Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you 😃) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/donateidea Here's an idea: a DOS attack is a weapon. Denial of Service (DOS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks take down servers by distracting them with meaningless traffic until basically they can't take it any more. Scientology, Westboro Baptist Church, and others like them have been hit, and if you look at the coverage of these events, the descriptive words "attacks," "violent," and "weapons" are telling. The way we talk about the result of a software program reflects the way we view "online", and the value we place on its content, be it the FBI homepage or cat videos on YouTube. But what does it do to our comprehension when we lump violent acts online with real life physical violence? Watch the episode to find out!!! Tweet of The Week: https://twitter.com/NikkiRoda/status/328987188870119426 Sources: Biella Coleman: many DDoS attacks are "a political stunt http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/05/201255152158991826.html Music: Roglok: http://vimeo.com/musicstore/track/21166 Level 5: Room for the Homeless http://www.jamendo.com/en/list/a101325/level-5 Binarpilot http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/661417/geeks Chiptune - Kenzalol https://soundcloud.com/chiptune/kenzalol EatMe http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/348390/eatme Clockwork - Titan (geometry remix) https://soundcloud.com/wompworthy/clockwork-titan-geometry-remix Let us know what sorts of crazy ideas you have, about this episode and otherwise: Tweet at us! @pbsideachannel (yes, the longest twitter username ever) Email us! pbsideachannel [at] gmail [dot] com Idea Channel Facebook! http://Facebook.com/pbsideachannel Hosted by Mike Rugnetta (@mikerugnetta) Made by Kornhaber Brown (http://www.kornhaberbrown.com/) Follow the official PBS Instagram: http://instagram.com/pbsofficial Want some more Idea Channel? Here's Last Week's episode: "Is A Tagged Instagram More Than Just A Photo?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv73cRpbQaE Want another one? Here ya go: "Is Buying Call of Duty a Moral Choice?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeIHH0XEs6E Here's Some More: "Is Community A Postmodern Masterpiece?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YanhEVEgkYI