Anonymous
Anonymous: (coll. n.) a meme of an amorphous collective of individuals working toward a single goal.
That's the only definite thing about this rapidly evolving, long-standing meme. But this idea has managed to influence the internet, maybe even the world in a powerful way.
Joining Anonymous is as easy as joining a flock of birds. Just find them.
Of course, surviving and being a productive anon is another thing. We have The Newfags Guide to Anonymous just for this task.
Anonymous's history can be divided into three distinct periods of existence, along with a prehistory.
In all anonymous forum systems, a strong concept of community eventually emerges as time goes on and a subculture of memes and inside jokes are developed. a side joke of a board being entirely occupied by a single person, "nanashi-san" (Mr. Noname).
This is the way the internet hate machine works. Thats a group effort, cruelty crowdsourced. Most of the people who put the work in with that life ruination are regular people. A few sociopaths mixed in with a herd of dumb sheep. It doesn't so much make you hate humanity as come to understand it. This is what happens without karma, without identities, without repercussions. This is anonymous.
"Because none of us are as cruel as all of us".
Corresponding to 4chan's Golden Age,
The form of Anonymous that catapulted the meme beyond the *chans. This form effectively starts out with the message to Scientology about the removal of the Tom Cruise video on Youtube. It gained it's glory during Project Chanology.
The modern form of Anonymous. It is a mix of Golden Age and Chanology Era Anonymous, combining mass social movement for the greater good with the lulz and schaudenfreude we've all come to know them for.
This form of Anonymous begins with the DDoSing of Aiplex Software in 2009 and the start of Operation Payback.
The icon of Payback Anonymous