard fireworks. In the days leading up to November 5, chil- dren traditionally solicited donations to buy fireworks by displaying a “guy” on the sidewalk (a figure made of discarded clothing stuffed with rags or paper, often wearing a home-made mask).1 Their cry— “Penny for the Guy!”—rang out in the cold November evenings, as passers-by hurried home from work or school. -
Pivot to Coronavirus: How Meme Factories Are Crafting Public Health Messaging 28 July 2020, by Crystal Abidin
Pivot to coronavirus: How meme factories are crafting public health messaging 28 July 2020, by Crystal Abidin Through this, they can have a huge influence in shaping social media. And—using the language of internet visual pop culture—meme factories can shift public opinion. When meme factories were born The first mention of meme factories seems to have been a slide in a 2010 TED talk by Christopher Poole, the founder of the controversial uncensored internet forum 4chan. 4chan, said Poole, was "completely raw, completely unfiltered." He introduced his audience to the new internet phenomenon of "memes" coming out of the forum, including LOLcats and Rickrolling – the largest memes to have emerged in the 2000s. ‘LOLcats’ were one of the meme forms of the 2000s. Credit: Clancy Ratliff/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Today, corporate meme factories systematically churn out posts to hundreds of millions of followers. Memes might seem like they emerge "naturally," They commissioned artists to "live-GIF" the 2012 circulated by like-minded social media users and US Presidential Election debates in an assembly independently generating momentum. But line of soft political content. They congregated on a successful memes often don't happen by accident. closed Facebook group to decide who could "take credit" for a school shooting. They created I've spent the past two years studying the history sponsored political posts for Michael Bloomberg's and culture of "meme factories," especially in Presidential campaign. Singapore and Malaysia. On reddit's gaming communities, activating a meme Meme factories are a coordinated network of factory (sincerely or in jest) requires willing creators or accounts who produce and host members to react with coordinated (and at times, memes. -
The Masked Avengers: How Anonymous Incited Online
A REPORTER AT LARGE | SEPTEMBER 8, 2014 ISSUE The Masked Avengers How Anonymous incited online vigilantism from Tunisia to Ferguson. BY DAVID KUSHNER Anyone can join Anonymous simply by claiming affiliation. An anthropologist says that participants “remain subordinate to a focus on the epic win—and, especially, the lulz.” n the mid-nineteen-seventies, when Christopher Doyon was a child in rural Maine, he spent Ihours chatting with strangers on CB radio. His handle was Big Red, for his hair. Transmitters lined the walls of his bedroom, and he persuaded his father to attach two directional antennas to the roof of their house. CB radio was associated primarily with truck drivers, but Doyon and others used it to form the sort of virtual community that later appeared on the Internet, with self- selected nicknames, inside jokes, and an earnest desire to effect change. Doyon’s mother died when he was a child, and he and his younger sister were reared by their father, who they both say was physically abusive. Doyon found solace, and a sense of purpose, in the CB-radio community. He and his friends took turns monitoring the local emergency channel. One friend’s father bought a bubble light and affixed it to the roof of his car; when the boys heard a distress call from a stranded motorist, he’d drive them to the side of the highway. There wasn’t much they could do beyond offering to call 911, but the adventure made them feel heroic. Small and wiry, with a thick New England accent, Doyon was fascinated by “Star Trek” and Isaac Asimov novels.