Let us remember that DDoS attacks are the closest thing to normalcy that 4chan can have.
Yeah, I was going to say, the DDoS'ing has been going on for a while now...
Before everyone goes crazy, I would like to know the standard procedure at AT&T to deal with a DDoS attack. Can they point to previous examples of shutting down sites because of it? Surely 4chan isn't the only site that has been attacked through their network. If they have a history of doing this and have granted access back to the site this is a non-story. If they don't ever do this and they can't point to previous examples, then my friends, they may well deserve the barrels of fun coming their way.
If TC isn't completely wrong (and they are notorious for being careless with the facts) AT&T was demanding some changes to the content on 4chan in order to restore access.
I think it's reasonably common procedure. If you're getting hammered by DDoS, sometimes it's just best to shut off that IP for a while until it stops.
The pertinent question at hand is, did AT&T block access to parts of the site to counteract DDoS attacks or to censor content?
The opinions of rational people can't be adequately formed until it becomes clearer as to the reasons behind the action.
The word on the street is 4chan was being hit by a SYN attack. The ACKs were directed to various ISPs, one of whom was AT&T, who all blocked 4chan in response.