Post by therealcu2010 on Jan 18, 2012 9:23:39 GMT -5
As many of you are aware, there are currently two bills circulating in Congress designed to curb online piracy from foreign websites- the Stop Internet Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). However, the language in both of these bills would essentially censor the Internet, as the government would be given the power to essentially shut down whole sites, influence search results, and place undue burden on law-abiding companies and individuals to comply with the new regulations (including putting us in legal jeopardy for merely linking to copyright-infringing content), to the point of slowing down our already-fragile economy. In essence, it could destroy the Internet as we know it, threatening the free exchange of ideas we have enjoyed for so many years. The bill is championed by many major Hollywood movie and television studios, but has significant opposition among the tech sector.
Today, many large websites- including Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, Imgur, among others- have "blacked out" for the day, greeting viewers with nothing but a black screen (designed to show what Internet censorship is like), encouraging the viewer to take action against these controversial pieces of legislation. This is being known worldwide as the "SOPA Strike", a group of individuals and Web companies taking a stand against something that could affect them forever. Proboards, our forum provider, is taking its own action, placing the bar you see at the top of the screen. While this particular site will not be participating in the blackout, it does not mean that we do not support the cause.
I want to make one thing clear right now- I realize that Internet piracy is a problem. I fully understand what the bills are trying to achieve, and why they are doing it. We do not promote piracy here at WOFL, and we never will. I, however, have a huge problem with the way they are written. The language in both bills are left open for interpretation, to the point where they suggest that the government effectively has the right to infringe upon our First Amendment rights. In addition, these bills will likely do nothing to actually stop infringement, as people will find ways around it to be able to access the content in question. While the true effects these bills will have on this website remain unknown, what is known for certain is that several sections (including both Multimedia sections, and possibly our Game On! section) will likely have to be removed, as all would open us up to liability under SOPA/PIPA.
Here is an article from PCWorld with information about these two bills. If you don't like what these bills could potentially do to the Internet as we know it, I encourage you to take action. Contact your Congressmen and Senators (if you live in the US), and let them know that you oppose SOPA and PIPA. PIPA is scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor this Sunday, so time is running out...but we all need to let our elected officials (who were put in office to represent US, not Hollywood) that we, their constituents, do not support this bloated piece of legislation. You can visit this site to learn more about how you can fight back.
I normally don't do this...but this is an extremely important issue right now, and everyone needs to be made aware of just how serious this is. In addition, this is our official "action" against SOPA/PIPA, and our way of showing that these two pieces of poorly-written legislation are not the way to curb Internet piracy.
I seriously hope that the effects of this "strike" will encourage Congress to end support for SOPA/PIPA, or at least get them to realize the true effects of this bill being passed (including putting their jobs in jeopardy...2012 IS an election year, after all...)
(And, yes, I realize that this is in the wrong section...but it'd get more noticed here, and it DOES affect this website. This thread will remain up and open until I get home from work tonight, at which time it'll disappear. I actually considered shutting the site down for the day, but decided not to because I never forewarned anybody...)
(Also, this is not an open invitation to start a political debate...this is designed to educate and inform, not persuade others of my beliefs.
)
Today, many large websites- including Wikipedia, Reddit, Mozilla, Imgur, among others- have "blacked out" for the day, greeting viewers with nothing but a black screen (designed to show what Internet censorship is like), encouraging the viewer to take action against these controversial pieces of legislation. This is being known worldwide as the "SOPA Strike", a group of individuals and Web companies taking a stand against something that could affect them forever. Proboards, our forum provider, is taking its own action, placing the bar you see at the top of the screen. While this particular site will not be participating in the blackout, it does not mean that we do not support the cause.
I want to make one thing clear right now- I realize that Internet piracy is a problem. I fully understand what the bills are trying to achieve, and why they are doing it. We do not promote piracy here at WOFL, and we never will. I, however, have a huge problem with the way they are written. The language in both bills are left open for interpretation, to the point where they suggest that the government effectively has the right to infringe upon our First Amendment rights. In addition, these bills will likely do nothing to actually stop infringement, as people will find ways around it to be able to access the content in question. While the true effects these bills will have on this website remain unknown, what is known for certain is that several sections (including both Multimedia sections, and possibly our Game On! section) will likely have to be removed, as all would open us up to liability under SOPA/PIPA.
Here is an article from PCWorld with information about these two bills. If you don't like what these bills could potentially do to the Internet as we know it, I encourage you to take action. Contact your Congressmen and Senators (if you live in the US), and let them know that you oppose SOPA and PIPA. PIPA is scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor this Sunday, so time is running out...but we all need to let our elected officials (who were put in office to represent US, not Hollywood) that we, their constituents, do not support this bloated piece of legislation. You can visit this site to learn more about how you can fight back.
I normally don't do this...but this is an extremely important issue right now, and everyone needs to be made aware of just how serious this is. In addition, this is our official "action" against SOPA/PIPA, and our way of showing that these two pieces of poorly-written legislation are not the way to curb Internet piracy.
I seriously hope that the effects of this "strike" will encourage Congress to end support for SOPA/PIPA, or at least get them to realize the true effects of this bill being passed (including putting their jobs in jeopardy...2012 IS an election year, after all...)
(And, yes, I realize that this is in the wrong section...but it'd get more noticed here, and it DOES affect this website. This thread will remain up and open until I get home from work tonight, at which time it'll disappear. I actually considered shutting the site down for the day, but decided not to because I never forewarned anybody...)
(Also, this is not an open invitation to start a political debate...this is designed to educate and inform, not persuade others of my beliefs.
)
