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Funny how some things never change

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How hackers' spiteful squabble ended in a Scotland Yard raid

It started with an online row and a plan to embarrass 19-year-old Ryan Cleary in front of his parents. Then the notorious Anonymous hacking collective, believing Cleary had launched an attack on its own network, posted his name and address on the internet – and a few weeks later he was in police custody, facing major charges relating to cyber-crime.

Even for the vindictive world of hacking, it was petulant stuff. Ryan Cleary's enemies in Anonymous, the notorious hacking collective whose exploits have embarrassed corporations and governments, planned to send scores of dildos to the Essex house where the teenager lived with his parents.

Then they became more ambitious. "Fuck him over, send pizzas to his house, hire strippers, spam his emails, hack his shit, prank call his house, that's what he deserves, in fact he would do the same thing to us without feeling like a moral fag [naive prude]," one suggested.

But what started out as a childish spat – one that says much about the egotistical, often tribal, nature of modern hacking – ended last week with Cleary's arrest for allegedly trying to bring down numerous targets, including the website of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

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They aren't sending me pizza and strippers.