Wikipedia blackout to protest SOPA

[Liability]

I agree entirely. I don't think anyone is suggesting that one doesn't own one's copyrights or that piracy of copyrighted material is either harmless or morally acceptable.

Well, for someone like me - not a 'major corporation'... I have to weigh up the cost of fighting them against the value of the material. But, if I allow it to stand, then they keep on doing it... and other people take it from them, and the list goes on. I've seen an article of mine on 15 fucking sites - not one of which has paid. 15! That's thousands of dollars that I've lost.

Frankly, this is not as simple as you seem to think. Yes, it is about massive corporations... but it's also about self employed writers like me who earn their living from copyrighted material. Think about it before you decide you disagree with it.

Don't get me wrong... I want a very tight law - one that does not give free rein to shut down free speech... but millions of people like me will get caught in the crossfire of this.

Happily, I no longer rely on that financial revenue stream now.... but my content is still mine. You cannot take it from me without paying.

Shut zem' zown!!! An zen...keel zem! Muahahahahahahaha!!!

Damn it, M.A. Simmer the fuck down!

 

[MarcATL]

You are not free to steal what belongs to someone else.

Some don't understand the concept of property/intellectual property.

you will have to scrub your Av and Sig i hope you know. You are using said images without consent from Mel gibson or the company who made the Patriot...

This is why you are stupid. As of right now you are stealing those images for your own use.

Some people dont understand anything.

KA-POW!!!!!

 

[MarcATL]

I oppose the bill on the grounds that it won't do jack shit to solve the problem it purports to address.

Nobody owns 1's and 0's. Get over it you anachronistic dingleberries.

Pirating things online is just thing-pirating aka-stealing. It needs to be cracked down on. I love it when people don't care about this-then bitch when their movie, concert ticket prices go up.

I guess one man's cause is another man's effect.

But whatcha gonna do?

Crack down on the ones violating copy-right laws. If you walked into Best Buy and walked out carrying a CD and a DVD you would be placed under arrest. And for good reason. All downloading online is is a different way to steal.

So is people taping/recording music from the radio.

Why not make the radio stations accountable for all the recording going on?

Stop being so childish and stupid.

They need to just go after the individual perpatrators, not this big sweeping government control that you palookas are begging for.

Have you people lost your cotton pickin' minds!?!?!?!?!?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

No. Just so much for me buying your "sky is falling" chicken little bullshit.

Didn't read the bill, did you?

It doesn't say what idiots like you imagine it says.

Big difference, you ignorant dork.

Which idiots are you referring to? Lawrence Tribe seems to think it says a lot of things that many of us idiots think it does.

http://www.net-coalition.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/tribe-legis-memo-on-SOPA-12-6-11-1.pdf

He is not the only law professor that thinks it either.

http://cdt.org/files/pdfs/SOPA_House_letter_with_PROTECT_IP_letter_FINAL.pdf

More lawyers who think it is says things you think it doesn't.

Don't Break the Internet - Stanford Law Review

Here is a former head of the NSA and current director of Cyber Policy for DHS who seems to be misinformed about the bill.

http://www.cdt.org/report/SOPA-Rope-a-dope

Do you think it is remotely possible you might not understand it, and that the nuts are right this time?

EDIT:

I now understand that you were responding to something else. I am leaving the post up for others to use as a reference.

 

[freedombecki]

Got this in a spam email on my yahoo account...

Tomorrow, January 18th, 2012, will be the largest internet protest in history. Thousands of sites across the internet, including some of the biggest in the world, will be blacking out and directing people to contact Congress to kill the web censorship bill, SOPA and PIPA. We want to get you involved.

Join us on the historic day by blacking out your site. Copy the code below and paste it into the header of your theme (Wordpress users: use the SOPA Strike plugin) to black your site out in protest of SOPA/PIPA. It will activate automatically on Jan. 18th, displaying this page and directing visitors to contact Congress, and will deactivate at the end of the day.

<script type="text/javascript">var a=new Date,b=a.getHours()+a.getTimezoneOffset()/60;if(18==a.getDate()&&0==a.getMonth()&&2012==a.getFullYear()&&13<=b&&24>=b)window.location="http://sopastrike.com/strike";</script>

In just 7 days, the Senate will vote on forever altering the free and open internet by instituting a new regime of extra-judicial, corporate-led website takedowns. This is a fundamental fight about who has power in society -- the people with the means to communicate freely or the governments and corporations that feel threatened.

For the full state of play on the censorship bills, take a look at this infographic we've put together. Click here. The clock is ticking, and we're still 35 senators short of the number we need to kill the bill.

If you're on Facebook or Twitter, please use these links to spread the word about the protest:

Share on Twitter Share on FB

Thank You!

-Donny, Tiffiniy, Holmes, CJ, Phil, Josh, Douglas

Fight for the Future is a non-profit organization fighting for people's freedoms in a new digital age

Thank you for the link, Pale Rider.

 

[MarcATL]

From: SOPA explained: What it is and why it matters - Jan. 17, 2012

Isn't copyright infringement already illegal?

Yes. The 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act lays out enforcement measures.


Let's say a YouTube user uploads a copyrighted song. Under the current law, that song's copyright holders could send a "takedown notice" to YouTube. YouTube is protected against liability as long as it removes the content within a reasonable timeframe.
When it gets a DMCA warning, YouTube has to notify the user who uploaded the content. That user has the right to file a counter-motion demonstrating that the content doesn't infringe on any copyrights. If the two sides keep disagreeing, the issue can go to court.
The problem with DMCA, critics say, is that it's useless against overseas sites.​

SOPA tackles that by moving up the chain. If you can't force overseas sites to take down copyrighted work, you can at least stop U.S. companies from providing their services to those sites. You can also make it harder for U.S. Internet users to find and access the sites.


But SOPA goes further than DMCA and potentially puts site operators on the hook for content their users upload. A site could be deemed a SOPA scofflaw if it takes "deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability" that its service will be used for copyright infringement. That kind of swampy language has tech companies spooked.​

"Deliberate actions to avoid confirming a high probability" that it's service will be used for copyright infringement...that means that USMB would have to take the necessary actions to ENSURE that there was no copyright infringement.


Probably, all avatars and sigs would have to be authorized by staff so that infringements like The T's Mel Gibson avatar would not be used. We would not be able to post any images without authorization. Probably all links would have to be scrutinized.


And if USMB did not have these safeguards in place, they would be liable.


[FONT=Arial, helvetica, sans-serif]I could see some major trouble with this law.[/FONT]​

Only DUMB-DUMBS who are power-struck for more government control in our lives don't see this.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

That is quite a revolutionary concept!

You do realize that under SOPA your Avatar and Sig line would make USMB, and the other boards you've frequented, a target.

Most folks consider piracy a problem. Most folks want to support their favorite artists, authors, and directors, but something as poorly written and far reaching as SOPA is not the answer.... That is unless you like how the Internet works in China.

The use of the public image of a long-dead comic is reached by SOPA?

The scene from Animal House is

 

[MarcATL]

Wow, you right-wing types seriously support SOPA? Seriously?

Well, I guess you can just shut the fuck up about how you disagree with "Government Regulation" right now.

From this point on, anytime I see anyone who's supporting SOPA in this thread say ANYTHING negative about government regulation, I'm just going to link quotes from this thread.

Apparently, you're all in full support of government regulation when it benefits the corporations.

Thanks for showing us all that the Libertarian front you all put up is just a bunch of bullshit.

And that you're all a bunch of corporate shills.

That's all they've ever been.

If you do a search you will notice that I've stated UMPTEEN times that I do not and cannot take these self-proclaimed Conservatives sersiously.

Bush support totally KILLED any legitimacy they may have had, which was slim to none to begin with.

They are nothing but a bunch of frauds and jokers...the lot of 'em.

 

[MarcATL]

This is really just a "No-Brainer".

People on the left are against this because of "Freedom of Speech" issues.

And people on the right are against this because of "Free Market" issues.

The only people that seem to be for this bill are most of Congress (because of the bribes), a bunch of media-related corporations who stand to profit from it, and apparently, some people that need to educate themselves.

I listen to a good amount of RW radio, sometimes daily...a lot are against it.

Only the bonifide Corporate shills and Uber Big Government wingnuts support this claptrap of a bill.

I'm not surprised by NONE of the USMBers who support it.

 

[MarcATL]

This is really just a "No-Brainer".

People on the left are against this because of "Freedom of Speech" issues.

And people on the right are against this because of "Free Market" issues.

The only people that seem to be for this bill are most of Congress (because of the bribes), a bunch of media-related corporations who stand to profit from it, and apparently, some people that need to educate themselves.

I am on the right, but I oppose it because of the free speech issues as well as the free market issues. I think, I don't just react. It will effect both left ,right and middle, dumb, smart and indifference. It should be a bipartisan oppsition.

If people will stop taking sides long enough we may be able to stop some of this anti freedom legislation

Yep, lots of support from BOTH sides. Only the ultra nutjobs are supporting these bills.

Good. This is an incredibly powerful move by wikipedia, and I am incredibly happy to see action taken by companies actually acting responsible for once. This has nothing to do with stealing- that is only a front, but with our government policing the internet in a way that is inappropriate and would make the flow of free information impossible. Don't you people get that? Stop defending giant corporations and think about yourselves for a second. Why didn't this happen years ago when this was actually an issue? No one talks about online theft anymore. Its funny how now, with the masses become more and more educated about the reality of corporate/government activity, the corruption, largely as a result of the Occupy Wallstreet movement, they so conveniently choose now to write up this bill, along with the NDAA. They are obviously nervous about having an informed public, and this is their response. They do it under the guise of 'protecting copyrighted' information,' but it has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the government blocking information to the masses so they can protect their own clandestine and corrupt ways.

Yep, another Big Corp power grab via Big Government.

does being a shill for MPAA pay well?

Honestly I'm more concerned with the music industry than the movie industry (because I'm more familiar with it). I know someone who used to own a very popular music store here. Guess what online pirating did? But him out of business.


It's not about saving the record companies-they make money from tours/concerts (most people don't realize this). Pirating music hurts the engineers, soundboard techs, printing companies, music stores, etc. that all benefit from new music releases.

It doesn't just take money away from rich musicians (which most of them are not) and record companies. It kills jobs for many, many more people. Yet people are still for this. Hard working people who make a honest living losing their businesses and ability to support themselves and their families, all because some people want to steal music is not acceptable.

edit: with that said I never stated on this board that I'm for this new legislation. But more needs to be done to stop pirating online.

I don't think it was "pirating" that put him out of business. I think it was the internet in general.

There are more legal ways to buy music online than there are illegal ways to download it. Retail CD sales are dropping for the same reason that 8-tracks don't sell anymore.

EXACTLY. Moreover, the ways to illegally get music and movies are known to a relative few people. Those who really want to know and/or techy types. The minority of the population.

I can't tell you how many individuals do NOT understand the simple concept of cutting and pasting...in 2012, much less how to download crystal clear DVD-quality movies and/or music.

 

[Photonic]

This is really just a "No-Brainer".

People on the left are against this because of "Freedom of Speech" issues.

And people on the right are against this because of "Free Market" issues.

The only people that seem to be for this bill are most of Congress (because of the bribes), a bunch of media-related corporations who stand to profit from it, and apparently, some people that need to educate themselves.

I am on the right, but I oppose it because of the free speech issues as well as the free market issues. I think, I don't just react. It will effect both left ,right and middle, dumb, smart and indifference. It should be a bipartisan oppsition.

If people will stop taking sides long enough we may be able to stop some of this anti freedom legislation

Yep, lots of support from BOTH sides. Only the ultra nutjobs are supporting these bills.

Yep, another Big Corp power grab via Big Government.

Honestly I'm more concerned with the music industry than the movie industry (because I'm more familiar with it). I know someone who used to own a very popular music store here. Guess what online pirating did? But him out of business.


It's not about saving the record companies-they make money from tours/concerts (most people don't realize this). Pirating music hurts the engineers, soundboard techs, printing companies, music stores, etc. that all benefit from new music releases.

It doesn't just take money away from rich musicians (which most of them are not) and record companies. It kills jobs for many, many more people. Yet people are still for this. Hard working people who make a honest living losing their businesses and ability to support themselves and their families, all because some people want to steal music is not acceptable.

edit: with that said I never stated on this board that I'm for this new legislation. But more needs to be done to stop pirating online.

I don't think it was "pirating" that put him out of business. I think it was the internet in general.

There are more legal ways to buy music online than there are illegal ways to download it. Retail CD sales are dropping for the same reason that 8-tracks don't sell anymore.

EXACTLY. Moreover, the ways to illegally get music and movies are known to a relative few people. Those who really want to know and/or techy types. The minority of the population.

I can't tell you how many individuals do NOT understand the simple concept of cutting and pasting...in 2012, much less how to download crystal clear DVD-quality movies and/or music.

The Escapist : News : Valve's Gabe Newell Says Piracy Is a Service Problem

If Gabe Newell says piracy isn't a problem, it isn't a fucking problem.

 

[MarcATL]

I am on the right, but I oppose it because of the free speech issues as well as the free market issues. I think, I don't just react. It will effect both left ,right and middle, dumb, smart and indifference. It should be a bipartisan oppsition.

If people will stop taking sides long enough we may be able to stop some of this anti freedom legislation

Yep, lots of support from BOTH sides. Only the ultra nutjobs are supporting these bills.

Yep, another Big Corp power grab via Big Government.

I don't think it was "pirating" that put him out of business. I think it was the internet in general.

There are more legal ways to buy music online than there are illegal ways to download it. Retail CD sales are dropping for the same reason that 8-tracks don't sell anymore.

EXACTLY. Moreover, the ways to illegally get music and movies are known to a relative few people. Those who really want to know and/or techy types. The minority of the population.

I can't tell you how many individuals do NOT understand the simple concept of cutting and pasting...in 2012, much less how to download crystal clear DVD-quality movies and/or music.

The Escapist : News : Valve's Gabe Newell Says Piracy Is a Service Problem

If Gabe Newell says piracy isn't a problem, it isn't a fucking problem.

Interesting read. Thanks!

 

[Liability]

You do realize that under SOPA your Avatar and Sig line would make USMB, and the other boards you've frequented, a target.

Most folks consider piracy a problem. Most folks want to support their favorite artists, authors, and directors, but something as poorly written and far reaching as SOPA is not the answer.... That is unless you like how the Internet works in China.

The use of the public image of a long-dead comic is reached by SOPA?

The scene from Animal House is

So you claim.

Now, go ahead and prove it with appropriate quotation from the language of the proposed legislation.

 

[Liability]

It says all Internet Service Providers must enforce...?

Oh nozies. Internet Service Providers are obliged by law (if the bill ever passes) to assist in the prevention of the dissemination of Child Pornography?

What IS this nation coming to?

Blind ignorance will be the death of this country.

What they are asking ISP's to do has literally nothing to do with Child Pornography.

It's basically saying, hey, if we kill everything, then no one can commit the crime!

No, moron. You're wrong and/or dishonest.

YOU, you fucking lying twit, offered the anti-Pornography bill in support of your sky is falling claim. The proposed legislation simply does NOT do the things you claimed it would do.

You are either woefully ignorant and illiterate or flatly dishonest.

Either way, you have no credibility in this discussion.

And it is not saying ANYTHING (not "basically" and not at all) about killing everything.

You are SUCH a chicken Little you think "Raindrops keep falling on my head" is the theme for the end times.

You dopey lying puss.

 

[Photonic]

Oh nozies. Internet Service Providers are obliged by law (if the bill ever passes) to assist in the prevention of the dissemination of Child Pornography?

What IS this nation coming to?

Blind ignorance will be the death of this country.

What they are asking ISP's to do has literally nothing to do with Child Pornography.

It's basically saying, hey, if we kill everything, then no one can commit the crime!

No, moron. You're wrong and/or dishonest.

YOU, you fucking lying twit, offered the anti-Pornography bill in support of your sky is falling claim. The proposed legislation simply does NOT do the things you claimed it would do.

You are either woefully ignorant and illiterate or flatly dishonest.

Either way, you have no credibility in this discussion.

And it is not saying ANYTHING (not "basically" and not at all) about killing everything.

You are SUCH a chicken Little you think "Raindrops keep falling on my head" is the theme for the end times.

You dopey lying puss.

Can I ask you something?

If this is a bill about protecting children from being in porno's, why is it asking for something that literally has nothing to do with it?

 

[Liability]

Blind ignorance will be the death of this country.

What they are asking ISP's to do has literally nothing to do with Child Pornography.

It's basically saying, hey, if we kill everything, then no one can commit the crime!

No, moron. You're wrong and/or dishonest.

YOU, you fucking lying twit, offered the anti-Pornography bill in support of your sky is falling claim. The proposed legislation simply does NOT do the things you claimed it would do.

You are either woefully ignorant and illiterate or flatly dishonest.

Either way, you have no credibility in this discussion.

And it is not saying ANYTHING (not "basically" and not at all) about killing everything.

You are SUCH a chicken Little you think "Raindrops keep falling on my head" is the theme for the end times.

You dopey lying puss.

Can I ask you something?

If this is a bill about protecting children from being in porno's, why is it asking for something that literally has nothing to do with it?

It isn't, stupid.

Don't highlight your abject ignorance quite so much.

It might make you feel even worse about your pathetic life, down the road.

 

[Ringel05]

The use of the public image of a long-dead comic is reached by SOPA?

The scene from Animal House is

So you claim.

Now, go ahead and prove it with appropriate quotation from the language of the proposed legislation.

Therein lies the problem. The language is so open ended that it can (and probably will) be interpreted in anyone's favor who claims ownership of that scene/movie but the real issue is the backers of the bill will use it, as they have used others in the past, to stifle competition, specifically the re-sale market, which they've been after for decades but have been stopped in the courts. Part of this legislation is an obvious end run around the court decisions protecting the re-sale community.

 

[ebin]

I think it's a perfectly appropriate protest, both in terms of the means (shutting down their site) and the ends (defeating SOPA/PIPA).

Even though I use Wikipedia multiple times a day, I don't expect to be too inconvenienced. I expect to be able to get by with the cached and non-English versions of their articles.

Wikipedia have the influence to affect real change. If SOPA/PIPA is passed, many of our internet privileges will be gone. Good move, Wikipedia.

 

[newpolitics]

it is anti-freedom and against the consitution! Impeachments and removals should be had if they pass this anti-freeom bill!

you are not free to steal what belongs to someone else.

did you create your avatar and your 'bitch' in the sig line?

If not, you are 'stealing what belongs to someone else' by virtue of this law.

on shit!!!

 

[xotoxi]

Your confirmation bias is showing.

I don't download music or movies nor do I have any intention of doing so, and I adamantly oppose this legislation.

I believe you said you had Rush's new album...which doesn't come out until later this year.

Confirmation bias topped off with poor reading comprehension.

You're on a roll buddy.

He didn't say Rush's new album. He said my new Rush album...it might be 2112 for all you know.