Anonymous's initial attack on Scientology was highly aggressive — the group collapsed the church's website on January 17 and "declared war" soon after.
Scientology retaliated with a video accusing Anonymous of a litany of sins: abusive phone calls, an anthrax hoax and a threat to bomb churches across the US.
Some of these claims appear to be true, others are more dubious. Certainly, Scientologists in Australia say they have been subjected to abusive phone calls and even break-ins, and can produce some evidence to support their claims.
But after the initial outburst, Anonymous suddenly shifted tactics, at least officially.
"Denial of service" attacks and prank phone calls were out, replaced by appeals to end the church's tax-exempt status in the US and Australia, and claims that Anonymous was aiming to "free" church members.
Scientologists say there has been an "ongoing campaign of hate" against them, but it seems most Anonymous members have kept their activities legal.
This change can be traced to long-time Scientology critics Mark Bunker, who publicly appealed to the anarchic group to tone down its aggressive tactics.
Surprisingly, Anonymous listened, dubbing Bunker "wise beard man" ("his words are wise, his face is beard"). Bunker's image even became a 4chan meme (see main article).
Anonymous has no leaders and no control structure, so it's difficult to know whether individual members are carrying out acts against Scientology that breach the law.
Scientologists in Australia have reported a number of incidents to police, and have kept records of the activities taken against them.
But Anonymous members say the protests against Scientology have been something of a coming-of-age for the group, forcing it to move away from sometimes dubious pranks.
"Anyone threatening, hacking, anything that breaks the law, is not Anonymous," Sydney-based Anon Guy Fawkes says.
"They can claim to be Anonymous, but they give up their right to anonymity once they break the law."
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