Wikipedia still going dark over SOPA

[Lithp]

Especially on Deviantart. Christ. They don't exactly go through the official channels to make sure their copyright is protected, even if they CAN claim that their work is entirely theirs & not influenced by anyone else.

[The Bright Angel]

Especially on Deviantart. Christ. They don't exactly go through the official channels to make sure their copyright is protected, even if they CAN claim that their work is entirely theirs & not influenced by anyone else.

True. As a member of that community I know that this law would be disastrous and dangerous waters for any artist on that site.

Edit found this while searching the web.

  : Glenn Beck is against SOPA/PIPA. Yes you heard me. He doesn't want SOPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/glenn-beck-sopa_n_1214701.html

Did I get hoodwinked? Is the water contaminated with something? I can't believe it.

[jumpingjackflash]

Especially on Deviantart. Christ. They don't exactly go through the official channels to make sure their copyright is protected, even if they CAN claim that their work is entirely theirs & not influenced by anyone else.

True. As a member of that community I know that this law would be disastrous and dangerous waters for any artist on that site.

Edit found this while searching the web.

  : Glenn Beck is against SOPA/PIPA. Yes you heard me. He doesn't want SOPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/glenn-beck-sopa_n_1214701.html

Did I get hoodwinked? Is the water contaminated with something? I can't believe it.

[ironbite]

Why am I agreeing with Glenn Beck?

Ironbite-I'm...confused.

[anti-nonsense]

some people on reddit are suggesting that people should donate to wikipedia to thank them for what they've done.

[Joey]

Especially on Deviantart. Christ. They don't exactly go through the official channels to make sure their copyright is protected, even if they CAN claim that their work is entirely theirs & not influenced by anyone else.

True. As a member of that community I know that this law would be disastrous and dangerous waters for any artist on that site.

Edit found this while searching the web.

  : Glenn Beck is against SOPA/PIPA. Yes you heard me. He doesn't want SOPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/glenn-beck-sopa_n_1214701.html

Did I get hoodwinked? Is the water contaminated with something? I can't believe it.

SOPA isn't really a Left vs Right issue... it has both support and opposition across the political spectrum.

[rosenewock21]

Deviant Art has a discussion going on right now about it, with a banner linking to the discussion at the top of all pages. Considering the large number of fan art on DA, most of the debaters are against it.

The thing I took from this quote isn't "Yay, a majority of people are against it" but rather "Holy crap, a decent percentage of people are actually stupid enough to support this thing!?"

I'll remind you that there are people in the fan-fiction realm who mark their OCs as "Original Character. Do not steal/use without permission" with no sense of irony what-so-ever. I mean, it would be one thing to ask that they not be used without crediting....but that? Really?

Actually, I don't know why I'm surprised. There's some group on LJ who thinks you can't even use ideas that are similar to theirs without crediting them. They came up with what they saw as a completely original idea (that is actually older than dirt) and will flame the hell out of anyone who has a similar story that won't give them credit. What amuses me is that tvtropes even has a page for "their" idea listing examples of it in various media, Tommyknockers and Prey being some better examples.

But, enough of me grousing about the stupidity of people. How was every one impacted by the blackout? I know I kept trying to use wikipedia today out of habit.

Edit for grammar fail.

[N. De Plume]

Edit found this while searching the web.

  : Glenn Beck is against SOPA/PIPA. Yes you heard me. He doesn't want SOPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/glenn-beck-sopa_n_1214701.html

Did I get hoodwinked? Is the water contaminated with something? I can't believe it.

SOPA isn't really a Left vs Right issue... it has both support and opposition across the political spectrum.

But Beck isn’t really a Left/Right issue either. He’s just plain nuts!

[The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist]

: Glenn Beck is against SOPA/PIPA. Yes you heard me. He doesn't want SOPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/glenn-beck-sopa_n_1214701.html

Did I get hoodwinked? Is the water contaminated with something? I can't believe it.

My god... it's full of stars...

[armandtanzarian]

Especially on Deviantart. Christ. They don't exactly go through the official channels to make sure their copyright is protected, even if they CAN claim that their work is entirely theirs & not influenced by anyone else.

True. As a member of that community I know that this law would be disastrous and dangerous waters for any artist on that site.

Edit found this while searching the web.

  : Glenn Beck is against SOPA/PIPA. Yes you heard me. He doesn't want SOPA.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/glenn-beck-sopa_n_1214701.html

Did I get hoodwinked? Is the water contaminated with something? I can't believe it.

SOPA isn't really a Left vs Right issue... it has both support and opposition across the political spectrum.

When you consider he now makes all his income through his internet ventures, I think its safe to say he's worried about his income stream as much as he's thinking about the actual piracy/privacy issues.

[anti-nonsense]

this was just posted on Reddit
http://www.reddit.com/r/SOPA/comments/onk34/urgent_message

[Her3tiK]

It would also appear that several representatives' websites are being shut down by the sheer number of traffic they've been getting.

http://gizmodo.com/5877219/sopa-outrage-is-breaking-the-senates-websites

It looks like many of you really don't like this SOPA thing! And best of all, you're actually doing something about it: US Senate contact pages are being hammered so hard, they're crashing.

Apparently, you can take away our civil liberties, but may the gods help you if you touch our lolcats.

[rosenewock21]

It would also appear that several representatives' websites are being shut down by the sheer number of traffic they've been getting.

http://gizmodo.com/5877219/sopa-outrage-is-breaking-the-senates-websites

It looks like many of you really don't like this SOPA thing! And best of all, you're actually doing something about it: US Senate contact pages are being hammered so hard, they're crashing.

Apparently, you can take away our civil liberties, but may the gods help you if you touch our lolcats.

We even have a protest song for our generation!
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p-TV4jaCMk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p-TV4jaCMk</a>

[rageaholic]

Deviant Art has a discussion going on right now about it, with a banner linking to the discussion at the top of all pages. Considering the large number of fan art on DA, most of the debaters are against it.

The thing I took from this quote isn't "Yay, a majority of people are against it" but rather "Holy crap, a decent percentage of people are actually stupid enough to support this thing!?"

Yeah, I don't even see SOPA as controversial.  It's a huge threat to the web, it gives businesses and government too much power, and the wording makes it easy for any site to get taken down.  If you're an internet user, this is bad, end of story.  No need for debate. 

Anyone who thinks SOPA is a good idea should be banned from the internet. 

[Meshakhad]

There may be a legislative alternative to SOPA, one that tries to accomplish the same goals without killing the Internet. I got this from Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) in reply to my e-mail about SOPA:

Dear [Meshakhad],

Thank you for contacting me about the internet streaming of copyrighted material. I appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

On May 12, 2011, Senator Leahy (D-VT) introduced S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (PROTECT IP) Act. While I am supportive of the goals of the bill, I am deeply concerned that the definitions and the means by which the legislation seeks to accomplish these goals will have unintended consequences and hurt innovation, job creation, and threaten online speech and security. On November 17, 2011, I signed a letter along with Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) objecting to the bill as it is currently written.   

On December 17, 2011, Senator Wyden introduced the "Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade" (OPEN) Act (S. 2029), of which I am an original co-sponsor. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, where it is currently awaiting further review. The OPEN Act is a more effective approach to stopping foreign web sites that are found to be primarily and willfully used to infringe intellectual property rights. The OPEN Act builds on the existing legal framework used by the International Trade Commission for addressing unfair acts in the importation of articles into the United States, or in their sale for importation, or sale within the United States after importation.

Our trade laws have yet to catch up to deal with the global digital economy. The OPEN Act recognizes that the Internet has created new opportunities for foreign products to reach the U.S. market and that there is little difference between downloading a pirated movie from a foreign website and importing a counterfeit movie DVD from a foreign company. For those foreign web sites that are determined after an investigation to be primarily and willfully infringing, the International Trade Commission will issue a "Cease and Desist" order. The "Cease and Desist" order may also be served on financial intermediaries that provide services to that foreign web site, compelling financial payment processors and online advertising providers to cease doing business with the foreign site in question.  This would cut off financial incentives for this illegal activity and deter these unfair imports from reaching the U.S. market.

The OPEN Act addresses the same challenges as the PROTECT IP Act, while protecting freedom of speech, innovation, and security on the Internet. The challenge of rogue web sites is one that many nation's face. The United State has always been seen as a leader on Internet issues. Laws we establish in the United States regarding the Internet are likely to be used as models around the world. And because the Internet is global in nature, it is important that we carefully consider how the laws and policies we adopt in this area may be received and translated by other countries.

Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. You may also be interested in signing up for periodic updates for Washington State residents. If you are interested in subscribing to this update, please visit my website at http://cantwell.senate.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

tl;dr She's co-sponsored an alternative legislation similar to SOPA, but with two major differences. First, it would only go after websites whose PRIMARY purpose is the hosting of illegal content. Second, there would be an investigation before even issuing a cease-and-desist letter.

Sounds a lot better to me.