SOPA/PIPA Blackout

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Slarti
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SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Post by Slarti »

Obviously, we haven't blacked out today, aside from a temporary return to our mourning colors, but I think it's a worthwhile cause, so I thought I'd share this link

The way I've interpreted this, the passage of these bills could be the end of Nightscrawlers, so please take a moment to become informed and add your support if you'd like.

Thanks!

[Edited on 18-1-2012 by Slarti]
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SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

Don't get me wrong, I support the movement, but no the way they're doing it. I don't think blacking-out websites solves much of anything.
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Jeremus
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SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Post by Jeremus »

I've read different things about it ...pro and con...and I'm still confused.
What my tired brain has managed to glean from all this is that if someone (like me for instance), posts a link (here at Nightscrawlers) to a picture or video on the internet (like LOL cats or something) that I do not own, then Nightscrawlers could be shut down??? Or if I post a link to another website that itself posts a picture that it doesn't own, Nightscrawlers could be shut down for allowing me to post the link???

Is this what it does or am I way off base? :shrug

[Edited on 01/19/09 by Jeremus]
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SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Post by HoodedMan »

Ult_Sm86 wrote:Don't get me wrong, I support the movement, but no the way they're doing it. I don't think blacking-out websites solves much of anything.
How does blacking out high-profile Web sites not solve the problem of lack of awareness? I think people noticed.
Jeremus wrote:I've read different things about it ...pro and con...and I'm still confused.
What my tired brain has managed to glean from all this is that if someone (like me for instance), posts a link (here at Nightscrawlers) to a picture or video on the internet (like LOL cats or something) that I do not own, then Nightscrawlers could be shut down??? Or if I post a link to another website that itself posts a picture that it doesn't own, Nightscrawlers could be shut down for allowing me to post the link???

Is this what it does or am I way off base? :shrug
You're close, and that could have been the case before the last revision of the bill. In your hypothetical, we would be served with a court order to take down not only your link, but all links to the site to which you were linking, legitimate or not.

One of the major remaining problems is that the bill is redundant. We have the DMCA, a tried and true, low-cost procedure for getting links to copyright infringements removed. SOPA and PIPA scratch an itch with a chainsaw. Instead of a legal notice, we would have federal litigation. Many low-budget and non-profit sites don't have the resources to deal with such litigation. It'd be more cost-effective for them to give up all their content rather than have to deal with policing all of it and then scouring all of it every time they get a court order.

There are a number of more technical problems with the bills, but that's the gist of it.
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SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

HM my post earlier was made on little to no knowledge of what it was actually trying to achieve.

Having spent the day reading up on it thoroughly, I get the tactic now and it makes perfect sense. Originally I thought people were just blacking out pages and shutting things down, but many of them explained why and linked to online petitions, which is what I was saying needed to happen, and people were telling me (via Twitter) that I was "stupid".


I felt that simply closing down websites wouldn't solve anything, making things go black felt pointless to me. It didn't look like it would solve anything. I wanted to see proactive change, people writing, awareness being risen, it didn't occur to me people would use the blackout as a way to do that. (Obviously. I feel stupid now writing this, but I was thinking "how retarded is it people are just going to black out a web page and not tell anyone why?").

While I'm very on teh fence about pirating, both of these bills use increasingly vague and threatening language that alarms me greatly. I am very pleased to see Barack stated that the White House would never support the bill and even happier to see so many backers drop out
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SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Post by HoodedMan »

It's all good, Bman. In any case, I too am heartened by the withdrawal of support for SOPA (its own sponsor doesn't want anything to do with it anymore), but I hope people don't get complacent as I've seen that happen too many times then seen the legislation smuggled into an omnibus bill and signed. How do people think the provisions in the NDAA slipped in?

And I'm not on the fence about piracy at all. I'm a developer; I'd hate to see my or my coworkers' works pirated. But this is like banning cars to solve drunk driving.
ACHTUNG! Alles touristen und non-technischen looken peepers! Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfusen und poppencorken mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen. Das rubbernecken sichtseeren keepen das cotten-pickenen hans in das pockets muss; relaxen und watchen das blinkenlichten.
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SOPA/PIPA Blackout

Post by Jeremus »

HoodedMan wrote: But this is like banning cars to solve drunk driving.
That's exactly what it seems like.

So if this law is so good, then why don't they apply it everywhere? If they find that an author has plagerized something in his book, instead of just removing the book, they shut down every library and close every bookstore. So then the bookstore has to pay a lawyer to defend itself to reopen its doors. Yeah....that'll work.
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