I'm fed up with these cry-baby whingers like Murdoch and politicians who bitch about the Internet.. They're threatened by it because they cant control it, that's the bottom line.. These people claim to be in favour of "free markets", they claim to be in favour of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, they claim to be defending democracy and freedom.. A completely autonomous internet IS the "free market", it IS the innovation of the 21st Century it IS the most conducive thing to Entrepreneurial spirit as there is practically zero barriers to anyone setting themselves up on the net as a business and it IS the ultimate democratising force... These people in favour of SOPA are full of shit and spitting the shit out their arse..... f*** SOPA, f*** MURDOCH, f*** THE CORPORATE STATES OF AMERICA......

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:SOP...tive/Learn_more

 

http://www.sopastrike.com/

 

https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/SOPA/Blackoutpage

 

 

I've been reading up on SOPA all this week (I think I may have heard about it vaguely a few months ago though, but I didn't really think there was any chance of it coming to pass)

 

I felt this was a good article about SOPA: http://gizmodo.com/5877000/what-is-sopa

 

I'm glad there is as much opposition to it as there is and that wikipedia is raising awareness about it. Youtube, Facebook and Twitter should really follow wikipedias example. (well the entire internet should, but definitely the big names)

 

The internet, for all its controversies and problems has done more good for the world than bad. It should not be touched.

Edited January 18, 201213 yr by Sabrewulf

It's probably good for my studies that Wiki's down for the day given I have an exam tomorrow and I can procrastinate for hours on there :lol:

 

Still, it's fantastic that it's raising awareness. I'm fully in agreement that the internet should be free and open to anyone who wishes to use it, it's its greatest asset.

What is really irritating me is that on the Yahoo trending searches (at least in Ireland) people seem to be more concerned with Wikipedia being down than the actual SOPA bill (and PIPA). :angry:

 

I think I will follow wikipedias advice and contact the Ministry for Foreign affairs in Ireland.

Edited January 18, 201213 yr by Sabrewulf

What is really irritating me is that on the Yahoo trending searches (at least in Ireland) people seem to be more concerned with Wikipedia being down than the actual SOPA bill (and PIPA). :angry:

 

Too right: https://twitter.com/herpderpedia

 

Small perspective or what? I hope that's just a minority, but its still depressing. (And there's still a way to access Wiki if you really need it, it explains as much on the Learn More page)

 

Really quite pleased this is going ahead, I've been vaguely following the SOPA bill, not much, but its certainly not something I want to pass, and it reeks of corporate arrogance.

Too right: https://twitter.com/herpderpedia

 

Small perspective or what? I hope that's just a minority, but its still depressing. (And there's still a way to access Wiki if you really need it, it explains as much on the Learn More page)

 

Really quite pleased this is going ahead, I've been vaguely following the SOPA bill, not much, but its certainly not something I want to pass, and it reeks of corporate arrogance.

 

I really can't believe some people don't have the sense to look at their "terrible grief" over wikipedia being down (and as you said it's not really down, it's just an overlay...if you stop loading the page at the right time you can view whatever wikipedia page you want) and then come to the conclusion that if SOPA were to be passed the situation would be far worse.

 

I doubt the kind of people posting on that twitter page even touched the "Learn More" page though.

Edited January 18, 201213 yr by Sabrewulf

I really can't believe some people don't have the sense to look at their "terrible grief" over wikipedia being down (and as you said it's not really down, it's just an overlay...if you stop loading the page at the right time you can view whatever wikipedia page you want) and then come to the conclusion that if SOPA were to be passed the situation would be far worse

 

Indeed. It's like "Oh No, oh No, Wiki is down, shit, that means I actually have to go to the library...???". Morons.. Anyone who relies on Wiki that much deserves to fail their exams anyway... -_-

 

SOPA will decimate the likes of Wiki, Youtube, Facebook, Google, even Twitter maybe... Some people are so dumb if they cant see that...

Oh, and there's a very easy way of cheating the blackout if people are that desperate as well. I just used French Wiki, it was harder work but I felt more intelligent :lol:

 

Another thing I've noticed is a lot of people seem to think that just because they don't live in America that this won't affect them.

 

As long as the server for a site/service is located in America it will be subject to SOPA. Maybe it won't affect those outside America directly but it will definitely have a serious knock on effect all over the world.

 

Here's hoping the massive backlash will kill off SOPA and PIPA for good.

 

Edit: I had to laugh at the RTE evening news. There was a section about SOPA and how it would have a detrimental affect on the internet. They were talking to somebody from wikipedia about the bill. Then at the end they reminded everyone that wikipedia was still available on phones and that in times of old people used to visit libraries to use a resource known as books. :lol:

Edited January 18, 201213 yr by Sabrewulf

You can also bypass the block simply by disabling JavaScript. Wikipedia told me this from the "see more" pages themselves.

 

I'm glad I've seen very few in favour of SOPA.

I think opinion is pretty much unanimously against the bill for obvious reasons, and this is a great method for spreading the word further - it was on Newsnight last night (the first I'd heard about this) for instance. It will be a sad day for the internet if this bill makes it through.

This bill give the United States Of America power to take down any 'infringing' website anywhere in the world. It also makes it illegal to attempt to circumvent the block. Which happens to be be the exact thing the Chinese do and the Yanks frown upon.

 

 

But hey, if it's all in the name of protecting copyrights....

The Hype Machine is also showing their opposition to SOPA by blacking out all band names, song titles, and blog names from their site. It's a grand gesture, although little bit aggrivating for blogs on it (including mine). Hopefully the bill doesn't pass, although given that many of the companies that support the bill probably helped to fund the campaigns of many of the senators, I cam imagine it being touch and go.

SOPA really goes against the spirit of democracy - it all sounds so ridiculous and an excuse to exercise more power over the people, as others have said, the internet should support the expression of freedom

Edited January 18, 201213 yr by C.W

Welcome to the future...

█████████████ ███████████ ███ ████ ███ ████████. ███████████ ████ ████ . █████████████ ██████████ ██ █████████ ██████████ ██. ███████████ ██████ everything ███ █████ is ██ ████ fine ████ ███ █ ██████ trust █████ ███████ ███ your █████ ████ government.

 

*This post has been found in violation of H.R. 3261, S.O.P.A and has been removed.

 

Internet Redacted... Courtesy of the Unites States Government....

...And here's something that should amuse you all....

 

http://twitpic.com/88ueqz

 

"That awkward moment when you break the law that you authored..." PRICELESS....... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

It seems like yesterdays blackout has had a really strong effect, many of SOPA and PIPA key supporters (politicians and such) have pulled away from the bill. (suddenly deciding that it actually does damage free speech and seeing the error of their ways :rolleyes:)

 

Probably most interesting of all, is that Microsoft have come out against the bill.

 

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/19...ened-yesterday/

 

Something I've seen mentioned and I hope people will be vigiliant against. Is the possibility that even if they pull SOPA and PIPA. Somewhere down the line they'll come back with something less offensive but still fairly outrageous......expecting it to be accepted more easily just because they can say "well it's better than SOPA/PIPA". I hope we'll all keep that in mind for the future.

Edited January 19, 201213 yr by Sabrewulf

It seems like yesterdays blackout has had a really strong effect, many of SOPA and PIPA key supporters (politicians and such) have pulled away from the bill. (suddenly deciding that it actually does damage free speech and seeing the error of their ways :rolleyes:)

 

Probably most interesting of all, is that Microsoft have come out against the bill.

 

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/01/19...ened-yesterday/

 

Something I've seen mentioned and I hope people will be vigiliant against. Is the possibility that even if they pull SOPA and PIPA. Somewhere down the line they'll come back with something less offensive but still fairly outrageous......expecting it to be accepted more easily just because they can say "well it's better than SOPA/PIPA". I hope we'll all keep that in mind for the future.

 

The corporate Hollywood moguls certainly dont like Obama's stance, theyre threatening to stop donations to the Democrats if they dont get their way... Because of course law should be written just for their interests and not the voters..... They're as bad as J P Morgan.... -_-

 

Hollywood/RIAA/MPAA are quite possibly the single most evil thing on the planet right now.

 

They are basically attempting to censor the entire internet (SOPA/PIPA gives them powers to cripple international sites and violate the websites of countries who do not do any business in or with the United States and are based in and serve a sovereign territory/country that is not part of or claimed by the USA) because they failed to adapt to the internet. They are crying about job losses and the destruction of the industry at a time when profits are high, we recently broke the record for Highest grossing film of all time and this is all despite piracy. Hulu and Netflix have both put massive dents in the online piracy rates, after the studios finally let them stream their shows/films, and then when Fox changed the length of time between it's shows airing and being available online for free (either on Fox.com or Hulu) their piracy rates soared. Proving that these legal streaming services are actually the way forward and working with them to provide a brilliant selection of shows/films is actually paramount to reducing piracy rates.

 

I'm willing to bet that a lot of the illegal downloading of TV Shows that takes place is international and is done by people who can't get that show in their native country. That is something that can't really be stopped, and if you think about it is rather beneficial as in the event of it eventually making it international they have an audience who will tune in and buy the DVD's already there which will help convert more people into fans. Also, something nobody in the entertainment industry seems to realise is that the illegal downloading and sharing between friends actually helps to spread a good show/record and can increase it's sales/ratings.

 

Being hell bent on making criminals out of illegal downloaders isn't going to stop them, it's just going to make them stop legally viewing/listening/purchasing your output which will then be very harmful for the industry as it's been proven pirates actually spend more on CDs/DVDs/Cinema trips than anyone else.

 

 

Also, SOPA/PIPA actually violates the law of The Netherlands and Switzerland who both rule that downloading for personal use is perfectly legal.

I can't believe there has been such little response to this thread. The internet is basically going to be SHUT DOWN if this law goes to pass. :manson:

Edited January 19, 201213 yr by Griff