Open Diary Damage: 9/11 on the Internet

On September 11, 2004, the 3rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks, OD was attacked. All our entries and edits after June, 2004 were deleted.  I think I had tried to visit OD, but the site was down.  With much to do and many things going on, I did not know about the attack until I returned a few days later. That was when I read Diary Master’s entries about some hackers getting into OD and succeeding in the damage. It was like 9/11 on the internet, a terrorist attack on OD. Maybe those hackers were trying to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of 9/11 by creating their own destruction.

Quite a bit of our last few month’s efforts were down the drain. Busy and discouraged, I decided to stay away from OD until all our latest entries and edits could be recovered. Last week, I returned to find out that our work was gone for good though the staff tried their best. I almost wanted to quit writing at OD, but finally decided to accept what happened and continue with what I had planned to write, so I rewrote some of the entries, then started this one. My purpose for an online journal was not to treat it like a personal diary, but to express my opinions about issues in life and society.

This is not the first time OD has been attacked. A few months ago, some hackers broke in as well. My entries were lucky to escape damage, but many OD members lost all their entries. That was so unfair. Those hackers have too much time, and I agree with Diary Master that they should be punished.