SOPA Blackout Protest

[RainingLemur]

I like the blackout stuff used on generalforum. That's really neat. I'll have to play with that a bit. That'd be nifty for an "under construction" thing for a few of my sites.

[DiapDealer]

I really never would have believed Wikipedia's down day would affect me at all, but I've been caught out by it several times today, already. I had no idea I relied on it as much as I do on a daily basis.

And no... I don't rely on Wikipedia's content... but searches have to start somewhere, and apparently (for me anyway), that means starting with Google... hitting the first few Wikipedia entries that pop up for a quick overview of a subject... and then getting serious.

My ability to gain knowledge quickly has been partially hamstrung (hamstringed?) today... mission accomplished Wikipedia.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I really never would have believed Wikipedia's down day would affect me at all, but I've been caught out by it several times today, already. I had no idea I relied on it as much as I do on a daily basis.

And no... I don't rely on Wikipedia's content... but searches have to start somewhere, and apparently (for me anyway), that means starting with Google... hitting the first few Wikipedia entries that pop up for a quick overview of a subject... and then getting serious.

My ability to gain knowledge quickly has been partially hamstrung (hamstringed?) today... mission accomplished Wikipedia.

Same here, and I agree with luqmaninbmore that this can be effective. I was aware that it was happening, but it wasn't until I ran into Wiki's blackout and Google's doodle that it really got my attention. I was motivated to sign Google's petition and write my rep.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

Same here, and I agree with luqmaninbmore that this can be effective. I was aware that it was happening, but it wasn't until I ran into that it really got my attention. I was motivated to sign Google's petition and write my rep.

It's a damned nuisance for those of us who cannot influence this decision. I'm sure that it's not beyond the wit of man for Wiki to have restricted this "blackout" to those who have a US IP address.

[sun surfer]

I haven't read back further than this page so I'm not sure if this has already been posted or not, but you know you can still use the English wikipedia site. When it loads, it shows the normal page for a half-second before the blackout page. All you have to do is press Escape or Stop before it goes to the blackout page and you will have normal wikipedia. You have to do this for every single page, though.

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If MR's experience is anything to go by, people are very vigilant when they know that a policy is there for everyone's benefit. If someone uploads something dodgy here, you can guarantee that half a dozen people will have reported it within 10 minutes.

That's how it is with most sites currently and imo the only sane way to operate a site that allows user generated content. However, SOPA threatens safe harbour provisions based on what the EFF have said.

If what the EFF stated is accurate, would MR still be able to operate if every single post made had to be pre-moderated before been made publicly accessible and every avatar checked to ensure it didn't include infringing images each and every time a user attempted to change it?

The impact of SOPA is quite far reaching by the sounds of it, video game companies are worried that they may have to no longer allow user generated content as the "report this content" option wouldn't cut it.

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, sites that host user content can't be held liable for copyright infringement by users as long as they respond to valid takedown notices and comply with some other requirements, but they don't have to look actively for infringing content. Under PIPA and SOPA, all sites that host users' content would have to become copyright police or risk being shut down because of the actions of a few users.

Source article which quotes Mitch Stoltz, EFF staff attorney and intellectual property expert.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's a damned nuisance for those of us who cannot influence this decision. I'm sure that it's not beyond the wit of man for Wiki to have restricted this "blackout" to those who have a US IP address.

1, there is something to said for global awareness and solidarity....
2, while you can't influence the decision in the same way that an American could, surely these bills would impact UK interests as well, either indirectly by setting bad example, or directly by impacting what I expect is the largest audience of UK Internet endeavors.
So let your reps know that you are effected by this.
International pressure can have some influence here, I'd think.

ApK

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ApK

1, there is something to said for global awareness and solidarity....
2, while you can't influence the decision in the same way that an American could, surely these bills would impact UK interests as well, either indirectly by setting bad example, or directly by impacting what I expect is the largest audience of UK Internet endeavors.
So let your reps know that you are effected by this.
International pressure can have some influence here, I'd think.

ApK

As I said before, though, the UK already blocks dodgy internet sites, so this is perhaps not seen as such a big deal here.

[tubemonkey]

If you want access to Wikipedia, Google search the topic and hit the cached link.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

If you want access to Wikipedia, Google search the topic and hit the cached link.

You cheating little monkey, you.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

If you want access to Wikipedia, Google search the topic and hit the cached link.

That's what I did earlier (once I found the cache link!), but sun surfer's tip is better, I think.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by spellbanisher

Don't panic. I found a way to circumvent this. When you go to a page on wikipedia, it loads first and then sends you to a black screen. You can press the stop loading button (or icon or whatever you call it) before it gets a chance to redirect.

I'm not quick enough

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

You cheating little monkey, you.

Originally Posted by ApK

That's what I did earlier (once I found the cache link!), but sun surfer's tip is better, I think.

What tip is that?

[JoeD]

Originally Posted by HarryT

As I said before, though, the UK already blocks dodgy internet sites, so this is perhaps not seen as such a big deal here.

Only via court order.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JoeD

Only via court order.

Or by a site being on the list maintained by some group whose name escapes me - the one that's aimed primarily at child porn sites, etc. I don't know if it's voluntary or statutory, but AFAIK, all ISPs block the sites on that list.

EDIT: The "Internet Watch Foundation" - that's the name. http://www.iwf.org.uk/