So why can't they just say the hackers used Complicated Computery Magic? Why make up a story about how woefully insecure their setup is?

The link in your sig is broken, my friend.

Luckily, you don't have to trust a horde of Slashdotters on AGW: just pick 10 climate scientists at random and ask for their opinion. (Note the "at random" part -- you're not allowed to cherry-pick for this exercise.)

As an anecdote, I once had a man sitting at a computer next to me in a university library ask me to input a captcha for him.

Apparently he could see well enough to use a computer, but not well enough to decipher the captcha.

Out of curiosity, which European country are you from?

Latin for "law that let's us put whoever the fuck we want in jail"

Like I said, Anonymous isn't an organization. They're a subculture. Saying "Anonymous hacked this" has about as much value as saying "punks hacked this". "The punks" aren't a cohesive group and neither are Anonymous.

I can't wait until this is wrongly attributed to "Anonymous" (which is more of a subculture than a group, anyway)

I can see it applying to any of the following:

Criteria III - Cultural Criteria III: Bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;

Criteria IV - Cultural Criteria IV: Be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technical ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history;

Criteria VI - Cultural Criteria VI: Be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance (preferably used in conjunction with other criteria);

Maybe we should make the Internet as a whole a World Heritage site? One of the primary benefits of the Internet is that it allows almost anyone in the world to create and publish content, for free. Wikipedia and Facebook are but two different sides of this same coin.

I see something that has radically changed human communication and content distribution for the better to be a hugely important part of world heritage. Maybe you're right that Wikipedia on its own shouldn't qualify, but I was a bit taken aback by the derisive tone of most of the comments.

First of all, it's Adrian Chen, not Adam Chen.

Second, his remark is completely unfounded. It's not the contributions of the idiot savant contributers that matters; it's the project as a whole. Or were the pyramids just "the fixation of a manual-laboring slave" ? Sometimes a whole can be more than the sum of its parts.

Personally I think an introduction to almost every field of human knowledge that almost anyone can understand is more important than a big, pointy tomb.

I'll respond in English because you did in the majority of your post is in that language, leading me to believe that you are more comfortable in it than in French.

I'm sorry for missing the sarcasm in your post; your typically French half-joking anti-Americanism and your French signature made me think that you identified ethnically as a member of some Francophone culture. Since you identify as American, the situation is completely different -- I believe in Jesus's teaching to "take the plank out of your own eye before taking the speck from your brother's" (even though I am not a Christian), which means I find Americans criticizing American culture to be much more acceptable than French people doing so.

I am 100% American, born to and raised by 100% American parents, and I vote for leftists, don't think potato chips are a staple of good eating, care about the environment, and value intellect and learning: all contrary to common French stereotypes about my people. That's why even though I'm the biggest Francophile I know, the derisive attitude of many (but not all) French people, which stems from ignorance about the good parts of American culture, irks me greatly.

So I apologize for flying off the handle at you, but I hope that after reading this post you'll understand why I did so.

Va plus sur ce site si tu toleres pas les Américains. Franchement j'en ai marre de ces francophone qui croient que c'est eux le seul peuple civilisé du monde, ou que les Etats-Unis sont un pays de sauvages. Oui il y a des sauvages ici, mais pas plus qu'en France (ou en Belgique, Québec, etc... je sais pas exactement d'oà tu viens)

Ah, right. Add me, @jez9999 !

I tried to "Like" your post but I can't find the button on this site. I guess my comment will have to do.