Why get involved?

"Don't try that 'political prisoner' crap. You may regard yourself as a freedom fighter or whatever, but the court, the media and everybody else will see it just as industrial espionage and attempted blackmail. Plain criminal charges."

"Do you know that this isn't the first time I deal with your kind? What I just can't figure out, is why you do it. Your ideology is bunk, but you don't seem to be that fanatic about it - activists you're not. And you're not the regular underworld either. I just can't figure out why well educated people - who could get jobs with salaries I could only dream of - throw it all away by working for some kind of Internet syndicate with a millenialist ideology."

Why do people get involved in the InfoWar? Motivations matter.

Idealism

FOG and the others are not just oppressive, they are wrong. They do not see the truth, and do their best to silence it. You might be everything from a mild-mannered scholar speaking out for academic freedom to a burning objectivist, but you are acting out of your deepest convictions and according to your personal philosophy.

Freedom

You want freedom, for yourself and/or others. You strike out against repression, limitations and sanctimonious preachings about how we all must sacrifice some of our freedom for the greater good of safety. How could anybody have free will without freedom?

Survival

Change is coming, no matter what people want to think. Either embrace it and try to surf the roaring tidal wave, or refuse it and allow yourself to be swept away. There are huge dangers, but also great opportunities, and it is at least safer to know what is coming and try to do something about it than to remain in blissful ignorance. You might be a technosurvivalist planning to come out on the top regardless of what happens, a rational planner who prudently invests in the future or a neophile enjoying the ride.

Independence

If you don't control your own life, somebody else will. Most likely somebody you wouldn't like to be in control. Most people realize that things are bad, but let themselves be bossed around by The Powers That Be. Not you - you find ways around them, always looking for ways of making your life your own and not theirs.

SOTA

You like the edge. You want to be on the edge, the avant garde, the forefront of humanity rushing towards the future. It is exhilarating to know that it is happening now, right here, the tools are in our hands. Not only that, you can make a difference. Your actions might change the course of history, or at least be part of the great events coming.

Individualism

You want to achieve something on your own. Far too many people live lives like lemmings, anxiously watching their neighbors to make sure they are not getting out of line, never producing anything original, never daring to become original. That life doesn't suit you, you plan to make your life extraordinary. This is your great chance to break out of the mold and create something on your own.

Compassion

So much human potential wasted, so many lives needlessly crushed - and most people do not even realize that things could be different. You want to help others, make them wake up and take charge of their own lives and get a chance to participate in the future.

Profit

The new technologies and the InfoWar are profitable. They are a great opportunity to move ahead, a moral struggle you can earn from.

Revenge

The System has hurt you or your loved ones. Your mother may be dying of Alzheimer's disease while the nanotech bans keep the cure out of reach. You brother may have disappeared because he knew the wrong people. You might have been forced away from your job, your friends and your family for your views. An ecoactivist may have killed your genetically modified pet. But now you are going to get back at them - in a way they will never suspect.

Realization

One day you just saw through the game. One moment, you thought that everything was normal and nice, the next you had your realization and saw where the whole thing was headed. You saw through the official lies, and made your own deductions. The truth was frightening enough, but you also realized you needed to take a stand.
InfoWar