Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...ive/Learn_more

Thoughts?

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

My life is over...I'll have to reference from misinformed journos for the day...

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Heard about this on the news, I can't understand (can't be bothered to read) why they have not shut the USA site?

Not sure uk citizens will care that much about the sites temporary closure or the bills trying to be passed tbh

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Time difference maybe? Not sure

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

+1

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Wikipedia is redirecting to the blackout page. If you're using a script blocker in your browser (eg noscript in firefox) it is still quite visible.

The subject is a worth a read because it will affect you too.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Going by the interview i heard on radio 4 yesterday, a complete overreaction by wikipedia and the like.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Or just hit escape/stop button as the page is loading.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Same as the EU walking all over the biking laws, every little change is part of a massive effort at control.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

The wikipedia guy kept banging on about his cars and bank robbers analogy and the woman was saying stuff like, clearly you've nkt read the legislation, its all to so with piracy and illegal copyright, the mass production on counterfeit chinese drugs etc wikipedia won't be affected, but he was having none of it.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

It's not about what it actually says, it's how it will be implemented and what doors it opens.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

True but they can only (or should) be able to target sites that do the things they mentioned. if the site isn't breaking the law then theoretically, why worry?

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Look at copyright.

Look at its beginning, what the terms were, then look at it now.

It has changed beyond recognition.

Back in the 50's/60's it was not uncommon for 2 or 3 bands to have the same song in the charts, nowadays a band expects to hace a hit song and live like kings off it it for the rest of their lives and increasingly their children.

Look at the harm Apple are doing, saying that Samsung, by producing something of a similar (yet fairly obvious) design with its Tablets and Phones (of which there are few workable designs/layouts) are breaking their Copyright.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Because if someone posts a link to a site that is not considered acceptable would that not make this this site fall under those rules of being unacceptable?

Are people not missing the point? Wikipedia is having a blackout to raise awareness of yet another potentially world changing legislation that is trying to be slipped under the radar as being for the good of the world. I'm sure people have heard of the beautifully named patriot act, this is another massively controlling legislation to try & destroy the freedom of speech & allows the US government to detain people with no actual evidence for as long as they like, does that sound fair? Because this won't be either

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

I'm a bit annoyed

Look at this

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

The US government becomes more Nazi every day.
If one of the states in the US were talking about voting for independence like Scotland is now, Political leaders would be jailed for treason the US government would send in the troops and wipe any demostrators out. .
Land of the free? That's a right laugh.



Although I can see there being worldwide effects from it. Why does wiki not put this on the US site where the legislation is actually being voted on??? :confused:
Would do little good for someone in the UK to petition US lawmakers.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

I suppose it's like the anti terrorist laws good in theory yet if you browse around a photography forum for half hour you will see how many people get stopped and searched for taking pictures in London

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Yes.Its about long term erosion of basic freedoms in many different areas,resulting in the concentration of power in the hands of a very powerful elite.Once its gone it will take generations to get it back,just like it took generations to obtain in the first place.As the unfortuneately named Mr burke once said-----All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

I notice a number of sponsors for the two US bills are backing out. Maybe they realise poor law is worse than no law.

The issue to me is that content owners can apply to the courts and have sites shut down. There is no mechanism to reinstate those sites should the allegations prove incorrect or offending material removed etc. For commercial operators one small issue could collapse a business.

The US courts have no business dictating how the internet works. The only way that anyone could be compliant is to separate the US from the internet. Let them operate a US net and then install filtering links to provide internet connectivity for non US content. In other words let the US operate like China.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Wait wait wait wait WAIT!
This means the end of online porn.... Im outraged!

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Most of that comes down to dribbling spastic policemen, or just wazzocks harassing people because they don't like the look of them. I mean really what is a serious terrorist going to have in his other pocket than his camera a) a snicker and "the tourists guide to that london" or b) half an AK47 mag and bin ladens christmas special LP ?

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Only if it's pirated ;)

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

I agree but you might end up with spastic "on-line police" or even worse would be companies applying pressure on the government.
You can imagine apple wanting to shut down any website which has a white background or uses the letter "i"

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Have a look at the EFF commentary on these acts:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/0...ng-free-speech

In short it gives the copyright holders the ability to shut down whole sites, not just request that offending content be taken down.

For sites like this where most of the content is submitted by users it's a disaster because one link to a scanned maintenance manual could get the whole site closed down. Who's going to run a site in those conditions??

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Keith do you honestly think the authorities are going to shut down a site because of a single user generated post which contains a link to a banned site?? Sounds more like something China would do...

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Yes, yes, YES it would. It is in fact the intended use of the legislation. Saying they won't use the option once it is available to them is simply closing your eyes and hoping for the best.

1. Look at what they've done in the past with other pieces of legislation: they've introduced the patriot act to give them powers to deal with "terrorists" (even though the term was so loosely defined, it could include anyone). "We'll only use those powers to crack down on bad terrorists". A couple of months later, they're jailing without due process normal citizens. "We'll just throw a helping hand in Libya, this is not a war, it's a <kinetic military action>".
It's clear, once you look at history, that once given the power to do something, not only will they use it, they'll abuse it and then TAKE some more.
Under this legislation, if you don't like a site with user generated content because it's posting content that discredits your own ideas, you could simply covertly post some offending content and then ask that the site be taken down (which will happen without due process).

2. They already have legislation to allow them to ask sites to take down offensive material. As the president of Google put it, the way to fight piracy is to offer a better service. And indeed it is so (I'm saying this as an employee of a software company that has had to deal with piracy).

3. You quoted the radio show (which I've not listened to) in which the wiki representative kept being asked whether he'd read the legislation or not. In my view, most of the media is under the severe influence of a very few powerful people and offers a generally distorted view of what's going on / about to happen. You'll be better off listening to independent sources (like the internet which they're trying to censor).
If the fact that a large number of sites with user generated content are trying to fight this piece of legislation is not ringing alarms for you, you need to WAKE UP!! Many forums (advrider, thumpertalk etc), wiki, youtube, facebook and others are all under threat and many have taken a clear stance against the legislation. You can also find a large amount of info on those sites regarding PIPA and SOPA, so they've clearly read the legislation before deciding that they think it's no good for everyone.


4. If you think "I'm british and I'm safe", think again! The french (why is it always them) president was suggesting the very same things 1 year ago. He just wanted censorship in general for the tinternet (because all this freedom is bad for ya'!!!). Once the US makes the move, they'll have precedence for introducing such legislation in the EU and it WILL affect you then. As they say, "at first they (nazis) came for the blacks and I didn't do anything, 'cause they hadn't come for me. then they came for the jews. then (..) then (..) then (..). then they came for me and there was no one left to help me".

If you believe that doing nothing will certainly improve the situation and tilt it in your favor, I beg you to reconsider.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Andreis, thanks for the advice re. waking up :)

I see yours (and others) points, you've obviously read and researched a lot more on this than I have, can't say im worried in the slightest though to be honest. I don't think you can really censor the internet, all I heard was the woman saying they want to tackle piracy, illegal drugs etc and i'm all for that. If thats all they do then fine but from what everyone is saying it seems no-one thinks they will stop there.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

I wouldn't quite say that I've researched this subject to death, but definitely enough to form a strong opinion about it. It doesn't mean that I'm right and you shouldn't take my word for it, but instead research yourself and form your own opinion. This goes for most topics of such nature and it often leads to overcrowding the research schedule, but you should form a habit out of researching things and not believe the first thing we hear in the media.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Especially when much of the media belongs to the very people promoting this legislation. I'd suggest doing some digging around and looking at both sides, then make up your own mind.

Personally, I think it's interesting to see how the DMCA has been used to threaten students and small time file sharers while the real copyright abusers simply moved their hosting to less picky locations. I'm expecting this legislation to be abused in much the same way, so the only real beneficiaries will be lawyers and the losers will be sites like this one.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

You know those workshop PDF's that we link to?

You know those wiring diagrams we link to?

Those links to the Ron Ayers Microfiche website?

Those entertaining Youtube videos?

All those are probably technical copyright violations.

Imagine this site without them all...

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

Correct, I support Wikipedia's efforts to protest.

Re: Wikipedia 24hour blackout
 

<deeeeeeelurk>

I'm with Hitler on this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvXo4...layer_embedded

And if anyone feels like not listening to him, you should give the man more respect- after all, he killed Hitler.

Anyone who thinks we shouldn't worry in the UK about US laws- how many websites don't care if US users can't see them? How many websites that you look at are US hosted? How many websites won't mind if search engines delist them?