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AT&T Blocks Part of 4chan
holdenkarau writes "Several news sources (Mashable, The Inquistr, etc.) are reporting that AT&T is blocking img.4chan.org in the southern United States. That server is used for the infamous /b/ board (the home of anonymous). TechCrunch calls the decision to block 4chan 'stupid,' noting that they may have 'opened perhaps the most vindictive, messy can of worms.' The Inquisitr suggests that 'The global internet censorship debate landed in the home of the free.' moot (who runs 4chan) asks users to call AT&T, while some others suggest more drastic action (like cutting AT&T fiber)." Update: 07/27 09:23 GMT by T : Readers' comments below suggest that a) the purpose of the block was to curtail the effects of a serious DDoS attack and b) that the block has now been lifted, at least for some regions.
First they came for the pedophiles, and I did not speak out, because I was not a pedophile.
Then, they came for the pirates, and I did not speak out because I was not a pirate.
Then they came for anonymous, and I did not speak out because I was not anonymous.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.
It seems absurd to me that some (almost) equate freedom, privacy and anonymity. Surely if you believe that you have freedom, you don't need to be anonymous when you speak your mind? And if you speak in a public forum, then you have voluntarily given up your claim to privacy, as far as your opinions go, don't you agree? I can't help feeling that the people who keep propangandising for the right to anonymity in everything they do, have reasons to be ashamed of themselves.
Looked at objectively, anonymity helps criminals enormously, but it doesn't really make a lot of difference to ordinary people. If you go shopping it may be annoying that you are recorded on CCTV, but it is a lot more than annoying if you are burgling a house - it could get you caught.
So, what about img.4chan.org - is it right or wrong to block them? I don't know - and I don't care, to be honest; there are so many web-sites and forums in the world and I only access a few any way. If this one served an important purpose for us all, I'm fairly confident I would have known by now. But I am getting a bit fed up with some people's whining over having to speaking out in the open - I just can't respect that kind of attitude. We in the western world have got political and religious freedoms to excess, but it has always been and will always be a freedom with responsibility attached; because freedom will always be abused by those who feel they are entitled to get more than they have earned.
Troll. That way the reader must decide for themselves.