Did anyone notice that Wikipedia has proposed that it should temporarily shut down in protest against the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)?

“Co-founder Jimmy Wales has suggested that the online encyclopedia should take the drastic measure of shutting down the English version of its site as a “public uprising” if necessary to stop the progress of the anti-piracy laws through congress.”

"Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, said the antipiracy legislation would allow "censorship" of the Internet. "What they've said is, 'We're going to criminalize the linking and structure of the Internet itself. If someone posts a copied video, we're going to force intermediaries to take the link down.”

Jimbo Wales-Request for Comment: SOPA and a strike (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Jimbo_Wales#Request_for_Comment:_SOPA_an d_a_strike)

How SOPA Will Hurt the Free Web and Wikipedia (http://blog.wikimedia.org/2011/12/13/how-sopa-will-hurt-the-free-web-and-wikipedia/)

Stop Online Privacy Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act)

Nope hadn't heard of that.

Pretty complicated, but it seems like the legislation might be well intentioned, as it was originally aimed at shutting down foreign sites that posted intellectual property created by U.S. firms, but it may not be very well written (authors might not fully understand the technology they are trying to regulate).

It's hard to write legislation which has no unintended consequences, even more so when it deals with internet issues.

From Wiki:


The legislation has broad support from organizations that rely on copyright, including the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America, Macmillan Publishers, Viacom, and various other companies and unions in the cable, movie, and music industries. Supporters also include trademark-dependent companies such as Nike, L'Oréal, and Acushnet Company.[82][83]

Both the AFL-CIO and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce support H.R. 3261, and many industries have also publicly praised the legislation. On September 22, 2011, a letter signed by over 350 businesses and organizations—including NBCUniversal, Pfizer, Ford Motor Company, Revlon, NBA, and Macmillan—was sent to Congress encouraging the passage of the legislation this year.[82][83]

vs


Opponents of the bill include Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, AOL, LinkedIn, eBay, Mozilla Corporation, the Brookings Institution and human rights organizations such as Reporters Without Borders,[89] the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU and Human Rights Watch.[90][91]

The Library Copyright Alliance (including the American Library Association) objects to the broadened definition of "willful infringement" and the introduction of felony penalties for noncommercial streaming infringement, stating that these changes could encourage criminal prosecution of libraries.[92]

Of course, one way to improve legislation is to propose something to get this kind of feedback and use that during the mark-up process (still yet to be done) to tighten definitions and remove/rewrite proposed legislation to resolve these unintended consequences.

I doubt, for instance, that the Bill's author's intent was to "encourage criminal prosecution of libraries".

My guess is there will be a lot more discussion and rework before this legislation comes up for a vote.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/sopa-stop-online-piracy-act-debate-why-are-google-and-facebook-against-it/2011/11/17/gIQAvLubVN_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop

SOPA Seriously Screws with the Internet (http://youtu.be/C7vDHIFPg2E)

I noticed that one suggestion was having a white-text-on-black-background instead of a site blank.

What about white-on-white?

Example
Nice album! I recognized the shoes.

http://www.sciforums.com/showpost.php?p=2830131&postcount=124 :D

Yep, love the shoes and I can climb a mountain like a non-fainting goat. :D

“In seeking truth you have to get both sides of a story.” Easier said than done. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-confused002.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

Simply, opponents’ position — to delay and deny a law enforcement solution to the real, dangerous and economically destructive problem of online piracy and counterfeiting on business, jobs, economic growth, and innovation – is politically untenable. At bottom, this is a political fight between the overwhelming majority of law-abiding Americans, companies and institutions hurt by rampant piracy versus a small minority of special interests who profit or benefit from the convenience of unfettered piracy, and a small minority of techtopians who politically oppose enforcement of property rights online as a threat to transparency, sharing, freedom of speech and democracy.

http://www.forbes.com/sopa-fixes-isolate-opponents-especially-google/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcleland/2011/12/14/sopa-fixes-isolate-opponents-especially-google/)

Hitler reacts to SOPA (http://youtu.be/uvXo4sGB7zM)

Don't cry, Disney own that emotion.

Hey, they want to "protect" me from Indian pharma.
I likes my Indian Pharma!!! :mad:

I saw that, and it makes Jimmy Wales seem either clueless or hopelessly optimistic. Obviously relatively few people in Congress spend their days searching wikipedia for information. The only way Wales's plan would have an effect, is if everyone else was inconvenienced enough to contact our Congressmen to register the complaint.

I know people who'd suggest that wikipedia if so prone to errors that he'd be doing English speakers a service by taking it down.

Now, if Google turned off its browser in protest, then you'd have something.

http://www.forbes.com/sopa-fixes-isolate-opponents-especially-google/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcleland/2011/12/14/sopa-fixes-isolate-opponents-especially-google/)

Wow. That is the most ridiculously biased article I have ever read in Forbes. That he paints the issue as all law abiding Americans versus a vocal minority who benefit from piracy is laying it on a bit thick. Most law abiding Americans still have never heard of SOPA.

He doesn't even seem to understand that if the government blocks a site, that's true censorship...when Google does it, that's not. If the government tells me I can't read Catcher in the Rye, that's censorship, when my the particular, privately run, book store refuses to sell it to me, it's not.

Though, as the piece notes, the author did co-write a book called “Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc," and his company does work with many of Google's competitors. So you can't necessarily expect him to be impartial when Google is involved.

Hitler reacts to SOPA (http://youtu.be/uvXo4sGB7zM)

Don't cry, Disney owns that emotion.
Great find, Trippy. That was hilarious.

Thanks!


Though, as the piece notes, the author did co-write a book called “Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc," and his company does work with many of Google's competitors. So you can't necessarily expect him to be impartial when Google is involved.
Good point.

Do a Google search for "Majortrends.tv"

If you live in the west, you aren't allowed to go to their site and read their articles.

Hillary Clinton: US Losing Information War to Alternative Media (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyjnEm8DZkI)

An example of an article that was mirrored from majortrends.tv after they were shut down.

11 Shocking Things You Now Can Realize To Be True (http://imielvisser.com/2011/12/05/11-shocking-things-you-now-can-realize-to-be-true/)

This copyright bullshit is about controlling people's thoughts, minds and the control of information, nothing more. :bugeye:

Could this really work?

“Computer hackers plan to take the Internet beyond the reach of censors by putting their own communication satellites into orbit and creating the Hackerspace Global Grid, including ground stations to track and communicate with the satellites.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16367042?tk=rel_news

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