Two of the most brazen online communities were at each other's throats on Wednesday.
The row between 4chan — the famed online message board and collection of known pranksters — and LulzSec — the busy, bullying hacking group — appears to have gotten underway after LulzSec began taking out the websites and log-in servers belonging to a variety of smaller video games.
Through its Twitter account Tuesday, LulzSec claimed it had attacked "EVE Online," "League of Legends" and indie darling "Minecraft." On Wednesday it added "Heroes of Newerth" to that list.
It seems the mean-spiritedness of the assaults on these well-liked companies raised the hackles of many a game-playing 4chan member. Angry 4chan users seethed in the board's /b/ forum and hatched plans to hunt down the LulzSec perps.
"If you know who these f#&$ers are ... phone the f#&$ing FBI," read one curse-and-insult-filled image post from a 4chan member. (NSFW link here.)
LulzSec responded via its favorite forum: Twitter. "Just saw a thread on /b/ where they’re trying to hunt us: you /b/tards realize that we are everything you’ve ever tried to be?” the group tweeted.
The result of this online pissing match? Well, 4chan reportedly went offline for a time, or at least became very difficult to access (though it is currently up and running just fine now).
And LulzSec even claimed that it was using 50 percent of /b/ users' computers as their bots in their DDOS attacks.
Yes, it is ironic that 4chan would be taken out by a LulzSec DDOS attack ... considering 4chan has been known to launch DDOS attacks on other websites.
All in all, it's an odd, ugly civil war for sure. It's widely believed/known/speculated that the membership of hacking groups LulzSec and Anonymous and 4chan have hatched from and cross-pollinated each other. As LulzSec later tweeted: "We are the concentrated success of 2005 /b/, being 'hunted' by the 2011 furry horde. Challenge accepted, losers. :D"
What's the next move for all of these online mischief-makers? We'll probably find out soon enough.
One thing is for sure, LulzSec kept itself plenty busy Wednesday, wreaking havoc on a bizarre range of websites. But its latest target could be the one that really changes this dangerous game — the Central Intelligence Agency.
For more hacking and game news, check out:
- Hacking group LulzSec says it takes out CIA website
- LulzSec goes on hacking rampage against game sites
- Bethesda is latest game company hit by hackers
- 'Duke Nukem's' PR agency threatens game reviewers
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter .