Statement regarding SOPA

[Arantor]

Do not be so quick to dismiss this threat. Remember when I said they had a backup plan? Give it a few days and they'll display it now that this has landed how it has.

[busterone]

I agree. They always have a backup. 

[nend]

I don't think this will ever end, I do hope the big sites do go with the black out no matter what happens with any of these bills. We must show the world what can happen if our governments ever try to do something like this.

I am going to follow, so Jan 18th is the day, Internet blackout day, look forward to it next year.

[ziycon]

Looks like SOPA is dead Now just to worry about PIPA.

The controversial Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) has effectively been stopped in its tracks. Virginia Republican Representative Eric Cantor killed the bill.

[Arantor]

Looks like SOPA is dead Now just to worry about PIPA.

And whatever backup plan this lot of tools has.

[LiroyvH]

Does anyone actually have a reliable source for the news about SOPA being dead?
I havent been able to find a single one from a real trustworthy source. The Slashdot article links to a user generated site.

[Chen Zhen]

Does anyone actually have a reliable source for the news about SOPA being dead?
I havent been able to find a single one from a real trustworthy source. The Slashdot article links to a user generated site.

I don't think it's dead but has been amended & is still in negotiation.
ref. http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/16/technology/sopa_wikipedia/index.htm
ref. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/13/rep-lamar-smith-blocks-dns-blocking-from-sopa/

...
White House jumps in: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was supposed to hold a hearing with industry experts on Wednesday, which is why sites targeted that day for a blackout.

But Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican from California who opposes SOPA, postponed the hearing on Friday after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the bill won't move in its current form.

Cantor's comments sparked some news reports claiming that SOPA is dead, but an aide in Issa's office said "that's probably a little premature."
...

[青山 素子]

Does anyone actually have a reliable source for the news about SOPA being dead?
I havent been able to find a single one from a real trustworthy source. The Slashdot article links to a user generated site.

Will Reuters do?

U.S. online piracy bill headed for major makeover

They're one of the few major outlets covering this stuff. They also have articles about the Jan 18 blackout.


Also:

ComputerWorld UK: SOPA opponent claims bill stalled by US lawmakers
PCWorld: Opponent Says SOPA May Be Stalled in Congress

[青山 素子]

Ooooh. This is going to be big. Ars Technica is reporting that Google, Wordpress (.org, not the .com hosted service run by Automattic), and Scribd are joining the protest on the 18th. Google won't be going dark, but will be prominently featuring information on their homepage.

Ars Technica: SOPA protest swells as Google, Scribd, and Wordpress join

[LiroyvH]

Shame Google wont go completely dark. How THAT would have gained real attention!
Most people will probably think it's just another weird Google logo, lol.

I'd opt for SMF to join in, but I doubt I can get a majority for that, lol. All happy with the new server stack n all Looking at that it would be pure violation :')

[Arantor]

The thing is, Google going dark would have had a lot more repercussions, depending on how thorough the going-dark is. Remember: they're not just offering their core service any more but a lot of other services (including the CDN hostings for things like jQuery) that will all be affected.

Imagine how many sites will break if googleapis.com goes dark, and it won't seem to be Google's fault (even if it actually is)

[LiroyvH]

Well,
if just the search engine goes down, that would make a big hit already

[青山 素子]

As an update, SOPA isn't dead, just stalled. It's been stated that markup on the bill will be gin again in February.

Also, if you're interested in keeping updated, Ars Technica has been doing regular stories on the whole situation, so they're good to follow right now.

Shame Google wont go completely dark. How THAT would have gained real attention!
Most people will probably think it's just another weird Google logo, lol.

It's not going to be a logo change.

[SleePy]

The thing is, Google going dark would have had a lot more repercussions, depending on how thorough the going-dark is. Remember: they're not just offering their core service any more but a lot of other services (including the CDN hostings for things like jQuery) that will all be affected.

Google wouldn't do that.  If they did go dark it would be to certain services.  Breaking thousands of sites completely and stopping their revenue from ads wouldn't fair them well.

I'd opt for SMF to join in, but I doubt I can get a majority for that, lol. All happy with the new server stack n all Looking at that it would be pure violation :')

I would suggest that as well, but considering our potential reach versus the reach FaceBook, Twitter, Google, etc would all have, they would make a much greater impact than we would.

[Antes]

Will SMF going dark to(day/night) i'm in EU new day here (18.01.2012).

Google wouldn't do that.  If they did go dark it would be to certain services.  Breaking thousands of sites completely and stopping their revenue from ads wouldn't fair them well.

and it shows how effective protests can be

[SleePy]

Yes and would piss off many people and have a massive affect on their revenue.  By selecting services to take down like google search would get the message across without as much damage.

Read my previous message, we won't be doing that.

[mashby]

I am just considering turning off all devices/services connected to the internet all day tomorrow. That'll show 'em.

[nend]

If anyone wants a little bit of html to protest I have a snipplet. The benefit of this one is that you don't have to pull your entire site down for the blackout, you just have a div covering it out sort of, with a black transparency giving a blackout effect.

Code Select Expand

echo '
<div id="stopsopa" style="background-color:#000000;filter:alpha(opacity=70);opacity:.7;position: fixed; top: 0px; right: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; z-index: 1000;">
</div>
<div style="position:fixed;top:10%;right:10%;width:80%;height:80%;z-index:1000;overflow:hidden;color:#000000;background-color:#FFFFFF;border:1px outset;border-radius:10px;padding:4px;">
<div style="float:left;background-color:#000000;color:#FFFFFF;width:100%;padding:10px 0px 10px 0px;text-align:center;">
<b>STOP INTERNET CENSORSHIP></b>';
/*
echo '
<div style="float:right;">
<a style="color:#FFFFFF;" target="_blank" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="javascript:$(\'#stopsopa\').fadeToggle();window.open(\'https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173\');
window.focus();">Close[X]</a>&nbsp;
</div>';
*/
echo '
</div>
<div style="width:100%;height:90%;overflow:auto;">
<div style="width:100%;text-align:left;">
Congress is about to pass internet censorship, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill - PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House - to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity.
</div>
<div style="width:100%;text-align:left;">
<img style="float:right;" src="http://static.arstechnica.net/2011/10/26/the_worst_thing_about_censorship-4ea871c-intro.jpg" />
<p>
The Internet blacklist legislation-known as PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House-invites Internet security risks, threatens online speech, and hampers Internet innovation. Urge your members of Congress to reject this Internet blacklist campaign in both its forms!
</p><p>
To make the most impact right now, we\'re asking YOU to do two things. Today, use the link below to send an email to your representatives, letting them know you oppose these bills and they should too. Then, on January 23, when the Senate is back in session (and scheduled to vote on PIPA on January 24), call your Senator and tell him or her that it\'s time to stand with the Internet and against the Internet blacklists!
</p><p>
Big media and its allies in Congress are billing the Internet blacklist legislation as a new way to battle online infringement. But innovation and free speech advocates know that this initiative will do little to stop infringement online. What it will do is compromise Internet security, inhibit online expression, and slow growth in the technology sector.
</p><p>
As drafted, the legislation would grant the government and private parties unprecedented power to interfere with the Internet\'s underlying infrastructure. The government would be able to force ISPs and search engines to block users\' attempts to reach certain websites\' URLs. In response, third parties will woo average users to alternative servers that offer access to the entire Internet (not just the newly censored U.S. version), which will create new computer security vulnerabilities as the Internet grows increasingly balkanized.
</p><p>
It gets worse: the blacklist bills\' provisions would give corporations and other private parties new powers to censor foreign websites with court orders that would cut off payment processors and advertisers. Broad immunity provisions (combined with a threat of litigation) would encourage service providers to overblock innocent users or even block websites voluntarily. This gives content companies every incentive to create unofficial blacklists of websites, which service providers would be under pressure to block without regard to the First Amendment.
</p><p>
Service providers would be forced to monitor and police their users\' activities as well, threatening the DMCA safe harbors that have been vital to online innovation over the last decade. SOPA gives the government new powers to go after sites that provide information about tools that might be used to bypass the blacklists - even though these are often the same tools used by democratic activists around the world to bypass Internet censorship mechanisms implemented by authoritarian governments like Iran and China.
</p><p>
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) have led the charge in explaining how the blacklist bills threaten the very infrastructure of the open Internet, joined by a growing, bipartisan, group of Congress members. The White House also recently stated it will not support a bill that threatens free speech, innovation, and Internet security. But every Senator and Representative should be opposing the PROTECT IP Act and SOPA and we need to hold the White House to its word. Contact your members of Congress today to speak out!
</p>
</div>
<div style="width:100%;text-align:center;">
<b>We Need To Take Action Now</b><br />
<a target="_blank" href="https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173">https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173</a><br />
</div>
</div>
</div>';

If you want a close option, uncomment one line of the code for a close option, jQuery required for close function. Add links and modify as you wish, screen shot attached.

[Jakob Fel]

Actually, according to my sources, sites like Google, Wikipedia, and maybe even Facebook are highly considering it. I have sources that state Wikipedia DEFINITELY is going to, and Google seems to be leaning toward the darkening. If Facebook did it, I think the government would really see their errors.



In other matters - SOPA nor PIPA are dead; they've taken a heavy blow from a lot of influential people/groups, and the White House is threatening to veto it. However, we saw how the Obamanation's last "promise" went by with the passing of the NDAA 2012...

I think this globally-recognized protest should do the trick, but you never know - the US government believes that it's untouchable.

EDIT: My bad, I just realized that the House did kill SOPA.

[Antechinus]

Actually, according to my sources................................

Just out of curiosity, what sources do you have that are not available to anyone else.