Sopa/pipa

[Human No More]

You may see ToS has joined in the protest, along with wikipedia, google, reddit, and THOUSANDS of other websites.

If you haven't heard of these two proposed laws yet, you should.

Stop American Censorship — a campaign from Fight for the Future

Watch this video: http://vimeo.com/31100268

This will impose chinese-style internet filtering. They are supported by the movie and film, industries, because they will effectively ban user generated content and information sharing. This is all about control.

The repercussions will not just affect the US either. This sets a precedent for arbitrary, at-will censorship, and enables both security and connectivity problems that will affect internet users across the world.

If these pass, ToS will be essentially banned, along with Facebook, Youtube, Google, Wikipedia, deviantArt and every chan, forum, social network, and blog. The internet will become TV - locked down, centrally controlled by authority, and passive, with no participation, nothing that makes the internet what is is. This seeks to control the internet, to force websites into responsibility for the actions of others, and to suppress dissent and free speech. The dangers of this, both in itself and in the precedent it sets, can not be overstated

If you are in the US, tell your representative to oppose it. Write, phone, email. DO ALL THREE.

Everyone else, there is less we can do, unfortunately, but we can still raise awareness - what the people who CAN fight this directly need right now is allies, is help. We are the ones to give it to them. Make sure there is not a single person in the world who does not understand the consequences of this.

The internet is going to war, but make no mistake, this is a fight for survival, for everything we hold close to us. Show them what we can do. Stories will be told of this day for generations to come, as the day the internet stood up for what it believed in.

[Advent]

Well, I took that link of yours, and posted it on a Facebook page I know of with 150'000 on it. Here's to the internet.

[Human No More]

"So what can I do?"

If you're in the US, fight it directly.
There is a pre-written message you can send at PROTECT IP Act Breaks the Internet and Stop American Censorship — a campaign from Fight for the Future . In addition, if you at all can, PHONE them, and even send letters by post (the impact of opposing letters being delivered in massive piles has more effect on a politician than you might think, while email is easier to ignore).

In addition, and also for the rest of us: AWARENESS. Today is a historic day, and while the effort that a user here makes pales in comparison to Google, Wikipedia, and others, remember that it is the millions who try that are the real power behind any effort to stop this - we can't do it alone. Such small efforts are magnified to an amazing degree. The internet does it often, and old establishments fear that - that is what SOPA is all about; control. Don't give them the opportunity

[Raiden]

Those crusty old sh1ts aren't touching my internet.


Old men have no right to lead if they can't accept the future.

[Sight Unseen]

Originally Posted by Human No More

You may see ToS has joined in the protest...

Awesome!

Originally Posted by Raiden

Those crusty old sh1ts aren't touching my internet.


Old men have no right to lead if they can't accept the future.

^ Indeed, you just about summed up my feelings on this subject.

I get about 100 hits... a week , but I took my site down anyway. I'm doing my very small part to help protest.
SyteUnseen.net

[Tsyal Makto]

^Amen. This is fascism/police statery at its worst. It's not often so many people actually fight back against misdeeds by the ruling class (in both business and government, and these bills are proof of the horrid relationship between both).

Now if only we could do this more often...

[Empty Glass]

ToS isn't going dark for a day, is it?

In either case, right f---in' on, man.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by Empty Glass

ToS isn't going dark for a day, is it?

In either case, right f---in' on, man.

...see the main page

[Empty Glass]

Originally Posted by Human No More

...see the main page

Shows how smart I am, eh?


Oh, and also:

The Author of SOPA Is a Copyright Violator

SOPA Backers Are Pirates Themselves

^Just something I think is interesting to consider.

[Icu]

As bad as SOPA may be... lots of people clearly have no idea what it actually says.

[txen]

Originally Posted by Icu

As bad as SOPA may be... lots of people clearly have no idea what it actually says.

Very few people know what any of the laws are and that includes the legislators that pass them.

I contacted my three federal legislators when this first came on the scene last year. Since I live in California they are pretty much bought and paid for by the interests behind SOPA/PIPA so I was not expecting much. Sadly there are not very many here in the US that actually take the time to let their representatives know what they want them to do.

I really hope that the next 20 odd hours left help to get a few million people to get off there arse and do something. Now usually they don't listen, but if there are thousands of calls, emails, and hopefully a few actual letters they will get the message.

Keep up the good work.

[zongtseng]

Originally Posted by Icu

As bad as SOPA may be... lots of people clearly have no idea what it actually says.

^^^

I'm not in favor of SOPA either, but the hysterics people are going into are really excessive, and just discredit the opposition. Yes, SOPA is the wrong way to go about it, and I don't support it... but piracy is a real problem. And every day that people claim pirating is somehow their right is another day closer to this type of control. Find a real solution, and stop acting like stealing is your right - or you'll find this type of control WILL happen, some day, and it will be the fault of those who can't help but steal everything in sight.

[Mika]

Originally Posted by zongtseng

^

HE LIVES!

couldn't resist!


That cheeky aside what I really came on here to say next, albeit what you point out gives pause to consider, as valid, but where My thoughts were going was seeing these bills as similar to the RDA bulldozing 'sites' like the Tree of Voices, and all that that symbolism represents, including to think about all the 'resultants' after.

[Clarke]

Originally Posted by zongtseng

...stop acting like stealing is your right - or you'll find this type of control WILL happen, some day, and it will be the fault of those who can't help but steal everything in sight.

Numbers are numbers are numbers. Since when did people own numbers?

Oh, right, since we wrote laws saying so. Just because the law says something is a crime does not automatically make it immoral, and just because something is a law does not mean it can effectively be enforced. Piracy is definitely not the latter, and I would say not the former, since selling "copies" of the work is hardly the only way for the artists to be compensated.

[Human No More]

Originally Posted by zongtseng

^^^

I'm not in favor of SOPA either, but the hysterics people are going into are really excessive, and just discredit the opposition. Yes, SOPA is the wrong way to go about it, and I don't support it... but piracy is a real problem. And every day that people claim pirating is somehow their right is another day closer to this type of control. Find a real solution, and stop acting like stealing is your right - or you'll find this type of control WILL happen, some day, and it will be the fault of those who can't help but steal everything in sight.

Yet banning an entire website because someone posted a video of themselves dancing to a song is not a solution, particularly since with all the censorship it allows, I can think of tens of workarounds for off the top of my head.
This isn't about 'piracy', it's about media control - these consortia control all TV, almost all film, and the internet is somewhere they have no influence (and often prove themselves completely lacking understanding). They want that to change, so the internet is locked down and consumer only without any semblance of user input, like TV. That in itself shows how little they understand it, and why they are part of an old model which is no longer relevant. Clinging to archaic methods, strategies and models will get a company left behind, and they could have been as important as google, but they didn't wan to sacrifice charging people £15 for 10 mass-produced songs before they even had a chance to hear them.
PS. Good to see you post