“We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget.”

 These words can be heard across the dark corners of the Internet– the furthest reaches where it is okay to talk to strangers and curse out those that you feel deserve it. Hey, share your life story, why don’t you! It’s okay in these places. These places where 4chan meets Reddit, and /b/ros come together with 9gaggers in a semi-peaceful environment. And who are these people? They are the ones known only as Anonymous.

However, many people think of anonymity as possibly a bad thing, there will always be people that see the possible benefit. Most people only see the bad. The insults, the spamming, the harm to one’s reputation. What people don’t always realize is that there are also good things that come of this power. And that this power can and has been used for good rather than the evils some have seen it for.

 Even though a large number of people only see Anonymous used in more popular websites, a vast number of people going by the title “Anonymous” come from a website called 4chan.org. 4chan is an online image board created by Christopher Poole, otherwise known as “moot.” Poole started 4chan when he was 15 in his bedroom at his parents’ house. From this one website, many Internet sensations have come about. Some of these include The Rules of the Internet, rage faces, and various other memes. 4chan is popularly known as the birthplace for Internet memes.

 Going online and taking a look on /b/, one of 4chan’s most popular boards, one might think that the people of Anonymous are no more than inappropriate trash-talkers and immature teenagers. But a look beyond the surface can reveal much more

Among the trash talking, there are also some benefits that come from this freedom of anonymity. For example, the instance of Dusty the cat. A man named Kenny Glenn posted two videos online of himself abusing his cat, Dusty. Both videos were found by the people of Anonymous and seeing the evils this man was committing they took action against him. They created a post in which other people got together and helped to find evidence against Glenn. They not only exposed him to the world but also got him arrested and saved Dusty.

Most of the time though, there is not so much good but more fun. Fun being just harmless joking and making others smile. In 2008, Poole was voted “most influential person” in an Internet poll by Time Magazine. Not only did he win the poll, but he won by more than 11 million votes. The people of Anonymous did not only this, but they voted for other entrants in the exact order so that the first letter of every name spelled out “mARBLECAKEALSOTHEGAME.” This is just harmless fun rather than the cruelty people seem to remember.

Every person does not just come from these few websites though. Many people, when thinking of Anonymous, may think of more popular websites such as Youtube. And with the Youtubers’ free posting abilities, they can post whatever they want. So naturally when someone who isn’t the best singer posts a music video of themselves they are probably going to get some bad feedback. But a random stranger’s insults shouldn’t really be taken completely to heart if you don’t like what they say. Anonymity in this case merely gives a person the chance to voice their opinion without it interfering with their personal life offline. And if you think about it, you’d probably want this freedom to say what you want as well.

Anonymity, whether posting something with a fake name or literally as “Anonymous”, has more benefits than drawbacks. The freedom to say what you want without any consequences is worth the risk of getting insulted. Even through the bad language, trash talking, and senseless arguments that only lead to anger and hurt, there will always be the few good deeds and acts of kindness that we need to remember. So next time someone says something you don’t like, just choose to ignore them. And remember these good deeds as a reason why anonymity is a benefit rather than a curse. Also, read the first letter of each paragraph in this story. And yes, I too did it for the lulz.