[stfu]

Anonymous is an amorphous collection of Internet enthusiasts, pranksters and activists whose targets have included the Church of Scientology, the music industry, and financial companies such as Visa and MasterCard.

First time I see a news outlet describing Anonymous in a somewhat suitable fashion.

[Historiopode]

I agree on the quality of the description, but only to a certain point. I think that neglecting to state that their actions are largely retaliatory could have been used to not-too-subtly tinge them as "pranksters" rather than "activists".

As far as I know most of them could well be within the former cateogory, but their most visible attacks were not enacted "just for the lulz"; rather, they were guerrilla tactics employed in response to perceived threats to their Internet homeland, as stated in above comments.

[AceJohnny2]

The group is a loose affiliation of hackers and activists with no formal structure or membership.

Indeed, this is the first time I actually read a proper description, and certainly didn't expect so from the WSJ! Kudos to the journalist, Evan Perez.