PIPA, SOPA, & websites with blackouts

[Elgin Clock]

Just found (in a really round about way) that even though Wikipedia is "blacked out" today, they left this page wide open.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship

Guess it's more like a "brown-out" for them today, huh?

[Tristan Lall]

They're trying to make a point, after all.

In fact, the point isn't to restrict access to knowledge—it's to emphasize what they believe to be the likely consequences of the proposed legislation. (As such, with a little creativity, you can still get at Wikipedia content in several different ways.)


Speaking of the bills, they're written with the kind of bombastic language that only serves to polarize and mislead people. For example, in SOPA, there's a section called "TRAFFICKING IN INHERENTLY DANGEROUS GOODS OR SERVICES." It's actually about counterfeiting trademarks, labels and certifications. While that can lead to dangerous situations, the fact that it usually doesn't makes this a clear misuse of the word "inherently". Similarly, another section is called "IMMUNITY FOR TAKING VOLUNTARY ACTION AGAINST SITES THAT ENDANGER PUBLIC HEALTH." That's about the sale of prescription drugs without a prescription, and the misbranding or adulteration of drugs. There's not a word about requiring anyone to prove that such a site actually endangered the health of the public (or any member thereof). Instead, they just define the term "Internet site that endangers the public health" in a way that assumes that these things necessarily endanger the public. Again, they could sometimes endanger the public, but no such uncertainty is expressed in the text of the bill. It goes far beyond reasonable sanctions for potentially harmful behaviour, and tries to justify its excesses through hyperbole.

To detractors, this kind of linguistic imprecision (or outright malice) reinforces the draconian nature of the bills, and diminishes the credibility of the bill's legislative sponsors. To supporters, it gives the appearance of validity and urgency to their concerns.

Incidentally, this is a good example of why lawyering the FIRST rules is good practice for the real world. By critically analyzing FIRST's errors, you practice for the day when you need to critically analyze legislators' errors (and deliberate trickery). FIRST's errors are annoying, accidental and have relatively minor consequences. Real-world problems aren't often so trivial.

[asneakyfatcat]

[J.Warsoff]

Don't hold me to this, cause Im not big on arguing politics, especially here, but in my opinion, this act would be a small step forward to turning America into the censored Communist China (no offense to any of that ethnicity).

http://www.sopastrike.com/strike/

[Madison]

Originally Posted by asneakyfatcat

Please keep this sort of thing off of ChiefDelphi.

[kbohinski]

Speaking of blackouts, our team's site has been blocked out.
Hurr is the link.

[Duke461]

Originally Posted by Elgin Clock

Just found (in a really round about way) that even though Wikipedia is "blacked out" today, they left this page wide open.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship

Guess it's more like a "brown-out" for them today, huh?

From Wikipedia:

Yes. During the blackout, Wikipedia is accessible on mobile devices and smart phones. You can also view Wikipedia normally by disabling JavaScript in your browser, as explained on this Technical FAQ page. Our purpose here isn't to make it completely impossible for people to read Wikipedia, and it's okay for you to circumvent the blackout. We just want to make sure you see our message.

They also kept the PIPA and SOPA articles on no matter what.
-Duke

[plnyyanks]

As some who is very very against SOPA/PIPA (I've written a letter to my congressman about it), I'm happy to see some big name sites come out in protest. It's raised a lot of awareness about SOPA and how it would harm the internet, and I've been happy to see it covered on the news more now. It just goes too far; but I'll try and stop myself before I go on full rant mode, I have homework to do...

[Tristan Lall]

There's a good bit of coverage and explanation from different perspectives over at Ars Technica. (See this for an overview and opinion.)

[Sandvich]

I was surprised how frustrating it was to not be able to go to Wikipedia every time I felt like looking up a band or read about current events or something, and I couldn't get song lyrics either... Without getting too political, let me say that I suppose that's how much harder things could be if these bills passed.

Originally Posted by Madison

Please keep this sort of thing off of ChiefDelphi.

Why not? It's funny.

[EricVanWyk]

Originally Posted by Sandvich

Why not? It's funny.

And there are plenty of other places to share that type of humor.

[plnyyanks]

Good news for the Internet! SOPA/PIPA have been killed! SOPA is now removed from the House floor, and the scheduled vote on PIPA has been pushed back.

[Sandvich]

Originally Posted by EricVanWyk

And there are plenty of other places to share that type of humor.

So?? There are other places to talk about programming and pneumatics but we talk about them here too.

[Madison]

Originally Posted by Sandvich

So?? There are other places to talk about programming and pneumatics but we talk about them here too.

They are topics directly related to building a robot for the FIRST Robotics Competition. There are fewer things that are MORE apropos than that.

Memes have their place ... somewhere. It isn't here.

ChiefDelphi isn't 4Chan; it is a place to exchange ideas and learn new skills with some very busy, very talented professionals. Don't waste their time.

[the man]

So we can only share ideas that you approve of? This seems very counter productive.