OK I had heard some ramblings about an internet blackout to protest the US Protect IP Act, but it really came to a head when I heard Imgur was shutting down for 12 FUCKING hours!
Imgur stands in solidarity with Reddit, Wikipedia, Google, The White House and countless others groups that oppose HR 3261 (SOPA) and United States Senate Bill S.968 (PIPA). SOPA is not dead; it has been shelved and wonβt return βuntil a consensus is reached,β according to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA). The fight against Internet censorship continues as the Senate vote for PIPA is still scheduled for Sunday. It is important that our users understand the far-reaching and potentially disastrous repercussions that this legislation could have on the vibrancy and freedom of the Internet.
We will be altering our standard service by blacking out the Imgur gallery on January 18th from 8am-8pm EST and replacing it with a message about how the PIPA/SOPA legislation threatens sites like Imgur with methods to take action. It is important to note that our paid account holders will still have access to the service.
What other sites have you heard of that are shutting down in protest?
A few game developers are, along with Reddit, 4chan, and a heap of other places. Though apparently SOPA has been stopped for now, http://beforeitsnews.com/story/1632/450/House_Kills_SOPA.html now we have to worry about PIPA, the Senates version which is practically the same.
Imgur stands in solidarity with Reddit, Wikipedia, Google, The White House and countless others groups
First line in the quote...
I wonder if people will blackout their Facebook pics again, I think all of one people did it last time it was called for.
I wonder if there would be outrage or support if sites like Facebook / Twiter went offline for 12 hours or a day.
I know I get upset when protestors block my way to other things (i.e. blocked my way into Uni or those idiot union guys that did the rolling blockade on the M1) but I think removal of a service (especially a free one) isn't really something I would get annoyed about.
I reckon let SOPA go through.
Then get anyone who's been linked to a SOPA supporters site to put copyrighted content up, or link to a site that does.
Then file a claim against every single site that linked to that site that has the copyrighted content, or the link.
Cos that's all it would take to bring down sites with SOPA.
It would be great if FB and Twitter did do this for 24 hours. I'd support it, and it would bring a lot more attention to this in the news. I haven't read much about it in any mainstream news.
It would be great if FB and Twitter did do this for 24 hours. I'd support it, and it would bring a lot more attention to this in the news. I haven't read much about it in any mainstream news.
That's because it's being paid to not be in the American news.
Gargh, there has been so much wikipedia usage today for my work trying to make sense of everything from line intersections to shadowmaps to priorityqueues. I need a backup of the entire site, I cannot predict and cache the two million thousand pages that I will probably need tomorrow. :/
Gargh, there has been so much wikipedia usage today for my work trying to make sense of everything from line intersections to shadowmaps to priorityqueues. I need a backup of the entire site, I cannot predict and cache the two million thousand pages that I will probably need tomorrow. :/
If my understanding of timezones is correct, it won't be until late afternoon that the blackout starts and concluding late afternoon on Jan 19th Australia time.
Gargh, there has been so much wikipedia usage today for my work trying to make sense of everything from line intersections to shadowmaps to priorityqueues. I need a backup of the entire site, I cannot predict and cache the two million thousand pages that I will probably need tomorrow. :/
there is a page on wikipedia that allows you to download a zip of the site contents...
there is a page on wikipedia that allows you to download a zip of the site contents...
Ohh good point, though it appears that you can't grab it in html format post-2008, only the database, which will be no fun. I'll just have to rely on wolfram alpha and whatnot during I guess. :P
While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet. Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small. While we are strongly committed to the vigorous enforcement of intellectual property rights, existing tools are not strong enough to root out the worst online pirates beyond our borders. That is why the Administration calls on all sides to work together to pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders while staying true to the principles outlined above in this response. We should never let criminals hide behind a hollow embrace of legitimate American values.
It has begun. 4chan has censored every post on all their boards. Reddit is going down along with wikipedia soon, plus a heap of gaming websites including Red 5 studios, Bungie, and Modern Warfare wiki.
Why don't they go choke on a dick, they aren't the world police.
You must have missed the documentary called 'Team America'. It's quite a hard-hitting piece, nominated for several awards I believe.
If you want to see what the WordPress SOPA addon looks like, check out my blog: pinkyslemma.com
Just has a black box saying "This is what the internet could look like under Stop Online Piracy Act" and then you can click to continue. Pretty reasonable, I like it.
The community has asked us to preserve emergency access options. The following methods will remain available to access content:
Disabling JavaScript in your browser
This is not emergency access - this is a trivial way to disable the blackout: discuss
Using bookmarklets or other tools to unhide the content
Visiting the mobile site at http://en.m.wikipedia.org/
Accessing site content via the API
As noted above, the mobile site will be available, but will display a banner pointing people to ways to protest SOPA/PIPA.
Saying SOPA and PIPA are steps in theο»Ώ right direction toward stopping or even reducing online piracy is like saying nuclear arms are a step in the right direction toward effective home pest control.
@Eorl, just ignore, mate - you're wasting your time arguing with people like arc.
If someone says a sweeping statement like that you just have to think, "Wow! Are some people really this stupid?"
Sadly, I predict one of either SOPA or PIPA will pass :/
Congress doesn't listen to the public anymore, they just do whatever they want. This has too much support, and unless they think they won't be able to override a veto, they'll push forward with it.
4 co-signers have dropped their signatures from the PIPA bill, and will vote against it. SOPA has been stopped for now, but will be looked at again in February.
The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can't let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet's development. Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet.
The world today needs political leaders who are pro-internet. We have been working with many of these folks for months on better alternatives to these current proposals. I encourage you to learn more about these issues and tell your congressmen that you want them to be pro-internet.
I agree with one of the comments saying that facebook should have done something like wiki and put a notice up or taken more drastic measures and shut down for the day.
I saw 2 SOPA posts on my Facebook (both from Aussies) but it would have been awesome if Facebook went black for the day. They didn't even need to do a full blackout, just make everything black, or even have a front-page like FARK does. Hell, they get 1,000,000+ 'I hate this new theme' likes whenever they change the slightest thing, so if they just changed everyones colour scheme to Black instead of their blue it would have kicked up a massive stir.
Yeah, need more source then a user generate meme. Ah well, looks like we are screwed either way with this Protecting Children bill. Never trust politicians, they always have a back up plan involving children or terrorists.
Well obviously it's fake, a former President of Ireland would not make mistakes "I hope i" "all the" "loose", etc and it's a little more than 140.
I just found it the most interesting meme.
PM
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