98% or 99% told their congressmen "NO" to TARP - it passed.

I have no idea how many "NO" the congressmen got for NDAA problems.

If congressmen got 100% "NO" on Sopa and/or Pipa - it/they would pass anyway.

So ... essentially we have ALL SOCIAL NETWORKS of any variety shutting down ... and ALL Collaborative works like Wiki (and even Encyclopedia Britanica has their mini collaborative encylopedia) ... and all MMORPG or other Online Gaming (there's always somebody who takes a texture from somewhere without permission and plops it on their character) ... and where's that ATS article from last week about all the bit torrents that congress downloaded?

Maybe Congress will get stung by its own beast.

Think positive but prepare for the worst.

Originally posted by Fractured.Facade
Apathy makes all of this not just possible, but likely.

People wont know what they have lost until it is gone.

The next global crisis will show how truly important the internet is... Assuming the sites for sharing news and information are all still up and running.

If not, you may be in the dark... Not a good place to be.

Mayhaps they do know something

Considering the loose wording and the lack of safe guards in this proposed legislation it would be quite easy for certain sites to disappear .. and then there's the possibility for export of these measures elsewhere in the world , something that I'm sure is planned ... You'll be doing more than yourselves a favor getting this rejected , so Good Luck.

.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by jude11
But if they think that any legislation is going to stop the free flow of music...

I should make one thing very clear, our policy at ATS has long been to respect content that has been created by others. We always insist on snippets and proper attribution of sourced material.

Additionally, I also personally feel very strongly that it's wrong to obtain or use the creative output of someone in a manner where that person does not get their due compensation. Circumvention a flawed revenue model (of unethical record companies) is not a valid excuse in my mind.

Oh, I agree wholeheartedly! I am a musician myself and would not advocate this.

I use this scenario as an example to state that if people want something bad enough, they will get it regardless of the sign posts.

No legislation to quiet the flow of ideas, information and yes even piracy can work IMO. People will find alternate routes.

Peace

I have a question:

If the U.S. government (or whoever wants this bill getting in) wants this to pass how could anyone other than themselves stop it? Of course we a voting system but why would that matter? We know the government is corrupt and they will stop at nothing to get something that would benefit them. Who has authority over the government?

I'm sure if they want it to pass then it will pass, regardless of how it comes to passing. I'm sure we will hear in the news that "Majority ruled that SOPA would pass.", regardless of whether or not majority did, in fact, rule.

The government obviously has no problem with lying. I'm sure most on this site will agree with that. So, what is to stop them from just lying to us all and saying that it got passed on just terms even if it didn't?

I agree we need to protect the Net.

Very important OP, thanks S.O.
Let's spread this.

Edit because I see S.O. already posted TotalBiscuit's video. Haha!

I posted about this on Dec 25th already with the plea to oppose this bill.
It seems many are actually really not aware WHAT this bill would entitle.

This is a bill MADE by some greedy corporates AND LAWYERS - and will only benefit those greedy corporates and lawyers - and no one else.

It won't benefit the common internet user, in fact it will bring with it SIGNIFICANT intrusions into privacy like tapping into one's internet traffic - and of course the MAIN reason for that bill being that "inconvenient" sites (WIkileaks!!) etc. could simply "turned" off...that is, access to such sites can be blocked under the guise of "copyright violation".

This bill is also very vague in its wording - allowing "the government" and/or lawyers to interpret it whatever way they fit.

Worst case scenario: An internet provider would disable/terminate a site simply because some greedy lawyer sent a C&D notice because there is a single picture on the site which MIGHT violate a copyright. Such can happen occasionally without the site owner knowing or even intending copyright violation.

An internet provider or webhoster USUALLY does not engage in arguing, if they get a complaint they usually immediately suspend/terminate accounts without further notice and asking.

All in all, this is a VERY, VERY bad bill and needs to be opposed!

Side-note: With people being out on the streets protesting the greedy corporates , it is beyond me how such a bill can even still be around. Corporates should not be able to create bills out of thin air which then are applied to ALL of the people - this is as absurd as it gets!

Also..one needs to know that the major players in the net, google, facebook, yahoo etc. are OPPOSING that bill.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
Let me be clear,
SOPA is the most dangerous threat to free speech ever proposed by the US government.
That's what I think.

Do you have an international backup plan? Such as if ATS gets taken down, It could pop back up in an international domain away from America, and work unhindered...

Thanks for the video link, it really made it clear what these 2 proposed bills could achieve, I couldn't help getting angry watching it, with that sense of helplessness and inevitability.

I always suspected this would be the way the free internet would end. It's all about the money. It's not enough, that we are subject to their constant advertising on the web, ruining places like youtube, they now want payment for every bit of copy righted material we may use as a source.

I have already contacted my 2 Senators and my Representative about my negative feelings concerning SOPA AND PIPPA. After listing my objections I asked if they would reconsider their stands on these bills. The Senators are co-sponsors.

Was I surprised when I received my replies to these entreaties? No. They informed me that I was not able to understand what they were trying to do. They told me that it takes someone with a wide overview to see how this will benefit all. In other words....I was just to stupid to get it.

Good luck, but I believe, as others have already mentioned, that they will pass it anyhow regardless of how many requests they have to reconsider their positions.

Mahree

Originally posted by DaRAGE

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
Let me be clear,
SOPA is the most dangerous threat to free speech ever proposed by the US government.
That's what I think.

Do you have an international backup plan? Such as if ATS gets taken down, It could pop back up in an international domain away from America, and work unhindered...

This is exactly the point!! SOPA would enable the government to block a domain on a global level, in particular when it's a site hosted ELSEWHERE (not in the states) - this is the whole idea!

So..no matter where a site is hosted...it would not be able to be accessed from the USA.

In the past, "before SOPA"...it was possible to circumvent this by simply hosting a site in some foreign country...because the US gvt would not have jurisdiction in the other country.

SOPA would simply make it "short and painful"..it is like a button for them to disable access via the domain URL in your browser. So you would enter http:// whatever .site.com and the address would be blocked. Where the site then is hosted is not important anymore.

***

Also..do not make the mistake and buy the nonsense that this is an "anti piracy" bill. Because piracy is ALREADY illegal. If it were an "anti piracy" pill, you bet ALL the big corporates would be on the supporter list, like Microsoft, Apple etc...but they are not. They know that this bill would do much more harm than actually "fight piracy". Besides, software pirates etc. can easily circumvent this block, and it would also not stop torrenting and similar activities. The "anti piracy" is just another disguise to make some people believe that they were to support something illegal by opposing this bill.

The only thing you are "supporting" if you are PRO SOPA is more profits for the few corporates on the list (MPAA etc.) ..and MORE greed and profits for lawyers. Why should any sane person support such a bill?

Originally posted by ShadowLink
So, it's ok for SkepticOverlord to express his views and provide a link to a petition to stop SOPA, but when I do it my thread gets deleted? WTF?

I gave you a star, oh and !@#$% SOPA

Isn't SOPA as it stands now, a violation of the 1st amendment?

This, to me, seems to be a law that would abridge freedom of speech.

Originally posted by satron
Forget ATS, it's going to kill the internet.

"How SOPA could kill ATS and free speech online"

Very funny.