We are Anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.
-Anonymous
Long before they became vigilantes in the Wikileaks cyberwars, Anonymous was conducting large-scale “raids” against their enemies.
The Habbo Hotel raids
Probably the first time 4chan users banded together under the moniker Anonymous was in order to harass the users of Habbo Hotel, a cartoonish social network designed as a virtual hotel.
As early as 2006, Anonymous would "raid" Habbo, blocking its usual users from moving around. The first major raid is known as the "Great Habbo Raid of '06," and a subsequent raid the following year is known as the "Great Habbo Raid of '07."There appears to be some connection to the news of an Alabama amusement park banning a two-year-old toddler affected by AIDS from entering the park's swimming pool.
Users signed up to the Habbo site dressed in avatars of a black man wearing a grey suit and an Afro hairstyle and blocked entry to the pool, declaring that it was "closed due to AIDS," flooding the site with internet sayings, and forming swastika-like formations. Then when all their black cartoon avatars got banned, they'd call Habbo racist. This was all done "for the lulz," or just for fun.
At this point, Anonymous’ actions had not taken on a political bent. Some members of Anon would argue it was better that way.