User:TheGreatTK/myg0t
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- The correct title of this article is User:myg0t. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
myg0t is an online group dedicated to the disruption of legitimate gameplay in online computer games. It was originally started as a small clan in the online game Counter-Strike, but has since evolved into a large, multi-faceted and highly structured organization.
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[edit] Origins
myg0t appears to have started around 1999. There is little information detailing how myg0t came to be or where its name came from. However, they quickly expanded, and over the years have grown to include 111 official members from five continents, including 24 inactive members, as well as an undeterminable amount of followers who use the [myg0t] tag prefix on the Internet. Many more members have joined and left the community during this time. It is not required to be an actual member to use the tag, as the myg0t homepage states. They freely allow anybody to use the tag, as long as they use it to rage games and servers.
[edit] Recruitment
Myg0t has made a name for themselves by inventing a unique way to trick would-be members into embarrassing themselves. Myg0t members convince people inquiring about joining myg0t, that the only way to join is to bake a cake and write "myg0t owns me" with icing. The person must then submit a picture of the cake and themselves eating the cake to the myg0t forums. The person that submitted the picture must be as close to perfect as a human can be to prevent the members of th forum from ridiculing them (in fact, even members that do get in are ridiculed to begin with). Though it is rare for myg0t to get a new member, this is the only way of gaining membership. Photographs are commonly photoshopped to include male genitals and other explicit material. One of the most famous "cake bakers" ever was "aZnchink" or "Batista" (one and the same person). aZnchinks application spawned an extremely long photoshop contested started by [myg0t]v0dka. The severity of the thread was not eased by aZnchink not getting the joke and repeatingly asking if he had gained access.
To date, there have been over 80 people who have fallen victim to this hoax.[1]
[edit] Forums
The myg0t forums are where their members discuss new game exploits and other game related activities. The forum mostly consists of trolls, pornographic images, and deceptive links to shock sites, especially Last Measure. There is a rage forum dedicated to people who want to post their collages showing game screenshots of chat messages showing people getting angry, or ‘raged’.
[edit] Activities
[edit] Raging
Raging (myg0t's official term for [griefing]) is a method of online game play designed to make it both difficult and unpleasant for others playing in the game. A game can be considered 'raged' when all players have left the game in frustration, or when the game is disrupted to a point where normal game play cannot continue.
[edit] Games targeted
myg0t has been seen in the following games: the Quake series, Battlefield series, SWAT series, Counter-Strike series, Silkroad Online, Gunbound, Rakion, Day of Defeat, Half-Life 1, Source, and 2, Unreal series, StarCraft series, Warcraft series, Lineage series, Guild Wars series, Redmoon, Furtopia, Everquest series and the Deer Hunter series.Users not actually affiliated with the group but playing in the style of myg0t (raging) are permitted to wear the myg0t tag in order to spread the "mission" of myg0t.
[edit] Rage collages
Often, someone wants to prove to the myg0t community that he or she has successfully raged a game. The easiest method to explain to someone who was not in the game is through screen captures. Often, during a raging session, users will flame and make other personal attacks on the myg0t members, who can then save them as screen shots. After the game, the rager will edit together a collage of the funniest and angriest quotes, and post the gallery on the myg0t community forum. Recently there has been a trend towards creating videos instead of collages.
[edit] Alleged illegal activities
[edit] Half-Life 2 source leak
In September of 2003 the Valve Corporation, a video game developer, discovered that their network had been compromised with keyloggers using a Microsoft Outlook buffer overflow exploit. It was later determined that a majority of the source code of their upcoming game, Half-Life 2, had been stolen. In the coming days, playable versions of their game became available across Usenet, private FTPs, and IRC services; thus, the game was delayed for over a year. Many members of the Half-Life 2 community began to hold myg0t directly responsible for the leak, naming numerous senior myg0t's as the perpetrators. This rumor was spread around due to a posted copy of an intercepted e-mail available on the myg0t website only a few days before the announcement. During the following weeks, a few members of the group were expelled for distributing copies, and a few were scared off and resigned. What actually had happened was that a myg0t member, William H. Valentine a.k.a. Hitman/hitman8, acquired a copy of the original stolen source code and PRE'd it on his warez group's topsite. It is true; Hitman was in myg0t at the time he leaked the source code. However, he was quickly expelled and reported to the proper authorities. The stolen source code leak also caused the amount of users in the myg0t IRC channel to surge to previously unseen levels (1,100+). In mid-2004, the FBI arrested Axel G., a German programmer, for breaking into Valve's network among other things. Consequently, myg0t was finally cleared of any wrongdoing. Half-Life 2 was eventually released in November of 2004.
- See Half-Life 2 pre-release for more information.
[edit] Sp0rkeh malware
Sp0rkeh is a destructive piece of software, written by a member of myg0t under the alias sp0rk in late 2001. Members of myg0t have since updated and have completely rewritten the source code. The software, when executed, will severely cripple any unprotected Windows system, along with other useless effects such as change font sizes, cursor speeds, and color schemes. It is generally given to visitors to the myg0t community who request 'private' cheats for online games. Removal Information Website
[edit] Publicity
myg0t has gained recognition in a variety of online venues, and has been mentioned several times in hard-copy publications.
[edit] PC Format Magazine
myg0t is the main focus of a 2002 PC Format article about cheating in online games. The article refers to myg0t as a 'hacking collective' and the 'main proponent of ruining games'. [2]
[edit] PC Zone Magazine
myg0t is briefly mentioned in PC Zone article inside an image caption. The article refers to myg0t as an 'infamous cheat clan' and the 'ultimate losers'.[3]
[edit] Church of Fools
On May 11, 2004 the Methodist Church of the UK created a 3D Shockwave/Flash based online church for all religions as a way of spreading faith using the Internet medium. Any person with a Shockwave capable browser could enter the church and create a customizable character. myg0t found this to be an ideal target for spreading their own message and decided to enter in groups to effectively 'rage' the other participants. Their tactics included spamming, swearing, praising Satan and other demons, door blocking (preventing people from getting into the church), sermon disruption, and ban evasion. While a number of wardens (administrators with the abilities to remove unwanted visitors) were created to combat the flood of myg0t members, the church was closed within three months. The actions of myg0t resulted in numerous international news stories. [4] [5]
[edit] I hate you myg0t 1 and 2
Commonly referred to as 'pwned.nl', this flash animation was originally created by Stoned Gorilla, a senior myg0t member. On February 11, 2003 it was submitted to Newgrounds where it has since received over 250,000 views. To follow up the first flash animation, [myg0t]Stoned Gorilla released the sequel 'I hate you myg0t 2' a little over a year later. Since the launch of its dedicated website Pwned.NL, it continues to receive over one million unique hits each year.
[edit] Trivia
- myg0t member [myg0t]ataraxia is know for being one of the most emo myg0t members. Emo is frowned upon in the myg0t community.
- [myg0t]v0dka reportedly died in hurricane katrina. This rumour was later found to be false.
[edit] References
- ^ cake bakers photo album, retrieved 26 August 2006
- ^ Scan of a PC Format article on the myg0t website, retrieved 26 August 2006.
- ^ Scan of a PC Zone article on the myg0t website, retrieved 26 August 2006.]
- ^ Online church blocks Satan visits, BBC News, 19 May 2004, retrieved 26 August 2006
- ^ Devils hit cyber church, CNN, 19 May 2004, retrieved 26 August 2006
