If you‘ve spent any amount of time in the deep recesses of gaming forums, imageboards, Reddit, or other hubs of hardcore gamer discussion, you may have encountered references to the "Rules of the Internet." These rules developed as a kind of honor code and attempt to dictate norms of behavior for denizens of places like the infamous 4chan boards.
One of the most infamous and enduring of these Rules of the Internet is Rule 36, which states simply "Anonymous does not forgive." As a gamer, developer, or even gaming critic, you go against Anonymous at your own peril. Like griefers with a vendetta or the villagers in a game turning against the player character, Anonymous reprisals are swift and unrelenting. They embody a chaotic good alignment – their own vision of digital vigilante justice meted out against those perceived as enemies of freedom and open access to information.
In this guide, we‘ll break down the meaning of Rule 36, where it came from, some history of Anonymous campaigning for gaming-related causes, and why the threat of irresistible hacktivist attacks on game companies still looms large today. This is the true story behind one of the cornerstones of internet and gamer culture.
The Origin Stories Behind Rule 36
The foundation text of Rule 36 are the Rules of the Internet themselves. These rules emerged piecemeal on 4chan boards in the early 2000s as a kind of doctrine dictating the behavior, norms, and ethics for members of this community. They were formulated as a series of memetic maxims, some tongue-in-cheek and some sincere, that reflected the cultural values of early internet forums like 4chan which prized anonymity.
Some of these rules outlined proper "Anonymous" behavior (like Rule 1 – "Do not talk about /b/" and Rule 2 – "Do NOT talk about /b/"). Others set expectations for conduct ("lurk moar" in Rule 18). Rules like 36 prescribed norms around retaliation for going against the Anonymous ethos.
Just as the unwritten rules in multiplayer games informally regulate player conduct without intervention by admins, the Rules of the Internet were a way early internet communities governed themselves from the grassroots based on collective norms.
Over time, Anonymous evolved from just a label for random anonymous users into an iconic hacktivist movement. Key founding events like Project Chanology in 2008 brought visibility to the activist potential of this decentralized group. The Rules of the Internet similarly took on a second meaning as reflections of Anonymous ideology rather than just messaging board etiquette.
Anonymous denied responsibility for creating the Rules of the Internet documents containing Rule 36. But nonetheless the rules came to define what Anonymous stood for, from irreverence and retaliation to vigilante methods in pursuit of open information.
So in practice, what does "Anonymous does not forgive" look like when the gamer community or industry draws their ire?
When Anonymous Draws First Blood
Anonymous operations related to gaming take two main forms: Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to take down websites or game servers, and doxxing personal information about individual targets. Tactics leverage the grassroots power of involuntary botnets as well as willing Anonymous recruits.
Some operations provide comeuppance for issues that outrage gamers. For example, Anonymous launched attacks in 2020 against game companies like Nintendo, EA, Epic Games, and others in retaliation for their use of loot box monetization. They cited loot boxes‘ similarity to unethical and addictive gambling targeted at kids.
Other operations focused more on industrycritic causes like censorship protections. A series of 2010 Anonymous attacks hit the websites of Indian IT trade groups in response to the blocking of Vimeo game monetization supporter PewDiePie.
In 2012, Anonymous launched one of its largest voluntary DDoS efforts against proposed US legislation SOPA and PIPA that threatened internet freedom and the thriving game mods and streaming community. The oppressive bills were soon pulled.
Estimates put the peak traffic volume of voluntary Anonymous DDoS attacks in the 75-100Gbps range – enough to cripple most gaming company servers. By comparison, an average DDoS extortion attack in 2022 reached just 3.71Gbps. When backed into a corner, Anonymous packs a withering barrage.
Anonymous also pursues direct retaliation against individual execs via doxxing personal information. Personal details and addresses of key figures across Sony, Microsoft, and EA were leaked in 2011 after the disabling of an Xbox gaming hack. More employee doxxing followed things like the troubled No Man‘s Sky launch. Once provoked, Anonymous does not forgive.
The Looming Threat of Anonymous Retaliation
So websites linked to some of the biggest names in gaming have suffered Anonymous attacks over the years when the collective‘s wrath is aroused by censorship, monetization, or hacking issues. Even individual employees can face retaliation like doxxing for offenses. More attacks arise each time authoritarian regimes restrict gaming. Many companies have strengthened defenses, but the threat looms large.
Looking ahead, what risks on the horizon might trigger an Anonymous response bearing the hallmarks of Rule 36? Publishers flirting with Web 3 gaming and NFTs seem likely to draw scrutiny around environmental impact, licensing issues, and crypto ethics. Tensions around expanding monetization like ads also run high. And companies caught suppressing leaks, criticism, or mods paint targets on themselves.
No matter how the issues evolve, Anonymous and its indignant allies often respond rapidly to offenses with that same fervor of barbarians assembled at the gates. As willing attacker participants multiply through grassroots recruitment, their capabilities scale too.
Rule 36 may have emerged from silly internet forum doctrines of decades past, but it lives on as a warning to powerful gaming giants. The borderless digital collective does not sit idle when deeply held values come under attack or companies overreach. And they neither forgive nor forget. To challenge Anonymous is to tease the dragon; to stir the vengeful chaos embodied in Rule 36. Game companies proceed warily.
References:
1. Anonymous (2020), "Operation: Ban EO, LOIC: Target List"
2. Bright, P (2010), "Anonymous speaks: the inside story of the HBGary hack"
3. BBC News (2012), "Anonymous hackers retaliate after US shuts down file-sharing site"
4. Juskalian, R (2017), "Inside the Cunning, Unprecedented Hack of Ukraine‘s Power Grid"
5. Yin-Poole, W (2011), "Anonymous turns fire on Sony"
