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Wikipedia "dark" in protest of SOPA and PIPA

Doug Kerr

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Wikipedia, a giant source of information, will be "inaccessible" for 24 hours (all of 2012.12.18, based on Eastern Standard Time) in protest of the proposed bills called SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (the Protect IP Act, or to give it its real title, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), that have been introduced in the US legislature. These bills purport to provide protection against copyright infringement and related crimes conducted via the Internet. They are very controversial.

The Wikipedia Foundation advises that, in case of emergency ("I just have to know who Artie Shaw's third wife was"), one can access Wikipedia via a mobile device (on which the blocking mechanism is not operational), or can access it from conventional computers by disabling JavaScript in the browser. I have not yet tested this.

To save you the trouble of doing that, let me advise that Artie Shaw's third wife was Lana Turner.

So it shouldn't be a total loss, I'll close with a photo of Lana Turner:

Picture-116-640x485.jpg

Best regards,

Doug
 
M

Mark Hampton

New member
Doug Kerr said:
Wikipedia, a giant source of information, will be "inaccessible" for 24 hours (all of 2012.12.18, based on Eastern Standard Time) in protest of the proposed bills called SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (the Protect IP Act, or to give it its real title, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011), that have been introduced in the US legislature. These bills purport to provide protection against copyright infringement and related crimes conducted via the Internet. They are very controversial.

The Wikipedia Foundation advises that, in case of emergency ("I just have to know who Artie Shaw's third wife was"), one can access Wikipedia via a mobile device (on which the blocking mechanism is not operational), or can access it from conventional computers by disabling JavaScript in the browser. I have not yet tested this.

To save you the trouble of doing that, let me advise that Artie Shaw's third wife was Lana Turner.

So it shouldn't be a total loss, I'll close with a photo of Lana Turner:

Picture-116-640x485.jpg

Best regards,

Doug
Click to expand...

Doug,

thanks for the update and the info on Arties 3rd wife - One I may have to add to my "Woman i have never met but photographed"

its funny how when something you dont use everyday becomes univaliable it seems like an issue !

cheers
 
B

Bart_van_der_Wolf

pro member
Cem_Usakligil said:
The unavailability wikipedia isn't the issue, the SOPA and PIPA are the real issues at hand.
Click to expand...

Indeed, as I understand it the mere suspicion of a website harbouring some copyrighted material would be enough to block it for everybody. That is a scenario that gives too much power to governments. Laws are there to limit the imbalance of power between almighty governments and their citizens, to ensure equal rights (also for minorities in a democracy), not to increase the imbalance.

Governments that (have to) resort to such abuse of power, are destined to go down the slippery slope, as history shows again and again.

Cheers,
Bart
 
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M

Mark Hampton

New member
Bart_van_der_Wolf said:
Indeed, as I understand it the mere suspicion of a website harbouring some copyrighted material would be enough to block it for everybody. That is a scenario that gives too much power to governments. Laws are there to limit the imbalance of power between almighty governments and their citizens, to ensure equal rights (also for minorities in a democracy), not to increase the imbalance.

Govenments that (have to) resort to such abuse of power, are destined to go down the slippery slope, as history shows again and again.

Cheers,
Bart
Click to expand...

but this is not new.

laws are there to keep the controlling interest in power. anything of benefit to the populace is an accident (the internet) / or trap (TV) - like a scrap falling from a table to be eaten by a dog.

happy days !
 
Cem_Usakligil

Cem_Usakligil

Well-known member
Mark Hampton said:
...its funny how when something you dont use everyday becomes univaliable it seems like an issue !..
Click to expand...

Cem_Usakligil said:
The unavailability wikipedia isn't the issue, the SOPA and PIPA are the real issues at hand.
Click to expand...

Mark Hampton said:
nope - here a corrupt government set up for the companies - and not its electrate is the real issue - the laws are just a by product of a disgusting system.
Click to expand...
I am not disagreeing per se, but then again I was replying to your comment stating that not having the wikipedia's availability was the issue. See above.
 
M

Mark Hampton

New member
Cem_Usakligil said:
I am not disagreeing per se, but then again I was replying to your comment stating that not having the wikipedia's availability was the issue. See above.
Click to expand...

lol made ironically (it doent translate to well in my posts - i think I need mark emotion). no hassle i wasn't having a go at you - just a system !
 
R

Ruben Alfu

New member
Big media corporations have the right to protect their businesses from piracy but what bothers me is that they don't seem to be just procuring fair, clean conditions for everybody. Problem is that they can't compete in equal terms with the new internet entrepreneurs, right off the bat they are just that: "big traditional corporations". So, what they do? They put their gigantic foot over the competition, taking care to leave a happy face in the footprint.
 
A

Adrian Wareham

New member
They'd have to outlaw crypto before they could hope to censor the 'net for long. If they can't read it, they can't know it needs to be censored.

Besides, look what happened with DRM in music? When it comes to things everyone uses, the public still has the real power. Corporations will die quickly if they infuriate their customer base simply for being too poor to buy from them.

-Adrian
 
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